[Editor's Note: SportsJudge's Chris Carmona continues his Fantasy NASCAR coverage with this weekend's Shelby 427. Be sure to check back each Saturday afternoon at 1pm for more in-depth race previews and Fantasy NASCAR picks.]
That is how last year's Vegas Race ended for Jeff Gordon, arguably one of the hardest impact crashes you will see. This year Jeff Gordon is fully healthy and he is back at the track that almost ended his career.
The Shelby 427 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is 27 miles longer than normal, thanks to creative sponsorship. You might think that the 27 miles don't mean anything, but when teams rely on every drop of fuel to get them around the track the fastest, you better believe those last 27 miles are going to matter.
Congrats first to Matt Kenseth for winning two straight races to start the season, no driver has ever won the first three though. If you look at that video you will notice that with five laps to go, Kenseth was in position to possibly claim victory before Gordon tapped him. He wound up finishing 20th after leading 70 laps.
So could this be history this weekend? Kenseth is a two-time winner at this track, winning in 03 & 04. In nine races at this track, Kenseth has four top 5 finishes and has led more laps than any other driver. Who is going to stop him, assuming he can get out of his own way first, starting 40th this week.
Well for beginners, there is Jeff Gordon again. Gordon almost caught Kenseth in the last few laps last weekend, but wound up finishing second. Gordon is looking like the driver from 2001, the last time he won in Vegas and also went on to claim the Championship. An average qualifying spot might be too much for him to overcome though this week.
Let's take a look at how the I see the top 5 finishing.
1- Jeff Burton: Burton already has two wins at this track in its 11 year history, but that hasn't been since 2000. Burton starts 14th on Sunday and only four times has the race winner started in the top ten. Burton is struggling to start this season but can quickly turn things around. Burton finished 5th last year and has the most points at this track over the past ten years.
2- Mark Martin: The fan favorite won the inaugural race here in Vegas and hasn't won a race since Kansas in 2005. The guy has nine top 10 finishes in 11 races at this track and it helps that he is starting 8th. Better to be ahead early and often.
3- Denny Hamlin: You have to expect one of Joe Gibbs guys to be up at the front at the end. Kyle Busch is going to the back of the pack after changing he engine although he got the pole so Gibbs second best driver, Hamlin will have to carry the workload for this team. Fortunately Hamlin has the second best average finish out of all drivers in the circuit, only behind Mark Martin.
4- Greg Biffle: My reasoning on this one is that he is quietly near the front in every race. Last week he had the fastest car but his pitting blunder caused him the race most likely. Biffle finishes what he starts so you can expect him to be around at the end. I like a hot team and I like Biffle.
5- Tony Stewart: Stewart has never won in Vegas but has finished in the top 5 four times. More than half of Tony's 33 wins have come on 1.5 tracks. His race team seems to be leaps and bounds ahead of the rest of the start up teams. One thing is for sure is that Tony knows how to race a car and as long as the thing has four wheels on it, you can expect Tony to drive... the wheels off it.
Over the weekend 19-year-old Washington Nationals prospect Esmailyn Gonzalez was suddenly revealed to be neither 19 nor named Esmailyn Gonzalez. His actual name is Carlos Lugo and he’s 23 years old. That’s four years older than he was originally listed. Lugo got a 1.4 million dollar signing bonus when he was 16 (but really 20), a deal negotiated by Basilio Vizcaino, who according to MLB “helps prepare young players in hopes that they eventually sign big Major League deals and reward him with a percentage of a signing bonus.” So Vizcaino is a buscone, an agent, trainer, coach, scout hybrid of sorts who find players, trains them to the point of the Dominican word “ready” (that's some players, including a former signee discussing the process of readiness, you need to mostly know Spanish) which is taken from the American English word “ready.” The Dominican word means specifically ready to sign. To learn a little more about buscones check out my article from last month, or check out Stealing Lives by Arturo J. Marcano and David P. Fidler.
The fact of the matter is that in a lot of cases buscones put a lot of time and effort into supporting (as in feeding and housing) Dominican prospects while they train them to be “ready.” They certainly do deserve a sort of finders fee in those cases, but all too often the skimming of money intended for a player becomes exorbitant, far more than just a fee, it’s an abuse of the system.
What caught Major League Baseball’s attention in the Gonzalez/Lugo case was the close relationship between Vizcaino, Jose Rijo, who special assistant to Nationals GM Jim Bowden, and Jose Baez, who is in charge of Washington’s Dominican operations. Major League Baseball (and now the FBI) has been looking into the skimming of signing bonuses of Dominican players. Were the Nationals officials part of the conspiracy to misrepresent the player and in turn take a chunk of the signing bonus? We’ll have to let the investigators figure all that out.
The scam pulled off by Gonzalez/Lugo is pretty impressive though. Not only did he lie about his age, which is not that difficult, but he managed to completely change his name. This is a big step up from the simple age issues with birth certificates in the Dominican Republic (like when Miguel Tejada was caught lying about his age). Guess what though? It’s really not all that difficult to officially have the wrong age on your birth certificate in the Dominican Republic, whether done intentionally or by mistake. First of all, nearly one in four Dominicans do not have a birth certificate (for a brief primer on birth certificates, and to get a feel for an “average” Dominican town, check out this report I wrote in the fall). People are far more likely to not be born in a hospital. Officially getting a birth certificate is put off by parents for months and oftentimes years. It’s nothing like here where you aren’t leaving a hospital for home without one.
Even fourteen and fifteen year old students I had in the Dominican Republic would flip-flop on their age from day to day because they weren’t entirely sure what year they were born. Times and dates just aren’t that important where I lived. Meeting at five o’clock really meant sometime before five thirty, or even six. There were very few clocks (I can’t imagine how stuff worked before cell phones) and even fewer people know how to tell time on an analog clock. That’s just something to keep in mind with these age mix-ups.
While it gets more and more difficult to obtain a birth certificate as someone gets older, generally all that is needed is for the child’s mother (it has to be the mother) to go to the town hall closest to where the child was born, fill out, and obtain a birth certificate. What this also means is that the date can become mixed up, misremembered, or even falsified on purpose. Is this what Lugo did? Absolutely not. What he did was almost definitely involved fraud with a whole host of people helping out.
The fact of the matter is, from a baseball perspective, that the better and the younger you are, the better chance you have of getting out of life in a third world country.
That concept brings us to this whole “boli” saga with Alex Rodriguez and his Dominican trainer. Alex Rodriguez has been linked to Dominican trainer Angel Presinal, who himself is linked to steroids (as in he got caught in Canada with a bag full of stuff when he was travelling with Juan Gonzalez earlier this decade). Presinal has been banned from stadiums by MLB but still managed to follow the Yankees around from hotel to hotel in 2007. I don’t trust Alex Rodriguez’s story for a second, not even with his awkward speech “to my teammates…(awkward, awkward silence, I like how he looks next to him to kill more time, and how he looks like he's about to laugh).”
Experts came out saying they have no idea what in the world boli is. But that’s probably because they don’t know Dominican Spanish. Dominicans have words for things that other Spanish-speaking countries have never heard of, or that those countries just use differently (that is, properly). My favorite example of this is the word “poloche.” It means t-shirt. Say it slowly. Po-lo…che(rt). See how that works (and see how polo shirt doesn’t even mean t-shirt in English). Now I don’t know for a fact that boli is slang for steroid or even a specific kind of steroid (I’m still waiting to hear back from someone on island to confirm or deny that), but the name of the steroid doesn’t matter. Rodriguez tested positive for Primobolan. That’s a fact. Did I know any baseball players who used steroids? Not personally. But I also lived very far away from the baseball hotbeds in the south of the country.
That said, many drugs that you would otherwise need a prescription for in the U.S. are generally available for over the counter purchase in the Dominican Republic. Last fall I badly burned my hands (don’t click on that if you’ve just eaten). I didn’t go to the hospital, I went to a pharmacy. A Dominican pharmacy is the stuff of an FDA regulator’s nightmare. The gauze I ended up buying was just sitting on the counter, unwrapped and unprotected. There are a lot of drugs available for purchase, most of which I’d never heard of. Were some of them steroids or testosterone? Probably. Primobolan is illegal in the Dominican Republic, but so are a lot of other drugs, and that never stopped motoconchistas (people riding around on motorcycles who look for fares, and many sell drugs on the side because they’re always on the move, making detection and tracking them difficult) from offering to sell me recreational drugs pretty often.
Something I applaud are steps the U.S. government is willing to take in order to prevent Dominican players involved with steroids from entering the United States. Sure you can cheat and get signed, but you can’t come play. Americans are spoiled, generally a passport is all you need to travel anywhere in the world. For a lot of other places, including a Dominican looking to go to the United States, you need a passport and a visa. Friends of mine have found it impossible to even get a tourist visa (which allows for a temporary visit) to the United States. The only people who have been successful in securing any kind of visa were 1) someone who had a very nice Dominican job (read: the U.S. doesn’t have to worry about them outstaying their visa and looking for an American job) and 2) windsurfers and kiteboarders looking to go to the U.S. for competitions. Baseball players would fall under the second category; a visa granted for having a special skill. The government has said that it may withhold visas from anyone implicated in steroid use. A great first step in my opinion. While the FBI and Major League Baseball continue to investigate the Nationals and the mishandling of signing bonuses in the Dominican Republic, it’s nice to see that the U.S. government is willing to do what it can to at least try and keep the steroid drama out.
We all have to remember that the Dominican Republic is its own country. They’re going to do things the way they want, and right now the way it is, between birth certificates, pharmacies (plus the availability of drugs on the internet and drug dealing trainers), and buscone signing bonus abuses, Major League Baseball needs to get the Dominican government involved. It’s difficult for Major League Baseball to do a whole lot to change anything on their own from their little office in Santo Domingo. Based on the post-strike era though, you have to wonder if Major League Baseball really wants any of it to change.
______________________________________________ I would also like to take a moment to recognize, and most of all give my immense gratitude to my boss John Wylde, the head statistician for the Cape Cod Baseball League (among dozens of other things) who passed away on Monday. John taught me more about baseball and statistics in two years than I could have possibly learned on my own over a lifetime. The man did more for collegiate baseball over the last 25 years than anyone else could have dreamed of, even working through all of last year despite his terminal illness. It's even rumored that the name for Baseball America was even come up with in his living room. My condolences go out to his family.
No, it's not the holidays, but for baseball fans it's the next best thing. Actual live baseball is being played in the United States.
Spring games began yesterday as several teams and players look for new beginnings in 2009. Here are the Top 5 storylines to watch in spring training:
Manny Ramirezis still unsigned - He's destined for Dodger blue eventually and LA is likely bidding against themselves. Honestly, I don't know what it will take to sign Manny but expect him in LA when the season starts.
World Baseball Classic Part II - The second installment of baseball's World Cup takes place this spring takes place this year. Do the Americans, the same people who invented the game, have what it takes to win?
Steroid Watch - Only Alex Rodriguez's name has been leaked of the 100+ players that tested positive back in 2003, will someone else's name come out before April 1? How will Barry Bonds' trial go? Will Roger Clemens be indicted for perjury?
How will the recession affect MLB? - NFL commissioner Roger Goodell took a 20% paycut and the NBA is going to borrow money to help teams out. Will Bud Selig follow Goodell's lead?
So Nice, they Built it Twice - Both New York teams have new stadiums this season and there is a big controversy, amongst bloggers, regarding how much the teams are charging for tickets and how the reassignment process has gone so far. Will sour fans leave empty seats in April?
In light of Dwyane Wade being left in during the Miami Heat vs. Orlando Magic game to score 50, I wanted to delve into scoring 50+ in a game. Just a recap first of those who don't know what Mr. Wade accomplished on Sunday, first.
Miami came out flat and Orlando was up 15 by the end of the first quarter. Miami held 15 but trailed by 19 going into the fourth. Wade stayed in and hit his 50th point with 3:55 left to play to bring Miami back within 19, trailing 111-92. In an era when pitchers are held back for precautionary measures, NFL teams rest starters on week 17, and LeBron James sits the 4th quarter in blow outs, it is surprising to see a franchise player on the court in a rout with little time left. In fact it was the largest rout in which a player on the losing team scored 50. He was just the 4th player to score 50 points when his team lost by 20.
So I began researching 50+ point scoring games since 1986. Here are some basic stats on the 155 50-plus scoring games
65 of 155 50-plus games occur on the Road (90 at home, 58%)
109 of 155 come in Wins (46 in Loss, ~30%)
80+ points
1 time
0.5%
70-79
1
0.5%
60-69
14
9.0%
50-59
139
90.0%
Probably the most fascinating 50-plus scoring game though came Dec. 20, 2005 when Kobe Bryant Scored 62 points in just 33 minutes of playing time. Even more interesting is that no one else on his team scored in double-digits. Or how about the fact that the team won 112-90? In that game, every single Lakers player scored at least 1 point. Here's the boxscore: Since 1986, Kobe has 24 50-plus point games. Second only to Michael Jordan's 31. Allen Iverson has 11 and LeBron has seven.
For anyone who follows NASCAR you will know the saying, "Cautions breed Cautions". Well the same can be said for the NBA and 50 point games. Fathom this if you will. Since the 1986 NBA season there have been nearly 26,500 NBA games and just 155 50-plus point games, or roughly 7 a season. The thing is, these games come in bunches.
Over the past 15 years there have been 102 50-plus point games. 36 of those have occurred within a three day span of each other. (Example: LeBron goes for 55 on Friday night and Dwyane Wade goes for 50 on Sunday) This season alone, of the seven big scoring games, six have come within three days of each other.
Trends in sports can usually be attributed to certain tangible factors such as home versus away, but one has to believe that NBA players are tuned into their egos, and it might be a matter of, "Anything you can do I can do better"? Next time someone in the NBA scores 50 points, there is a good chance someone else will in the next few days.
And Now You Know! (And Knowing is Half the Battle)
It is that time of year again. The trade deadline is only a week away and should once again be quite eventful. The NHL trade deadline is by far my favorite of all four major sports. It always has the most moves and generally involves some pretty big names. The blockbuster last year was Marian Hossa joining the Penguins. This year could be even bigger with three or four game-breakers rumored to be on the move. For the most reliable and up to date rumors, keep an eye on www.thefourthperiod.com and www.tsn.ca.
As we have seen with Mathieu Schneider, all some players need is a change of scenery and they all of a sudden become fantasy relevant. Schneider is playing big time minutes on a potent offense in Montreal and is also sharing pointman duties with Andrei Markov on the top power play unit. Schneider has produced since joining Montreal and should be owned in most leagues. I recently dropped my fourth defenseman and took a chance on Schneider.
We’ll kick things off with one of the most rumored players, Jay Bouwmeester. There are a bevy of places where Bouwmeester may find himself, most of which should improve his statistics. Boston, Dallas, Montreal, Ottawa, Washington, Vancouver, and Calgary are the most likely and would provide the greatest returns. Sure, Florida isn’t bad, but Bouwmeester playing for a more potent offense could be lethal. No matter where Bouwmeester goes, his value should improve. Definitely hold onto Bouwmeester regardless of where he lands. Although, I think there is a better chance that he will stay than go. Florida is in the middle of a playoff battle and could really use the playoff revenue. If Bouwmeester goes, I bet the trade involves NHL ready talent who can help the Panthers immediately.
A second stud defenseman rumored to be on the move is Chris Pronger. His suitors are similar to Bouwmeester, but the change of scenery may not be great for Pronger owners. Anaheim already has a pretty potent offense landing in the upper half of the NHL. This means there is a chance that Pronger could find himself playing for a worse offense. I don’t suspect that a trade should hurt his value, but there is a chance that he could find himself playing with worse offensive talent. Unless he finds himself playing for a substantially worse offense than Anaheim, Pronger will remain a solid defenseman and should continue to anchor your defense. I don't think it will happen, as Toronto will save cap room to make a run at the Sedin twins, but Pronger could be traded to the Leafs, which would kill a lot of his value. Toronto is a worst case scenario.
Speaking of Toronto, three interesting names come out of Toronto: Tomas Kaberle, Pavel Kubina, and Nik Antropov are all rumored to be on the move. All three could really profit from a change of scenery. When Dominic Moore is your fourth leading scorer, something is wrong. All three have been decent but their offensive numbers would surely receive a boost and their plus/minus should improve as well. It looks like the least likely to move will be Kubina, but he is also the most widely available. Kubina is available in roughly 30%-40% of fantasy leagues. If traded to a contender, that number should decrease quickly. Ilya Kovalchuk is the most talented player available, which will also make him one of the toughest trades. However, if Kovalchuk is traded, it should be an automatic upgrade from Atlanta. Atlanta has produced solid offense this season, but this can be attributed directly to Kovalchuk. Kovalchuk would be a sure bet for 50 goals if playing with any type of offensive support. If paired with a good playmaking center, Kovalchuk could net 15-20 goals over the last 20 games of the season. Ilya could find himself in the best situation out of any player after the trade deadline.
While I don’t see the Penguins making a big move, if Jordan Staal finds himself paired with a couple of capable wingers, he should become very valuable down the stretch run. He is barely owned in fantasy leagues and would provide a cheap upgrade at center if he could find himself in a better situation. He doesn’t need to go a better hockey team, just one where he can play with scoring wingers rather than glorified fourth liners. If Staal leaves Pittsburgh, he should be the first player you take a chance on. In case you were wondering, Ryan Whitney is a severe downgrade anywhere else he plays. Whitney rides the coattails of talent around him and won’t produce on his own.
It looks like the Vincent Lecavalier rumors are dead, but Martin St. Louis could still be on the move. A change of scenery would be good for the little engine that could...Just saying, Ottawa has made it clear that nobody is off limits. I don’t see Alfredsson going anywhere, as he is Mr. Ottawa, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see other major moves occur...Keith Tkachuk, Doug Weight and Bill Guerin may be on the move, but it is doubtful that any of them have enough left in the tank to help anyone out. Here’s hoping they don’t find their way onto the 2010 U.S. Olympic team either.
There will be plenty of moves made, some may include players mentioned, many will include players I did not mention. Check here after the trade deadline for analysis of the fantasy relevant trades. Until then, The Puck Stops Here.
People up and down the east coast, and across the country, have been bickering over which conference is better: the ACC or the Big East. Generally, the people involved in these discussions come from an ACC or Big East school or city, and generally side with their conference. The entire world was predicting that the Big East was going to be able to get 10 teams into the tournament. I’m not ruling out the possibility (the stars can still align), but what everyone seemed to forget is that all of these teams had to play each other over the course of conference play. Back in January I compared the Big East to the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. The Big East was bound to beat itself up, but what mattered is how pollsters and bracketologists perceived the inevitable parity. Well, the pollsters apparently didn’t see the middle tier teams of the Big East as rank-worthy. Take a look at how the USA Today/ESPN rankings of Big East teams played out from the beginning of conference play until now:
They’ll have to take solace in five top 15 teams and the top two teams in the country. The first time a conference has had the top two teams in the country since…uh January 19 when Wake Forest and Duke held the top spots.
Now let’s take a peek at how the ACC and Big East did against each other this season. But there needs to be other factors taken into account, like who was supposed to win. How are we supposed to know who was supposed to win, isn’t that a little subjective? Not when your turn to the professionals in Vegas who put their money on the line for figuring out who’s supposed to win. So below you’ll find the sixteen games between the ACC and Big East this season, along with who was supposed to win and who won. Meet you at the bottom.
November 18 St. John’s at Boston College Line: BC -8.5 Final: BC 82-70
November 19 South Florida at Virginia Line: Virginia -7 Final: Virginia 77-75
November 23 Connecticut v. Miami (FL) (neutral site) Line: UConn -4 Final: UConn 76-63
November 23 Seton Hall v. Virginia Tech (neutral site) Line: Virginia Tech -5 Final: Seton Hall 77-73
November 26 Notre Dame v. North Carolina (neutral site) Line: North Carolina -10.5 Result: North Carolina 102-87
November 28 Virginia at Syracuse Line: Syracuse -16 Final: Syracuse 73-70
November 28 Cincinnati v. Florida St. (neutral site) Line: Cincy -2.5 Result: Florida St. 58-47
November 30 Georgetown v. Maryland (neutral site) Line: Georgetown -5.5 Final: Georgetown 75-48
December 20 Providence at Boston College Line: Boston College -4.5 Final: BC 81-76
December 21 St. John’s v. Virginia Tech (neutral site) Line: St. John’s -1 Final: Virginia Tech 81-67
December 21 Pittsburgh at Florida St. Line: Pitt -7.5 Final: Pitt, 56-48
December 22 Marquette at NC State Line: Marquette -2 Final: Marquette 68-65
December 27 Miami at St. John’s Line: Miami -3 Final: Miami 70-56
December 28 Rutgers at North Carolina Line: UNC -33 Final: UNC 97-75
January 17 Georgetown at Duke Line: Duke -9 Final: Duke 76-67
February 19 St. John’s at Duke Line: Duke -14 Final: Duke 76-69
Oddsmakers: ACC should go 9-7 Actual: ACC 10-6 RPI Wins (in RPI, a home win is 0.6 wins, a road win is 1.4 and a neutral win is 1.0): ACC 8.0-6.4
Just a few things of note from above: --8 of 10 non-neutral site games were played at the ACC team. --Both conferences were 3-3 at neutral sites. --St. John’s went 0-4 against the ACC. --The only game between the top 6 teams in each conference was Pitt‘s win at Florida State. --Duke and North Carolina, the top two teams in the ACC, played in and won 4 games against the bottom half of the Big East while the top two teams in the country, UConn and Pitt combined for 2 wins, one against a ranked ACC team.
If there actual was a ACC/Big East challenge, St. John’s obviously would not be partaking in 4 of the games. The fact of the matter is that the top teams in each conference ended up playing the bottom end teams in the opposing conference. So what does this tell us? Well, those head to head games really doesn’t tell us all that much except that the ACC outperformed the early oddsmakers by a game. ACC teams were favored more often because, as previously mentioned, a top ACC team was playing a bottom Big East team. Sorry that this doesn't tell us much, but it was fun to look at it wasn’t it?
Where do I stand? I admit that the middle tier of ACC teams are better than I thought they would be this season. That said, the top eight teams in the Big East are better than any other top eight in any conference, maybe ever. I can’t fathom the likes of Georgetown and Notre Dame being 2 or 4 games under .500 in the ACC. Sorry ACC fans, it just would not happen. The ACC is first in Conference RPI and the ACC has 11 teams in the RPI top 100. The Big East? They have 11 teams in the top 80.
The Big East proponents have their arguments: the depth of the conference is unheard of. Would anyone in the ACC ever play five straight ranked teams in a row in conference play (something Notre Dame did in January)?
ACC supporters have their arguments too: well what about those awful teams that make up teams 13-16 in the Big East? Big East fans can’t just jettison the bottom fourth of their league. Yes it’s pretty clear that DePaul, for example, isn’t very good this year but after their game tonight against Villanova, nine of their last eleven games (all in conference) will have been against a team in the top 12 in the national rankings. Nine of their last eleven games! I’d like to see any team navigate that kind of schedule. Boston College couldn’t even navigate a win over Harvard (okay so teams from both conferences have some bad losses, but still).
What’s the best way to solve all this? I think the best way is to see the best teams head to head when it matters. March (or early April). Right now most of this argument is pretty subjective. The tournament will take care of that by presumably pitting these two conferences' tournament caliber teams against each other throughout March. Last week I suggested that one of the best ways to evaluate national player of the year would be for Notre Dame to storm back and pick up an 8 or 9 seed in Oklahoma’s bracket (they’re going to do it. They have three home games left, win all three, finish 9-9 in conference, win a game or two in the Big East tournament and I think that could sneak them in as a 9 seed). Let’s see them go head to head in the tournament. Show me DeJuan Blair against Tyler Hansbrough, I know who I’d take in 2009.
This week we have the pleasure of watching 5 days of head-to-head match play format. The Accenture Match Play Championship starts today and runs through Sunday. On top of that, Tiger Woods will be making his return after what seems like an eternity.
I have had several discussions and read several articles about how Tiger Woods will come out with a rusty swing and disappoint during this tournament. I beg to differ. Most of us don’t have the privilege of knowing the status of Tiger’s knee, or if he really is ready to come back. There are a few things that I am sure of, however, regarding the greatest player to ever live.
First, Tiger Woods is not the type of player to sit around playing Tiger Woods Golf on his Xbox 360. He is not the type of player to even think about allowing the competition to gain an edge on him. Tiger was unable to really swing a club normally for quite some time after his surgery, and many assume that he let his game atrophy. A more likely scenario is that Tiger was on the putting green, perfecting every detail of his game that didn’t strain his knee. This could mean that Tiger’s already ridiculous short game has significantly improved. This is a scary thought if you are Brendan Jones, Tiger’s first round opponent. Good luck Brendan, you are going to need it.
Second, Tiger missed only 1 fairway in his practice round on Tuesday. I think this fact alone defeats any arguments about a “rusty swing.” (On a side note, I once played a round of golf where I missed only 1 fairway. It was a Par 3 Course that had one par 4 at the end which was the only hole with a fairway).
Finally, Tiger has won 3 of these tournaments before (along with every other award known to man including the Nobel Golf Prize and Global Miniature Golf Championship). I mean come on. IT’S TIGER. Don’t bet against him.
Okay, so the way this tournament works is similar to the NCAA Tournament Bracket. You can view the matchups here. There are 4 small brackets and the winners of each bracket comprise the “Final Four.” Here are my picks in each bracket followed by my pick to win, which may be obvious by this point.
The Bobby Jones Bracket: Tiger Woods. There is tough competition here with Retief Goosen and Geoff Ogilvy. Rory McIlroy could be a sleeper in this bracket.
The Sam Snead Bracket:Henrik Stenson. He will have to get by a seasoned vet in Davis Love III in Round 1, and he has Padraig Harrington to worry about in later rounds.
The Ben Hogan Bracket: This is the bracket of the Johnsons. Take your pick between Zach or Dustin in this bracket although both have tough first round draws.
The Gary Player Bracket:Paul Casey. In this bracket lies my UPSET ALERT pick...Matt Goggin over Kenny Perry in the opening round.
The Winner: Tiger Woods - Your 2009 Accenture Match Play Champion
[Remember to check back each and every Wednesday at 1pm for another edition of "The Mulligan" - always packed with PGA tournament previews and fantasy golf picks you won't find anywhere else.]
When trying to come up with the first person to write the SportsJudge "Where Are They Now?" segment on, there was one person who immediately came to mind: Rico Brogna.
You might ask why Rico Brogna out of all the players in the history of baseball? This is a player who only hit .269 over 9 seasons with a very average 106 HR and 458 RBI. Who even remembers Rico Brogna? Mets fans do. Brogna has always been one of my favorite players and remains a fan favorite in Flushing as evidenced by the many "RICO, RICO" chants that have been yelled at me over the past 3 seasons when I have worn my Brogna jersey in Shea.
Brogna's only full season with the Mets started with a bang when he hit the first Home Run in the history of Coors Field. Brogna would go on to lead the 1995 Mets in HRs (22), RBIs (76), Doubles (72), Batting Avg. (.289), and Slugging Pct. (.485). Brogna followed this great year with an injury plagued 1996, followed by one of the worst trades the Mets made in the 1990s. The Mets traded Brogna to the Phillies for the horrible Toby Borland and Ricardo Jordan. It is in Philly where Brogna hit 64 HRs and 287 RBIs over the next 3 seasons. These stats are made even more impressive when you take into account the fact that Brogna played his entire career with Ankulosing Spondylitis, a form of spinal arthritis. Brogna later retired after playing the 2001 season in Atlanta at the young age of 31.
So Where Are You Now Rico Brogna?
Brogna has been busy in his retirement pursuing jobs in many sports, not just baseball. Since he hung up the cleats, he has coached a high school basketball team, a high school football team, the baseball team at Post University, and was a scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks. In fact, last month Brogna was hired as the assistant football coach at Wesleyan University, where he will assist with the offense. This is going to be Brogna's second stint with Wesleyan University after coaching the WRs in 2004. Good luck Rico as you continue your coaching career...it'll be fun to see where you end up next.
Have a history of disputes in your Fantasy Baseball league? We've got you covered. Head over to SportsJudge.com and sign up for our Fantasy Baseball '09 dispute resolution season package. Fully-customized League Constitutions are also on sale for a limited time only. Don't wait...sign up today!
A funny thing happened in Tampa yesterday, in the midst of the most recent steroid "scandal" - the Yankees played pool instead of taking BP and infield practice. At first I was puzzled, confused. Why would the Yanks stay off the field on purpose during these precious spring training days before games? Then it hit me.
As a team in turmoil with its biggest star fighting to regain credibility and a team with three new key imports, the Yankees needed to bond. Bonding (or fun) isn't really something I associate with the Bronx Bombers, who always try to be very stoic on the field and in front of cameras.
Many fans don't really think of baseball as a team sport, but there is something to be said about supporting your teammates - and not just in the media. As a Yankee fan, I want to watch a team that will defend their teammates in a brawl and a team that will do what it takes to succeed. By bonding, maybe this brings a divided, ego-filled Yankee locker room closer together. Closeness isn't something that was a part of these last several Yankee teams and maybe it's the reason why the team hasn't advanced past the Division Series lately. If the team is unified and plays for each other, the '09 Yanks will be a tough team to beat.
[Editor’s note: With the fantasy baseball season fast approaching, SportsJudge continues its preseason positional preview. Please be sure to check back every Tuesday at 9 a.m. for a weekly positional analysis that will lead you right into your fantasy draft.]
Welcome back to another edition of “The Buzz Around the Bullpen.” So is anyone else tired of hearing about steroids yet? I know I am and unfortunately, I think the worst is only yet to come. While I understand the recent A-Rod steroid news has revived the steroid conversation, is now the first time we’re realizing that these guys were taking these performance enhancing drugs? I have a hard time believing that. At this point, the best thing baseball can do is to admit that it shares some of the responsibility and show that they have instituted some of the toughest drug testing in sports. Until then, the blame game will continue and the great baseball stories of 2009 will be overshadowed by continuous coverage of that weeks new steroid news.
For right now, let’s get back to some preseason projections. Last week we focused on the Shortstop position and today we will move to the hot corner. Let’s talk about some Third Basemen.
Studs
1. Alex Rodriguez (NYY): Similar to Hanley Ramirez last week, if you’ve landed the first pick of your draft, you have to take a look at A-Rod. While the media scrutiny will continue throughout the 2009 season, this guy is just too good to be held down. You can expect at least a guaranteed 35 HRs, 115 RBIs, 115 runs and around 20 stolen bases. Until this guy stops producing at such an impressive rate, you have to put him slightly ahead of some of the young rising superstars at the third base position.
2. David Wright (NYM): If you take a look at David Wright’s 2008 numbers, they are quite similar to A-Rod’s. Maybe more important, Wright’s numbers in ’08 were improved from his past three seasons (outside of his average which dropped to a still impressive .302). Considering he’s only 26 years-old, it is likely that he’ll continue to build on his numbers in ’09. If you miss out on A-Rod, David Wright is a great option to hold down the hot corner on your fantasy squad.
Wingmen
3. Evan Longoria (TB): Whether it is the post-World Series hype or just the thought of owning a 23 year-old stud, someone is likely to overdraft Longoria in your league in the first two rounds. Please don’t think that I’m not high on Longoria because I believe this guy will eventually be one of the faces of the game. However, Longoria isn’t quite on the level of A-Rod and David Wright just yet and I’m not willing to spend my first or second round pick on him. It is possible that he may struggle in his sophomore season and I need to see one more year from him before he is on top of my draft board.
4. Kevin Youkilis (BOS): I really like Kevin Youkilis this year. After jumping from 16 to 29 HRs last year, Youkilis established himself as a viable fantasy third base option. Before draft day, be sure to check his player page because he will almost definitely be 1B eligible as well. A combination of his versatility, his potential and the fact he gets to hit in the Boston lineup everyday makes him a nice pick after the elite guys are off of the board.
5. Aramis Ramirez (CHC): Before each season, there are certain predictions you can make that are about as close to a lock as possible. Here’s one for you…If Aramis is healthy, he is good for .300, 30 HRs and a 100 RBIs. As a Pirate fan, I look at him as “the one that got away.” If you have the opportunity to grab him and the time is right, don’t make the same mistake the Buccos did.
6. Chris Davis (TEX): Before you question why Davis is here, take a look at the guys that are left. The only player I had trouble ranking Davis higher than was Chipper Jones. I explain why Chipper lost that battle next. I like Davis here because he has dual eligibility at 1B and 3B, he has a ton of power potential, he plays in Texas and he has a great track record throughout his minor-league career. I’m sure they’ll be some stretches where you’ll question this pick but by the end of the season, you’ll be pleased you didn’t settle for a veteran.
7. Chipper Jones (ATL): Chipper Jones is turning 37 years old in April, he hasn’t played in more than 137 games since 2003 and I have a hard time believing he’ll ever hit .364 again. Now that I’ve told you why I didn’t rank him at 6, here’s why he is still a valuable fantasy option. He still has the ability to hit around 20 HRs and his OBP is consistently around the tops in the league. If you do decide to draft Chipper, it might be a good idea to also draft a Plan B later in your draft.
8. Aubrey Huff (BAL): Huff has great versatility with dual eligibility at 1B and 3B and he is also coming off a great year in ’08. However, if you take a look at Huff’s career numbers, there is no telling what kind of numbers he’ll put up in ’09. With that being said, I am a little hesitant to take a chance on him but if you’re confident he can repeat his numbers, here’s where he fits in with the rest of the 3B’s.
9. Ryan Zimmerman (WAS): I may be one of the few that hasn’t completely “written off” Ryan Zimmerman. He was awesome in his rookie season in ’06 and has only shown flashes since. One of those flashes was last September when he hit 5 of his 14 total homeruns in ’08. You may be able to get some great value for your pick so if he’s available after these first eight are off of the board, he is worth taking the chance.
10. Garrett Atkins (COL): Over the past three years, Atkins’ numbers have declined in a hurry. Now he’s lost some protection in the lineup with the departure of one of the league’s best hitters, Matt Holliday. This is nothing but bad news for Atkins. However, his dual eligibility at 1B and 3B still make him attractive and let’s be honest…there isn’t too much left at the 3B position.
The Best of the Rest
11. Adrian Beltre (SEA)
12. Chone Figgins (LAA)
13. Jorge Cantu (FLA)
14. Mark DeRosa (CLE)
15. Mark Reynolds (ARI)
Please be sure to check back next week when we take a look at Catchers.
As with any SportsJudge articles, please feel free to post any questions or comments. Until next time, keep your ears open for the Buzz Around the Bullpen.
Just when we thought ESPN the Magazine's Paul Kix gave us the biggest possible compliment by declaring SportsJudge to be the Antonin Scalia of fantasy dispute resolution, Ron Kaplan of the New Jersey Jewish News did us one better, comparing our work to Israel's great King Solomon. A full link to Ron Kaplan's article is available here. Also, you can find a few of our sample decisions here.
Villanova and Syracuse are heading in opposite directions as the Big East season rolls on. That continued this weekend after the Wildcats traveled into the Carrier Dome and walked away with their 10th Big East victory of this season, defeating the Orange 89-86. Syracuse had three 3-point tries in the closing seconds of the game, but was unable to get one to go. Syracuse is on its way to getting dangerously close to that bubble that burned them so many times in the past. They have plenty of opportunities to right the ship in the stacked Big East conference. Villanova had six different players in double figures and have shown that they can beat the best this season. Their style of play could prove tough to handle come tourney time. Watch out for Jay Wright and his Wildcats.
22 Butler (23-4) v. Davidson (22-6)
Butler stopped a two game skid after their “Bracket Buster” victory over Davidson. The spectacular Stephon Curry struggled in his return from his sprained ankle (even though he had 20 points) starting off 0-8 from the floor and finishing under 20% from down town for the game. It will be interesting to see how the tournament considers Davidson if they stumble during their conference tournament this year.
23 Utah State (25-3) v. Saint Mary’s (22-5)
The Gaels got a must win victory over the 23rd ranked Utah State Aggies, 75-64 despite the Aggies hitting 40% from beyond the arc. Mickey McConell led the way for St. Mary’s with a career high 22 points. Omar Samhan chipped in with a double double and the Saint Mary’s Gaels showed that they can beat a quality opponent without superstar point guard Patty Mills. The injury still might be the reason you don’t see the Gaels dancing come tournament time. There is still a lot of basketball left to play and St. Mary’s is one of the teams you should keep an eye on.
3 North Carolina (24-3) v. Maryland (17-9)
In the biggest shocker of the week the Maryland Terrapins needed overtime to take down the top team in the Atlantic Coast Conference, North Carolina. Greivis Vasquez had a career game with the Terrapins first triple-double in 22 years. Vasquez scored 35 points, grabbed 11 boards, and had 10 dimes to go along with the huge upset win. The Terrapins rallied from 16 points to put themselves back in the bubble picture for the NCAA Tournament. Vasquez led off the game scoring Maryland’s first 16 points, but got some serious help from his teammates off the bench as they dropped in 41 points and 18 assists (compared to just 5 of each from the thin Tar Heels bench).
The trade deadline came and went without any blockbuster trades. However, despite Shaq remaining in Phoenix with Amar’e Stoudemire, and the Cavs holding onto Wally Szczerbiak’s contract, one team still managed to make a big deal for the playoff run. The Orlando Magic managed to find Jameer Nelson’s replacement by trading for Rafer Alston of the Houston Rockets.
Rafer Alston- Alston had been the Rockets starting point guard prior to the trade and was averaging 11.3 points and 5.4 assists per game. Since the 2004-2005 season, Alston has consistently been scoring between 11.3 and 14.2 points per game with 5.3 to 6.8 assists per game. Alston also contributes over 1 steal per game and around 35% shooting from 3-point range which should fit in well with the Magic’s perimeter shooting. In his first two games with the Magic, Alston appeared to be fitting in well. Although he only shot 1 for 9 in the first game for 3 points, he contributed with 8 assists and 3 steals with only 1 turnover off the bench. On Sunday against the Heat, Alston made his first start for the Magic. Alston contributed 12 points on 4 of 9 shooting including 2 of 4 from 3-point range. He also chipped in with 9 assists. Alston has been involved in stretch runs for the playoffs for the past few years with the Rockets and the Heat before that, so he is used to the pressure of a playoff push and shouldn’t experience a fall off. If Alston gets hot from the outside, as he can from time to time, Alston could be a great pickup down the stretch for the Magic.
Phoenix Suns- After holding onto Stoudemire and Shaq with hopes of making a run at the postseason, Stoudemire suffered a detached retina within the first week of the second half of the season and will miss the rest of the year. This may end the Suns playoff push, but it could mean increased fantasy value for other Suns. Coupled with the more offensive style of new coach Alvin Gentry, these players could experience a big boost in their production.
Leandro Barbosa- Barbosa became a starter when Stoudemire went down as Grant Hill and Jason Richardson both bump to a bigger position with Hill playing PF and Richardson playing SF, opening up a spot at SG for Barbosa. In his first start, Barbosa scored 41 points on 16 of 21 shooting, including 5 of 7 on threes. One of the fastest players in the league, Barbosa added 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 6 steals with only 1 turnover. Against the Celtics on Sunday, the Suns new attack was finally held below 140 points, managing only 108, with Barbosa contributing 18 points on 8 of 15 shooting and 3 steals. On the year Barbosa has averaged 13.6 points while shooting 49.2% from the floor, 38.8% on threes and 89.8% from the free throw line. With the Suns returning to an up tempo offense, look for Barbosa’s speed to result in 15-20 points per game while shooting around 50% and 2-3 steals per game. Barbosa will be a direct beneficiary of the Suns fast break.
Jason Richardson- Richardson was averaging 17.1 points per game this year, 16.3 since he was traded to the Suns. Richardson has also averaged between 4 and 4.5 rebounds per game and 2 to 2.5 assists per game all season. Since coming to Phoenix, Richardson’s decrease in scoring is more due to taking 2.5 less shots per game because his shooting percentage has increased from 44.1% to 48.6% from the floor. Richardson’s long range shooting has decreased a little, but he still has managed to shoot 41.2% from 3-point land. In the first game without Stoudemire, Richardson got 20 shots, hitting 14 including 4 of 5 from three point range, on his way to 34 points. Richardson also contributed with 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. In the next game against the defensive minded Celtics, Richardson was 7 of 12 from the floor for 21 points. He, again, added 2 steals, but his rebounds and assists decreased to 1 and 2, respectively. Look for Richardson’s rebounding to go up slightly for the rest of the season as he plays more SF instead of SG, and his scoring should jump up closer to 20 points per game with more shots and a more up tempo style that should lead to open looks and easy buckets on the fast break.
Grant Hill- Hill has been averaging 10.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.9 assists on the season. While this is the lowest scoring averaging of Hill’s career, like Richardson, Hill is taking the fewest amount of shots per game of his career at only 8.2; his previous career low was 10.2. The 52.4% Hill is shooting from the floor is the highest of Hill’s career, so with an increase in shots with Stoudemire out, Hill should be able to see a considerable jump in points per game. Also, as a SF playing PF, Hill could use his shooting range and intelligence to take advantage of the larger PFs trying to guard him. Hill scored only 6 points in the first game without Stoudemire and then 8 points against the Celtics, but I expect him to adjust to the PF position quickly and increasing his production, especially in the rebounding game. I wouldn’t expect much more than 12 or 13 points per game, but I could see Hill averaging closer to 7 rebounds per game for the rest of the season.
[Editor's Note: The Starting Lineup is a weekly rundown of HDTV sports schedule for the next seven days] Monday, February 23, 2009 Golf 12:00 PM WGC Acc.MatchPlay The Ritz-Carlton GC Time TBD NBC NHL 8:00 PM San Jose Sharks vs Dallas Stars VERSUS
Tuesday, February 24, 2009 Golf 12:00 PM WGC Acc.MatchPlay The Ritz-Carlton GC Time TBD NBC NHL 7:00 PM Anaheim Ducks vs Buffalo Sabres VERSUS NHL 7:30 PM Vancouver Canucks vs Montreal Canadiens RDS
Have a history of disputes in your Fantasy Baseball league? We've got you covered. Head over to SportsJudge.com and sign up for our Fantasy Baseball '09 dispute resolution season package. Fully-customized League Constitutions are also on sale for a limited time only. Don't wait...sign up today!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009 Golf 12:00 PM WGC Acc.MatchPlay The Ritz-Carlton GC Time TBD NBC NHL 7:30 PM New York Rangers vs Toronto Maple Leafs TSN
Thursday, February 26, 2009 Golf 12:00 PM WGC Acc.MatchPlay The Ritz-Carlton GC Time TBD NBC NBA 8:00 PM Cleveland Cavaliers vs Houston Rockets TNT NBA 10:30 PM Phoenix Suns vs LA Lakers TNT
Friday, February 27, 2009 Golf 12:00 PM WGC Acc.MatchPlay The Ritz-Carlton GC Time TBD NBC NBA 7:00 PM Milwaukee Bucks vs New Orleans Hornets ESPN NHL 7:00 PM Montreal Canadiens vs Philadelphia Flyers TSN & RDS NBA 9:30 PM Cleveland Cavaliers vs San Antonio Spurs ESPN
Saturday, February 28, 2009 Golf 12:00 PM WGC Acc.MatchPlay The Ritz-Carlton GC Time TBD NBC NCAABB 5:00 PM Utah Utes vs BYU Cougars CBS CS
Sunday, March 1, 2009 Golf 12:00 PM WGC Acc.MatchPlay The Ritz-Carlton GC Time TBD NBC NBA 1:00 PM Detroit Pistons vs Boston Celtics ABC NHL 3:00 PM Pittsburgh Penguins vs Dallas Stars RDS NBA 3:30 PM LA Lakers vs Phoenix Suns ABC NBA 8:00 PM San Antonio Spurs vs Portland Blazers ESPN
[Editor's Note: With last weekend's Daytona 500 officially kicking off the 2009 NASCAR season, SportsJudge's Chris Carmona will bring you in-depth race previews and fantasy NASCAR picks each Saturday afternoon at 1pm.]
This weekend's crew is heading out West for a Sunday evening race in California. The Auto Club Speedway is a 2-mile flat track in which drivers are prone to race three-wide the entire track around going 180 MPH.
Let me give you a brief history of this Spring race (since they race two times a year in California). Last year Fontana, California experienced rain showers the entire weekend and they had trouble drying the track for Sunday's race. NASCAR spent hours trying to dry the track and it wasn't until 2am EST that they decided to postpone the race until Monday. Yes, 2am! I wasn't too happy that I stayed up for no reason.
Carl Edwards is the defending spring race champion while Jimmie Johnson won last fall. Over the past 10 races in Fontana Jimmie Johnson has been the most consistent driver while Rouche Racing teammates Matt Kenseth and Edwards are second and third.
The keys to winning at Fontana are simple. The average starting position of every winner in Fontana is 13. Jimmie Johnson qualified second but will lead the pack to the green flag because Brian Vickers had to switch engines after qualifying on the pole. NASCAR rules state that if you have to change engines or cars after qualifying that you must start the race at the back of the field.
Over the last nine races there have been an average of nine cautions per race. That says a lot for a two-mile open track. You won't have the big crash that you see in Daytona or Talladega but you will have guys banging as they go three-wide. Again, this plays huge for drivers near the front of the pack as they have fewer chances to get caught up in multi-car accidents.
This race seems to be dominated by Rouche Racing and Hendrick Motorsports. In the last four races at the Auto Club Speedway, the two teams have combined for 11 of the 12, top 3 finishers.
With that, my prediction for winner on Sunday is Jeff Gordon. Gordon, the California native, has three wins at this track, tied for most all time, but hasn't won here since 2004. Gordon came in third in last year's spring race while leading 68 of 250 laps. He looked solid last week and may have had a chance to win if it wasn't race shortened. I like Hendrick's team this weekend and I like Jeff Gordon.
Rounding out the top 5: 2- Kyle Busch: Last weekend Busch was in the wrong place at the wrong time, although he was leading the race when he was a victim of Dale Earnhardt's bonehead racing. He is seeking revenge and a top five finish would erase last week's memories. 3- Jimmie Johnson: Johnson will run up front the entire race. He also has three victories at this track and is one of the most consistent drivers in NASCAR, let alone in California. Starting up front can only help his cause. 4- Jamie McMurray: In the past ten races at this track, McMurray has been quietly lurking. He has finished int he top 10 half of the time and has finished 95.7 % of the laps raced. McMurray starts third on Sunday and there is something about this track that brings out the best in him. 5-AJ Allmindinger: My sleeper pick for this race because this man is racing for a full-ride. He is only scheduled to run eight races this year, but if he continues to race like he does, this kid has to get a full season from some team. Allmindinger had a great finish at Daytona, 3rd, and qualified 8 for this race. Keep an eye on him to lead a few laps and if he can avoid slipping back early, he will be a contender the whole way.
While I don't particularly like the Mariners' signing of Ken Griffey, Jr. from a baseball perspective, I like it in a sentimental one.
Let's face it, Griffey is washed up and should be limited to DH duty, especially after Seattle's acquisition of Franklin Gutierrez in the off-season. The Mariners, on the other hand, likely won't compete this year (although mark my words in the next seven years they will play for a World Series), so the Griffey signing should net them some fans at the gate. Seattle should only count on about .250/16/60 from Junior, but did the right thing by bringing back to help put fans in the seats. The Griffey/Seattle divorce the first time around wasn't pretty, as the Reds robbed him from the Mariners in a not-so-friendly farewell...but you can always go home again.
Taking advice from Willie Mays and Hank Aaron, Griffey went home to retire as a Mariner, to wear the familiar #24 jersey, so he can wear the Seattle hat on his plaque in Cooperstown. By signing with the Mariners, Griffey will lose the "journeyman" status he would have gained by signing with the Braves (his would-be third team in two years) and will likely have some sort of front-office role when he retires.
...At least one former Mariner does the right thing this week.
and how he eventually made it to the Hall of Fame. I stumbled across some new numbers that indicate that Vic Willis was not the all-time loss leader.
He was the all-time leader after 1901 (the start of the American League). But prior to 1901, John Coleman in his rookie year of 1883 went 12-48 with a 4.87 era pitching 538.3 innings for the Philadelphia Quakers. Congrats to John Coleman for having the most losses in baseball history in one season.
He does not hold the record for the most innings pitched by a pitcher in a season though. That record goes to Will White who threw 680 innings (75 games started, 75 complete games) and went 43-31 (which doesn't equal 75 games, but that is what they have him listed as?) That year Cincinnati went 43-37. The following year, White went 18-42 with a 2.14 era while his team went 21-59. White was the first pro player to wear glasses while playing, apparently they weren't good enough.
And Now You Know, Even More! (And Knowing is Half the Battle)
Spring is in the air and Grapefruits are aplenty. We are six weeks from the start of the MLB season and one of the best hitters of all time has yet to be signed. In case you were confused, I am referring to Manny Ramirez. In a time of economic woes teams are unwilling to open the wallet as easily as they once did. But where did all this greed come from? It was 122 years ago this week in which baseball opened it's wallet for the first time.
In the mid-1880s the average player salary was anywhere from $100-$1000. In 1887, the first annual Groundhog's day was observed, Thomas Stevens finished his bicycle trip around the world, Helen Keller was learning, and Michael Joseph Kelly was about to strike it rich with the Boston Beaneaters.
Michael Joseph, better known on the diamond as King Kelly, began his career a decade earlier playing with the Cincinatti Reds before Hall of Famer Cap Anson signed him to play for the Chicago White Stockings. Kelly was noted as being a heavy drinker and often his antics on the field, such as showing up drunk, and off the field, got him fined by baseball. (Note: Some stories floating around on the Internet include Kelly actually taking a beer out to right field with him and catching a ball in stride with mug in hand, and then there is a story about him always having a pet monkey on his shoulder in the clubhouse and a Japanese valet.)
Kelly expected more money for his play and "good behavior" but White Stockings manager Albert Spalding was done with the shenanigans despite the performance and sold Kelly to the Boston Beaneaters, but Kelly was set on how much he wanted to play for and wouldn't play for a penny less.
That number just so happened to be $10,000, over twice as much as any other player ever in baseball at the time. MLB had a salary cap at this time so the Beaneaters could only pay him the max $2,000/year but also paid him $3,000 up front for the right to use his image and likeness, something that had normally been free for teams once a player was a part of the organization. Thus became the first sports licensing agreement, and since he was sold for $10,00 and essentially another $5,000 with his contract and licensing, Kelly was known as the "$15,000 Beauty".
Kelly played three years for the Beaneaters and was the most popular player of his time. He put up great numbers in the dead ball error and loved stealing bases. Kelly though had a way of getting things done. In the late 1800s there was only one umpire on the baseball field at a time and Kelly took full advantage of this. The King would often skip bases when the umpire wasn't looking, literally running from first to third or even second to home at times. Kelly revolutionized the game, forcing teams to adjust to him such as shifting defenses and holding the runner on base and forced MLB to tweak rules such as not being allowed to pass your teammates on the base paths and adding extra umpires. His play on the field was scoffed by opponents but enjoyed by the fans. It is believed that Kelly was one of the first players to begin signing autographs for fans. The stories pile up about the King and it is clear to see that he was a true entertainer and showman as well as a great ballplayer. Right after playing for Boston he went back to Cincinnati where the team was named after him (Cincinnati Kelly's Killers) for one season in the American Association. Kelly died shortly after he retired at the young age of 36. There was a song and movie named in his likeness called, "Slide Kelly, Slide!". He was eventually elected into the Hall of Fame despite accusations of cheating the game.
So that brings me back to Manny Ramirez, essentially pulling a "$15,000 Beauty". He has had his fair share of antics along the way but yet when he wants to play, he is one of the best hitters of all time. Manny can be a showman on the field as he will high five fans while making catches or disappear into the oblivion that is the Green Monster at Fenway only to magically reappear right before the next pitch.
For this reason alone, teams should pay Manny. Sure he will hit monster homeruns and maybe he will jog out a few ground balls, but he is a very marketable player to fans. Maybe Adam Dunn will hit more homeruns this season for $20 million less than what Manny signs for but Dunn is not Manny and he can't fill the seats quite like Manny does. (See Cleveland's record sell out streak, 1995-2001 and Boston's record-breaking sell out streak, 2003-present.)
And Now You Know! (And Knowing is Half the Battle)
In case you don't live in Canada and weren't able to watch Alexander Ovechkin's amazing goal last night against the Montreal Canadiens, check it out:
Ovechkin is without a doubt the most exciting and offensively talented player in the NHL at this point. As "The Puck Stops Here" author Joe Romano pointed out this morning as well as last week, Sidney Crosby can no longer be mentioned in the same breath as 'Alex the Great'.
In a sport that is still starved for additional television and mainstream exposure, Ovechkin's intensity and personality he wears on his sleeve every night cannot be matched in professional sports, in my opinion. In fact, last night's goal wasn't even close to Ovechkin's best goal in his short career. In case you don't remember, check out what I feel is possibly the greatest goal of all time:
What's really scary is when 'Ovie' is an old grizzled 38-year old ready to hang up the skates, will last night's goal even be mentioned in the top plays of his career? Something tells me he's only just begun...
I have made a strong effort this year to not focus on the Penguins. It is easy to fall into the local team trap and skew coverage. However, I can’t do it anymore, I need to address what has happened to my beloved team. The recent firing of head coach Michel Therrien has sparked intense debate over who is actually to blame. The coaching? The players? The GM? I place the blame squarely on the players, but most of all, their “leader”, Sidney Crosby.
Not for one moment have I thought Therrien would be the coach that led them to a third championship, but he is a top 10-15 coach in the league. He is the type of coach that can rally the troops and motivate a player to skate through a wall. The Penguins biggest handicap is not the X’s and O’s, it is the lack of discipline and heart that champions never lack. Essentially, the problem is Penguins are being lead by a crybaby.
Sure, Sid is extremely talented and works extremely hard, but at the end of the day, he is a pampered crybaby. When that person is your leader, it rubs off on the rest of your team. I have always defended Sid against detractors, but I can’t do it anymore. They are right. He is a pampered whiner. Almost every shift I watch him say something to another player or ref when he is roughed up a little. Unfortunately, Sid’s better than thou attitude has spread like a plague amongst the whole team.
Ryan Whitney is still reading his press clippings from two years ago when he actually hustled. Ryan, here is an idea, how bout you keep your feet moving, perhaps you won’t be caught flat-footed and get burned or turn the puck over. Brooks, you sure can hit and you play smart defensively, but who are you to call out coaches. Last time I checked, your last name isn’t Orr, Bourque, Coffey, or Stevens. You don’t get to dictate anything until you earn it. I don’t mean to be overly critical of just Brook and Whit. Each Penguin could and should be called out for their performance, except one.
The only player I can’t place any blame on is Malkin. I have watched just about every game this year, and he is the only player that doesn’t take nights off. He plays every game like it is his last. It actually looks like he cares when he is out there. Perhaps all the whining has been lost in translation. I think Malkin is the one actually showing true maturity. It is unfortunate the Pens’ best leader may be the one who can’t speak English.
I have liked most of Shero’s decisions so I’m not ready to throw him under the bus, but he has let the inmates run the asylum. Adding Miro Satan to a roster whose leader may be even a bigger crybaby isn’t smart. Perhaps, Shero should have had the forethought to include a veteran presence in the locker room. Shero thought Sid was ready to lead this team, but it is abundantly clear he is not. That is Shero’s fault.
I am not jumping off Sid’s bandwagon forever. I recognize his great potential and hope he becomes the truly great player everyone thought he would become. However, he needs to grow up. He needs to understand that he is alienating himself with every glance and comment to officials. The really mind boggling thing is that as roommates with Lemieux for the last three years, Mario never fixed this. But you will never get me to criticize the G.O.A.T. This is something Sid, and only Sid, can fix.
Let me leave Pens fans with this. How comfortable are you knowing that with the current roster the Penguins are paying 14 players a combined 46 million next year? That leaves roughly ten million to sign about ten more players. This franchise may have financially bootstrapped itself for years to come. I get an eerie feeling I am going to wake up and realize we have become the Tampa Bay Lightning.
I would like to cover one fantasy situation before wrapping this up. Over the weekend Martin Brodeur said he expected to return to action in about 10-14 days. As you are reading this, Brodeur is about a week away from returning. Both Clemmensen owners and Brodeur owners must take note. If you have survived without Brodeur, do you need him now? Could you get more value in a trade than the value Brodeur would be able to give you? These are all team specific questions, but the answers will dictate your next move. Clemmensen owners, I wouldn’t drop him just yet, but once Brodeur is back for sure, about two or three more weeks, he is no longer worth owning. Keep an eye on InGoalMag.com for more details concerning Brodeur.
As with any SportsJudge.com article, feel free to post a comment or question. Until next week, The Puck Stops Here.
Last week, after the final round was rained out on both Sunday and Monday, my pick Jim Furyk didn’t get his chance to make a run for the cup at Pebble Beach. Instead, the rainout allowed Dustin Johnson to win after only 54 holes of golf. The win makes Johnson one of only two players under age 25 who have 2 PGA Tour wins (Anthony Kim is the other).
This is a very impressive win for Johnson. It marks his first win over a field this tough and it should give him a great deal of confidence going forward. He will need it. Thanks to his win, Johnson will be playing next week at the Accenture Match Play Championship, and has earned a Masters exemption. Don’t be surprised to see Johnson use last week’s performance as a springboard for a solid career. I think we will be hearing his name a lot in the future.
He will be in the field this week as the Tour heads to Riviera Country Club for the Northern Trust Open. Although he is a good momentum pick and I like Johnson’s game in general, his rank of 147th in driving accuracy could bite him at Riviera; a tight course.
This week, look for Mike Weir to play well. He finished in second place last week, waiting to get his opportunity to make a run on Sunday. That opportunity never presented itself, and Weir will be playing with extra desire this week. In addition, Weir has won here in the past, both in 2003 and 2004, and he has played very well in 2009.
If you are looking for a sleeper pick, I recommend Cliff Kresge this week. In four starts this year, Kresge has a top 10 and a top 25. With a couple of breaks, he could find himself right in the thick of things.
Make sure to stop back to SportsJudge.com every Wednesday at 1pm for more PGA Tour previews and fantasy golf picks.
The contest for national player of the year was pretty much a two horse race until last Saturday afternoon, when the talking heads of the world starting flipping their lids over some guy named Hasheem Thabeet. I saw Dick Vitale ramble for a minute or two, speaking only in nicknames about Thabeet, losing everyone, and then turning to the Wisconsin crowd that had formed prior to the Wisconsin – Ohio State game he was to call later that night and saying “how bout this crowd!” (They went nuts). Anyone who’s seen Billy Madison knows that Vitale ripped one straight from Billy's playbook. During the academic decathlon that would decide his fate, Billy incoherently tried to explain the Industrial Revolution through the children’s book “The Puppy Who Lost His Way” before yelling “Knibb High Football Rules!” and winning back the crowd. The principal’s response was basically how I felt about Vitale and everyone else’s newfound Thabeet obsession.
Why was everyone so caught up on Hasheem Thabeet? We’ve been hearing about him all year about how he blocks and alters shot inside. He’s improving offensively, sure, but why pretend to insert his name into the discussion for national player of the year now? Well Saturday afternoon, Thabeet had 25 points, 20 rebounds, and 9 blocks against Seton Hall, who also happens to be my alma mater. Why that’s important is because well, I actually watched the game, and I happen to know a little bit about Seton Hall. I’m not sure if anyone else actually watched it, it was at noon (I personally had to set my alarm for 11:30 am to make sure I could catch it) and Georgetown v. Syracuse was on the World Wide Leader at the same time. Let’s talk briefly about this game. First of all, Seton Hall’s tallest player is 6’9”. His name is John Garcia, that's him above, fouling someone from NAIA has-been Cal Baptist earlier this season. John is an underrated part of the Seton Hall team, they can't win without him (mainly because their tallest player on the court would be 6'6" without him), but John has two incredibly bad knees and can barely jump, never mind dunk.
On Monday night, in a pre-game interview, when asked about Thabeet, Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon complimented the Tanzanian on his shot blocking ability, but also mentioned two things that we spot on. Thabeet is a help-defense shot blocker, which means someone is generally always open when he goes to block a shot (something I was yelling at my TV during that Seton Hall game). Secondly, Dixon commented that shots that get blocked are generally bad shots. Not bad in the sense that they’re getting blocked, but bad in the sense of bad shot selection, as in most probably won’t go in anyway. Jamie Dixon knows what’s up.
Back to the Seton Hall game that suddenly put Thabeet in the “running” for national player of the year. Against what is essentially a four guard offense with a heavy set center who would be about the fourth tallest person on the court for Connecticut, the Huskies kept throwing up alley oops and Thabeet kept dunking the ball until he reached those 25 points (by the way, half of all of Thabeets field goals made this season are dunks). Getting 20 rebounds for him in that game is like going to your local middle school and outrebounding a bunch of highly skilled sixth graders playing on an eight-foot hoop. As for the 9 blocked shots, there are few teams in America who have poorer shot selection than Seton Hall (it's part of their 'every time we have the ball let's pretend it's a fast break!' offense). It got to the point where everyone was driving the lane and hoping Thabeet would whiff in a block attempt. Better yet, Thabeet is supposed to be a terror on defense. Now back to the aforementioned John Garcia. He averages 8 points and 7 rebounds a game. Against Thabeet? 22 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 blocks! It’s a career day against the best defender ever! John Garcia for player of the year! By the way, if the Big East’s second leading scorer, Jeremy Hazell, doesn’t have a bad day with missing wide open shots and everything, Seton Hall wins. I’m not kidding, go back and watch the game.
This article is a few days late at getting its point across. This was meant to be a warning against jumping on the Thabeet bandwagon like the media tried to do over the weekend. DeJuan Blair beat me to the point on Monday night with his one handed-reverse suplex of Thabeet. Oh, and he outplayed him. Like, by a lot. 22 points and 23 rebounds to 5 points and 4 rebounds a lot. Oh, and Thabeet only blocked 2 shots, because Jamie Dixon figured out how to tell his guys to find the open guy once Thabeet leaves his man, and of course how to not take bad shots. There are a few other instances of Thabeet being outplayed this season (Greg Monroe of Georgetown comes to mind), but the fact of the matter is, his numbers every game just aren’t good enough, look them up. I don’t mean to pick on one player with Thabeet, but he can’t really be considered a national player of the year candidate. The fact of the matter is, what Thabeet did on Saturday, Blake Griffin and Luke Harangody do consistently. I don't mean to discount the likes of Jerel McNeal, Gimp Curry, Jeff Teague or even DeJuan Blair, but if it's okay with everyone else I'd like to move on to the two horse race now.
It’s down to Luke Harangody and Blake Griffin. It was all Griffin until Notre Dame’s sudden change of heart (where they actually start showing up and playing) in their 33 point win over Louisville last Thursday. Harangody had 32 and 17 after his abysmal performance against UCLA. Just when Harangody, who can score from almost anywhere on the court, was in contention to make this contest interesting, Blake Griffin pulled one out of that annoying Michael Jordan/Mia Hamm “anything you can do I can do better” commercial (can someone explain to me why when MJ is playing goalie he's trying to block a shot from 30 yards away from goal and about 2 feet away from Mia?) and scored 40 points and took down 23 rebounds against Texas Tech on Saturday. Woah. Both dominating performances. Let’s take a look at this table:
20+ points and 15+ rebounds in a game is what I consider a dominating performance. Griffin has done it 12 times, Harangody 9. What’s even more amazing is that there are two players with a combined twenty-one 20 point, 15 rebound games this season. Griffin has more, but now lets only include "good" and power conference teams (yes, I am including Davidson and UAB despite not being in power conferences and DePaul, despite being…well, DePaul):
Look at that, only a one game difference. Now what’s the best way to sort this all out? I say the best way is for Notre Dame to make a run, finish something like 10-8 in the Big East, and get an 8 or 9 seed in Oklahoma’s bracket in the NCAA Tournament. Then we can see them square off head to head and let that, instead of a whole resume over the course of this season (which, in a vacuum, are very similar resumes), do the deciding. Yeah, that would be nice, but for now take a look at this. I call it reality:
I think that just about says it all. Griffin is the best player in the country on the best team in the country (come next Monday), while Notre Dame languishes in the bottom half of the Big East. Hmm, Notre Dame 5-7, 14-10 and Seton Hall 5-7, 14-10. Maybe I really should look into this John Garcia for player of the year thing.
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