It's been a weird time for me. I had a "home vacation" in which my wife and I chilled here for about 10 days. During which, may family came up from Charlotte to visit. Then, back to the grind at work. And with so many alt sports going on right now...I just haven't had a reason to lash out.
So here are some quick hitters.
WIE-SELED OUT: Michelle Wie needs to chill trying to qualify for men's tournaments. And, no, this isn't a "women got their own tour" crap. Annika Sorenstam can play all the PGA events she wanted to. But Wie can't. Not yet.
She hasn't been able to win on the LPGA tour....so why try to get with the men? At her last attempt, she stunk up the joint and then quit after complaining of heat exhaustion. Not a good showing. At least Sorenstam has won an event....heck she dominates the tour. And it isn't a personal thing. I know that Wie is the most marketable player on the LPGA and may be more marketable than nearly everyone on the PGA....but bide your time. It won't be long until Wie dominates the women's tour. Then, she can get back to trying to make a PGA cut.
NATIONAL LEAGUE SUCKS: Listen to me pound the NL on http://sportsbloggerslive.podcast.aol.com/sbl_podcast071806.mp3
BIBLIOGRAPHY: I've had this blog for two years now and I'm still amazed that people read it. Not just that they read it...but respect it. I found this the other day: Basketball Rules Home Page. On that site, they used my blog as a source in their "works cited" section. Pretty cool.
AIDSWALK06: Check out Home - Kintera.org -- The Giving Communities for more infor on AIDS Walk.
UN-SAVED: Or how about Saturday in baseball??? There were NO saves in baseball on Saturday. None. There were blowouts, blown saves and walk off hits. No saves. Amazing. First time in 28 years that has happened.
GMAC BOWL MOVES: Most people aren't aware that there is a GMAC Bowl. Oh, and it is in Mobile, Alabama. It "features" teams from the Conference USA, MAC and/or WAC. I know...gripping, right? Well, the capitalize on their mega bowl...they are scheduling their game for January 7th, 2007. Yeah, the day before the BCS Championship game.
Last year, Toledo beat UTEP 45-13 in the GMAC Bowl. Most of you didn't watch that game and most of you wouldn't have watched it if it was on Championship Game Eve. In fact, the game looks sadder there. After a stretch of seeing the nation's best teams battle in the Rose, Fiesta, Orange, Sugar,Cotton, Capital One and Gator Bowls....this game looks like a junior varsity affair.
The Humanitarian Bowl tried that trick a few years back and it didn't help them. You can't dress up a turd. And, yes, I typed "turd".
WIDE OPEN NCAA: Speaking of the bowl games...this should be a interesting year for the BCS. With no clear cut great teams....it will be interesting how this new system plays out. I mean, Notre Dame, Ohio State, West Virginia, Auburn, Oklahoma and even Texas can be placed in the championship hunt. So could teams like TCU, Louisville and Utah if they can sweep their schedules. Maybe a team like Florida can do it if they can find a way to navigate thru a horrid schedule.
Either way, there will be quite a few deserving teams that will be whining for a chance to get into the big game.\
JOE LUNARDI: You can already check out Lunardi's 2007 NCAA bracketology page [ESPN.com - NCB - Bracketology]. Which brings me to this: Dude...get a life! Predicting the NCAA bracket eight months in advance is sad....and pointless. I mean, why not try to predict the entire 2007 NFL Draft while you are at it?? Or handicap the 2008 Presidential election results? And...is it me...or do you envision that Lunardi has some closet he lives in at the ESPN compound in Bristol where he has nothing but brackets and a pencil...just feverishly trying to get that all in there?? Maybe his closet is right next to Mel Kiper's closet, Barry Melrose's closet and the closet they keep that Scottish guy that was the expert during the World Cup.
FANTASY KEEPERS: The deadline has come for my keepers for my defending Fantasy Football League Championship team. I won the 2005 championship ring [it adorns the entertainment center in the living room] and I want to be the first repeat champion. It will be hard to do, since I have the last pick of the odd rounds...but the first pick in the even ones. Essentially, it is "wait 7 picks....then pick twice. Wait 14 picks....then pick twice. Wait 14 more picks....pick twice". Etc. Anyhoo....our league allows three keepers....and you can only pick one player per position. So, you can't keep more than one of anything. Also, we play Team Quarterback....which means you get whatever passing stats that team has. So, if you drafted the Redskins QB...you'd get Mark Brunell, Jason Campbell and Todd Collins. My keepers??
At quarterback, it is the Colts. Read: Peyton Manning. Now, in our league....Manning wasn't the top QB last year [amazingly, Mikey Vick was]...but Manning is still a great option to roll out there every week. This was a nobrainer.
At running back, I'm keeping the Redskins' Clinton Portis. Obviously, as a Skins' fan....I love Portis. But, I think he's going to have a great season with Al Saunders, the former offensive coordinator at Kansas City, calling the shots. The only back that got anyconsideration was Domanick Davis...but (a) he isn't as good as Portis and (b) he's injury prone.
At receiver, I am keeping the Panthers' Steve Smith. Yep, I had Manning, Portis and Smith last year....maybe that's why I won??? Of course, Smith was a surprising star for me....as I drafted him as my 4th wideout but he turned into my top guy rather quickly. The only receiver that I could consider was Chris Chambers...but I feel I can get him with the #8 or #9 pick.
BIG BEN GONE: Chalk me up as one of the few people that aren't so hasty in digging the Pistons' grave. True, losing Ben Wallace will sting. But this team isn't about to sink into the murky abyss which is the bottom 10 teams in the East. Detroit still has all those guys that scored the points for them. Wallace's defense will be missed....but will his FT shooting be missed? Will his unwillingness to put the ball back in the basket be missed?? Well, maybe. I mean, Nazr Mohammad is his replacement.
ADDING PLAYOFF TEAMS: A month or so ago, I wrote here that baseball should expand the playoffs. Not get insane with it...but add some teams. Right now, the AL division winners are Boston, Detroit and Oakland.....with the wildcard winner being Chicago. That means that the Yankees...with a 60% winning percentage...would be out. They could be 96-66 and not be in the playoffs?!?!? I know, I know....screw the Yankees!!! But what about Toronto who is having their best season in a decade??
And yes....you people that think it is dumb to add playoff teams can just point over to the National League for your arguement. Right now, only FOUR NL teams are over .500 [there are 9 AL teams]. And only two are comfortably over that mark. So, adding teams over there may seem like a watering down of the postseason.
NHL 2006-2007 SCHEDULE RELEASED: Did the 2005-2006 season end, like, three weeks ago??
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