With My 32nd Birthday Approaching...

...I thought I'd have at it creating a list of who I consider to be the best player to wear the number 32 in sports--MLB, NASCAR, NHL, NFL and NBA--I'm going to pick one from each sports in honor of my 32nd birthday.

"Lefty" was straight nasty with the 32 on his back

MLB

STEVE CARLTON. The lefty won four Cy Young Awards with the Phillies, amassed 4,136 strikeouts, was a member of two World Series champions and racked up 329 career wins. Needless to say, he's enshrined in Cooperstown. The number 32 has been widely used in baseball as a pitchers' number until recently (Josh Hamilton, Jay Bruce). The likes of Roy Halladay, "El Presidente" Dennis Martinez, Sandy Koufax have also donned thirty-two on their back.

NASCAR

RICKY CRAVEN. How can I not go with the man who has the only two wins from the #32 car in NASCAR history? The #32 has raced 715 times and won only twice--both Craven.  Ricky Craven, currently an ESPN analyst, piled up over $9.5 million in career earnings. Way back when, in the late-70's, Dick Brooks was the man behind the wheel of the #32 car. Though Brooks never won in the #32, he placed Top 5 eighteen times. Ricky Craven, not Ricky Bobby

NHL

CLAUDE LEMIEUX. This was a tough one for so many reasons but Lemieux found the back of the net 379 times during his 21-year NHL career. He also registered 407 assists and 1,777 penalty minutes. "The Grim Reaper" Stu Grimson was my next pick followed by Dale Hunter but Lemieux won out. He won four Stanley Cup championships and a Conn Smythe Trophy. His 80 career playoff goals are ninth all-time in NHL history.

NFL

JIM BROWN. Gotta go with him, right? Sure, Orenthal James (OJ) Simpson was a hell of a player but in nine seasons, Brown ran for 12,312 yards and 106 touchdowns. OJ wasn't far off, rushing for 11,236 yards but only 61 touchdowns (in 11 seasons). Then he went out and killed some people, got acquitted, then proceeded to rip some people off and then I lost interest. Brown made the Pro Bowl in all nine of his seasons and led the league in rushing eight times. Marcus Allen was considered for the mere fact that he couldn't be tackled in Tecmo Bowl for Nintendo. Guys wearing #32 now include RB Maurice Jones-Drew and FS Devin McCourty.

NBA

ERVIN "MAGIC" JOHNSON. It could have gone to Julius Erving had he not switched to the #6 late in his career, but Magic was just that. Dude won five NBA Championships with the Lakers  A three-time NBA MVP and three-time NBA Finals MVP, Johnson is the best ever to wear #32. He was as well-rounded a player as the game has ever seen. He scored, he rebounded and he dished out dimes (19.5 PPG, 7.2 RPG and 11.2 APG). His assist number place him atop the NBA's all-time assists-per-game list ahead of John Stockton (10.51) and Chris Paul (9.82).

--

Just thought I'd throw this one together to celebrate my 32nd birthday. Have a great night--here in Connecticut, it's been raining all day and it doesn't look like it's going to stop anytime soon. 

Pretzels: The Underrated Snack

For me, this is a no brainer.  Pretzels are one of the most underrated snacks known to man (and woman).

Pretzels could rank right up there with my favorite foods/snacks that are readily available.  Pizza, Haribo Cola, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, sausage and broccoli rabe with penne pasta, spaghetti and meatballs.  I mean this list can go on for days and months.

I will direct my focus to the pretzel.

Originally created in Europe, the pretzel was brought to America in the late 19th century by southern German and Swiss German immigrants, and if they were still around today, I'd thank them profusely.  And then I'd thank them again.  Nowadays, Pennsylvania is the center of the American pretzel campaign, producing over 80% of the pretzels we consume in this country.  Pretty remarkable.

I prefer sourdough over the soft or traditional variety, but I won't turn down the two latter.  And I'll be damned if the hard pretzel didn't originate in America.  In 1850, the Sturgis bakery in Lilitz, PA became the first commercial hard pretzel bakery.  Thanks Lilitz!

I don't care who makes them, as long as they keep making them.  Utz, Snyder's of Hanover, Rold Gold, Bachman, Herr's, Auntie Anne's.  Thank you all.

I really don't care for the honey wheat braided pretzel twists but if it was my only option, I'd grab a handful.

But seriously, when are pretzels not acceptable to eat?  I've had them after breakfast and sometimes even for breakfast.  I have a few every day driving back from work.  Watching football?  Grab some pretzels.  At the bar, pretzels and peanuts.  Chex Mix?  Yep, they've got the pretzels in there as well.  Headed to the ballpark to catch a baseball game?  They offer up the soft variety there.  Salted or unsalted.  It doesn't matter.  If pretzels played potato chips in a bowl game, they'd be 15-point underdogs. 

OK, I am cooking dinner, I just had to get this off my chest.  Pretzels don't get the amount of respect they deserve.  And if my voice were bigger, I'd let the world know.

Eat More Pretzels!

Go Cowboys!

The 2012 NFL season begins tonight when the Dallas Cowboys  visit the World Champion New York Football Giants at MetLife Stadium. This game is coming at the perfect time for millions of New York sports fans: the Mets are irrelevant and the Yankees just blew a 10+ game lead in the AL East. Needless to say, Football is our saving grace right now.


Disclaimer: I am biased against the Giants.  I strongly dislike the whole organization (except for a friend who works for them) and I root for Gang Green and Big D.

The Giants will lose this game tonight as the Cowboys return the favor and rain on their celebrations.  The Giants beat the Cowboys in the first game at Cowboys Stadium.  Look for Tony Romo to have a great game tonight (Don't turn it over!) and for Eli to be out of sync with his wideouts.


But then again, what do I know?  If I saw this guy standing in front of me looking to crush my soul, I'd be off my rocker too...


Cowboys 21  Giants 17

                                                          William Perlman/The Star-Ledger/US Presswire

My 5 - Logo Madness - MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA

My best four current logos from each of the "major" sports - photos only - I didn't include the MLS even though one of their owners is very optimistic.  Logos are in no particular order.

MLB (logo, NOT cap design)

Yankees are just a classic logo to me as is the Dodgers.  Everything looks better in a circle it seems, as Oakland can attest to.  The Rockies just resonates with me and even though I'm not a Mets fan, the skyline in the background is big league.


NFL (logo ON the helmet)

The Ravens is just a bad ass looking helmet and how can you not love the Buccaneers, there's a pirate on it!  The Bengals is designed like the animal, the Chargers is simple yet effective, and how can you argue with the Silver & Black of the Raiders?


NHL

So glad the Islanders went back to this and got rid of the fisherman.  Oil dripping on the Oilers logo and the simplicity of the Canadiens (the "H" is for "Hockey", not "Habs").  The Sabres incorporated sabres and Buffalo and made it work while the musical Blues logo works, even though it is pretty silly.


NBA

The Pacers logo is simple and letter-based while the new-school Thunder logo simply looks sharp.  The Rockets logo looks like a rocket taking off and how can you not think of #23 when you see the Bulls logo?  Back again to the "everything looks good in a circle" when you look at the Warriors new logo.


I'm tired, time for some zzz's.

Cool Names - Sports Edition

There are a lot of weird names out there in the world. 

Navaeh seems to be popular because it's "heaven" backwards.  God Shammgod is a guard from Providence by way of NYC.

Here's a collection of some unique names from the sports world, in no particular order.  I'm aiming for active players only.

1. Kila Ka'aihue - first baseman for the Oakland A's, not surprisingly from Hawaii
2. Captain Munnerlyn - cornerback for the Carolina Panthers, but he is not the captain
3. Dirk Nowitzki - forward for the Dallas Mavericks, it's just fun to say .. Dirk Dirk Dirk
4. Placido Polanco - utility player for the Phillies, talking about fun to say
5. Richie Incognito - guard for the Miami Dolphins, but he's undercover
6. Bronson Arroyo - pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds, long hair don't care and he's with the band
7. Jon Jay and Lance Lynn - outfielder and pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, because everyone loves saying names that begin with the same letter
8. Kaka - soccer player from Brazil, just because it makes you laugh
9. R.A. Dickey - pitcher for the New York Mets, just because it makes you laugh
10. Metta World Peace - forward for the Los Angeles Lakers, who is serving a suspension for elbowing James Harden in the head, ironic

That's good for now.  

No Favors for the G-Men

The Giants are going to have a tough go at it if they're expecting to repeat as Super Bowl champions.

After the NFL blasted their ass released the 2012 schedule, the Giants found out they'll be playing SEVEN teams that made the playoffs last season.

Home games against:  Pittsburgh, New Orleans, Green Bay
Road games against:  San Francisco, Cincinnati, Atlanta, Baltimore

Basically four of the last seven (not including themselves) teams playing last year are on their schedule.

It'll be and up and down year, it always is, but that's why they play the game.

#FF; Super Bowl Prediction

This edition of Follow Friday will focus on a sports figure from the four major sports in the US - hockey, baseball, football, and basketball.  The fifth will be a wild card.

• Michael Grabner - LW/RW for my hometown NY Islanders tweets all the time
• Rudy Gay - F for the Memphis Grizzlies, my team du jour in NBA Jam
• Dave Diehl - OL for the NY Giants, because offensive lineman don't get enough credit
• Peter Moylan - Pitcher for the Atlanta Braves, tattoo aficionado, funny guy
• Vanilla Ice - ice, ice, baby - a tweet machine

Have a great Super Bowl weekend.

Prediction:
Giants 23 - Patriots 13

Three Up, Three Down

Time to talk about three up and three down from the past weekend in sports.

3 UP

• Kyrie Irving - Former Duke star - for a year anyway - hit a layup with 2.6 ticks left as the Caveliers stunned the Celtics, 88-87, in Boston.  The layup capped a 12-0 run to close the game for the Cavs, who are tied with the Bucks for the 8th playoff spot. 
• Novak Djokovic - After winning the Australian Open in a mere six hours over Rafael Nadal, Djokovic has now won four majors in the past 12 months.  Pretty remarkable.  If he wins the French Open, he'll hold all four major championships simultaneously.  Pretty dominating.
• Towson Men's Basketball - There is finally reason to smile at Towson - they won.  The win, over UNC-Wilmington (8-13), snapped a 41-game losing streak for the Tigers.  It was their first win since December 29th, 2010 at LaSalle.

3 DOWN

• UConn Men's Basketball - After a pair of losses to Cincinnati and Tennessee, this game against Notre Dame at home was just what the doctor ordered.  Freshman phenom Ryan Boatright was back and they were at home.  None of that mattered as the fell at the hands of the Irish, 50-48.  The Huskies fell to 4-4 in Big East play, they dropped out of the Top 25, and their schedule doesn't get any easier - they travel to #14 Georgetown on Wednesday.
• NFL Pro Bowl - For starters, Hot Chelle Rae performed the pregame show.  Yeah, I know, who?  Second, the game started off with a rain of boos from the seats fans as the first series was......unispired, to say the least.  The AFC won, 59-41.  At one point, the center and a defensive lineman stood straight up on a play and didn't move.  No, really, they didn't move.  Terrible display from the NFL on this one.
• Knicks Basketball - The hype at the beginning of the season suddenly seems a distant memory with fans kicking themselves for believing this year would be different.  The Knicks got blasted by the Rockets on Saturday, dropping them to 7-13 on the season.  Maybe they need to share the ball a little more - they're averaging a paltry 18.5 assists per game.  If they weren't shooting nearly 80% from the free throw line, they might not have 5 wins.  Pretty pathetic considering MSG is the "mecca" of basketball.

Super Bowl XLVI

As predicted here on WRT, the Giants will play the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis on February 5.

The Patriots needed a boneheaded coaching decision - or lack thereof - to avoid OT with Baltimore.  Ravens coach Jim Harbaugh, instead of calling a timeout, elected to let his kicker sprint to the spot and essentially rush the biggest field goal attempt of his career.  Wide Left!!  Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, and T-Sizzle may never get back to the promised land.

The Giants, they were more opportunistic, forcing two fumbles on special teams by the best special teams unit in the NFL.  Sam Weatherford held it (with his wedding ring on), Lawrence Tynes kicked it, and all hell broke loose for the Blue and White.  Two road wins in two of the most difficult places to play - Lambeau and Candlestick.

There are so many storylines it's sickening:

• Eli stepping out of Peyton's shadow
• Little brother playing for the "big one" in the house that Peyton built
• A rematch of Super Bowl XLII
• Brady and Belichick in their fifth Super Bowl as Head Coach/QB
• Tom Coughlin proving all his doubters wrong
• Is Eli better than Peyton?
• Are Eli and Brady both elite?
• The Giants defense stepping up and playing like a unit possessed

I mean the list goes on and on, but I'll let the expertsforcefeed us said storylines until we can no longer ingest them.

Madonna as the halftime show?  I am surely NOT going to watch that one.  She had a hard enough time speaking at the Golden Globe awards.

$2800+ is the cheapest ticket available on ticketexchange.  Needless to say, I am not going to Indianapolis.

Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30pm EST.

I am looking forward to it.

RATM; Weekend Preview; #FF

• I was driving home last night in the beginnings of a mini snowstorm and at one point was kind of creeped out - I was the only car headed north on the road I was travelling - which was a main state road.  This solitude lasted for approximately 8 or 9 miles - not one pair of headlights in front of or behind me - eerie.  Then when I got on I-91 and I-84, the big rig trucks were driving like assholes.  At one point, the right lane ended and an 18-wheeler was about 3' behind my back bumper - and after seeing that wreck out west earlier in the week where the truck plunged 50' and the people in car were miraculously saved, it kinda spooked me.  Regardless, I stayed my path, and got home safely.

• Onto the reason behind this post - I was listening to the radio and heard three Rage Against The Machine songs in succession - "Bulls on Parade", "People of the Sun", and "Guerrilla Radio".  These songs came off Evil Empire (BoP, PotS) and The Battle of Los Angeles (GR), not my favorite.  This led me to purchase their first album, Rage Against the Machine - a masterpiece and quite possibly the first album to merge rap and heavy metal.  I was 11 when it came out and immediately knew it was a great album.  My top three off this album: "Bombtrack"; "Know Your Enemy"; "Township Rebellion".  The cover of the album said it all without actually saying anything:

• As for the NFL slate this weekend - all two games - I still like the Giants to win and the Patriots to sneak out a win against the Ravens, a team many aren't giving a chance. 

• Twitter time!  Follow these accounts ... ... ... NOW!

1. Men's Humor - hilarious tweets every single time
2. NY Islanders - not because they are good, because they aren't really that good, but because they're my team
3. Mike Francesa - this is actually a spoof of his show and the writing is impeccable - they write exactly how he speaks
4. Ryan Hanrahan - local weatherman here in CT on NBC
5. Jimmy Traina - fellow Long Islander and writer and creator of SI's Hot Clicks

Have a great weekend and stay warm/dry.  We're expecting anywhere between four to six inches of snow here in Connecticut.

Tuesday Trends

Here's a quick hits version of what's trending and what I think should be trending:

1. Napoleon Dynamite - Is it me or is this cartoon years late?  The movie was pretty funny but a cartoon in primetime - no thanks.
2. Ink Master - A new tattoo show showcasing ten of the best tattoo artists in the country (I think it's only America).  Long Island's own Tommy Helm is on the show and although I haven't gotten tattoed by him (and because of this show, probably never will), it'll be cool to watch.  He has tattooed a few of my friends.  Ante up!
3. Jay-Z has made a vow to stop using the word "bitch" in his rap game.  I'm sure he can put out ridiculous tracks without the word anyway.
4. In birthday news, the immortal Betty White is 90 today.  90% to a century and still making people laugh.  Oh, and she's spent 70 years on the screen.
5. Colts fired head coach Jim Caldwell.  Not having Peyton Manning had nothing to do with this - well, maybe a little.  The Colts defense has allowed more PPG every year for the past three seasons.

Gotta get going, whipping together a vegetable curry and brown rice dish for dinner.  Oh yeah, trying to eat a little more healthy.

Championship Week

Leading up to this weekends NFL games, the anticipation is already building.  A rematch of the Giants/49ers.  An unstoppable force (Patriots offense) and an immovable object (supposedly the Baltimore defense).

The Giants were mighty impressive in their 37-20 thrashing of everyones favorite to win it all, the Packers.  In Green Bay.  As an almost double-digit dog.  Eli proved, once and for all, that he is among the NFL's ELIte quarterbacks.  The score was tied 10-10 before the G-Men rattled off 10 straight points before the half - the last score a bomb of a hail mary to Hakeem Nicks, who just wanted it more than anyone else.  The Packers lacked a sense of urgency it seemed - it was almost like "oh, we'll score points, no big deal" except it was, and they are left to wonder what could have been.

The 49ers did the unthinkable, "shocking" the Saints, even though they were the higher seed - 36-32 on a last second Smith-to-Davis TD pass.  I actually clapped and was excited by the finish.  Everyone has seen how well the 49ers did this year but no one really saw.  They finally showed how versatile they can be when they actually punch it in the endzone.  The Saints, well, their defense stunk.  Sure they have an explosive offense, but the defense has to give them something. 

Giants/49ers - SF beat the Giants once already (as did the Packers), 27-20, thanks to a miserable defensive fourth quarter.  This is a different Giants team, however, and I think it'll be a tough home game for the 49ers.

The Patriots showed who was boss in their drubbing of the Tebows Broncos, 45-10.  Before you could blink, Tom Brady had five TD passes - in the first half!  Everyone was talking about Tebow and Brady Quinn all week, but there wasn't a lot of chatter about Tom Brady.  Not really sure why, odd.  Sure, Tebow had a great run, but it's been said before - once the Broncos get behind big early, it's over.  Belichick is a genius and had a great plan (read: NOT 9 in the box like the Steelers) and they executed it to perfection.  Nine straight wins for the Pats since their loss to the Giants.

The Ravens held on in the most boring game of the weekend, for a 20-13 win over the Texans.  The game was almost unwatchable.  They haven't faced an offense like the Patriots have all season - so it'll be interesting to see if they can keep the two-headed TE monster in check.  Their offense doesn't scare anyone and I'm sure their defense is going to be getting all the pub this week leading up to it.  Flacco is a good quarterback and Ray Rice is dynamic, but he's been average in three of their past four games (191 yards in the season-finale against the Bengals).  If they can stop him - on the ground and through the air - it'll be a long day for the Ravens D.

Ravens/Patriots - First time these two play this season.  Patriots are rolling and their "terrible" defense is looking better and better.  Remember, confidence is key, and like the Giants, they are a very confident group.  I'm sure Ray Ray and T-Sizzle will have the purple and black fired up, but  Brady might play the role of fireman and put it out.

I'm predicting a Giants/Patriots rematch of 2008 (and Week 9).

Don't believe all the hype and media coverage.  It comes down to who gets hot at the right time and who's clicking on all cylinders, and if you watched the games this weekend, I think it's those two.

#FF and Something Sports

Five Twitter followed by me:

1. Garry Shandling - because he's hilarious
2. Bryan Avigne - our wedding photographer, who did an awesome job.
3. Cody Ross - SF Giants OF'er and a rad dude
4. Matt Carle - Defenseman for the Philadelphia Flyers
5. Justin Tuck - beast on defense for the Giants, who'll hopefully beat the Packers

According to a few articles I've read, The Washington Post is getting the first interview with Joe Paterno following the entire debacle.  Who said newspapers were going the way of the dinosaur?

The Weekend That Was (& Wasn't)

Here are the winners of the weekend that was:

• NFC East and AFC West - The only two division in football without a 10-win playoff team.  Didn't seem to matter much as the Giants embarrassed the Falcons, 24-2, while the Fighting Tebows beat the Steelers in OT, 29-23 (after a near collapse).
• Tennessee Volunteers basketball - Not only did they creep a game above .500 with a win on Saturday, but they beat #12 Florida, 67-56.  I don't think there is a taste more sweet for Vols fans than beating the hated Gators.
• Ottawa Senators - They overcame a 2 goal deficit, erupting for four third period goals, to take down my beloved Flyers, 6-4.  Eleven Senators recorded a point in this one.
• Drew Brees - Everyone knows he broke Marino's record forpassing yards this year (5,476) but he kept up the torrid pace in a 45-28 thrashing of the hapless Lions.  He threw for 466 yards and three TD's - but he lost a fumble.  I guess no one is perfect.

Here are the losers of the weekend that wasn't:

• NFL Referees - There were some brutal calls throughout the Wild Card Weekend - a non-fumble in the Lions/Saints game and several questionable holding calls in the Falcons/Giants game.  There were plenty of other calls that were head-scratchers, but I don't have the time to get into all of them.  Moving forward, I hope they let the teams play a little more.  There were 39 penalties in the four game.  But they missed a helmet-to-helmet hit on Steelers WR Mike Wallace on a third down play.
• University of Connecticut Basketball - The women's team lost at #3 Notre Dame in OT, 74-67, marking the first time they've lost a Big East game since February of 2008.  Sure, they are still going to be a force to reckon with, but after losing three times to the Huskies last year, the Irish might find themselves believing a little more.  The men's team lost at Rutgers, marking the second straight Big East game they've lost - both in NJ (Seton Hall beat them 75-63 on Tuesday).  The Huskies remain one of the nations elite, but they have to bounce back tonight at home against West Virginia, a team that is coming off a big home win over #11 Georgetown.
• Washington Wizards - This miserable group fell to 0-8, remaining the only winless team in the NBA, and in the process I think they've been eliminated from playoff contention.  The Timberwolves (3-5) crushed them yesterday, 93-72.  They're averaging 84.6 ppg (29th), shooting 39.7% from the floor (29th), are -12.9 in point differential (30th) and getting outrebounded by 8 rpg (30th).  Looks like a lost cause down in DC.  At least they delivered some good during the holidays.

Birthday

Happy 30th Birthday to the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton.

What's Trending?: Too Fat to Give Birth?; Savannah Brinson; NFL Playoffs

Happy 2012 to all my followers!  Lindsay went back to work today so it's just me and the boys again during the day - it sure was nice having all of us together every day but in order for that to happen, we're going to have to hit lotto or something.  She's a great wife and mother and Nolan, Nathan, and I are ucky to have her.

Moving on to what's trending on the first Tuesday of 2012 - affectionately known as Taco Tuesday (as is the first Tuesday of every month):

1. Too Fat to Give Birth? - According to The Guinness Book of World Records, the heaviest woman to ever give birth, Donna Simpson, has split from her fiance of five years and moved back to Ohio with her children.  I think this happened a while ago so I am not sure why she's trending, but she is.  Weird.

2. Savannah Brinson, aka Mrs. LeBron James - Yes, that's right.  The King separated himself from his bro-mance with the rest of the Big Three in Miami long enough to propose to his longtime girlfriend.  But fear not, Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union were there as were Lance Bass and Jamie Lynn Sigler.  What a romantic group to propose in front of.  Hopefully this won't go like the NBA Finals, where he forgot to show up in the final minutes.

3. NFL Playoffs - My Raiders had a golden opportunity to win the AFC West but couldn't handle the pressure - at home - getting pumped by a Chargers team with nothing to play for.  The Jets and their blowhard coach Rex Ryan are going to be watching from the couch as well.

NFC - The Giants blew out the Cowboys in a win-or-go-home scenario at MetLife Stadium Sunday night and will host the Falcons, a wild-card team with a lot of weapons.  The Packers clinched a spot in Week 3 and a bye in the first round after finishing 15-1 and the Niners proved they belong, finishing 13-3 and clinching a bye and the #2 seed in the NFC.  Drew Brees and his record-setting season helped lead the Saints to the #3 seed and a matchup with the defenseless Detroit Lions.

AFC - The Patriots proved once again they are the class of the AFC and ran away with the East, the #1 seed, and a bye in the first round.  Their defense is still in question, but their offense can score at will.  The Ravens secured the #2 seed and a bye after clinching the AFC North with a 12-4 record, including 2 wins over the Steelers, who will head to Denver to take on "QB" Tim Tebow and the spiraling Broncos, who backed in out of the AFC West.  The Bengals will play to AFC South champion Texans who are riding a three-game losing streak heading into the playoffs.

Some interesting possible second round matchups: 
- Steelers/Patriots II - The Pats were beaten 25-17 in Pittsburgh in Week 8.
- Texans/Ravens II - The Ravens dominated the Week 6 matchup, winning 29-14 in Baltimore.
- Giants/Packers II - The Packers survived a scare in The Swamps of NJ, 38-35 in Week 12.

Stay tuned, it should be pretty exciting.  Especially knowing we don't have to hear either of the Ryan brothers talking about how good their teams are.

On to Phase 2; Lindsay's Night Out; Tiny Zoo; Pickup Football

On to Phase 2
With us having completed the regular season in the MAAC and finishing as the #1 seed for next weeks MAAC Tournament in Trenton, NJ (at the home of Yankees' AA affiliate Trenton Thunder), today is a day off.  I can't really say it's much needed since the rain earlier in the week coupled with commencement setup in the gym meant that we had two days off from practice (Monday, Tuesday) but it certainly isn't something I'm complaining about.

We had a game Friday and two Saturday with Iona, who always plays us tough, but took care of business and hopefully built up some momentum going into the four team playoff.  With the sweep, our regular season record is 21-2 in MAAC games (31-17 overall).  A pretty good year by any standards, but it really means nothing without some hardware at the end.

And that hardware is the MAAC Championship ring. 

The dogpile after the final out is recorded in the clinching game - that feeling (although I never experienced it as a player since our teams were slightly above average with talent and champions of boozing) was something I cannot explain.  It makes all the shitty practices at 6am in January with snow on the ground worth it.  It makes taking out and putting up the outfield fence (yes, we might be the only team in DI baseball that does this) worth it.  It makes not having music or a National Anthem (definitely the only school in the country not allowed to play it because the parks woman in charge is a complete piece of shit bitch) a little more tolerable.  But more importantly, it's something the players will never, ever forget.
We have a solid core of seniors, and for them, this is everything.  I just hope the rest of the guys realize what these four seniors have done for this program (almost 1,000 hits combined in 4 years) and play with a little pride for them (and themselves).  The most important thing though, is staying loose.  Remain focused on what it is we're there to do - win the whole fucking thing! (to quote the legendary Jake Taylor from Major League).  But we gotta stay loose, play loose, have fun, and just do what we've managed to do all year - win.

We just gotta go out there and do it.  Believe in ourselves. Trust one another.  And throw strikes and get good performances from our starting pitching.  When we go to the bullpen, we need tough SOB's coming into the game to get outs.  We need to scratch across runs anyway possible.  Solid defense needs to be paramount as well.

I can wax poetic about this and that and what everyone needs to do but in the end it comes down to one thing:  who wants it the most?

I'd like to think it's us.

Lindsay's Night Out
Last night was her first away from Nolan.  With me at a doubleheader until 5:30pm, my parents were nice enough to come in and help look after N & N while Lindsay got ready to go out for her friend Rosie's bachelorette party. 

She opted for the dinner portion of the party so she drove into the city to meet up with the girls.  She had some champagne and a glass of vino at dinner (at some Greek place on 60th) and got back to the apartment around 10:30pm. 

She had hangar steak, something I don't think I've ever seen her order at any point since we've known one another.  She never gets steak, but hey, I guess a baby makes you crave different things.

Overall she said she had a great time seeing everyone.  The next time we'll see them all is at the wedding in Syracuse sometime in June.  Jesse and Julia will be traveling with us to take care of the little man while we head to the wedding. 

Should be a cramped 5-hour ride to the Cuse.

Tiny Zoo (for iPad)
This game is seriously a safe version of crack.  The premise is simple - build the best virtual zoo ever!

And I am well on my way.  Call me a loser, go ahead - but you're a loser too because you're definitely checking it out right now.

I've got African elephants, jackrabbits, black bears, chimps, Indian rhino, red panda, an ocelot, cheetah, butterflies, and even a mustang.  I got plenty of shops and food vendors to keep my loyal customers happy.

I am currently waiting for the second expansion of my zoo to be completed (ETA 17h 50m) before I can add some more badass animals.
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=9171629383088672152
Seriously though, this game is like crack.  Remember FarmVille for Facebook?  This is that times 1,285.  At least.

Pickup Football
There's a park behind my building where all sorts of crazy shit goes on (see previous posts about boy's softball) but right now, there's a pantheon of men (some young, some with a full head of white hair) playing pickup football.  Maybe they're hoping to get picked up if the NFL is looking for replacement players.  They scream, hoot, and holler - and part of me wants to join the game, but I think I'd be a little too intense for the older guys out there.  I might be compelled to put on on his ass (yes, even though it is two-hand touch).

Sunday mornings year round is football in Riverdale.  There's some yarmulkes (pronouced:  YAH-ma-ka) out there too - I think they know they'll never make it the NFL as a player (however, as an owner, they might have their day). NY Giants QB Sage Rosenfels gives them a little glimmer of hope, though.  After doing a but of research - read: Googling "Jews in the NFL", the results indicate there are quite a few Jews in the NFL (here's a list).  Pretty surprising names on this list - and a lot don't even sound Jewish.  I mean San Diego's long snapper David Binn (apparently Jewish) used to date Pamela Anderson for shit's sake!  Binn there, done that - like most of Hollywood.

Mazel tov!

OK.  Nolan's been sleeping in his lamb swing while I've been sitting next to him writing this post and he's finally starting to stir, so I am gonna get going.  Lindsay is feeling a little worn down lately, so she's still in bed (it's 9:33am, practically a hibernation on a baby's clock) so she is trying to recuperate a little bit.  It wears me out so I can imagine how it must kick her ass - home all day with the dog and the baby.  She enjoys it immensely, I know she does - but that doesn't mean she doesn't get worn out.  I am sure she'll read this when she wakes up - hopefully feeling a little better.

Til next time knuckleheads.

Ada, Ohio

"Home of the only factory in America that makes nothing but footballs"

Pretty neat video and story.  Small town people responsible for a big part of American culture.

Awesome.

Most Disliked People in Sports

Just got in to the office before baseball practice - it's 5:40am - and came across an article on Yahoo!.  Before I clicked the link, I knew who was going to be at the very top - Oakland Raiders' own Al Davis.

If you want to read the article, go ahead, it'll show you why a once proud franchise struggles with consistency.

If you don't, here's the list of the least-liked figured in sports:

1. Al Davis
2. Michael Vick
3. Jerry Jones
4. Tiger Woods
5. Manny Ramirez
6. Terrell Owens
7. Albert Haynesworth
8. Mark McGwire
9. Bobby Knight (strongly disagree)
10. Randy Moss

Six of the top ten least-liked sports figured are from the NFL - you think there's much of an image problem? 

Tiger Woods still has work to do to get his image back. 
Manny is Manny, he does it for himself. 
McGwire is a pock-faced liar. 
Bobby Knight doesn't even deserve to be on this list.  The guy was a winner wherever he was and is a great motivator and a great coach.  Hell, he is a pretty good analyst too - it's nice hearing a game called from a coaches perspective.

Time for baseball.

Cutler Gets Tweet-blasted

WOW.  I said I thought it was a soft move to come out of the game but the league has spoken.

Jay Cutler is WEAK!

Take a look at this link from Yahoo!

Eagles need Auburn's K Wes Byrum

Wes Byrum needs to get drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles, so long as there's an NFL Draft.  He won the Auburn Tigers a national championship - rare air for a college kicker.

The Eagles fans were watching last night thinking, "why couldn't our kicker do that?"  Sure, Akers is 82% on field goals throughout his career.  But this Eagles team was supposed to go to the Super Bowl.  Michael Vick was a hero all season.  MVP.  Comeback player of the year, sure, maybe.  Goat?  Nope - he personally accounted for 12 of their 16 points.  The goat?  Come on down David Akers - had he made the 34- or the 41-yard FG, they'd have been in a little better spot.  They could have attempted a FG late to win it.  Just saying. 

Sure, Akers has been great for the organization.  He's been an Eagle for a long time - 188 of his 189 career games are with the Eagles (1 as a Redskin in 1998).  Your time has come and gone.  Ask Jeff Reed out in Pittsburgh.

Wes Byrum needs to be in an Eagles uniform.  New blood!