Fall Updates 2

I just wanted to mention a few things that were left out of yesterday's post. First off, as uninformed as I may be about the financial elements of this, I think that there should be no conferences in college football. There, I said it. Look at this year's BCS for example. So far, despite great showings by Texas, Florida and Alabama have earned their spots at the top of the leader board. Then they're going to play each other in the SEC Championship Game? There is a very good chance that neither team will lose before that game, so while Texas probably takes the field against an un-ranked team, number 1 will play number 2 in a non-championship game situation. It seems wrong that either Florida or Alabama probably won't be given they're rightful chance at the National Championship because they play in the SEC. Also, not having conferences would give teams like TCU and Boise State no excuse for their cupcake schedules and offer more interesting matchups because teams would have free scheduling in all 12 weeks.

Second, a quick side note to applaud Mark McGwire for coming out of his self-imposed hermitism to become the Cardinals hitting coach after Hal McRae was fired. Next, I have heard to many people, average joes or analysts, say that Jimmy Clausen is less deserving of the Heisman because of his last 2 seasons. Compare the stats. Brady Quinn, now with the Cleveland Browns, is regarded as one of the best quarterbacks to run out of the tunnel at Notre Dame Stadium and is the best on paper. Jimmy Clausen's Notre Dame career numbers look eerily similar. Jimmy Clausen just out played Quinn in almost every category in his freshman and sophomore seasons. But don't get me wrong, their numbers in these first 2 seasons are horrible, but similar. Now, similar to Quinn, Clausen has taken off. He has 18 touchdown passes and only 2 interceptions in Notre Dame's first 8 games in which they have gone 6-2 including a upset thriller (Michigan State over ND in 2006, and Michigan over ND in 2009) and a last-second loss to USC. Clausen and Quinn are almost identical and, if anything, Clausen is better. Of the quarterbacks currently in college football I think he will be the most successful in the NFL. Jimmy Clausen is on pace to break almost all the Notre Dame passing records, most of which are currently held by Quinn, and he deserves respect for it.

Also, I am behind the Phillies all the way in their quest for a comeback in the World Series, but folks, it ain't gonna happen. I think the Phils win a close won tonight and then their relief pitching gives the series away in Game 7. Lastly, kudos to the Double-A Harrisburg Senators as they bounced back from a 2-14 start to finish 70-72, only 19 games behind the division winner. But most importantly, they didn't come in last!!!!

Fall Updates

Sorry about not having any blog action for so long. But here I am now and lets get down to business. Five games of the World Series are in the books and the Yankees are up 3-2. My pick of the Mets to go all the way did not pay off at all. They didn't even choke this year, there were no major injuries or losses, they just couldn't put it together and all of the sudden they're out of the picture. Anyway, the Phillies lineup must have a rule that they can't all get hot at the same time. Jayson Werth and Chase Utley can boast seven postseason homers, Utley having tied Reggie Jackson, Mr. October himself, for the most homers in a single World Series with five. Meanwhile, Ryan Howard also got his name in the broadcast last night during Game 5 when he tied the record for most strikeouts in a World Series. Personally, I think the Phillies should find a good offer and ship Howard out of Philadelphia. Last year he hit plenty of home runs but, as usual, struck out over 200 times. Is one home run really worth over four strikeouts?

Anyway, on to football. Firstly, I would like to applaud Steve Spagnulo for his first victory as the head coach of an NFL team as the 0-7, now 1-7, Rams squeaked out a close one over the 1-6, now 1-7, Detroit Lions, 17-10. But frankly, I was hoping the Rams would keep losing. I mean, if they had lost the remainder of this season's games along with next year's home opener they would set an NFL record for the longest losing streak of all time, surpassing the old, expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, orange jerseys and all. Really, what's the point of being this bad for this long if you don't have something to show for it? As bad as that sounds, I would have felt satisfied in a strange sort of way to know that the world recognized the current St. Louis Rams as one of the worst NFL teams in history, which they are. I am attending the game two Sunday's from now on the 15th in which they will be featured against the New Orleans Saints in what I am sure will amount to be no more than an exhibition by the second half. In my mind the NFL season is still very much up for grabs. Although there are still two undefeated teams neither of them shows the brilliant domination of the 2007 Patriots team that fell short in the Super Bowl. Also, as a Packers fan, the Minnesota Vikings just make me sick. After being thoroughly pounded by the Vikes this past Sunday I must say I was quite embarrased. If this somehow gets to the unwelcome eyes of Brett Favre, I would like him to know just how truly disapointed and sad I am to see him wearing the purple and white. I wonder if he listened to the story on "The Dan Patrick Show" after that heartbreaking 2007 conference championship OT loss to the Giants. The interviewee was a kid from Wisconsin who had worn the same Brett Favre jersey everyday for over 2 years! But he threw out all his Brett Favre stuff after he left the Pack. I would like to know how that makes him feel. If you're out there, Brett: I'd like you to know just how disapointed I am in you.

Brett Favre

Now, I an a huge Packers fan so I am surprised at my reaction, but, have we not heard ENOUGH about Brett Favre?? It's unbelievable. For a few days we thought it was over, he was ACTUALLY retired. But, of course, that would be to easy. Then it comes back, stronger than ever, guaranteeing the Vikings have the 3-time MVP in their pocket. Now I haven't heard anything for the last few days! What is the deal with this guy? He needs to decide and just stick with it. Personally, I think that Aaron Rodgers can wait another year and I would love to see his number 4 back in the Packers green and yellow. But that's just my attachment to him and the Packers. He is the face of the Pack and it's just not the same team without him. Maybe the Packers should chase him just to make sure that the Vikings don't come up with him. If he goes to the Vikings, I will find another team to root for this year.

Baseball Notes

Firstly, the Blue Jays have the 2nd best record in baseball? 3 games over 2nd place Boston in the AL East? All of the sudden they're outplaying everybody in the American League. But I stick by my pick at the beginning of the season: Yankees will win it.

Next, Jacoby Ellsbury in the Yankees-Red Sox series at Fenway: a straight steal of home! The first Red Sock to do so in more than a decade.
Also, folks, the Cardinals are for real. The 3rd best record in baseball, Albert Pujols is on fire, Kyle Lohse is 3-0 with a 1.94 ERA going into tonight's start at home against the Phillies. He's at the back end of the rotation. They are doing this without Chris Carpenter and currently lead the major leagues in errors. They're errors will go down and Carpenter will return to strengthen them further. Ankiel, Molina, and Ludwick are slumping as well, wow! Prediction: Albert Pujols will hit at least 60 this year, maybe even make a run at Bonds' 73.
Lastly, Scott Podsednik, one of the most exciting players in baseball back in 2005 when he had over 70 steals and 20 bunts-for-hits, is back with the White Sox! However, he has gone 0-8 in his last 2 games, both losses by the White Sox to the Rangers.

Harrisburg Senators

This is a short article for all the boyz back in PA. What is happening to our Senators? They finally looked like they could snap out of their decade-long funk last season when they had a mediocre year. Now they're back to the laughing stock of the league. They have started this season 2-13 and have now lost 9 in a row. Tonight (Tuesday, April 28th) they face Eastern League leaders the Akron Aeros at 13-4. The Senators are already dropping back into familiar ground for the few remaining fans they have left in Harrisburg. Oh, well, I just wish that I was still in good old Harrisburg and could find the time to cheer on my Senators, but this must be fate at work here when your somehow this bad for this long. We better not mess with it.

NFL Draft

Not much to say here as the Draft went pretty much inside the outlined predictions. Stafford went first, but that was obvious. I was a bit surprised with the Tyson Jackson pick at #3 and then I was disappointed that the Seahawks did not take my hopefully predicted risk of Chris "Beanie" Wells with the 4th pick, instead taking the safe bet with Aaron Curry. Jets made a good move in trading up to get Sanchez, the Jets must look to the future after they overpaid Brett Favre and got a bust and a drop in team chemistry for their trouble. I think the Bengals took a smart risk in taking Andre Smith at #6 after Jason Smith was off the board. Then.....what the f***! Heyward-Bey at number 7! We know that Al Davis loves speed but passing up Crabtree and Maclin? I am shocked that anyone would have Heyward-Bey above both Crabtree and Maclin. But, hey, it worked out for them, too. I'm also surprised that the Packers went with B.J. Raji over both Maclin and Crabtree as well. With Donald Driver aging, it would have been a much better move to take Crabtree. I was then a little interested that the Broncos went with Knowshon Moreno at #12 but overall, a solid pick. A solid move by the Packers to trade up and take Clay Matthews. Hakeem Nicks is a good stab by the Giants at #29 and Chris Wells is a good pick by the Cardinals. Personally, I'm glad that the Colts took Donald Brown out from under Arizona because Wells is the better fit and the better back. Moving to the 2nd round, James Laurinaitis is a strong pick at #35 overall but they picked him over Rey Maualuga? I don't know....?? Fast forward to number 53 and the Eagles with one of the biggest steals of the Draft. Some people would favor a pick of Shonn Greene or Javon Ringer in this situation but LeSean McCoy is an outstanding and incredibly underrated runner from Pitt. I applaud Philly for this selection. Now the Jets, at the first pick of the 3rd round, 65th overall, make a great move in selecting Shonn Greene from Iowa, great pick! The Jets had only three picks in the draft, after the huge trade to get to #5 and take Mark Sanchez, but may get my nod for the most productive draft of all. Now to pick #114, in the fourth round, as the Broncos compound a good draft by filling a need at safety that has been a gaping hole since the departure of John Lynch by selecting David Bruton, free safety from Notre Dame. Now, I am a HUGE Notre Dame fan and I watch all their games, so I have seen enough to tell you that this kid is a quality player. He can cover well and is an outstanding open field tackler. Notre Dame turns out great safetys such as Tom Zbikowski (Ravens) and Chinedum Endukwa (Bengals). Bruton is no exception, and upon the graduation of Kyle McCarthy next season we could see another. Lastly, Mr. Irrelevant is Ryan Succop, placekicker from South Carolina to the Chiefs.

Baseball's Fans

Baseball is America's Pastime......right? I was at the Cardinals - Mets game on Wednesday night and the Cards rolled to a 5-2 victory. It was a rather uneventful game with no home runs or that many big plays. The Cardinals pitchers did not even strike out a Met hitter the entire game! But what struck me was, of the 15 to 20,000 that attended the game, the crowd seemed so lifeless. There was scattered applause for an RBI triple by 3B Joe Thurston but not the usual eruption you would expect from a crowd in such a heavily baseball town as St. Louis. The only hints of that type of a crowd reaction was when Albert Pujols hit two different fly balls in almost the same spot, on the warning track in left field, in the 1st and 6th innings. Does it have to be Pujols? Does it have to be a home run? I was dissapointed by the crowd and the performance on the field. All the players seemed to be in slow motion. Pujols was 1-4 with a sac fly and a RBI single. At least he had 2 RBIs, and he added a stolen base after his single. Ankiel was 0-4 with 2 SOs. Ludwick came in to pinch hit in the 7th with the bases loaded and grounded weakly back to the pitcher. The major contributors were the newbies. Rasmus goes 3-4 with a double, Thurston went 2-4 with an RBI triple and added a couple of nice defensive plays, but the only "classic" Cardinal to manage anything at the plate was Yadier Molina with 2 singles! Skip Schumaker was 1-4. The only reason the Cardinals did not lose the game was but for the amazing pitching performance by Joel Piniero. He went 8+ with 6 hits allowed, 0 SOs, and 2 BBs. He gave up 1 run when on the mound in the 2nd and was responsible for a 2nd run that crossed the plate in the 9th. He was the only impressive player on the Cardinals last night. What is happening to America's Pastime? Is this how it ends? The main story on SportsCenter is the NFL Draft on the night of Opening Day? This is not right.

NFL Draft

Top 10 Picks

1. Detroit - Matt Stafford, QB, Georgia - Detroit needs a franchise QB.

2. St. Louis - Jason Smith, LT, Baylor - St. Louis needs a replacement for Orlando Pace.

3. Kansas City - Aaron Curry, ILB, Wake Forest - Kansas City needs a stronger D.

4. Seattle - Chris Wells, RB, Ohio St. - Seattle needs a playmaker on offense to replace Shawn Alexander.

5. Cleveland - Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech - Cleveland has Edwards in his contract year and Stallworth headed to jail.

6. Cincinnati - Andre Smith, OT, Alabama - Cincy was 30th in sacks allowed last season.

7. Oakland - Jeremy Maclin, WR, Missouri - Oakland needs a top WR for Jamarcus Russell.

8. Jacksonville - Mark Sanchez, QB, USC - Jacksonville also needs a potentially star QB.

9. Green Bay - Malcolm Jenkins, CB, Ohio St. - Green Bay needs to strengthen their secondary as Charles Woodson ages.

10. San Francisco - Tyson Jackson, DE, LSU- San Francisco needs more help for their D.

Baseball Predictions

AL East

Yankees- will ride their money all the way to the playoffs


AL Central

White Sox- are a risky pick but they can win it if they get home runs and starting pitching.


AL West

Angels- will pull away as 3 of their starters return from the DL in mid-May.


NL East

Mets- have too much talent to give away the division in 2009, but the Phillies will make a run.

NL Central

Cubs- will win this division on pure talent, but watch the Brewers and Cards, they'll be close.

NL West

Dodgers- have a very strong offensive lineup and will put up huge numbers, pitching is their key.

NL Wild Card

Brewers- have the taste of October in their mouths and they'll want more.

AL Wild Card

Red Sox- John Smoltz will make a difference in the team mid-season.


World Champ: Mets- will inaugurate Citi with a championship.

The New Era

Well, folks, baseball is underway again but let's look forward to the upcoming college football season. Who are the powers? Who are the sleepers?

Be prepared for USC to not neccasarily run over competition this year as they have yet to determine a definite starter at QB.

Georgia could also struggle after losing Stafford and Moreno to the Draft.

Wisconsin could make a run at a BCS Bowl this year with a number of returning young starters.

Also, Notre Dame could finally pull itself out of the muck it has fallen into in the recent years as there offense looks like a high-power machine this year with junior QB Jimmy Clausen really improving from freshman to sophomore and now things look bright into his junior year. Joining him on the offense is junior WRs Golden Tate, and Duval Kamara, along with sophomore RBs Robert Hughes and Armando Allen. With an entire returning Offensive Line the future looks bright in South Bend.