We Will Be Back

We are temporarily on hiatus. I would love to say it is due to some made up cool and fun reason, but in fact, we are just lazy.

But when we come back, expect big things to come.

Cliff Notes: Monday, May 12 2008

The Winners

-The Jazz, Spurs, Penguins, Red Wings

The Important Stuff

-Utah and San Antonio both take two games at home.
My Take: I really like Utah more than San Antonio, because Utah has changed it up a bit and are playing really well. Plus, Kobe Bryant looks pretty hurt, and back spasms tend to linger. San Antonio looked more like a team that took full advantage of being at home. I see New Orleans rebounding and finding a way to take the series.

-Manchester United wins its 10th Premier League title.
My Take: As a decently casual follower of the Premier League, it was pretty intense Sunday. Man U and Chelsea were deadlocked in points with one game to play. Man U held the tiebreaker, so Chelsea needed Man U to falter. Instead, it was Man U coming out on top (thanks to goals by Ronaldo and Giggs) while Chelsea stumbled in the closing minutes. Man U clearly is the most talented team and was also the one that stumbled the least throughout the season.

-The Marlins win their 7th straight.
My Take: Florida clearly has some hitting. Hanley Ramirez is the best player no one talks about while Dan Uggla and Jeremy Hermida consistently hit. Obviously the biggest question mark is their hitting, but the Marlins are a pesky team. I see them hanging around for a little while, and at best, finish the season in the 70-75 win range(which would be remarkable considering their payroll).

The Stupid Stuff

-O.J. Mayo reportedly accepted gifts and money.
My Take: ESPN did this whole Outside The Lines thing, and can up with these receipts and money exchanges from some agency. You think Mayo is the only one this happens to? I am willing to bet that out of the 60 or so players that are drafted every year, 20-25% of them are involved in similar activity. How do you put a stop to it? I'm really not sure.

-O.J. Simpson reportedly admits to killing his ex-wife and her boyfriend.
My Take: Can someone please lock this guy up for life? Just put him away. Can't America vote to exile him off of the island?

The List

-Rather then do some awards, the demotions of Jason Isringhausen and Eric Gagne got me thinking about the next five closers to lose their jobs (Note: These must be pitchers which started the season as their team's closers)

5) Brad Lidge (Replacement: Tom Gordon)
4) Trevor Hoffman (Replacement: Heath Bell)
3) Kerry Wood (Replacement: Carlos Marmol)
2) Kevin Gregg (Replacement: Matt Lindstrom)
1) Huston Street (Replacement: Santiago Casilla)

What to Watch for

-You have the usual playoffs (I think the Celtics finally win on the road tonight at Cleveland). And I guess you have to keep an eye on Cliff Lee going for 7-0 tonight. Can someone finally hit this guy and shut everyone up about him?

The Irony of a Baseball Brawl...

It was a random summer baseball game in the magical season of 1998. Bernie Williams had just hit one of his billion clutch homeruns. The next batter was one of my favorite all time players, Tino Martinez. Armando Benitez, clearly miffed at the fact that he sucks, drilled Tino square between the shoulder blades with a 98 mph fastball. Tino immediately looked up at Benitez and then it happened; a HUGE fight broke out between the Orioles and the Yankees. Darryl Strawberry jumped into the Baltimore dugout and started throwing punches. Graham Lloyd tackled like 6 players.

I was reminded of this classic Yankees brawl when I woke up this morning to see highlights of Richie Sexson going nuts about pitch the was “too high.” It reminded me that no matter how stupid fights are in baseball, they make incredible highlights. I love baseball brawls.

The moment when the ball leaves the pitchers hand when you know its going to be up and in, the reaction of the player when he’s hit, the hitter charging the mound, the catcher running after him, the pitcher throwing his glove down, clenching his fists, and getting into a stance to brace himself. The five seconds or so between the hitter sprinting and reaching the pitcher are some of the tensest seconds in sports. The dugouts emptying, the bullpen guys running in, random players fighting each other for no reason at all, it’s fantastic!

The fight last night also made me realize the irony in that perhaps the most individualistic of all sports, baseball, has the most team oriented fights…

Hockey by far has the most fights of any professional sport; there are usually at least two a game. The game stops and players look on as two guys punch the crap out of each other until the refs finally stop it. Hockey is a team sport. You can’t win without your teammates and yet rarely do you see other players step in during a fight. Players let the two guys go at it like men; it’s been this way for years. Hockey fights end with each guy going to the penalty box for a few minutes and then playing again.

Basketball is as much of a team, if not more, than hockey, and fights are very rare. The NBA has rules that constitute instant suspensions as soon as a player leaves the bench during a fight. Because of this, even the rare fights that do happen are usually between 2 or 3 guys. For the most part, players would rather let the two guys fight, than lose the money they would get fined for leaving the bench.

Football is the most ironic of all. Football is the roughest, most physical, and the most team oriented of all sports. Yet, there is almost never a fight in football. The NFL has the lowest class of athlete of all sports, but they are satisfied with tackling instead of fighting. There are countless incidences where players “talk shit,” but nothing ever happens.

Baseball doesn’t have fights, they have brawls. This is because if two players do start to scuffle, the dugouts and bullpens empty. EVERY player gets involved. In last night’s fight, why was Felix Hernandez running around like an idiot when he was not involved in the fight at all? In the 1998 Yankees brawl, why was Darryl Strawberry throwing punches in the Orioles dug out? Why do baseball fights always involve every player? Is it because baseball players are bored, and any type of drama excites them? Baseball, the most individualistic of all sports, has the most team oriented fights. Go figure.

Either way, I love to watch baseball brawls. I can’t wait for some random pitcher to throw inside at Melky Cabrera…because you know that Shelley Duncan will power bomb the other team’s left fielder!

Freakout: Richie Sexson

I'm sorry, but if I had my own Clown of the Year article, Richie Sexson wins it hands down. That pitch wasn't even inside! Plus, look at the score Richie! Your team is trailing and putting up another stinker.

I'm glad Sexson was able to hit something when he charged the mound. He has trouble hitting anything else that comes his way.

Cliff Notes: Friday, May 9 2008

If you live on the East Coast, this question will make sense to you: Why does it always rain on Friday and Saturday? And if you watch Lost, this question will always make sense to you: What the hell is going on?

The Winners

-Spurs, Celtics, Red Wings, Haters of Lebron James

The Important Stuff

-Spurs and Celtics start slow, but take care of business in victories.

My Take: The Spurs obviously needed the win. They let Chris Paul do what he wanted, but limited Peja Stojakovic to eight points. Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili each scored 31. It's a series again. As for the Celtics, they are clearly better than the Cavs. If Lebron is off, Cleveland has no chance (and he's been very off). Game 3 is a must win for the Cavs.

-Brandon Webb improves to 8-0.

My Take: When the game's top pitchers are talked about, I hear names like Santana and Peavy more often than Webb. But with Webb, Arizona has an absolute bull that can go nine innings. With Webb, Haren, Owings, Johnson, and now Scherzer, the Diamondbacks are the team to beat not just in the National League, but in the major leagues.

The Stupid Stuff

-The Dallas Cowboys will be featured on HBO's Hard Knocks, a series that depicts what an NFL Training Camp is like.

My Take: I love this show. It takes you through the difficulties of making it through NFL Training Camp. But if you are the Cowboys, and you've had situations like the Tony Romo/Jessica Simpson and anyhing Terrell Owens does, why put yourselves in the spotlight again? Plus, teams that appear on this show have tended to underachieve(i.e. Last year's Kansas City Chiefs).

The Awards

-The "Most Added Pitchers to Fantasy Teams" award goes to both Edwin Jackson and Daniel Cabrera. The two combined to allow one run in 17 innings. Cabrera allowed only three hits in a complete game victory while Jackson went eight scoreless but didn't get the decision. These two are the same exact pitcher. When they are on, they will dominant, but more often then not, they will walk the ball park.

-The "Cheap Win" award goes to Manny Acosta, who threw all of three pitches and ended up in the victory column. The Braves used six pitchers before him, but somehow, Acosta was the one who came away with the victory.

What to Watch For Tonight

-Utah looks to pull within a game against the Lakers. And I didn't even realize hockey was on, so Flyers/Penguins it is. And of course, the return of Kei Igawa! Yes!

Random Classic WWF Moment...

I know wrestling isn't real, but remember when it was really cool?

Here are some highlights from the late 90's brutal Hell in The Cell match between The Undertaker and Mankind...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=wAQgz_AmPQQ&feature=related

NHL > NBA?

I will always love basketball more than hockey. Basketball is my favorite sport to play and one of my favorites to watch. So, I never thought I’d be saying this, but:

Thank god the hockey playoffs are starting up again tonight, because the NBA playoffs have been just awful. As for hockey? Incredible.

The Sharks-Stars 4OT masterpiece was probably the best hockey game I’ve ever seen and, logically, Marty Turco and Evgeni Nabokov put in two of the best goaltending performances I’ve ever seen. I can’t even imagine going out there for the 4th overtime and being able to walk, let alone ice skate with any urgency!

Yes, my favorite team, the New York Rangers, failed to advance to this round. This definitely puts a damper on the rest of the playoffs, but you have to realize – I haven’t been this big into hockey for about ten years. When the Rangers started going downhill in the late 90s, I lost interest and I was always more of a basketball fan anyway.

But, there’s one thing that can’t be denied. The NHL playoffs this year have blown the NBA playoffs out of the water.

I didn’t see this coming at all, with how competitive the Western Conference was this year. But, the conference's first round was an absolute bore, with the higher seeds toppling the lower ones easily. Same with the Eastern Conference, although surprisingly, the Celtics and Pistons were pushed a bit. The games themselves have been downhill since Game 1 of the Spurs-Suns series, in which players hit a series of clutch shots, including Tim Duncan nailing his first three of the season to put it into a second overtime.

The second round has been more of the same. Every home game has won. Yawnnnnnnn.
Not the case in the NHL.

There was the drama of Sean Avery’s stick-wielding antics in front of nemesis Martin Brodeur. And the brilliant 7 game series between the Flyers and Capitals, decided in overtime no less. And, of course, the valiant comebacks by the Rangers and Sharks, only to fall short. The best part about the NHL playoffs? They’ve been unpredictable.

Look at the first round. The 6th seeded Avalanche beat the 3rd seeded Wilds. The 7th seeded Flames pushed the 2nd seeded Sharks to 7. The 8th seeded Bruins did the same to the top seeded Canadiens. The 6th seeded Flyers toppled the 3rd seeded Capitals.

And now, the Eastern Conference Finals features a 2 vs. a 6 and the Western Conference Finals is a 1 vs.5 matchup. Hardly what anyone saw coming.

My final point is a simple one: nothing beats hockey playoffs. Nothing beats the intensity that comes with one shot of the puck, or one freak play, defining an entire team’s fate.

I’ll still be watching Kobe, Paul and Garnett go at it. But, for some reason, I think Crosby, Franzen and Turco may provide the better entertainment.