Keys to Continued Growth

Saturday was my daughter's first birthday. It was an amazing year with a lot of memories. Somehow they all took a backseat when the US lost to Ghana. It's sad to admit, but I spent the rest of the day and the rest of the weekend thinking about what went wrong and what could have been.

I'm done thinking about the past. From this point forward, I would rather think about the future. I think we have the potential to be even better in 2014 and beyond, but need a few things to happen.

First, we need our domestic league, MLS to continue to improve in quality. This goes for everyone - players, coaches, referees. We need to continue importing talent from outside the country to help develop our youth. The higher the quality of play, the more experienced and ready our youngsters will be to move abroad. It will take a lot of vision by owners and GM's to bring in the right guys; to avoid signing the likes of Raul and Denilson because of their previous feats. This also means changing the league structure to allow for larger rosters and a reserve league.

Second, transfers need to be agreed to if only the right situation presents itself. And when it does present itself, MLS needs to agree to let the player go. We need our players to play in the top leagues. This does not mean that our players have to play for the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, Real Madrid or AC Milan because the reality is that we don't have anyone good enough to do so. Transferring to one of those powerhouses means not dressing for games and action only in reserve games. This is not good enough. We need players to be in situations like Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Maurice Edu (Ranger) and Michael Bradley (Borussia Monchengladbach). Each have benefited from quality playing times at their clubs. With an impressive showing at the WC, each may be in line to move to a bigger club knowing that they will be able to get playing time. I think Stuart Holden's move to Bolton is great but have to say that Oguchi Onyewu's move to AC Milan was less than ideal.

Third, we need an Alpha Dog. This is a concept that Bill Simmons talks about all the time - teams need to know who their Alpha Dog is - who the guys is that demands the ball at the end of the game. In watching this current team, I get the sense this is an issue. I get the sense that Donovan is expected to be that guy from coaches and media, but I sense that Dempsey thinks he is that guy. So who will it be moving forward? I actually question whether it should be Donovan moving forward. Too many times I find myself underwhelmed by his play. Yes he set up and scored the big goal against Algeria, but if you take a critical look, you realize that the outlet by Tim Howard set up the play and that the goal was on an empty net from 6 yards out. Dempsey, while not scoring, created more chances and looked more dangerous. How will this play out moving forward? Will Michael Bradley step up and supplant both?

Fourth is a set of long term needs. We need ESPN to continue to promote soccer. MLS doesn't need to be covered like the World Cup. They don't need to have a special results show each week. Having anchors on SportsCenter not make fun of the game would be a welcome site. Hell, having highlights on SportsCenter would be great. We also need to start tapping into our Hispanic community. It is amazing that a country of our size and makeup has only one Hispanic player on their team. A lot of progress has been made in terms of African American involvement. We need more Hispanic players on our team. Let's use our nation's diversity as more of an asset. One way to increase the presence is to change the soccer system in the US to allow for more youth system and reserve teams that get the highest quality of training due to their relationship with MLS teams. Have more academies and stop making parents pay so much money to have their kids involved in the beautiful game.

I think these are key to our continued growth as a soccer power. With that being said, I don't think the future is dark at all. In fact, I think we are in great shape for 2014. Looking at the team, we can assume that Donovan, Dempsey, Bradley, Altidore, Howard, Edu and Torres will all be back. There are a lot of promising younger guys like Charlie Davies, Stuart Holden and Alejandro Bedoya who will also play a role. Finding defenders will be key, but I think always easier to find than creating midfielders and goal thirsty scorers. Like three days ago, the opportunity is there to take the next step. Now we just need to take the steps.

Seba's Revenge

I know Sebastian LeToux will never publicly admit to it, but I'm sure that Sunday's win against the Sounders felt really really good. Nothing says 'screw you' like a goal and two assists against your former team.

Sounders fans know Seba's story well. In their 2007 championship year, Seba was the league's MVP and leading scorer. In 2008, he increased his goal scoring total from 10 to 14 and finished second in the league. Along the way he became known as Mr US Open Cup. Then in 2008, he was became the Sounders first MLS signing.

Last year was not a good one statistically as Seba only scored 1 league goal. Even with his struggles in moving to Midfield most fans continued to love him because of his work rate and his constant energy. At the end of the year, the front office took a chance an left him unprotected in the Expansion Draft hoping his high salary would scare off Philly. It was a calculated risk and one that blew up in our face.

The thing the front office didn't think about was that Seba was a player who you knew would work well in Philly. In fact, he is the type of player that fans LOVE in Philly. Philly fans demand one thing from their players - effort. That's all. This will be the only time I will ever speak nicely of the city, so get ready for it. Philly fans get a bad rap. People think that winning is the only important thing. The fact is that they want players to appreciate the opportunity in front of them and work their ass off - just like any other person in the city. Looking back, LeToux was the perfect fit for this team and this city.

The results are clear - Philly fans already love him and he has 6 goals and 5 assists in 9 games this year. (both are more than any current Sounder this year) I didn't see most of the game, but it was apparent in the time I was watching that LeToux was a different player this year than last. In fact, he looked like the same player that he was in 2007/2008. He had energy, confidence and the license to be creative. Where was that last year? Did he feel to much pressure being the first Sounder? Did Sigi grossly misuse him? Was there something else going on?

It's hard to imagine that he would have the same stats if he was on the Sounders this year, but one has to believe that his impact would have been made elsewhere. One thing you can count on is for Seba to never give up - something no one can say about the Sounders this year. Not protecting LeToux in favor of Marshall was clearly a mistake. One that we are paying for right now.

Friday Night Five-Pack

Here are a few topics for your late night reading

• It is absolutely ridiculous that Philly gets an additional 3 home games compared to everyone else in the league. I'm sorry that Toronto feels it is unable to host the games with G-8 in town, but it is an effing joke to play the games in Philly. If you can't host the games, they need to be someplace neutral. If we finish a game behind the Phillies, a shit-ton of people better lose their jobs
• When I was younger, I thought the NBA Draft Lottery was a cool thing. After having suffered through a 12-70 season, I can say without a doubt that I hate it. There is no way the Nets were throwing any games to get the top pick. They were just bad and deserved to get John Wall. Instead, he goes to a franchise that signed Gilbert Arenas to a ridiculous contract and picked Kwame Brown 1st overall a decade ago.
• Tomorrow is a big day - my daughter's first birthday and USA-Ghana. I don't know what to think of the game. I'm not sure whether we are going to win or lose. The sad part is that I won't be able to wear my Ghana jersey anyttime soon. They were the African team I have been supporting, but as soon as they lost to Germany, they were Public Enemy #1
• Another no-hitter was pitched tonight by someone not in a Mets uniform. The craziest part of Edwin Jackson's no-hitter was that he walked 8, hit 1 and through 149 pitches. Let's hope the pitch count won't come back to haunt him. I would be normally killing the manager for the decision, but Arizona is going no where this year, so why not keep him in
• I think that Christiano Ronaldo has the same effect on men as Kim Kardashian has on women. If they were to somehow date, they would be the most hated couple of all-time.
  

Let's Go Mets Go

NBA Draft Thoughts

The NBA Draft just finished and I left feeling underwhelmed. Maybe it's because I didn't follow college basketball that closely this year, but boy did this seem like a weak draft. Here are some thoughts:

• I haven't seen Derrick Favors play at all, but everyone seems to like him. And if we ever wanted to know about his confidence, I think this interview with answers all the questions. I'm still not overly sold on the pick for the simple reason that Amare and Bosh play the same position, which makes you wonder if they will be going after a PF at all in free agency
• Fairly certain that my buddy Matt had an accident in his pants when the Knicks selected his boy Andy Rautins
• I'm sorry, I know Butler was a good story, but I don't see how Gordon Hayward is a lottery selection. But then again, it was Utah that took him and we know their history. I don't want to speak ill of the team from the Mormon State but I think they have to border on being the most racist team in sports
• There were freakin trades galore, but the one that affects my team was trading the 27th (Jordan Crawford) and 31st (Tibor Pleiss) for Atlanta's 24th (Damion James). I liked James in college and think he can be a nice bench guy for this team. It's too bad I can say that about a lot of guys on the team - Terrence Williams, Kurt Humphries, Yi Jianlin - who get significant minutes. The point no one is making is that the Nets could not have the guy who became a YouTube star when he dunked on LeBron in a summer league game if they want LeBron to actually sign with them
• This was the first time the new Warriors logo was used on tv - I think I am a big fan. Now if they can just figure their team out
• Q-Pon drafted by OKC and then traded to New Orleans. All Seattlites can sigh a breath of relief as we no longer have to think of one of our local boys having to put on those immoral jerseys
• Boston is now cornering the market on redhead white boys after the selection of Luke Harangody. I have to think coming back for his senior year hurt his draft position - even in this week draft he goes #52 when he may have been a lottery pick last year.

We have about one week to go before the free agency frenzy starts up. Now its about to get good

Dream Scenario

To anyone reading this from work, I really tried to work today. I really did. but the honest truth is that I couldn't stop thinking about the game this morning. I mean, damn what an amazing ending. I was watching the game with my wife and daughter and literally fell on the floor after a few of their missed attempts. After each one, my anxiety raised but never to the point where I thought we couldn't get it done. After all, this is Team USA, not the Sounders. They had too many opportunities not to score.

Then it happened all so quickly. An opportunity from Algeria saved by Howard. An amazing distribution to Donovan 40 yards away from the goal. A 4 on 2 break. Donovan pushing tempo. To Altidore. A pass to Dempsey. Save by the keeper. Rebound. Donovan. GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL. Wait a second. Check the flag. It's not Up. GOOOALLLLLL.

It was amazing. I'm not sure I have ever had this kind of reaction. When the Sounders score, I jump up and down and scream. This was a little different. It was a different yell; one that released all the nervous tension in my body. I made my daughter cry. I walked into the garage to yell some more in order not to further scare her. My fists pumped. I yelled. It was like I scored the goal.

In the car on the way to work I told the wife I was considering moving this up to my list of favorite sports moments. At her urging I took a step back. After all, while this goal was big, the events that are yet to unfold will determine how big this goal is. If we flame out and lose 4-0 to Ghana then a lot of the luster is taken away. If we can ride the momentum and make the Semi's, thus bringing millions of more fans onto the soccer bandwagon, then this goal is legendary. Only time will tell.

As for the knockout round, after Uruguay beat Mexico yesterday I realized that there was the potential for something special if all the blocks fell right. We had to win Group C. Germany had to win Group D. It sounded like a lot to ask for. Yet somehow, they both happened and as a result, we play Ghana with the winner playing the winner of Uruguay-South Korea. No disrespect to any of the other three teams, but this is a thousands times easier road than had we finished second in our group. The other side of the draw features England v Germany and Argentina v Mexico - both games one could dream of in the Semi-finals, not the Round of 16. So the USA has a golden opportunity. When we look at the Semi-Finals to be played on July 6, one team from the following four will be featured: Uruguay, South Korea, Ghana, USA. It is a dream scenario. One that I hope they are ready to grab a hold of.

Baseball's Unwritten Rules

A few weeks ago I railed on the unwritten rules of baseball and how they are unwritten for a reason - because they're not official. I was at the library last night and I came across a book called Unwritten Rules of Baseball by Paul Dickson. Apparently I was wrong - a book does exist. So I checked out the book and thought I would share with you what I found.

Here are some of the unwritten rules listed in the first chapter:

• 1.2.1 Do Not criticize a Teammate in Print
• 1.5.0 It Is the Pitchers Job to Protect His Hitters and Enforce Many of the Unwritten Rules
• 1.8.0 Do Not fraternize with Members of the Opposition during the Regular Season
• 1.13.3 In a Blowout Game, Never Swing as Hard as You Can at a 3-0 Pitch
  

Again, I'm not a huge fan of unwritten rules, but in theory I guess I can accept these to a point where I won't comment any further. However, there are still a few that drive me crazy. For instance:

• 1.17.2 Don't bunt to Break Up a No-Hitter or Perfect Game. This one has been covered previously, so I will move on.
• 1.18.1 There Are Acceptable forms of Sign Stealing. This one has a lot of additional rules to it. To summarize - its ok for coaches and runners on second base to steal signs from the catcher, but it is unacceptable to steal signs and relay them to the batter in a way that is obvious. Also, it is unacceptable for anyone outside the playing field to steal signs and unacceptable to use any sort of mechanical or electronic devices to do so. Finally, batters are not allowed to look down at the catcher to steal a sign.
  

So here's the rub to me: it's ok to cheat, just don't get caught. That's a slippery slope, don't ya think? Who decides what is obvious? Who decides what acceptable? Isn't that setting a bad example for our youth? An even better question - isn't that along the same lines of cheating in soccer? We know how America hates that. I'm just saying. Stupid.

Chapter 1 was 102 pages long and I'm only halfway there. Still to tackle are Manager's Rules and Umpires Rules - I will be sure to fill you in with what I find.

My Wish for the 30's

As I hit 30 on Sunday, I couldn't help think of how good my 20's was to me. It was a great decade for me in many ways - I graduated from college twice, got married, moved cross country and had a kid. Almost as important, my teams have had a lot of great sports moments:

• Devils Stanley Cup Champions 2000, 2003
• Mets NL East Champions 2006
• Bucknell Patriot League Champions 2005, 2006
• Nets Eastern Conference Champions 2002, 2003
• Georgia Bulldogs SEC Champions 2002, 2005
• Sounders US Open Cup Champions 2009
• UW Pac-10 Champions 2009; Pac-10 tourney 2005, 2010
  

This is an impressive list I have to believe. But when I looked at it more closely, I realized that my teams haven't won a major title (ie - World Series, Stanley Cup, NBA Finals) since 2003. It's been awhile on all fronts. Division and conference titles are all good, but I want one of the big boys in the next 5 years (well, that includes another Patriot League Championship because its just as good). Call me spoiled, but I want to see how good it feels to support a champion again. That is my sports wish for my early 30s.

Simpler is Better

For my birthday, my parents bought me 10 packs of Topps baseball cards. I felt like I had hit the jackpot. I was excited to read the stats on the backs of the cards, excited to put the cards in order and excited at the prospect of getting some Mets. Honestly, was as giddy at 30 as I was at 10.

Then the sad thing happened - I found myself disappointed. When I was younger 8 cards meant 8 cards towards your set. Completing a set was the ultimate goal. Then as I got older, the business started to change and more special inserts started popping up in packs. At first it was one special card per 5 packs, then 3 packs, then a special card in every pack. Now today, there are tons of inserts - so many that I got 5 regular cards per pack and 3 special inserts in each pack. The monetary value has never been the driving force for me. That is why I have only bought Topps over the past few years - to me, they represented cards in their purest form. They had a simple design and minimal inserts. Now even Topps has gone the route of special inserts.

The 26 special inserts were from 7 different sets. One of the sets called 'Cards Your Mom Threw Away' is a cool concept as it replicates classic Topps cards of years past, but none of the rest are even remotely interesting. I would rather have a set of cards that show the major league stats of the players on the back than a card that says the following: "Evan, a skinny non-prospect while in high school, is now devoted to weightlifting and conditioning programs, including yoga and pilates in the offseason."

Maybe I'm just old (I still wear my Mets hat with a curve in it afterall) but I am increasingly wanting simpler things these days. This goes for cards as well.

Start Early Next Time

Even though the US was the favorite for the first time in their World Cup history, they handled it like they did any other game - by giving up an early goal. As exhilarating as yesterday's comeback was, we can't continue to play like this. We just can't - early goals against will be the death of us. On the postgame show, Mike Tirico asked Alexi Lalas why it took 'getting punched in the face' for the US to come to life, to which Lalas answered "I don't know." It's an interesting question and one I think I know the answer to - I think it has all to do with the team's leadership.
Bob Bradley is as prepared as a coach can be. He makes good in-game moves and has the utmost confidence in his men. I'm glad to have him in charge, but you have to question whether he is a good motivator. Talk to Landon Donovan and he says that every game is a must win and that they can't afford to lose. So then why does the team come out flat and timid? I think the only logical answer is that the guy in charge isn't preparing them before the game. Bradley is so quiet and thoughtful that he is almost a robotic mute - how can he motivate someone to run around with rockets up their ass?

Really that's the only problem I have with him so far. While not prepared for the first 15 minutes, the US is certainly calm and prepared for the remaining minutes. Coming back from 2-0 down at halftime shows a lot of determination and grit - but where was it in the first half? They can't continue to play like this because I can guarantee you Germany or Brazil won't give up a 2-0 lead.

With the tie and the simply amazing tie between England Algeria, the US is now in charge of it's own destination. Win and advance. Simple as that. So here's a suggestion - forget the situation you find yourself in. You're the US. You're opponent is Algeria - mighty, powerful Algeria. You are not the favorite. No one believes in you. Go out there and work your ass off. They won't be able to handle your fitness. Get an early goal and let momentum carry you. Start early. Do it. Just do it.

Welcome Back Johnny Mac

The Devils have promoted all-time leading goal scorer John MacLean to head coach. Last year MacLean led the Devils AHL team to an all-time best record and prior to that he had been an assistant coach with the Devils for 7 years.

I think this is a great hiring and one that is similar to what the Mets are doing these days - surrounding the current guys with greats from the past. I think the thing that we need to worry about is whether Johnny Mac is only there because he is a Devils great. I mean, who knows if he can make it as an NHL coach. Everyone needs a break once in a while, but I worry if the this is the right franchise to start with. With the recent track record of coaches, this isn't exactly a stable situation.

That being said, I think this has potential to be good. For Johnny Mac's sake I really hope it turns out good. Having former greats coach the team they once played for is a risky proposition. It's awesome if it works out, but if the former player can't cut it as a coach, the relationship between fans and the coach will never be the same. There are a lot of examples, but the one I always think of is what happened to former Detroit Tigers great, Alan Trammell. Trammell spent 19 years as the Tigers SS and was then hired as manager in 2003. In three season, Trammell had a winning percentage of .383 which included a 119 loss season in 2003. As imagined, he was fired by the team and replaced by Jim Leyland (who had a 24 game turnaround and made the WS in 2006). While he may have gotten aa standing ovation in his first game back, his relationship with the team and fans has never been the same.

It's a tricky situation and one that I hope Johnny Mac can be successful in. The one thing he does have going for him is the stability of this team - no matter how many times we count them out, we know they will again finish in the top 4 in the conference. Where he will make his money is come playoff time. Johnny Mac's last season with the Devils ended in a first round loss - let's hope for better this time around.

Dreaming of Turner..

This is not a rumors site, but this is one I could not pass up. The Sacramento Kings acquired Samuel Dalembert today in exchange for Andres Nocioni and Spencer Hawes. Devin Kharpertian at NetsAreScorching.com has an interesting reaction. It goes like this - why would you trade your defensive stall-worth for a small forward and a soft 7 footer without some sort of reason? Could they possibly be planning to choose Derrick Favors or DeMarcus Cousins instead of Evan Turner with the second pick in the draft? If that's the case, then Turner will be coming to NJ. This seems illogical, but I assume there could be some truth since new coach Doug collins is apparently enamored with Favors. I still don't get the Collins hiring, but obviously Sixers GM Ed Stefanski believes in Collins. So there is a great chance that he will seriously listen to Collins. I mean, why hire him if you don't believe in him - it's not like he has the best track record as a coach in the NBA.

So this is something to keep an eye on. The possibility of it happening is low, but Nets fans have something to at least hope for. If it was to happen, it would be glorious. Turner is a winner.

[Editors note: It's sad to be thinking about the NBA Draft as Game 7 is on in the background. Sobering to realize how far away the Nets are from even sniffing Kobe's jock in the playoffs]

What's Right with Wright?

A few weeks ago I wondered aloud what was wrong with David Wright. At the time, he was on pace for 210+ strikeouts and was hitting around .260. Fast forward a few weeks and we see that David Wright is now leading the league in RBI with 52 through 65 games. He continues to confuse me - one day I'm upset at his lack of plate discipline and the next day he drives in runs and I hail him as my boy. It's a never ending battle.

Wright is in one of his hot streaks right now which will undoubtedly will come to and end soon. In a way, he is a microcosm of the Mets overall. They win 9 in a row then lose 5 of 6. When things are going bad, they are infuriating. When they are winning, things are really good. That is an obvious statement. Of course it's fun to win. But as I said recently though, this team is more fun than ones past so when we win, it feels really really good.

So let's keep it up. Let's Go Mets go.

Giant Insects in Your TV

If you turn on the World Cup you will notice this strange sound coming from your tv. It may sound like a giant mosquito is circling you, but have no fear, there are no insects about to swarm you. No, that's the sound of the vuvuzela, a plastic horn used by South Africans during soccer games. Talk to fans (who are watching on tv) and they will say these should be banned because they are annoying; talk to players and they will say it is affecting their performance. They really are becoming the talking point of the Cup, which is really sad (of course that wouldn't be the issue if the soccer wasn't so poor so far).

I think I am in the minority here when I say that they don't bother me. Sure it's strange not to hear any chanting, but songs and chants are a cultural thing and considered normal only because that is what American fans are used to. While the English like to sing (we know how many EPL fans there are in this country so the influence is wide), the Brazilians like to dance and the South Africans like to blow horns. At the very least, even if you find the horns annoying, they should represent a welcome look into another culture. You can respect their right to blow horns, but obviously you don't have to listen - if they bother you so much, just turn the tv down.

I don't agree with FIFA very often, but for once I think they got it right. In response to talk about banning the vuvuzelas, FIFA President Sepp Blatter said "I don't see banning the music traditions of fans in their own country. Would you want to see a ban on the fan traditions in your country?" He's right on target with this one - FIFA decided to hold the World Cup in South Africa. The decision has been applauded worldwide, yet now the world wants to ban something of cultural significance because other fans don't like it. I think you need to take the bad with the good.

Now that I am done opining, I will admit that my one concern about this is that the horns will infiltrate the rest of the sports world. I may not mind listening to the horns during the South African World Cup, but I am not excited about listening to them outside of this tournament. They should NOT be brought to England and replace the songs. They should not be brought to the US and be used like thundersticks as artificial noisemakers. This is one cultural phenomenon that we should not adopt. Let South Africa have it. We don't need it.

Unfortunately, I imagine little kids will be into them, which means they will make money, which means some company will begin manufacturing them. Sorry to say but they will be making their way stateside soon.

Newest MLS DP

A story that has been lost in all the World Cup talk is DC United's new Designated Player signing. No, it's not Thierry Henry. Not Raul. Not Robert Pires. Not Ronaldinho. It's Branko Boskovic from Montenegro. Ives is reporting that the 29 year old will be signed for the remainder of the year and available July 15 against Seattle (in which our new DP Blaise N'kufo makes his debut).

If one reads the 70+ comments on the SBI site, it is easy to see that most fans think this is a terrible signing. Some go overboard and assume that this is terrible because he is not Beckham. Others are wondering if the only way to get a not-over-the-hill DP is to pick him from the Austrian League. I disagree with both sentiments.

I won't claim to know anything about Boskovic, but the fact remains that MLS is in a tough spot. The likes of Messi, Torres and Kaka will NOT be coming to MLS anytime soon. There is no way it will happen, even if Joe Roth drops $25 million on their doorstep. If MLS teams want big names, they have to settle for the likes of Beckham, Henry and Raul - players whose best days are behind them. These are the guys whose who can put fans in the seats, but often at the expense of quality on the field.

If MLS wants to improve their quality, a great place to start is by bringing in lesser known stars who want to live and play in the US for the right reasons. If they want to go the European route, they would be wise to consider the likes of Juan Pablo Angel, Joel Lindpere and Darren Huckerby. If they want to go the Central/South American/Caribbean route, they would be wise to consider the likes of Shalrie Joseph, Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Osvaldo Alonso. Bottom line: the signings don't need to be sexy, but they need to be wise.

All I know about Boskovic is that he is 29 years old, has 30 national team appearances and has played for Red Star Belgrade, Paris St Germain and Rapid Wien. That may not be the pedigree of a Beckham, but I bet it will be a perfect fit for DC. I applaud the move and hope for good things from Boskovic during his time in DC.

Not So Seismic Afterall

This isn't a rumors blog, so I have tried not to speculate about the impending College Football Armageddon until it went down. Well, a funny thing happened along the way - it never happened. A few teams moved conferences, but overall the picture is the same as it ended last year.

Instead of taking more money to join the Pac-10 in 2011, Texas made a shocking decision to stay in the Big 12 conference, prompting Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Oklahoma St to also stay. I think one more piece needs to fall into place, but the end results look like this:

• Colorado from Big 12 to Pac-10
• Nebraska from Big 12 to Big 10
• Boises St from WAC to Mountain West

That's it. Really. Only three big changes. Now, the Big 10, Pac-10 and Big 12 will probably change names and the Pac-10 will add a 12th team (ok, one rumor: most likely Utah) while the Big 12 may decide to add two or stay at 10. Besides those minor alterations, no seismic changes were seen.

What does this mean for college football? To be honest, I'm not sure that anything changes. The Pac 10, in adding Colorado and potentially Utah, will add Denver and Salt Lake City to their markets, but they are hardly sexy picks that would have brought a massive Pac 10 Network into mainstream (imagine USC and either Texas/OU in the Pac 16 title game every year). The Big 12, if they decide to stay put, will no longer have a football championship game while the Big 10 can have a championship game and rake in some extra bucks. Ultimately though, while Nebraska's style of football is perfect for the Big 10, I wonder if the league could have done better with someone else, like say Pitt or Rutgers. They don't have the tradition of Big Red, but they have the all important TV markets that this whole mess is about.

Come postseason time, nothing changes. We still have 4 huge conferences, 3 semi-huge, 4 also-rans and one big mess of a championship picture that will not be fixed in the foreseeable future. (I have proposed the following for several years now: it's my idea of keeping bowl games while having a playoff. SEC, Big 12, Big 10 and Pac 10 get the 1-4 seeds while the Big East, ACC and MWC get seeds 5-7. One and only one at large team, then gets the 8 seed. For all the other teams, keep the bowl system. Humanitarian Bowl still exists as does the Liberty Bowl. Keep the small guys. Then for the 4 quarterfinal games, have them be the Cotton, Holiday, Outback and Orange Bowls. The Semi's are the Sugar and Fiesta while the title game goes to Pasadena in the Rose Bowl. It's all very simple. Unfortunately money, which drove the conference realignment will also keep anything like this from happening.)

This whole episode has been driven by money and tv networks. Amazingly Texas made the bold move to turn down the bigger bucks to remain loyal to the conference that brought them on board nearly 15 years ago. This may or may not be a good decision for Texas, but I have to wonder if changing conferences would have at least been good for the public. At the very lest, having 3 mega power conferences would have made us reexamine the BCS and that is never a bad thing...

Sign Me Up!

This is a real product. No lie. The guy at minute 2:20 is having wayyy too much fun. There's even one for women.

[6/14/10 1243pm] Editor's note: The wife reminded me that there was an SNL skit spoofing this...

Something's Different About the US

I gave up. I really did. There was no way the US would rebound after giving up a 4th minute goal. Not against England. Not in the World Cup.

A lot will say that we didn't deserve to tie; that Robert Green giftwrapped a goal for us. But the fact remains, we walked out of Rustenberg with a tie against England, in a game where we gave up a 4th minute goal.

I predicted we would make it out of our group because of the experience of last year's Confed Cup. We settled down after giving up that goal and really showed maturity, confidence and professionalism. We may have been over-matched, but we were not afraid of England. This is a different team than in years past. Bob Bradley really has them ready for every task, so much that I am not worried about a letdown against Slovenia and/or Algeria. Especially since we have Tim Howard and others don't.

Delayed (Over)Reaction: DC

I may have been MIA for two days, but don't think I haven't been stewing over the Sounders loss on Thursday night. After last Saturday's thrashing of New England, I uttered the following words: "I'm not going to allow myself to overreact because the fact remains that we are the same team this week as we were last week." The same still applies. We are a mediocre team that needs things to break the right for them in order to win. Against New England, it was Leo's wonder strike that broke things open. Against DC, not only did we not get an early break, DC got one when Chris Pontius' shot deflected off Jeff Parke and into the goal.

Where was the sense of urgency? Why didn't it show until the 90th minute? Why are crap teams like DC and NY able to come in and steal 3 points?

Here are some additional thoughts:

• Their remain two huge elephants in the room that no one wants to talk about. first, is Kasey Keller. I'll be strung up for asking this, but is Keller close to being done? How did he let in another softie? Is something wrong? Do we need to be prepared for him to step aside? It appears that he is thinking about retiring by his comments after the game, "I said my whole career that once I feel I can't do the job then I have to stop doing the job. But I feel great physically, I feel good in training, everything's going great. It's just frustrating that with game and the L.A. game that I've hurt the team when my job is to keep them in this game... I wanted to play another year, but not if I don't play to the level that I expect of myself and the level that the players and the fans and the coaching staff expect of me. I will work extremely hard to try to make it better."

• Second, is it time to start questioning Sigi? How is it possible that they came out flat again to start the game? How come there was no tactical changes at halftime? Why did Sturgis come in for Ianni rather than for a defender? Ditto for Nyassi. Why is he unable to push the buttons this year? Is something going on in the lockeroom?

• The worst thing about the game was that, just like the LA game, they were unable to pick up Keller after his mistake. I know I only play rec ball on Sunday's, but when our keeper has a stellar gaffe, we as a team pick up our play to try to get the goal back. The problem is that Freddie Ljungberg is the on field leader and he is too busy worrying about the refs to lead this team.

• The two goals at the end were definitely unexpected. It was nice to see the team keep applying pressure but again, why not earlier?

Now that I have that out of the way, let's focus on the future. We are 4-6-3 on the year with a two week break for the World Cup. After that we get Alonso and Jaqua back and add N'kufo. The projected starting 11: N'kufo, Montero - Ljungberg, Evans, Alonso, Zakuani - Riley, Ianni/Parke, Marshall, Gonzalez will be the most talented in the league. Can they mesh and play with passion and purpose? And of course, can they score some freaking goals?

Mets are Fun Again

I have been skeptical of the Mets' chances at the payoffs this year. I mean, so many things had to go right. Beltran had to come back. Maine and Perez had to pitch well. Ike Davis had to be the real deal. And Wright had to bounce back. Oh, and of course, the bullpen has to hold up.

Obviously, things haven't gone out as planned, but I'll tell ya what - this is the best I have felt about the Mets since 2006. I mean, this is a fun team to support.

The pitching staff consists of two aces, a rookie, knuckleballer and an unknown commodity from Japan. Dickey and Takahashi have been the most unlikely breath of fresh air and somehow the staff feels stable for the first time in awhile. It's great.

Then you have a exciting rookie out of Georgia Tech, a guy who loves to throw pies, a career minor leaguer who has energy coming out of his ass, a Mexican catcher whose name is Rod and of course, the face of the franchise. There seems to be an energy around this team that hasn't been there the past few years. Playoffs or not, it's nice to have a fun team to root for again.

World Cup Predictions

This is going to be the most unpredictable World Cup ever. Anyone who thinks they know what is going to happen is crazy. Luckily, I have a little crazy in me. So here are my predictions:

• North Korea will tie one of the big boys in the group. They definitely should go 0-3, but I just have a feeling that Brazil, Portugal and Ivory Coast will all be focusing on each other and overlook this mysterious team. They won't get out of the group, but Kim Jung Il will make it seem like they did
• The United States will get out of their group. I don't think they will beat England, but unlike past experiences in the WC, this group finally gets the idea behind the tournament format. Losing the first game does not mean they're done. Last year in the Fed Cup, they lost their first two games, beat Egypt and advanced. Then they beat Spain and nearly Brazil in the final. I think that experience is crucial
• Nigeria and Cameroon, not Ivory Coast will be Africa's last remaining teams. It's not just the group of Death, but the potential matchup with Spain in the Round of 16 that means an early except for the Elephants
• Argentina will play a minimum of 3 games. That's all I got. They are a mystery to me
• Switzerland will not make it out of the group. Blaise N'kufo will come to Seattle healthy and rested
• Serbia will be the surprise team of the tournament. I have them finishing second in their group and making it to the Quarterfinals where Nigeria lay in wait.
• A huge influx of foreign talent will enter MLS after the Cup. It's inevitable.
• New Zealand will not score a goal.
• The Dutch will win the Cup. Call it a hunch. They always have the talent and yet underwhelm every Cup. I think this year it all clicks and just like underachieving Spain at Euro 2008, the Dutch will reign.
• South Africa beats Mexico, but El Tris rebound to win the group with wins against Uruguay and France. Uruguay advances along with Mexico in a tightly contested group.
  

World Cup 2010 begins tomorrow...

...those are words I have been waiting to say for 4 years. I am very very excited and planned to share with you what I think makes the World Cup so special. You see, my belief is that while the quality of soccer is better in the Champions League, the World Cup remains the best tournament in the world for reasons other than soccer. I'm not sure how much strength this opinion holds, to I decided to get some additional insight from the four most knowledgable soccer fans that I know, here after known as my soccer gurus. I asekd them two questions: First, who would win a match between Chelsea and Brazil and second, where is the better soccer played - Champions League or World Cup?

Comments from three of the guru's came in and they were quality. I began planning how I would use their comments to strengthen my argument and write an eloquent post. I think it was going to be good. But then I got some comments from the last guru, Mike, that went well beyond anything I could have asked for. So instead of me stumbling over words trying to explain this all, I am going to let you read his comments instead...


Question 1: Chelsea/Man Utd/Barca V Brazil

I’m not sure about this, the problem is that it is very hard to gauge the form of international teams considering they play so few games a year. Also club form tends to be streaky, if you had asked me the same question the weekend when Chelsea were rubbish against Bolton I would say no way, but the weekend that they hammered 7 past Stoke, a different animal entirely. I guess the answer is, whoever played better on the day. Brazil are a world class team, Chelsea too (as is Man Utd, Barca, Inter) with world class players.

Question 2: Better soccer played

This is a more interesting question for me. It’s not a new debate and several managers of top European teams would contend that the Champions League is the pinnacle of professional football, where the top players play each other every year for the richest prize in football. From a fan’s perspective there are 2 ways of looking at this:

1. The Champions League has the best players in the world who play the highest standard of professional football. Some world class players (like Ryan Giggs, Liam Brady, Ian Rush, George Best, Alfredo di Stefano, Mark Hughes, Hasan Salihamidzic, Fredi Kanoute) have never had the chance to play on the great stage as they played for countries which struggled to qualify or would never have a chance of qualifying. Professional clubs sign the best players available to them and the UEFA Champions League is the pinnacle of professional football at the moment, so obviously the best players and therefore the best football is played in that competition every year. Also the standard of players at the World Cup varies wildly (especially in the first round), could one name the New Zealand team’s stars? Or North Korea, Saudia Arabia, Algeria, Slovenia, Slovakia, Honduras, Chile and some other nations? There will always be the debate as to whether the best teams are all at the World Cup finals given how tough some confederations are to qualify from (Europe and Africa are good examples). The best teams are in the Champions League season after season.

2. The World Cup has the history and passion of no other football tournament on this planet. It is the biggest sporting event on the planet. There is a long history of the Football World Cup, it is only held every 4 years and takes up to 2 years to qualify for, it has the single biggest television audience for any sporting event on the planet. The number of people watching the final of the World Cup outnumbers the Super Bowl by a ratio of 9:1. The honor of representing your nation in the World Cup is incomparable to professional club teams, for example when Inter won the Champions League, there were 10s of thousands of people celebrating in Milan, when Italy won the World Cup in ’06, there were 10s of millions celebrating around the entire country. I remember Ireland participating in the World Cup for the first time in 1990 (where we made it to the quarter finals to narrowly lose to host country Italy), I can still remember vividly the penalty shoot-out against Romania in the second round, where it went to sudden death kicks, Daniel Timofte stood up for Romania against Packie Bonner (Celtic keeper), Bonner made an incredible save which left David O’Leary with the potentially game winning kick. George Hamilton, the RTE commentator (Irish TV) called the game; “This kick can decide it all…. A nation holds its breath……. YES! We’re there!!!!!”. An entire country went completely nuts over a single kick of a leather ball, you don’t get that level of camaraderie with club teams where everybody is united in the same joy and exaltation. It doesn’t matter where you are from, you are all behind your country making an impact on the biggest sporting stage the world knows about. I still get the hair standing on the back of my neck remembering that day (and the day when Ireland beat Italy in USA ’94), the people dancing in the streets, cars driving by blaring with flags everywhere. Club competition is great, but nothing beats the thrill of your nation exceeding.

So there you have it, purists for the game might talk about the standards of play, the excellence of teams on a consistent basis, the number of world class players not always seen at the World Cup, the money involved etc as reason why the Champions League is the top footballing competition. The passionate fans of the game will talk of the history of the finals, the national fervor of support, the size and scale of the competition, the stars that it produces and the fact that they are playing for their people, not a paycheck (although in recent years money is an issue). I guess a good way of figuring out what side of the fence you sit on is to take your favorite club side who you sweat for every year, and weigh up whether you would give up them winning a championship for 4 years over your country winning a world cup final (or even just appearing at the tournament!). I know Ireland always comes first for me, to hear “Amhrann na bhfiann” played before a game and seeing all the green and orange tricolors around a stadium will always be more important than the Red Devils, despite how much I love them!

The Future is Bright...

...well, at least the post game press conferences should be. ESPN is reporting that the Nets have come to an agreement with Avery Johnson to be their next coach. I won't lie - I don't know why Johnson was run out of Dallas, but I do know he had a crap-ton of coaches while he was there and I do know that I will enjoy listening to him talk.

Some may get annoyed by that voice (hell, I might by game #65), but it's fun to mock. And with a team coming off a 12-70 season (with apparently no chance of landing LeBron), we will need something to keep us coming back. Enter Avery Johnson. Great stuff, now hopefully it will work on the court.

It should be noted that Avery coached Devin Harris during his days in Dallas and was said to be really close with the PG prior to the Jason Kidd trade. Some rumors was leaked that Harris felt betrayed by Johnson after the trade even though Devin has publicly said he has no hard feelings. I'm hoping this is past them and they can work well together. We need 2008-09 Harris back at full strength.

Phenomenal

Well, there you have it. All the hype was justified. In his major league debut, Stephen Strasburg went 7 innings, giving up 2 runs, walking none and striking out 14 on 103 pitches. Thanks to the MLB Network I was able to watch the 5th and 6th innings live and it was amazing. It was so amazing that C-buns texted me a very uncharacteristic 'OMG'. I have seen the future and his name is Strasburg. I am all-in on the hype.

Here's the only thing that bothers me - Strasburg threw close to a 100 pitches in his debut. I mean, wasn't he supposed to be on a pitch count? I'm afraid that what is going to happen is that Strasburg is going to be so amazing that fans and the media are going to want too much of him; that the Nats will have no choice but to trot him out more than planned. For a pitcher his age, he should probably be only throwing 100-125 innings a year. He is going to be there real quickly if Washington keeps him in for 7 innings a game.

His debut brings me back to the great Kerry Wood's debut season in 1997. I was all-in on Wood and he did not disappoint. Anyone who remembers the 20k performance against Houston knows how amazing he was. Unfortunately, his arm gave way and he was never the same. Costas and his broadcast partner couldn't resist discussing the similarities between Strasburg and Wood. After all, not only were they both hard throwing phenoms, they were both managed by Jim Riggelman (crazy). Anyways, they noted that with Wood, it wasn't that he was overworked, but rather that his motion was not good from the start. Unlike Wood, Strasburg has a windup that will not be prone to injury. I'll take their word for it and continue to be on the hype machine.

Besides the big debut, I have a a few other comments about the night in sports:

• Great win by the Lakers. I only was able to watch the last 4 minutes of the game, but Boston could not stop LA on offense. Every position seemed to result in a bucket. And wow, what was up with Ray Allen? 0-13 from the field and 0-8 from 3-point range. I was watching SportsNation last night and Michelle asked Colin if the Celtics had anything to worry about going home for 3 games with the series tied. To his credit, Colin said they should be worried - Allen had 32 points, Rondo had a triple double, Bryant only had 21 points and yet it was a one point game as late as 2 minutes left in the game. Gotta hand it to him, he was right.
• The National League is going to be dangerous in the All-Star game because of their amazing pitching. Think about this for the first 7 innings: Ubaldo Jimenez (11-1, 0.93 ERA), Adam Wainright (8-3, 2.05), Tim Lincecum (5-2, 3.20), Roy Halladay (8-3, 2.03) and Mike Pelfrey (8-1, 2.23). Filthy
  
• Another great performance by Pelf - 9 innings of 1 run ball only to get a ND as the Mets could not muster more than 1 run for him.
• Finally, I'm sitting here watching Al Leiter on MLB TV and he is great. I always remember him being such an animated guy in the dugout. He is the perfect guy for TV.
  

Basketball Violence

Soccer gets a bad rap in the United states. Low scores. Diving. Fan violence.

I would like to point out the following video.

Fan violence is not just a problem in soccer, but of course no one will talk about this in the wake of the recent stampede in South Africa.

The Phenom has Arrived

I am not a Nationals fan. In fact I support a team in their division. But that won't stop me from being excited about Stephen Strasburg's major league debut. I don't think there has been an athlete who has been as hyped as Strasburg since LeBron; baseball hasn't had someone billed as a phenom since Mark Prior.

So will Strasburg be the next LBJ and be the best player on the planet or will he be the next Prior and be out of baseball by the age of 26? Talk to any scout and they will say he's the real thing; the best pitching prospect they have ever seen. So far he has plowed through the minors : 7-2, 1.80 ERA, 65k in 55 1/3 IP and a 0.80 WHIP. Will he dominate the majors?

I don't know, but I sure as hell hope so. Baseball needs a shot in the arm and this could be it. Get ready, folks.

Email forum: Mets Projections

Every once in awhile I will post some of the email discussion that I have with my BU boys in this blog. Today's topic is projected stats for the Mets based on the first third of the season...

Yo guys-
As you know, I like to do this every once in a while. The Mets have now played 57 games...here is what they are on pace for:

-85 wins
-reyes: 91runs, 40sb, 28 doub, 11 trip
-bay: 96runs, 40 doub, 11 trip, 9 hr, 68 rbi, 156 k, 22 sb
-davis: 77runs, 31 doub, 17 hr, 51 rbi
-wright: 82runs, 37 doub, 28 hr, 110 rbi, 99 walks, 196 k, 28 sb
-pagan: 91runs, 28 sb, 11 hr, 71 rbi,
-barajas: 71runs, 28 doub, 31 hr,. 85 rbi
-frenchy: 77runs, 28 doub, 17 hr, 94 rbi, 17 sb

-pelfrey: 23-3, 151 k
-johan: 11-6, 162 k

ok, so now look at these numbers. Ignoring batting average and strikeouts (for Wright at least), I would have to say that I would be happy with Wright's, Frenchy's, Barajass and Pagan's stats - they are all that we could hope for. Ikes stats don't jump out, but considering our other options and that he is a flat out rookie, you have to be ok with those too. Bays power numbers are not good, but he is on pace for 190 hits..

Obviously Pelf won't win 23 games, but his pace is impressive

Also, coming into the season, would you be ok if I told you the Mets would go 85-77?

[Stollercoaster] No, I would not be happy with 85 wins coming into the season. The expectation should be to make the playoffs and that won't do it. With the guys they have they should be expected to win over 90 and make the playoffs. They need to win a series on the road and build from there.



[C-buns] I like your analysis. Here is mine, in terms of expectations:

Offense:
Overall, I am most happy with Barajas/Blanco and Pagan. They have exceeded expectations. Everyone else is either meeting expectations (Wright, Bay, Davis, Frenchy, the bench) or not meeting expectations (Reyes, Castillo). So based on 2 positions exceeded, 5 meeting, and 2 failing, the offense as a whole is Meeting Expectations.

Pitching:
Overall, I am most happy with Santana, Pelfrey, Dickey, and Feliciano. They have exceeded expectations. Meeting my expectations are Neise, Takahashi, Mejia, Krod (Let's stop calling him "K-Rod" because he's not), Nieve, and Valdez. Failing expectations are Maine and Perez. I'm giving incompletes to Igarashi, Acosta, and Dessens, because they simply don't have enough IP to make a judgement at this point. So the pitching as a whole is exceeding my expectations.

Overall:
The team is slightly exceeding expectations. On opening day, I was expecting approximately a .500 team through the first couple of months, considering the very difficult May schedule, Beltran's injury, and not knowing when Reyes would return.

Future expectations:
I think they can win 88 games this year. In other words, I think they can win a higher % of games than they already have. Why? Because I think getting Beltran will be a boost. And I think they will be buyers of a starting pitcher at the trade deadline. I think Reyes picks things up. But I think Barajas slows down a bit. Those 2 basically cancel each other out offensively. So I think the offense performs like it has been. I think Pelfrey slows down a bit. But I think the addition of another starting pitcher keeps the rotation strong, with Takahashi resuming his role as long man in the pen. And my biggest concern in Mr. Krod. He is this team's version of John Franco, which means we will be on the edge of our seats every time he comes in, we'll sneak out of most games with a win. And there will be some big blown saves that makes us dislike the guy because of his overconfidence and selfishness.

Instant (Over)Reaction: New England

As far as Sounders games go, last night was as close to perfect as I could ask for. Packed House. Amazing weather. Goals galore. And of course, a win.

Now, I'm not going to allow myself to overreact because the fact remains that we are the same team this week as we were last week. We are 4-5-3 and in second to last place in the Western Conference. Even with all the talent and the feel good win last night, we are still not a great team. I'm not saying we won't make the playoffs or that we won't win any hardware, but we have a ways to go before we are there.

With that being said, here are some comments about the game.

• The weather was beautiful which in itself is a reason for Seattlites to go crazy. Add in the early goals. Check that, the beautiful goals and Qwest was apeshit last night.
• Leo's goal was a thing of beauty. We had the perfect view from behind as he struck it. It was one of those moments when the entire stadium is silent in anticipation of what is about to happen. Then when it hit the back of the net, pure ecstasy
• Had to feel bad for Revs rookie keeper Bobby Shuttleworth. Apparently playing at the Univ of Buffalo is nothing like playing in front of 36k. He seemed rattled all night
• Zakuani's goal was another thing of beauty. He attempted a volley minutes earlier and sailed it over the net. When given another shot, he finished it. He has been the Sounders best player all year long.
• Ljungberg looked great last night and I think I am starting to appreciate him more. Sure, he is infuriating when he consistently tries to beat players in corner, but the stuff he does in the middle of the field is beautiful. He is the most fouled guy in the league and I finally see why - it's because he tries crap (like splitting two defenders after receiving a pass and spinning on a dime) that no one else in the league would. He had a great game last night and seemed to be happy for the first time in a long time (amazing what winning does for a team)
• My buddies commented all night about how many headers Brad Evans was winning. Bottom line: He was a beast and should be playing Center Mid every game.
  
• To me, the MVP of the game last night was Pat Ianni. Sure, Leo, Zak and Montero provided the goals, but Ianni was quietly great. New England has only one player - Shalrie Joseph - and last year we let him beat us. This year, he was a non-factor all night. The game would have been a lot different had Joseph been allowed to get into a rhythm.
• It was absolutely great to see Taylor Graham get some minutes last night. He has been on the team for two years now and amazingly this is his first MLS action due to some reoccuring injuries. I think the writing is on the wall for he, Zach Scott and Roger Levesque, so it's good to see them getting some minutes.
  

Big game on Thursday night against DC. If we can get a full three points and go into the WC break at 5-5-3, I think we are in good position to make a run in the second half of the season.

To Trade or Not to Trade

The Mets are 28-27 and sit 4.5 games out of first place. While madly inconsistent, they have given fans many reasons to hope, as seen with their early season 9 game winning streak early and with taking 5 of 6 against the Yanks and Phils.

There are a lot of IF's right now...IF Wright and Reyes can regain their form. IF Carlos Beltran can come back from injury. IF Jason bay can rediscover his power stroke. IF Ike Davis really is the savior. IF John Maine can get back to throwing strikes.

If these were to all occur, we would be playoff contenders. If they don't occur we are still good enough to hover around the .500 mark all season. And this is where things get dangerous. If we remain 5-7 games out of first come July, will the front office feel the need to make a trade?

Right now, we have the ridiculous 1-2 punch of Pelfrey-Santana while RA Dickey has become a solid #3/4 guy. After that, what do we have? There's Hisanori Takahashi who looks capable of being a end of the rotation guy, but a guy I would rather have in the bullpen. Then there's Jon Niese and John Maine who are both on the IR. While Niese has a nice future ahead of him, he shouldn't be counted on as the #3 or #4 guy right now. So here's the question...

There are a lot of starting pitchers who might get traded before the deadline. Do you support the Mets trading for Roy Oswalt, Clif Lee, Kevin Millwood or Jake Westbrook? Obviously Oswalt and Lee will cost an arm and a leg. But Millwood or Westbrook can be had for less. Are they better than what we have already?

What do you think?

Gotta Love the AFL

Here is my favorite story of the day: AFL star retires to take a job with Ankeny Police Department.

This is the charm of the Arena Football League (and all other fringe leagues). The players are not stars. They don't get paid much. They play for the love of the game. Most have second jobs and when faced with the decision to take a different career path, they have to think long and hard.

Tim Dodge was not just a fringe AFL player. He was a 7 year veteran who was the 2004 Ironman of the Year and had over 125 touchdowns.

You would NEVER see this headline with an NFL star.

Time for replay

I had had plenty of the Jim Joyce situation. i really had. And then my dad came over last night and decided he needed to bring it up. He really dislikes Joyce and called him a "bum with that terrible thing on his face." In trying to get to the root of his dislike, I honestly don't think it's that he blew the call, but rather that he mixed up Joyce with Tigers manager Jim Leyland . Apparently he saw a quote somewhere that bleeped out words and is saying that it was Joyce who said it. Now, I don't know but swearing is not something that I feel Joyce would have done after the game. Anyways, I get the feeling that my dad isn't the only one who feels that way towards Joyce. I may be one of the only Americans who doesn't want to hunt Joyce down. That being said, I think the Tigers handled the situation perfectly today when Leyland sent Galarraga out to hand in the scorecard to Joyce who was behind the plate. Very classy.

Anyways, that tangent aside, I think it's time we discuss instant replay. All across radio waves sports fans are calling for instant replay. the logic is simple: the NFL, NBA and NHL have replay, so why not baseball? I think it's a fair question, but want to take a second to review what type of instant replay those sports have.

• The NBA has instant replay for two situations: to judge whether a bucket is worth two or three points and to judge whether a shot is off prior to the game or shot clock expiring. Replay on 3's is up to the officials while replays on clock violations is mandatory for plays at the end of each quarter.
• The NHL has instant replay to determine whether a puck goes over the goal line.
• The NFL has instant replay that covers the largest spectrum of the three sports. Reviewable plays are fumbles, incomplete passes, yard marks and touchdowns (along with a few other that I can't think of right now). Coaches are allowed to challenge rulings on the field by throwing a flag after the play occurred.

The common theme is that replay in these three sports concerns scoring: making the correct call on goals; awarding the proper amount of points; and making sure two feet are in bounds or that the football broke the goaline. Replay is limited and in most cases and does not affect minor calls like offsides, holding or traveling.

If baseball was to be consistent with the other sports, instant replay could be offered on home runs (already is) and plays at the plate. To me, that is all that is appropriate. The thing is, baseball is played by humans and refereed by humans. It is prone to error on both sides - not just by the umpires. Children all around the world grow up playing baseball in their backyard or in the streets. They depend on themselves to make the proper calls because there is no such thing as instant replay in the real world. Humans are prone to error, but taking the human element out of the game does not fix it - it makes it become more robotical.

I can handle instant replay on home runs or plays at the plate, but I am 100% against instant replay on balls and strikes. Their is supposed to be a uniform understanding of the strike zone by MLB umpires, but let's face it - each umpire calls the game differently. Some strike zones are wider while others are taller. Talk to any hitter and they will agree that as long as the umpire is consistent on that day, they have no problem with different strike zones. It is their responsibility to put the bat on the ball. The umpires responsibility is to call balls and strikes that the batter doesn't hit. Plus, having replay on balls and strikes will only make the games longer. They are brutal to watch as it is - don't make it any worse.

I'll be the first to say that baseball is sometimes too full of itself. You never see anything revolutionary in baseball because baseball thinks its still the national pasttime and that it doesn't need to change. But the fact is that baseball has fallen behind football and soon basketball in the American sports landscape. Moments like this only hurts the perception of the casual fan. How can something like this not be reviewed, they will ask. It's time baseball did something - allow base decisions to be reviewable and allow managers to have maximum 2 challenges a game. It's good for the game and good for the game's image.

BS-Rod

I'm going to come out and state the obvious: Francisco Rodriguez is no where near the pitcher he was with the Angels. Mets fans have known this for a long time. Hell, most of us had that feeling when the Angels let him sign with us in 2009. At the time, we were all freaking out because the bullpen played a huge role in the Mets epic 2008 collapse. Signing K-Rod seemed like an easy call, yet you got the feeling that Anaheim knew something we didn't. At the time, some questioned the move. I'm pretty sure now we all question the move.

I don't need to break out stats, because last night was the perfect example. Another gem by Johan. Mets up 1-0 with K-Rod coming in. Tony Gwynn Jr with a leadoff single followed by a stolen base. With two outs, David Eckstein drives in Gwynn to tie the game at 1. The Mets should have then lost the game when Adrian Gonzalez hit what looked to be the game winning double, only to be bailed out by a great relay throw. The game should have never gone to the 11th. Adrian Gonzalez should have never had the bases loaded, 1 out opportunity.

Ok, so I will get into the stats: in one and a third years with the Mets he has 10 blown saves, a 3.27 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. In little over 7 years with the Angels, he had 33 blown saves, a 2.35 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. The number don't lie. Your eyes don't lie. K-Rod could quickly become a problem if the Mets somehow climb into contention.

Not So Perfect Ending

Last night, Armando Galarraga of the Detroit Tigers was one out from the 21st perfect game in MLB history (and the third this year). A simple ground ball to first, the toss over from miguel Cabrera to Galarraga and game over. Perfection. Oh wait, not so fast. The runner is called safe at first base and the perfect game and no-no are broken up.

It's a play that will remain with first base umpire Jim Joyce forever. He botched an easy call in a "big" situation. After the game, Joyce was really remorseful, saying "I just cost that kid a perfect game....It was the biggest call of my career. I don't blame them a bit or anything that was said." He went into the locker room and apologized to both Galarraga and Tigers manager Jim Leyland.

It's obviously a sucky situation, but here's my take on it. First, while owning up to the mistake won't change anything in the record books, it's the right thing to do. So often do we hear athletes, managers and umpires making excuses for themselves. Joyce admitted he blew the call. He thought it was right at the time, but then realized it wasn't. Second, I think the baseball world needs to calm down just a bit. I get it - perfect games and no-hitters are big deals (as can be seen by all the unwritten rules that surround them). Galarraga would have had his name in the record book and we would have forgotten about it within a year or two. I consider myself more informed than most when it comes to baseball history, but I can't name the last pitcher before Dallas Braden, Roy Halladay and Mark Buerhle to throw a perfect game (each was within the past year). I'll tell you what I can remember though - World Series champions. And that's the thing. Sure, it would have been a nice baseball moment for Galarraga to throw a perfect game. But it is no where as important as winning the World Series. Had Joyce botched this call in the World Series, then it's a BIG deal. But in regular season game #52, it's not that big of a deal. So everyone needs to get over it and move on. Galarraga is not a victim - he is a pitcher who just threw a 88 pitch complete game shutout. Detroit won.

Search For My AFL Team, Part 2

In my previous post about finding a new AFL team to support, I eliminated 7 teams on the basis that they were in the league during the heyday of my Red Dogs. Eight teams remain vying for the prize of becoming "my AFL team." I have given a lot of thought on what the next criterion should be and it always came back to the same thing - I can't support a team whose name and logo are a joke. Choosing a team because their logo is cool may not be the best criterion, but I certainly don't want my friends mocking me for my choice of a team (having this silly blog and pretending that readers care about my selecting of an AFL team is reason enough). So with this in place, let's take a quick run through the teams and decide if they survive for another week.

Alabama Vipers - This is one of my favorites. The Vipers name gives the vibe of "don't eff with us" and allows for a natrual rival with the Arizona Rattlers. The color scheme is solid and crips. Decision: Keep

Bossier/Shreveport Battlewings-I once supported the NY/NJ Knights of the World League of American Football as well as the NY/NJ MetroStars of MLS. I hated the hyphenated name, but dealt with it since they were actually recognizing NJ as part of it. No team in any sports should be subject to this. There is no way I support a team from Bossier/Shreveport. (Luckily my decision has been made before even getting to their stupid name.) Decision: Dump

Jacksonville Sharks - Sharks are the king of the ocean and the biggest predator to man (probably not, but sounds cool). In other words, a perfect football name. They also have a great color scheme that is tough to mess up. The only negative is that they have the same name as the team in Any Given Sunday. Decision: Keep

Milwaukee Iron- A big negative is the resemblance to the late 90s Detroit Pistons logo. However, as my buddy D-Lib noted, "It's a blue-collar sounding name. And Milwaukee is a blue collar town, so it fits". I tend to agree. And while the style of play in the AFL is too cute for Woody Hayes or Bo Schembechler, the guys doing the work in the trenches still determine the game. Decision: Keep

Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz - At first glance this appeared to be a perfect fit because of how close it was to the Red Dogs. However, the 'z' on the end of the name combined with the hokey looking logo makes it a name that no one can take seriously. Decision: Dump (I couldn't do that to my Sonics' friends)

Spokane Shock-A little history lesson - the Shock were named after a 1960's Continental Football League team named the Shockers. I like the historical element, but lets face it, the Shockers would have been the 2:1 favorite favorite had they gone with it. Unfortunately they shortened and gave the franchise the same name as a WNBA franchise. Decision: Dump (sorry, not even the local element helps)

Tulsa Talons-This is definitely the most ambivalent of all the names. Its a bit too cutesie for my taste and the team is from Tulsa. combined those two make me just want to yawn. Decision: Dump

Utah Blaze - There are two reason why I'm not entirely sold on the name as a whole. First of all, what does a Blaze have to do with Utah? Second, the name just doesn't roll of your tongue smoothly. All that being said, it does reminds me of the old Birmingham Fire which happened to be my favorite World League of American Football team (yep, too WLAF references in one posting. Beat that, Simmons). That is a major plus. Decision: Keep

So there you have it. I eliminated four more teams this week. That means that I will be throwing my support behind either the Alabame Vipers, Milwaukee Iron, Jacksonville Sharks or Utah Blaze.

I know this is riveting, so stay tuned...

Weekend in Review

Three day weekends are great. Even with family obligations taking up two days, you still have an additional bonus day where you can do what you want to. For me, that meant working outside. Unfortunately for all my readers, that meant no blog posts. So here are my quick takes on the weekend that was:

• The Mets remain the most inconsistent team in the majors. Win 5 of 6 against the Yanks and Phils. Then lose 2 of 3 from Milwaukee and give up 18 runs at San Diego last night. On of the two losses to the BrewCrew was a 8 inning gem from Johan where the bullpen gave up a walk-off home run. In 34 career games with the Mets where Johan has gone at least 7 innings and given up 2 or fewer ER, his record is 19-5 with 10 no decisions. 10 no decisions and 5 losses. Crazy.
• I would love to be a fly on the wall at the NBA Free Agent Summit. Seriously, LeBron, D-Wade, Joe Johnson, Amare and Chris Bosh in one place talking about their future. It is crazy to think about. Two of them will probably play together and make their new team contenders. How will the other three respond knowing that the only way to play together will be to take less money or to execute a sign and trade? They say they're all friends, but I have to imagine that it's going to be an intense conversation.
  
• My early predictions for where the 6 prize FA's end up? LeBron, Dirk and D-Wade stay put. Chris Bosh doesn't go to the Lakers as reported and instead goes to CLE with LeBron. Amare and Joe Johnson sign with the Knicks. Originally I thought Amare goes to the Nets, but Russian mark Cuban has me believing that he won't just spend money to spend money. he seems pretty smart and some reports are saying he will wait for 'Melo in 2011.
• I am loving the Blackhawks right now. Please close out the Flyers. Please. I can't handle another Philly team being champion

• The Sounders put in another dreadful performance over the weekend. I am still fuming over the non-call on Conor Casay, but the bottom line is we played poorly again. I wonder what is going on in the locker room. It has to be something because this is a really talented group who should not be losing to Colorado.
• I am getting to the point where I'm ready for something new with this team. I want everyone to know I am in no way jumping off the bandwagon, but I think its time for both Montero and Ljungberg to go. I'm also getting tired of Tyrone. Let's see something new.
  
• Everyone is saying we'll be fine once N'kufo shows up, but that is a lot of pressure to put on one player - regardless of how decorated he is.

• Steven Strabsurg's debut is a week away. Count me as excited.
• Somehow Bucknell missed out being the 64 seed in the NCAA baseball tournament even with a 25-33 record. They get to play South Carolina in the first game. From what I can tell they are equivalent to a #12 seed (baseball only seeds the top 8 but USC is hosting the regional). Good luck boys.
• I didn't get to see Ubaldo Jimenez vs Tim Lincecum but am giddy with anticipation for the next go around. Two best pitchers in baseball period.
• Another soft first half from the USA in their warm-up against Turkey. I'm not overly concerned. The most important thing is for the team to be ready on June 12, not May 30 and I have faith in Bradley to have the guys properly prepared for their games against England, Algeria and Slovenia. Being at home against Turkey doesn't quite have the same motivating factor as being in South Africa, where they had so much success last year, against the favored English.