Nothing quite says summer like the pool. My new apartment complex has a pool-- perfect for reading, relaxing and doing the crossword while avoiding sunburn. Unfortunately there's the occasional Candlestick Parkesque wind... not ideal for reading a newspaper or eating chips. I still have yet to lock down my summer reading... previous winners include The Cloud Atlas, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy, and Founding Brothers.
But nothing interrupts a lazy day other than a surprise resignation-- Jim Riggleman leaving the Nationals after a 38-37 start is somewhat of a surprise; evidently he wasn't pleased with his 2012 option status and threatened to walk if it wasn't resolved. This comes as the team wraps up an 8-1 homestand and is over .500 this deep in the season for the first time in six years. Zimmerman's back... and hitting well. Michael Morse continues to camouflage Jayson Werth's underachieving with a breakout season of his own. And the pitching isn't porous (although they still have their moments). Right now, it's a great time to be a Nationals fan... as for the first time since their arrival-- the upside is here! But then Riggleman bluffs and is called on it and walks off into the sunset. Did he at least wave the victory sign before he boarded the helicopter?
The NBA Draft is front and center this week; most media outlets try to pattern their coverage around the blueprint of the golden goose that is the NFL. Unfortunately, while most pro football fans dabble in following the college game- there's a bigger disconnect with the NBA and NCAA. Plus the European factor-- imagine if the Redskins picked a defensive lineman from Turkey (truth be told you could make the case for the Skins signing a defensive lineman who was a turkey), followed by a cornerback from Italy. And with just two picks for each team and 60 overall selections, the draft is over before you know it. Sixty players doesn't even get you 30% of the way through the NFL draft.
Will the Wizards pick the right player? This is the team that picked Kwame Brown. So things have a way of happening. In a draft as shallow as my swimming pool (3 feet-- NO DIVING) they might get some pieces who can help them win in the future. With the 6th, 18th and 34th selections the perfect world would yield an impact player at 6... a contributor at 18 and a 12th man at 34. Many of the mock drafts (and there are a multitude of them) have the Wizards grabbing a pair of foreign players (Czech forward Jan Vesely and Lithuanian big man Donatas Motiejunas) with your guess in the second round (as things often are). One of the websites has Jordan Williams lasting until the 42nd pick... not ideal for skipping your last year at Maryland, especially with a lockout looming.
If you watched any of the U.S. Open over the weekend, you'd think that Rory McIlroy is going to win the next 25 majors in a row. The Irishman did lap the field and led wire to wire after making Congressional his little playground, but let's allow him to win a few before we jump all over ourselves. Ernie Els won three majors in his 20's... and I thought he'd be good for three more-- but no dice. David Duval hasn't added to his total. McIlroy has been anointed the future, and as the window closes on the generation of Phil/Ernie/Vijay (I would have bet the world Els or Singh would have been the one to get to 4 majors instead of Lefty)... the new breed of golfer that grew up during Tiger's reign is here. And winning.
Whither Tiger Woods? As he recovers from leg injuries, golf's number one lightning rod stands four majors shy of Jack Nicklaus' record. Four years ago as he was winning back to back PGA's after taking consecutive British Opens the year before (he also has repeated at Masters champ and won consecutive PGA's earlier in his career)... I thought he had a true grandslam in the future with a few other wins-giving Tiger eventually 20-21 majors. Now he's got a 10-15 year window to get four... and while I still think he can get there... I thought Tom Watson had 3 majors in him after age 33. Woods' career somewhat parallels Jacks in that each had an early dominant streak (Jack won 7 from 1962-67, Tiger won 8 from 1997-2002) followed by a mid-career peak (Jack took 7 from 1970-75, Tiger took 6 from 2005-08). Nicklaus added four more in his 1978-86 twilight... and you'd think Tiger could do the same if not better- once his knee works.
Last but not least, who plays Anthony Wiener in the TV movie? Keep in mind Alyssa Milano and Drew Barrymore both took shots at Amy Fisher on competing networks. I threw the question out on Facebook and some responded with Adrian Brody-- he seems a little too high-class for a quickie TV movie. Fisher Stevens is an inspired choice... as is Dustin Diamond (he would be on the CW version). Johnathon Schaetch, meanwhile, is still building off his role as Jimmy Mattingly in "That Thing You Do!"... and although I can't recall anything of note he's done since, would be a good fit in the creepy Congressman role. Now to cast his wife, interns and the porn star...
Showing posts with label Nationals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nationals. Show all posts
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Friday, August 27, 2010
The Future is OW...
So much for the summer of optimism. Two franchise faces are in sick bay... what lies in store for the Skins and Nats?
Donovan and out-- a sprained ankle has #5 on the shelf for the Jets preseason game... and likely he won't go out for the ceremonial possession against Arizona, meaning his next live situation will be opening night against Dallas. Not ideal but not an impossible situation. Just as scary is the loss of Kareem Moore for 3 to 6 weeks... the safety looked like he was coming along...and a shaky secondary is the last thing a new 3-4 scheme needs to deal with.
Strasburg on the shelf-- let the record show the Nats did everything they could to prevent the phenom's likely impending Tommy John surgery. If it were legal to dust off the righthander's arm in between pitches they would have... bad arms are just a fact of life in baseball. Ironically Jordan Zimmerman's just come back from TJS the week that Strasburg's troubles percolated. The righthander's rehab lasted roughly 16 months... so one would think Strasburg might be ready by opening day 2010. While this is less than ideal, there are plenty of reasons to have the Nats glass half-full. The signing of Bryce Harper means hopefully there will be another high-level talent in the lineup eventually.
Sixteen going on eighteen-- after 30+ years with the perfect schedule, the NFL is grabbing more cash in the form of two extra regular season games while slicing its preseason to two games. While I'm not a fan of August football... I'm even less enthused with a more bloated regular season slate. Sixteen games is perfect-- just enough to make every game meaningful while giving teams more than enough opportunities to play their way into the postseason.
One benefit of an expanded slate would be the rebirth of interconference local rivalries: make the Redskins and Ravens play every year... and you'll stoke the flames of dislike. Who wouldn't want to see the Jets and Giants bring out the worst of both fan bases (not to mention the Post back page)?
Donovan and out-- a sprained ankle has #5 on the shelf for the Jets preseason game... and likely he won't go out for the ceremonial possession against Arizona, meaning his next live situation will be opening night against Dallas. Not ideal but not an impossible situation. Just as scary is the loss of Kareem Moore for 3 to 6 weeks... the safety looked like he was coming along...and a shaky secondary is the last thing a new 3-4 scheme needs to deal with.
Strasburg on the shelf-- let the record show the Nats did everything they could to prevent the phenom's likely impending Tommy John surgery. If it were legal to dust off the righthander's arm in between pitches they would have... bad arms are just a fact of life in baseball. Ironically Jordan Zimmerman's just come back from TJS the week that Strasburg's troubles percolated. The righthander's rehab lasted roughly 16 months... so one would think Strasburg might be ready by opening day 2010. While this is less than ideal, there are plenty of reasons to have the Nats glass half-full. The signing of Bryce Harper means hopefully there will be another high-level talent in the lineup eventually.
Sixteen going on eighteen-- after 30+ years with the perfect schedule, the NFL is grabbing more cash in the form of two extra regular season games while slicing its preseason to two games. While I'm not a fan of August football... I'm even less enthused with a more bloated regular season slate. Sixteen games is perfect-- just enough to make every game meaningful while giving teams more than enough opportunities to play their way into the postseason.
One benefit of an expanded slate would be the rebirth of interconference local rivalries: make the Redskins and Ravens play every year... and you'll stoke the flames of dislike. Who wouldn't want to see the Jets and Giants bring out the worst of both fan bases (not to mention the Post back page)?
Friday, August 6, 2010
Redskins Rehash-- "Choosing not to run"...
My favorite scene in Footloose* is the famed "Tractor-Chicken" scene where Kevin Bacon's character takes on the town bully "Chuck Cranston"... to the tune of "Holding out for a Hero" by Bonnie Tyler. Bacon being the new kid in town has to prove himself-- and is ready to stare down the bad guy up to a point. Somewhere between the first and second verse Bacon realizes his shoelace is tangled with the gas pedal. Bacon can't brake... or jump off the tractor that's racing towards a head-on collision-- and having gone thus far he has no choice but to push forward.
The bully bails out... diving into the river as the tractor falls off the side of the road- and Bacon's on the road to winning the heart of Lori Singer, teaching Christopher Penn how to dance and getting music back into the lives of a community.
One week into Redskins training camp, coach Mike Shanahan's playing a game of tractor chicken with Albert Haynesworth. By having the defensive tackle take the "conditioning test", the new kid in town is letting everybody know who's in charge. Haynesworth had his way with the Skins last year, much like Chuck did with Ariel before Ren McCormick came to town. Friday, Haynesworth continued his transformation into a latter-day Calvin Coolidge... once again "choosing not to run".
How many practices will he miss? Will he miss any preseason games? What is the point of no return? And how come Bonnie Tyler couldn't build on the momentum of "Holding out for a Hero" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart"?
Hold the Line-- OT Jamal Brown missed practice Wednesday and was limited in Thursday's workout... and while his status doesn't get as much attention as the 100 million dollar man, Brown did not play a regular season down last year and with Mike Williams done for 2010 the leaky OL is in danger of returning front and center.
Colt, we hardly knew ye-- so much for Redskins Nation's romanticism of #5 turned #15... Colt Brennan was released earlier this week after being a preseason darling during the past two training camps. John Beck comes over in a trade from Baltimore-- making Brennan's presence unnecessary.
Hall Pass-- It's a shame it took this long for a member of the most celebrated offensive lines to finally enter Canton... but Russ Grimm takes his rightful place in Pro Football's Hall of Fame this weekend. Joe Jacoby also deserves to enter the Hall in the near future-- and I've gone on the record early and often about Ray Guy's conspicuous absence.
Elsewhere this first week of August--
Nats note-- at the trading deadline the Nationals dealt closer Matt Capps to Minnesota for catching prospect Wilson Ramos... fantastic pickup. Ramos hopefully after learning under Pudge Rodriguez will become the defensive foundation for this team. Glad they kept Adam Dunn-- his presence in the lineup is huge for Zimmerman and Willingham. Problem is, this team needs a little glove-- they continue to lead the league in errors.
College Football Corner-- Maryland media day is next Tuesday... this should be an interesting season as the Terps try to get off the mat following a 2-10 season where everything went wrong. There's a new era in Charlottesville and the same old championship expectations in Blacksburg.
Proof there is hell on earth-- Earlier this week, Michaela Salahi got into a fight with Whoopi Goldberg. Evidently there's a new show on Bravo called "Real Housewives of Washington DC" ... and the cast appeared on "The View". And the State Dinner gate crasher got into a shouting match with the Oscar-winner. I feel for everyone in the studio audience who was there against their will-- and anyone who happened to be watching the show (especially those who didn't have control of the TV remote).
*My esteemed friends disagree on the best scene in Footloose... they're divided between the "Angry Dance" scene where Bacon unwinds by running recklessly through an empty warehouse and the "Let's hear it for the Boy" segment where Christopher Penn learns to snap... spin and dance for Sarah Jessica Parker (let the record show that nobody on Sex & the City learned to dance for Carrie Bradshaw-- I'm just sayin').
The bully bails out... diving into the river as the tractor falls off the side of the road- and Bacon's on the road to winning the heart of Lori Singer, teaching Christopher Penn how to dance and getting music back into the lives of a community.
One week into Redskins training camp, coach Mike Shanahan's playing a game of tractor chicken with Albert Haynesworth. By having the defensive tackle take the "conditioning test", the new kid in town is letting everybody know who's in charge. Haynesworth had his way with the Skins last year, much like Chuck did with Ariel before Ren McCormick came to town. Friday, Haynesworth continued his transformation into a latter-day Calvin Coolidge... once again "choosing not to run".
How many practices will he miss? Will he miss any preseason games? What is the point of no return? And how come Bonnie Tyler couldn't build on the momentum of "Holding out for a Hero" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart"?
Hold the Line-- OT Jamal Brown missed practice Wednesday and was limited in Thursday's workout... and while his status doesn't get as much attention as the 100 million dollar man, Brown did not play a regular season down last year and with Mike Williams done for 2010 the leaky OL is in danger of returning front and center.
Colt, we hardly knew ye-- so much for Redskins Nation's romanticism of #5 turned #15... Colt Brennan was released earlier this week after being a preseason darling during the past two training camps. John Beck comes over in a trade from Baltimore-- making Brennan's presence unnecessary.
Hall Pass-- It's a shame it took this long for a member of the most celebrated offensive lines to finally enter Canton... but Russ Grimm takes his rightful place in Pro Football's Hall of Fame this weekend. Joe Jacoby also deserves to enter the Hall in the near future-- and I've gone on the record early and often about Ray Guy's conspicuous absence.
Elsewhere this first week of August--
Nats note-- at the trading deadline the Nationals dealt closer Matt Capps to Minnesota for catching prospect Wilson Ramos... fantastic pickup. Ramos hopefully after learning under Pudge Rodriguez will become the defensive foundation for this team. Glad they kept Adam Dunn-- his presence in the lineup is huge for Zimmerman and Willingham. Problem is, this team needs a little glove-- they continue to lead the league in errors.
College Football Corner-- Maryland media day is next Tuesday... this should be an interesting season as the Terps try to get off the mat following a 2-10 season where everything went wrong. There's a new era in Charlottesville and the same old championship expectations in Blacksburg.
Proof there is hell on earth-- Earlier this week, Michaela Salahi got into a fight with Whoopi Goldberg. Evidently there's a new show on Bravo called "Real Housewives of Washington DC" ... and the cast appeared on "The View". And the State Dinner gate crasher got into a shouting match with the Oscar-winner. I feel for everyone in the studio audience who was there against their will-- and anyone who happened to be watching the show (especially those who didn't have control of the TV remote).
*My esteemed friends disagree on the best scene in Footloose... they're divided between the "Angry Dance" scene where Bacon unwinds by running recklessly through an empty warehouse and the "Let's hear it for the Boy" segment where Christopher Penn learns to snap... spin and dance for Sarah Jessica Parker (let the record show that nobody on Sex & the City learned to dance for Carrie Bradshaw-- I'm just sayin').
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
One Wild Week--summer cleaning...
Sometimes summertime is a snooze-- but not this past week. Too much to get into and recover from...
World Cup thrills, chills and spills... From goals that should have counted to thrilling comebacks, Team USA went unbeaten in Group play only to fall in extra time to Ghana in the Round of Sixteen. It's a shame because the traditional heavyweights (Germany, Argentina, Brazil) were in the other half of the bracket; sometimes a nation needs a few breaks in its draw to make noise and it appeared as though the US had that break... instead they leave South Africa broken hearted.
It's a credit that they got so far with as little firepower (no goals from the forwards) and slow starts (allowing goals often early-- even Algeria had a great early chance in the first half of their match). These were sore points that would have eliminated a weaker team; and if nothing else Team USA will look at 2010 as the year of the comebacks.
Wacky Wimbledon-- one incredible turn after another this fortnight: from John Isner's Inna-Gadda-da-Vidda of matches against Nicolas Mahut (eleven hours and three days) to quality battles littered throughout the first few rounds-- Roger Federer's comeback from 2 sets back on opening day... Rafael Nadal's escape of upset over the weekend and the rash of womens upsets (with the consonants market cornered in the semifinals)... setting up two fantastic round of sixteen matches Monday-- Yen-Hsun Lu shocking Andy Roddick (4 of 5 sets went to tiebreaker) and Serena Williams outlasting Maria Sharapova (11-9 the first set finish). Of course with Venus Williams out and Andy Roddick headed home two of the four annual questions have been answered no: the "Will we see the Williams Sisters in the Finals?" and "Is this the year for Roddick?". It remains to be seen about the other two: "Another Federer-Nadal Clash for the Title?" and "Is this the year for a Brit (aka Andy Murray)?".
Murray aside-- it's interesting how Britain recycles best hopes like Bond actors... as Tim Henman's the original--I've yet to determine if Murray is Lazenby, Moore, Dalton, Brosnan or Craig (although Andy Murray is Scottish like Sir Sean).
Strasburg support-- after taking winning his first two major league starts, Stephen Strasburg has pitched well but shows he can't field 8 positions or hit the other 8 spots in the batting order. Although the strikeouts have dropped off (from 11 per start to just under 9) so has his run support (one run in three games). Unfortunately, the rest of the rotation is starting to stagger-- and we aren't even at the all-star break yet.
World Cup thrills, chills and spills... From goals that should have counted to thrilling comebacks, Team USA went unbeaten in Group play only to fall in extra time to Ghana in the Round of Sixteen. It's a shame because the traditional heavyweights (Germany, Argentina, Brazil) were in the other half of the bracket; sometimes a nation needs a few breaks in its draw to make noise and it appeared as though the US had that break... instead they leave South Africa broken hearted.
It's a credit that they got so far with as little firepower (no goals from the forwards) and slow starts (allowing goals often early-- even Algeria had a great early chance in the first half of their match). These were sore points that would have eliminated a weaker team; and if nothing else Team USA will look at 2010 as the year of the comebacks.
Wacky Wimbledon-- one incredible turn after another this fortnight: from John Isner's Inna-Gadda-da-Vidda of matches against Nicolas Mahut (eleven hours and three days) to quality battles littered throughout the first few rounds-- Roger Federer's comeback from 2 sets back on opening day... Rafael Nadal's escape of upset over the weekend and the rash of womens upsets (with the consonants market cornered in the semifinals)... setting up two fantastic round of sixteen matches Monday-- Yen-Hsun Lu shocking Andy Roddick (4 of 5 sets went to tiebreaker) and Serena Williams outlasting Maria Sharapova (11-9 the first set finish). Of course with Venus Williams out and Andy Roddick headed home two of the four annual questions have been answered no: the "Will we see the Williams Sisters in the Finals?" and "Is this the year for Roddick?". It remains to be seen about the other two: "Another Federer-Nadal Clash for the Title?" and "Is this the year for a Brit (aka Andy Murray)?".
Murray aside-- it's interesting how Britain recycles best hopes like Bond actors... as Tim Henman's the original--I've yet to determine if Murray is Lazenby, Moore, Dalton, Brosnan or Craig (although Andy Murray is Scottish like Sir Sean).
Strasburg support-- after taking winning his first two major league starts, Stephen Strasburg has pitched well but shows he can't field 8 positions or hit the other 8 spots in the batting order. Although the strikeouts have dropped off (from 11 per start to just under 9) so has his run support (one run in three games). Unfortunately, the rest of the rotation is starting to stagger-- and we aren't even at the all-star break yet.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Nats Future is Wow...
There have been many levels of the return of baseball to DC. First the Nationals debut at RFK. Then the Sunday night affair against Atlanta to open the new ballpark in 2008. Now the arrival of the franchise is complete-- its first bonafide star (Ryan Zimmerman's a very good player, but not on the star level). And the product was better than the promotion. "It's better to travel hopefully than actually arrive" has been a sad reality in the DC area over the last two decades: Heath Shuler, Chris Webber, Kwame Brown, Jaromir Jagr, Joe Gibbs II, the Caps in the Playoffs... Stephen Strasburg had more than a few examples of hype turned bad to look at before he took the mound in his major league debut.
And what a debut... 14 strikeouts (although it was Pittsburgh- technically they're still major-leaguers)... no walks... and four hits scattered over seven innings. Meanwhile, the middle of the order produced with home runs by Zimmerman, Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham- and the bullpen shut the door effectively to give Strasburg the victory.
I could think of two other spectacular debuts on the Strasburg level: Magic Johnson either assisted on or hit the buzzer-beating shot in his first NBA game and hugged Kareem like they just won the title... and Archie Manning ran for the game-winning touchdown against the Rams in his first game quarterbacking the Saints. I'm sure there are others, but those are the two that came to mind first: heavily hyped athlete comes through in the clutch to lead his team to victory. Feel free to email me your favorite debut.
The best part about Strasburg's first start? The framework appears to be in place for a contending team. Zimmerman, Dunn and Willingham are all on pace to hit 30 home runs... Ian Desmond looks to be another long term infield solution... and the relief corps has a slew of young arms from Drew Storen to Matt Capps (the closer is just 26). Strasburg's emergence as a #1 means everybody can slide down one spot in the rotation; in theory he'll eat up innings (6 to 7 per start) so there will be less pressure on the bullpen as well.
Could this merely be a June mirage? Conventional wisdom says Strasburg will run into problems once he's gone through the league a couple of times as opponents will be able to effectively scout him. Even so, the makings of a consistent 15 to 20 game winner were on display. We're not used to dreaming about baseball greatness in Washington. But that was before the kid lived up to the hype.
And what a debut... 14 strikeouts (although it was Pittsburgh- technically they're still major-leaguers)... no walks... and four hits scattered over seven innings. Meanwhile, the middle of the order produced with home runs by Zimmerman, Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham- and the bullpen shut the door effectively to give Strasburg the victory.
I could think of two other spectacular debuts on the Strasburg level: Magic Johnson either assisted on or hit the buzzer-beating shot in his first NBA game and hugged Kareem like they just won the title... and Archie Manning ran for the game-winning touchdown against the Rams in his first game quarterbacking the Saints. I'm sure there are others, but those are the two that came to mind first: heavily hyped athlete comes through in the clutch to lead his team to victory. Feel free to email me your favorite debut.
The best part about Strasburg's first start? The framework appears to be in place for a contending team. Zimmerman, Dunn and Willingham are all on pace to hit 30 home runs... Ian Desmond looks to be another long term infield solution... and the relief corps has a slew of young arms from Drew Storen to Matt Capps (the closer is just 26). Strasburg's emergence as a #1 means everybody can slide down one spot in the rotation; in theory he'll eat up innings (6 to 7 per start) so there will be less pressure on the bullpen as well.
Could this merely be a June mirage? Conventional wisdom says Strasburg will run into problems once he's gone through the league a couple of times as opponents will be able to effectively scout him. Even so, the makings of a consistent 15 to 20 game winner were on display. We're not used to dreaming about baseball greatness in Washington. But that was before the kid lived up to the hype.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Sports Vortex Part 2-- Electric Boogaloo...
From season openers to tournament finales... from Tiger tracking to Skinsationalism... this week has been one for the sports ages.
Did Chitwood need a re-shoot? Those shots from Butler went in, right? Damn! Cinderella came oh so close to forcing a Hoosiers II-- this time it's Collegial... Gordon Hayward's miss kept the Bulldogs at bay-- and delivered a fourth national title in 20 years to Coach K and the Blue Devils. Hate them you may. Believe in conspiracies delivering an easy bracket to their feet if you must. Dislike their fan base, please. (a Maryland fan compared the Blue Devil and Tar Heel faithful by saying Dukies were obnoxious and in your face about how much better they were while UNCers were more assumed of their superiority-- like it was pre-ordained). But let the record show that Coach K graduates kids, runs a clean program and dominates the landscape.
Conference Call-- I grew up a Big East guy... and root for that league except in extreme situations (and even then I hoped for a mono outbreak at Duke-Georgetown). Just as I praise the Blue Devils, let me laud their league. The ACC has 5 of the last 10 national champions (Big East and SEC each have two while the Big 12 has one) and 8 of the last 20 titleists (SEC-5, Big East-2, Pac Ten-2 with one each for the Big 10 and 12). Despite watering down its product by bringing in football schools with little to offer on the court, the ACC shines again in March-- even though it's beginning to resemble Big Ten football from the 70's... with UNC and Duke in the upper tax bracket.
Shining Moment lacks polish-- Okay, so I sat through the Duke celebration (and Jim Nantz's "Duke is king!" pun-call) only to get a Syracuse-less "One Shining Moment". But the real disappointment was hearing not Luther Vandross but Jennifer Hudson. Hello? OSM is Luther's song... and if you're not going to play his version because he's deceased-- retire the song/his shining moment. Suggestion? "Win! In the End!" from Teenwolf.
Coaching Carousel-- the ACC didn't slow down once the offseason began; Oliver Purnell leaves Clemson for DePaul. While Purnell rebuilt the Tigers, they remained in the waiting room as opposed to breaking into the throne room. February fades and going bellyup in the NCAA's were as common as year by year improvement of the program as a whole. I'm surprised he left for a wasteland that is the Blue Demon program-- DePaul has poor facilities and is in a league it doesn't belong in... perhaps he can get them back into Conference USA (taking Marquette with them). Meanwhile, Dino Gaudio gets the axe at Wake Forest after winnign 61 games over three seasons... the kicker being the Demon Deacons were 1-5 in the ACC and NCAA tournaments. Gaudio took over on an interim basis after the offseason passing of Skip Prosser in 2007... and it will be interesting to see who Wake chooses to guide their program from here...Butler's Brad Stevens? Since Dave Odom righted the Demon Deacons in the early 90's, it's been a good program. Boston College wraps up the trio of moves by hiring Steve Donahue away from Cornell after the Big Red reached the Sweet Sixteen. He should be able to fit in well and recruit the Northeast... as the Eagles continue to operate as the isolated outpost of the ACC-- part of me wishes they still called the Big East home.
Changing of the guard at quarterback-- Donovan McNabb met with the media Tuesday... telling everyone he's excited to be coming to DC and that he looks forward to working with Mike Shanahan and how he feels 22 instead of 33. Still to be determined-- who the Skins pick at #4... what happens to Jason Campbell and if they deal him or he signs elsewhere the draft choices they'll get (with only four picks now, extra selections would be huge)... and if they'll move any other pieces (aka Albert Haynesworth, Chris Cooley, Laron Landry) for picks.
The Nationals began 2010 pretty much the same way they began last year; an 11-1 loss to Philadelphia underscored porous pitching...ineffective offense and a ballpark dominated by visiting fans. At least the sausage machine gun wasn't operating.
Tiger Woods tees off Thursday as the Masters restricted media and patron access gives him some cover in his return to the tour. How will golf's best player respond to being on the shelf since November? How quickly can he shake the rust? And how much will his game be affected by the absence of his old lifestyle? The aging second tier triumvirate of Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh has been on the precipice of a magical fourth major (only 25 have won four while 43 have won three majors) since 2006... one would think the trio would have a handful of major runs remaining in their respective careers.
Did Chitwood need a re-shoot? Those shots from Butler went in, right? Damn! Cinderella came oh so close to forcing a Hoosiers II-- this time it's Collegial... Gordon Hayward's miss kept the Bulldogs at bay-- and delivered a fourth national title in 20 years to Coach K and the Blue Devils. Hate them you may. Believe in conspiracies delivering an easy bracket to their feet if you must. Dislike their fan base, please. (a Maryland fan compared the Blue Devil and Tar Heel faithful by saying Dukies were obnoxious and in your face about how much better they were while UNCers were more assumed of their superiority-- like it was pre-ordained). But let the record show that Coach K graduates kids, runs a clean program and dominates the landscape.
Conference Call-- I grew up a Big East guy... and root for that league except in extreme situations (and even then I hoped for a mono outbreak at Duke-Georgetown). Just as I praise the Blue Devils, let me laud their league. The ACC has 5 of the last 10 national champions (Big East and SEC each have two while the Big 12 has one) and 8 of the last 20 titleists (SEC-5, Big East-2, Pac Ten-2 with one each for the Big 10 and 12). Despite watering down its product by bringing in football schools with little to offer on the court, the ACC shines again in March-- even though it's beginning to resemble Big Ten football from the 70's... with UNC and Duke in the upper tax bracket.
Shining Moment lacks polish-- Okay, so I sat through the Duke celebration (and Jim Nantz's "Duke is king!" pun-call) only to get a Syracuse-less "One Shining Moment". But the real disappointment was hearing not Luther Vandross but Jennifer Hudson. Hello? OSM is Luther's song... and if you're not going to play his version because he's deceased-- retire the song/his shining moment. Suggestion? "Win! In the End!" from Teenwolf.
Coaching Carousel-- the ACC didn't slow down once the offseason began; Oliver Purnell leaves Clemson for DePaul. While Purnell rebuilt the Tigers, they remained in the waiting room as opposed to breaking into the throne room. February fades and going bellyup in the NCAA's were as common as year by year improvement of the program as a whole. I'm surprised he left for a wasteland that is the Blue Demon program-- DePaul has poor facilities and is in a league it doesn't belong in... perhaps he can get them back into Conference USA (taking Marquette with them). Meanwhile, Dino Gaudio gets the axe at Wake Forest after winnign 61 games over three seasons... the kicker being the Demon Deacons were 1-5 in the ACC and NCAA tournaments. Gaudio took over on an interim basis after the offseason passing of Skip Prosser in 2007... and it will be interesting to see who Wake chooses to guide their program from here...Butler's Brad Stevens? Since Dave Odom righted the Demon Deacons in the early 90's, it's been a good program. Boston College wraps up the trio of moves by hiring Steve Donahue away from Cornell after the Big Red reached the Sweet Sixteen. He should be able to fit in well and recruit the Northeast... as the Eagles continue to operate as the isolated outpost of the ACC-- part of me wishes they still called the Big East home.
Changing of the guard at quarterback-- Donovan McNabb met with the media Tuesday... telling everyone he's excited to be coming to DC and that he looks forward to working with Mike Shanahan and how he feels 22 instead of 33. Still to be determined-- who the Skins pick at #4... what happens to Jason Campbell and if they deal him or he signs elsewhere the draft choices they'll get (with only four picks now, extra selections would be huge)... and if they'll move any other pieces (aka Albert Haynesworth, Chris Cooley, Laron Landry) for picks.
The Nationals began 2010 pretty much the same way they began last year; an 11-1 loss to Philadelphia underscored porous pitching...ineffective offense and a ballpark dominated by visiting fans. At least the sausage machine gun wasn't operating.
Tiger Woods tees off Thursday as the Masters restricted media and patron access gives him some cover in his return to the tour. How will golf's best player respond to being on the shelf since November? How quickly can he shake the rust? And how much will his game be affected by the absence of his old lifestyle? The aging second tier triumvirate of Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh has been on the precipice of a magical fourth major (only 25 have won four while 43 have won three majors) since 2006... one would think the trio would have a handful of major runs remaining in their respective careers.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Whirlwind inside the Sports Vortex...
Seriously, could anything else be happening today? One season begins while another ends... a franchise quarterback drives down I-95 and and Tiger makes the world pause.
It takes a pretty big story to bump everything to the back burner-- and the Redskins as they always do find a way to steal the spotlight, thunder and just about every other metaphor available. Donovan McNabb for a a second round pick in this year's draft and a condition 2011 selection gives the world notice that this is not a rebuilding process-- to quote Bruce Allen's Hall of Fame father, the future is now. Speaking of regime perception, if Cerrato/Zorn had pulled this move they probably would have been roasted...right? Does this mean the Skins go project quarterback with teh fourth overall selection or go offensive line? O-Line has been an eyesore the last few seasons-- and a disaster last fall. The help the Skins get with their diminishing draft picks (first, fourth, fifth and seventh rounders) will be rather important; McNabb is at his best when he isn't picking clumps of dirt out of his facemask.
Opening Day Items-- nice touch by President Obama in wearing a Chicago White Sox cap with his Nationals jacket... we'll forgive the cross-teaming this once. I'd rather see that though than former New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani telling Massachusetts residents he rooted for the Red Sox because he was an "AL East guy" or Hillary Clinton tossing the Cubs for the Pinstripes upon her move to the Empire State.
Fingers are crossed as the Nationals are trying to appear all grown up after consecutive triple digit defeat seasons. Can the pitching staff provide quality innings from the starters and will the relievers refrain from last year's flammability? Will Josh Willingham and Nyjer Morgan be more than one-year wonders? And who plays right field now that the Elijah Dukes experiment is over? Regardless of what happens, it can't be worse than last year.
One shining moment-- Duke battles Butler for college basketball's national championship... a hoops blue-blood if there ever was against an upstart Cinderella. It's tough to imagine Duke being denied, although the Bulldogs have defended as well as anyone this tournament... forcing turnovers and bad shots in each round. Thing is, Duke has three scorers and four plow horses who can get the Bulldogs in foul trouble early and often. I'm not a fan of the raised court-- after playing with basically the same court setup all year teams play the biggest games of the season on that raft?
Tiger talks-- Masters week began with the bang that is the Tiger Woods press conference... as the public rehabilitation continues while he bares his soul-- or at least what he wants the public to see of what he claims is his soul. Augusta National is the perfect media buffer place for Woods to resume his hall of fame career-- and eventually he'll be back to the old angry, controlling focused champion. Missed that guy.
It takes a pretty big story to bump everything to the back burner-- and the Redskins as they always do find a way to steal the spotlight, thunder and just about every other metaphor available. Donovan McNabb for a a second round pick in this year's draft and a condition 2011 selection gives the world notice that this is not a rebuilding process-- to quote Bruce Allen's Hall of Fame father, the future is now. Speaking of regime perception, if Cerrato/Zorn had pulled this move they probably would have been roasted...right? Does this mean the Skins go project quarterback with teh fourth overall selection or go offensive line? O-Line has been an eyesore the last few seasons-- and a disaster last fall. The help the Skins get with their diminishing draft picks (first, fourth, fifth and seventh rounders) will be rather important; McNabb is at his best when he isn't picking clumps of dirt out of his facemask.
Opening Day Items-- nice touch by President Obama in wearing a Chicago White Sox cap with his Nationals jacket... we'll forgive the cross-teaming this once. I'd rather see that though than former New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani telling Massachusetts residents he rooted for the Red Sox because he was an "AL East guy" or Hillary Clinton tossing the Cubs for the Pinstripes upon her move to the Empire State.
Fingers are crossed as the Nationals are trying to appear all grown up after consecutive triple digit defeat seasons. Can the pitching staff provide quality innings from the starters and will the relievers refrain from last year's flammability? Will Josh Willingham and Nyjer Morgan be more than one-year wonders? And who plays right field now that the Elijah Dukes experiment is over? Regardless of what happens, it can't be worse than last year.
One shining moment-- Duke battles Butler for college basketball's national championship... a hoops blue-blood if there ever was against an upstart Cinderella. It's tough to imagine Duke being denied, although the Bulldogs have defended as well as anyone this tournament... forcing turnovers and bad shots in each round. Thing is, Duke has three scorers and four plow horses who can get the Bulldogs in foul trouble early and often. I'm not a fan of the raised court-- after playing with basically the same court setup all year teams play the biggest games of the season on that raft?
Tiger talks-- Masters week began with the bang that is the Tiger Woods press conference... as the public rehabilitation continues while he bares his soul-- or at least what he wants the public to see of what he claims is his soul. Augusta National is the perfect media buffer place for Woods to resume his hall of fame career-- and eventually he'll be back to the old angry, controlling focused champion. Missed that guy.
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