Tuesday, October 28, 2008
NBA PICKS, WORLD SERIES, MIKE SINGLETARY AND OTHER THINGS
Watching the rain fall last night in Philadelphia, I was thinking how ridiculous it is for Major League Baseball to revamp its schedule so that Game 7 of next year's World Series would fall on November 5 were it to be necessary. November 5! Look, I know that it can always rain in the middle of October, but newsflash: The weather gets colder as you move deeper into fall, and it most places it rains more. What's wrong with starting the season earlier, rather than later? Or having more day-night doubleheaders, so that we can get 162 games into a shortened season?There was a suggestion that snow was possible in Philly today. Snow. Sheesh. Come on: November baseball? Stop with that.
Mike Singletary: I like the intensity Mike Singletary brings to his head coach post with my 49ers. And I like that he sent Vernon Davis off the field after that stupid unsportsmanlike penalty. It's true: Players who do that are being selfish. They're messing with their team's success, all 'cause someone got in their grill. It's stupid. Yes, I know Davis was the one guy who chased down that Seahawk all the way to the end zone after the interception, just barely missing stopping him from scoring. I liked that effort. But you have to bring the mental strength along with your physical. If you're not going to play smart, you shouldn't play. Singletary was absolutely right in sending Davis off. Now, I'm not saying the hiring of Singletary means Insta-Championship in any way for San Francisco. But it sure helps.
NBA Predictions: For four years now I have been offering up my incredibly uneducated NBA championship predictions. Four straight years the team I chose failed to win. Keeping in mind that I suck at this, will you please enjoy the 2008-09 NBA Prediction Buzzkill!!!
WESTERN CONFERENCE:
Mike Singletary: I like the intensity Mike Singletary brings to his head coach post with my 49ers. And I like that he sent Vernon Davis off the field after that stupid unsportsmanlike penalty. It's true: Players who do that are being selfish. They're messing with their team's success, all 'cause someone got in their grill. It's stupid. Yes, I know Davis was the one guy who chased down that Seahawk all the way to the end zone after the interception, just barely missing stopping him from scoring. I liked that effort. But you have to bring the mental strength along with your physical. If you're not going to play smart, you shouldn't play. Singletary was absolutely right in sending Davis off. Now, I'm not saying the hiring of Singletary means Insta-Championship in any way for San Francisco. But it sure helps.
NBA Predictions: For four years now I have been offering up my incredibly uneducated NBA championship predictions. Four straight years the team I chose failed to win. Keeping in mind that I suck at this, will you please enjoy the 2008-09 NBA Prediction Buzzkill!!!
WESTERN CONFERENCE:
THE DIVISION CHAMPIONS:
THE PLAYOFF TEAMS:
WESTERN FINALS:
over
EASTERN CONFERENCE:THE DIVISION CHAMPIONS:
THE PLAYOFF TEAMS:
EASTERN FINALS:
2009 NBA FINALS: over
over
Saturday, October 18, 2008
COULD SOMEBODY PLEASE, PLEASE TELL ME...
...what the hell Lovie Smith was doing on Sunday afternoon in Atlanta? Do you really mean to tell me that with just a few seconds left in the game and a one-point lead, you're going to do one of those ridiculous pooch-squib kick things, giving the Falcons the ball much, much closer to field goal range when they get the ball back than they would be if you just booted it to the goal line? Really? Were you really fearing that the kickoff would be run back for a touchdown? How often does that happen? You were really scared of that? Really!?! (I feel like I'm doing SNL's Weekend Update Feature "Really!?! with Seth and Amy".) Lovie, you're not Romeo Crennel, are you? You're actually a good coach, aren't you? You've been to a Super Bowl as a coach, right? So what the hell were you doing???
I now call for a moratorium on all coaching decisions that are stupid. Is there any possible way this can happen? Can we stop squib kicking so that a team that trails by less than a field goal can get close to field goal range and beat us? Can we stop punting on 4th-and-1 from our opponent's 40-yard line? Can we stop going for field goals when we're trailing 31-0? All of these things happen routinely in NFL games, and it is complete madness. Stop it, coaches, stop it!
Paging Dave Henderson: How often does a team playing Game 6 on the road while trailing in the series 3-2 feel like the favorite to win the whole series? It sure feels that way right now, after Boston's amazing comeback from a 7-0 deficit in the seventh inning Thursday night to stave off elimination and force a sixth game in St. Petersburg tonight.
Three years ago, after Brad Lidge surrendered a ninth-inning three-run home run to Albert Pujols to keep St. Louis alive in the NLCS, I noted here that teams that lose in that heart-breaking style never rebound to win the series. (See: Angels in the 1986 ALCS, Red Sox in the 1986 World Series, Giants in the 2002 World Series, Cubs in the 2003 NLCS, etc. I'll even throw in a personal favorite of mine, the Giants in the 2003 NLDS, when Jose Cruz Jr. dropped an easy fly ball and helped Florida come back to win Game 3, a loss from which the Giants did not recover. Not as memorable for most people, I know, but the hole in my heart caused by that game is still there.) Of course, right after I mentioned this suggestion, the Astros pretty much had no problem winning Game 6 that year and advanced to the World Series despite the sudden loss in Game 5. But that seems to be the exception. It's like teams are sometimes set up to have these kinds of tragic sports stories pierce the soul of their fans, losses that they'll have to live with forever (in the case of Cubs fans) or at least until they win the championship (fans of every other team). After a while, you have to kind of embrace these defeats. They're character builders. Right? At least that's what I tell myself when I think of those Giants losses. Rays fans, I'm not going to guarantee that your team will lose both of this weekend's games, but prepare yourself. Every team's fans have moments like this. It might be your chance this year.
I now call for a moratorium on all coaching decisions that are stupid. Is there any possible way this can happen? Can we stop squib kicking so that a team that trails by less than a field goal can get close to field goal range and beat us? Can we stop punting on 4th-and-1 from our opponent's 40-yard line? Can we stop going for field goals when we're trailing 31-0? All of these things happen routinely in NFL games, and it is complete madness. Stop it, coaches, stop it!
Paging Dave Henderson: How often does a team playing Game 6 on the road while trailing in the series 3-2 feel like the favorite to win the whole series? It sure feels that way right now, after Boston's amazing comeback from a 7-0 deficit in the seventh inning Thursday night to stave off elimination and force a sixth game in St. Petersburg tonight. Three years ago, after Brad Lidge surrendered a ninth-inning three-run home run to Albert Pujols to keep St. Louis alive in the NLCS, I noted here that teams that lose in that heart-breaking style never rebound to win the series. (See: Angels in the 1986 ALCS, Red Sox in the 1986 World Series, Giants in the 2002 World Series, Cubs in the 2003 NLCS, etc. I'll even throw in a personal favorite of mine, the Giants in the 2003 NLDS, when Jose Cruz Jr. dropped an easy fly ball and helped Florida come back to win Game 3, a loss from which the Giants did not recover. Not as memorable for most people, I know, but the hole in my heart caused by that game is still there.) Of course, right after I mentioned this suggestion, the Astros pretty much had no problem winning Game 6 that year and advanced to the World Series despite the sudden loss in Game 5. But that seems to be the exception. It's like teams are sometimes set up to have these kinds of tragic sports stories pierce the soul of their fans, losses that they'll have to live with forever (in the case of Cubs fans) or at least until they win the championship (fans of every other team). After a while, you have to kind of embrace these defeats. They're character builders. Right? At least that's what I tell myself when I think of those Giants losses. Rays fans, I'm not going to guarantee that your team will lose both of this weekend's games, but prepare yourself. Every team's fans have moments like this. It might be your chance this year.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
STUFF ABOUT BASEBALL AND FOOTBALL
First things first: The Chicago Cubs have now failed to win the World Series 100 seasons in a row. Okay, that does deserve a "wow." But can I say this, namely that they are not cursed? Who are all these goofballs saying that they haven't won anything for so long because they are the victim of a curse? There is no such thing as a curse. They just don't happen. There is no such thing as lifting a curse. The Red Sox, a few years ago, just happened to win a World Series after 85 years of trying, and then three years later they won another one. It's not about curses. It's just about not winning. The Giants haven't won in 54 years; isn't that enough of a time frame to decide it's a curse? The Indians haven't won it in 60 seasons; what about that? The Yankees haven't won in eight years; you can't tell me that--wait, what? Eight years? The Yanks haven't won in eight years? Hmmm...Maybe there is such a thing as a curse. That's a hell of a long time, mate.
E.K. Nation (not my real name) would like to salute the Milwaukee Brewers, my somewhat-out-of-leftfield pick to advance to the World Series. They at least made it to the postseason and gave their fans something to really cheer about. Nice work, guys. And how about that CC Sabathia? If it weren't for his short time with the team, he might be a lock to win the Cy Young Award, what with his 1.65 ERA in 17 starts, and possibly the MVP award, since his presence meant so much to Milwaukee's playoff chances. (By the way, here's a trivia question: What does CC stand for? Answer below.)
As for my beloved Giants, we had one bright spot, and that is Tim Lincecum. He should be the National League Cy Young winner after racking up an MLB-high 265 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.62. Yes, I know Brandon Webb won 22 games and Tim won "only" 18. But as I've explained before, wins, as a pitcher's stat, are not a good measure of a pitcher's performance. Webb's ERA was about .70 runs higher and he struck out 82 fewer batters than Tim did. That's my case.
So now we have the Los Angeles Dodgers playing the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS and the Tampa Bay Rays meeting the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS. I sure wish the Brewers had beaten Philly; my pre-season pick of Boston beating Milwaukee in the World Series would still be in effect. But no matter. As much as I don't like seeing myself write this, I'd like to see the Dodgers advance to play the Bosox in the World Series. Manny against his old team? Joe Torre getting back to the World Series while the Yankees missed October baseball altogether?
Maybe there's a reason they're not winning: Yes, the Seahawks have had some injury problems, particularly to their entire wide receiver corps. But you can't tell me that kicking a field goal while trailing 27-3 just before halftime is going to help you win football games. You can't tell me that punting on 4th-and-1 from your own 40 when you're already down 17-3 is going to help you win football games. In fact, Seattle punted at least four times when they shouldn't have. The aforementioned punt, plus a punt on 4th-and-5 from midfield, a 4th-and-6 from midfield, and a 4th-and-4 from midfield with 1:09 left in the game! What????? With a minute left, you're punting? Why??? The Giants are done for the day, leading 44-6; they're not going to try to score again. They're going to kneel down. And sure enough, they did. Yes, I know they weren't going to win, but what's the point in punting right then? To give up? Just for the love of all things holy and almighty, try for a fourth down! You have absolutely nothing to lose!
(Trivia answer: C.C. stands for "Carsten Charles".)
E.K. Nation (not my real name) would like to salute the Milwaukee Brewers, my somewhat-out-of-leftfield pick to advance to the World Series. They at least made it to the postseason and gave their fans something to really cheer about. Nice work, guys. And how about that CC Sabathia? If it weren't for his short time with the team, he might be a lock to win the Cy Young Award, what with his 1.65 ERA in 17 starts, and possibly the MVP award, since his presence meant so much to Milwaukee's playoff chances. (By the way, here's a trivia question: What does CC stand for? Answer below.)
As for my beloved Giants, we had one bright spot, and that is Tim Lincecum. He should be the National League Cy Young winner after racking up an MLB-high 265 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.62. Yes, I know Brandon Webb won 22 games and Tim won "only" 18. But as I've explained before, wins, as a pitcher's stat, are not a good measure of a pitcher's performance. Webb's ERA was about .70 runs higher and he struck out 82 fewer batters than Tim did. That's my case.
So now we have the Los Angeles Dodgers playing the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS and the Tampa Bay Rays meeting the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS. I sure wish the Brewers had beaten Philly; my pre-season pick of Boston beating Milwaukee in the World Series would still be in effect. But no matter. As much as I don't like seeing myself write this, I'd like to see the Dodgers advance to play the Bosox in the World Series. Manny against his old team? Joe Torre getting back to the World Series while the Yankees missed October baseball altogether?
Maybe there's a reason they're not winning: Yes, the Seahawks have had some injury problems, particularly to their entire wide receiver corps. But you can't tell me that kicking a field goal while trailing 27-3 just before halftime is going to help you win football games. You can't tell me that punting on 4th-and-1 from your own 40 when you're already down 17-3 is going to help you win football games. In fact, Seattle punted at least four times when they shouldn't have. The aforementioned punt, plus a punt on 4th-and-5 from midfield, a 4th-and-6 from midfield, and a 4th-and-4 from midfield with 1:09 left in the game! What????? With a minute left, you're punting? Why??? The Giants are done for the day, leading 44-6; they're not going to try to score again. They're going to kneel down. And sure enough, they did. Yes, I know they weren't going to win, but what's the point in punting right then? To give up? Just for the love of all things holy and almighty, try for a fourth down! You have absolutely nothing to lose!
(Trivia answer: C.C. stands for "Carsten Charles".)
