Is It Sports?

Head on Over to The Victoria Times....

2008-02-17T11:26:00.003-05:00

As you can see, I pretty much stopped writing semi-regularly on this site on December 13, 2006. But my writing days are far from over. The post below from July 2007 was both the last post to appear on this site and the first "guest" post I made on Ryan's Victoria Times site, which is building a bigger list of readers every day and has had top stories on ballhype, and been linked to many times from Deadspin and other popular blogs like Boiled Sports and Barry Melrose Rocks. I now write weekly on Victoria Times, if not more often, so you can check out all of my latest posts there. It's hard to believe we started the original Is It Sports? more than 3 years ago, and now we're starting to enjoy at least a little bit of popularity.

With all the links above, here's the Victoria Times link again.

We've Got Controversy!

2007-07-22T15:09:00.001-04:00

This post was originally written by me but posted on Ryan's Victoria Times.

Even though I haven't updated my own site in over 6 months, Ryan asked me to do a special guest post on his site over the weekend, so here we go. I kind of feel like Brian Kenny when he fills in at ESPN radio, but I promise not to spend 90% of this post talking about boxing and claiming that UFC is just a "trend" and that boxing is the supreme sport. Anyways....We've got controversy everywhere in sports right now...let's break it down...

- In case you've been living in a cave, Barry Bonds is on the verge of breaking the most well known record in sports, and impressively during his march to 755 HR his hat grew about 8 sizes. The steroids issue in baseball is far from over, and will be an increasingly hotter topic over the next few years as more and more guys from the 90s become Hall of Fame eligible. So what do I think about this? It's all relevant. 75% of the guys that have been caught since testing began have been pitchers. So the roided-up hitters were hitting HR off of roided-up pitchers. Sounds fair to me, might as well elect them all and let the people of this generation pass on these stories to their children when they visit the Hall of Fame or look at record books. The hitters from this generation that didn't use steroids will obviously be held in higher regard in the future, and if future hitters (like Alex Rodriguez) wind up toppling these records, that will make them even bigger legends and something for baseball to be proud of. Another thing the Hall of Fame can do is give higher regard to the singles hitters, great fielders, and great base stealers of this era. I'm not saying that puts Scott Podsednik in the hall of fame, but it could make things more fair.

- The NFL is being stung with a flurry of arrests and indictments, with the biggest obviously being Michael Vick and his dogfighting. Now, I'm fine with believing in the concept of innocent until proven guilty, but I've never been suspected of dog fighting, and you've never been suspected of dog fighting. That's not something that you just get accused of if you aren't involved in at least some way. What I don't understand about this is....why is he involved with this? It's not like he needs the money from taking bets. So he obviously just thinks its cool to watch dogs fight. So as a result of this, it looks like your 2007 Atlanta Falcons starting QB is none other than: Joey Harrington! Can we start a new "Harrington" curse? It seems like now wherever he goes, he winds up starting due to some injury/arrest. I wonder if he won't be able to find a job in 2008 just because a team doesn't want their starting QB to be brought up on genocide charges by the U.N.

- Hot off the press in the NBA's latest controversy. A referee that bet on games and fixed the finishes. That's a pretty big charge that can tarnish the league for years, but a lot of people suspected that this has been happening in the league for a long time with Dick Bavetta being assigned to playoff series in order to extend them to 7 games to generate more money. Let's also not forget the alleged frozen envelope from the 1985 Draft Lottery. I guess this definitely explains the Toronto Raptors winning a division title this year. In a league where all of this is happening, I'm surprised that dull, fundamentally sound teams have won 5 of the last 9 titles. Maybe the NBA needs to use this referee and the mafia as special consultants to come to a more profitable solution in the future.

- Even a sport that's fake has been in the news lately, where a pro wrestler flipped out (possibly due to steroids) and killed his family and himself. This is a sad situation and I won't discuss it more out of respect, but the common thread with all of these sports is that they are in the news, being talked about, and generating interest, even though the publicity is bad. What's being left out here? The NHL...

- The NHL endured a betting scandal of its own that involved its most famous player's wife, but the story kind of fizzled out and the NHL is once again out of the national news. So here's my proposal to get hockey back on the map: During intermissions between periods of games, the entertainment must be dog fights, but not just any dog fights, but steroid injected dogs fighting, in which all in attendance will be forced to bet on or be subjected to steroid injections themselves. And instead of having the new shootout rule to break a tie, the result of the dog fights will determine who wins the game, but only if the referees and mafia approve.

So there we go. My first post in months. Obviously I'm just kidding about the NHL proposal and the league should be commended on not having any major controversy right now as the other leagues are suffering through their own. These kind of stories actually make sports more interesting because if they weren't happening, you would have to think about things like the upcoming mid-week series between the Orioles and Devil Rays. On that note, the 2nd highest paid player on the Devil Rays is none other than the legendary Casey Fossum. Maybe the MLB and NBA aren't all that different after all....

The Simulated National Championship

2006-12-13T21:27:00.000-05:00

Well here it is, the national championship game, simulated as a result of my 16-team tournament. And your national champs are.....

THE MICHIGAN WOLVERINES

24 20

If it weren't for 4 long passes, this game would have been an absolute defensive battle. Chad Henne struggled early, throwing 2 interceptions that lead to Ohio State field goals and a 6-3 OSU lead with less than a minute to go in the first half. But Michigan didn't just run out the last minute when they got the ball back. Henne hit Mario Manningham with an 83 yard touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage to go up 10-6. They weren't finished yet. Michigan then used their timeouts to force Ohio State to punt. Following the punt, Henne connected with Steve Breaston for a 68 yard touchdown pass, giving Michigan the shocking 17-6 halftime lead. The 3rd quarter was marked by good defensive play on both sides until Troy Smith retalliated with a 76 yard touchdown to Roy Hall on the final play of the quarter to make the score 17-13. In the 4th, Michigan could still not get anything going on offense. Another sharp passing attack by Ohio State put the Buckeyes ahead 20-17 with a touchdown pass to Anthony Gonzalez. Michigan fought back with the first drive of the game that didn't involve a long pass to take a 24-20 lead with just under 3 minutes to go when Henne completed a TD to tight end Tyler Ecker. The time then came for Troy Smith to earn his Heisman. Ohio State was quickly stopped on the following drive, and they decided to punt. Michigan strung together some first downs, but, luckily for them, Henne threw his 4th interception of the game to give the Buckeyes one more chance with less than a minute to go. They drove down the field and it came down to a 4th and 9 on Michigan's 10 yard line with 23 seconds to go, but the game winning touchdown pass was deflected away from Ted Ginn and Michigan took a knee to become the national champs.

So there you have it. I think if a tournament like mine actually existed and would have wound up the way it did, there might not be any complaints, even from college football purists. The two teams in the championship game earned their way in and it came down to an exciting finish. Florida fans couldn't complain, because their team lost by 11 to the MAC champion. Well, I really enjoyed doing this over the past few weeks, but now I need to come up with another topic for this site.....hmm.....

Semifinals: Rose and Orange Bowls

2006-12-12T21:20:00.000-05:00

We're down to the final 4. Two of the teams were pretty much expected to make it this far, Ohio State and Michigan, and the other two teams, BYU and Central Michigan are total surprises. Will the national title game be OSU-Michigan like many would have liked to see, will it be a battle between 2 major underdogs, or will it be a combination? Time to find out

7 43

Ohio State finally plays a game that proves their ranking. Even though they put 43 points on the board, which came from 4 TDs and 5 field goals (including 2 50+ yarders) from their kicker, the Buckeyes' defense was the real story here. The Beck non-brothers of BYU combined to throw 8 interceptions in this game, 4 each. Two were returned for touchdowns. Ohio State's offense did not need to do much because of this, and Troy Smith only hooked up with Ted Ginn once, but it was for a 77 yard TD. OSU even pulled Troy Smith in the 4th to rest him for the national championship game. Ohio State dominates....not much else to say.

14 48

The surprising Chippewas have finally fallen, but not without a blaze of glory. Both of their touchdowns were over 90 yards. The first was 94 yard bomb to make the game 10-7 in the first quarter. The 2nd was a 96 yard interception return to cut Michigan's lead to 24-14 just as they were about to take a 31-7 lead into halftime. However, Michigan had some tricks up their sleeves as well. Steve Breaston returned the kickoff following the interception 99 yards for a TD to give Michigan a 31-14 halftime lead. The Wolverines added 2 more TD passes from Chad Henne, giving him a total of 4, in the 2nd half to give Michigan the clear victory.

So there we have it. Despite all the crazy upsets, the National Championship game will be #1 Ohio State vs. #3 Michigan, probably just like it should have been. It's not surprising to me that Ohio State is in this game because they are ranked #1 in the video game, but Michigan is ranked #14 but still managed to blow out #3 Notre Dame when they played in this tournament. I guess these games are more realistic than I thought before. The results of the national title game will be up on Wednesday or Thursday. Should be interesting.

Round 2 of the College Football Tournament

2006-12-09T01:37:00.000-05:00

Round 1 of the simulated NCAA Football tournament featured tons of close games, wild finishes, and upsets. The 2nd round? not so much. But the truly dominant teams came out to play and BYU and Central Michigan are playing the roles of George Mason and Bradley in this tourney so far. Let's go to the results...

0 30

Sloppy game with a showing of Ohio State's dominance. Troy Smith only threw for 219 yards for 0 TD and 3 INTs, but Brandon Cox outdid him by throwing for only 113 yards 0 TD and 4 INT, one of which was returned for a touchdown. Auburn had 7 turnovers in total. Ohio State only scored 1 offensive TD. They got the remaining 16 points from 4 field goals and 2 safeties, which were the result of Troy Smith throwing an interception at the 1 yard line twice.

35 7

Another game filled with interceptions. At one point near the end of the first half, there were 3 interceptions thrown back-to-back-to-back. BYU starting QB John Beck was injured early in the game and was replaced by Jason Beck (no relation) who threw for 3 TDs but also 3 INTs. However, just like in the last game, 2 of the 3 INTs set up safeties for BYU. Wake Forest was not able to get anything going on offense in this game beyond their 1st quarter TD. The mid-major team advances to the final four.

24 44

Michigan dominated from the very beginning of this game and never looked back. Mike Hart had 139 yards rushing and 2 TD's and Steve Breaston caught a 73 yard TD Pass right before the end of the first half to give Michigan a 28-10 lead. An interception return for a TD was Notre Dame's only first half touchdown, and Michigan had one as well in the 4th to make the score 44-17. Notre Dame scored a garbage time TD with only 24 seconds left. Ironically, this score is similar to when these teams played in real life this season, and the exact same score from Notre Dame's last game, where they were crushed by USC.

36 23

Somewhere, Dick Vitale is smiling. Central Michigan must have watched a lot of tapes of George Mason last year. Strong defense and electrifying passing gets them another victory with Dan LeFevour throwing for over 400 yards and completing several bombs. CMU held a 7-0 lead going into halftime, but capitalized on Sooner turnovers in the 2nd half to take a 23-0 lead. Oklahoma retaliated with a TD and a 2, then intercepted LeFevour and returned it for another TD and 2 to make it a ball game again. However almost immediately, Central hooked up for a 72 yard TD pass and then recovered a fumble on the following kickoff that lead to field goal to put them ahead 33-16, and they never looked back. Can you imagine seeing Trev Alberts hanging out for a week in Mt. Pleasant, MI to hype up their Orange Bowl appearance? I can.

THE FINAL FOUR
#1 Ohio State vs. #13 BYU @ The Rose Bowl
#3 Michigan vs. #15 Central Michigan @ The Orange Bowl

Tournament Time: 1st Round Results

2006-12-06T22:52:00.000-05:00

The first round of my college football tournament is in the books. Here's how the games turned out....

1724

In a back and forth game, Troy had a 17-14 lead going into the 4th. Ohio State took a 24-17 lead with an 82 yard TD pass from Troy Smith to Ted Ginn

46 31

Boise State returned the opening kickoff for a TD, but then Auburn bounced back with 24 unanswered points. The teams traded scores from there and Auburn tacked on a safety near the end. Boise State couldn’t get any running game going at all, and Auburn’s offense was pretty much unstoppable. Courtney Taylor had 7 catches for 188 yards and 4 TD in the game.

44 38

BYU took an early 27-0 lead due to turnovers by LSU deep in their own territory. LSU fought back to make it 27-24 in the 3rd quarter. BYU eventually rebounded to take a 41-31 lead, and added a 49-yard field goal with only 1:16 to go to make it 44-31. JaMarcus Russell, who had 3 TD and 2 INT, was injured on the following drive, but Matt Flynn came in to lead them to a TD with 31 seconds to go. LSU recovered an onside kick and then completed a Hail Mary as time expired but the receiver was tackled just short of the goal line to end the game.

35 32

Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers. USC had a lot of them early, and Wake Forest jumped out to a 28-0 lead. The Trojans bounced back to make it close, but never held a lead. John David Booty threw for 403 yards and 3 TD, but his 3 INT’s did him early.

31 44

Houston fought tough at the beginning, taking a 10-0 lead into the 2nd quarter. The game was even tied at half time 17-17, but Michigan pulled away in the 2nd half, usually having a 2 touchdown lead at any given time. Chad Henne lead the Michigan air attack with 5 TD’s

42 41

The game started off pretty even, with both offenses even having similar stats near the end of the first half. Brady Quinn threw 2 costly interceptions that turned into points for Louisville, giving them a 34-17 halftime lead. In the 2nd half, Notre Dame made a strong comeback, but was stopped just short of the goal line on 4th down while losing 41-34 with only 1:16 remaining. However, in Louisville’s first play from scrimmage following the turnover, the running back was tackled in the end zone for a safety, making it 41-36. In sickening Notre Dame fashion, they were able to score the go ahead TD (missing the 2) after the great field position they got after the free kick. Brady Quinn wound up throwing for 513 yards.

29 6

Oklahoma’s defense dominated, shutting down Wisconsin’s running game and picking off John Stocco 3 times. Wisconsin’s only score was late in the 4th quarter when Stocco completed an 82 yard TD pass to Marcus Randle El, only to have their extra point blocked. Oklahoma started with a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and kicked 5 field goals after that.

21 10

Upset City Baby!! But its pretty easy for Florida to be upset when Chris Leak throws 4 INT's, all in Central Michigan territory. Central's passing game was strong, connecting for 2 long passing TD's, and the defense held Florida to only 3 points in the 2nd half.

2nd Round Matchups
#1 Ohio State vs. #9 Auburn @ Indianapolis
#12 Wake Forest vs. #13 BYU @ Jacksonville
#3 Michigan vs. #11 Notre Dame @ Detroit
#10 Oklahoma vs. #15 Central Michigan @ Kansas City

Let the Games Begin!

2006-12-04T19:40:00.000-05:00

Well the final polls are out, and now its time to put together the final matchups for my college football tournament plan.

Before I begin, some people that have read this have asked me about scheduling. Well this is what I would do. The first round would be held the Saturday after finals end for the students, which this year is Saturday, December 16. The 2nd round would be held on Saturday, December 23. The Semis would be held on New Year's Day, Monday, January 1, and the championship would be held on Monday, January 8.

Now, where would the games be held? The 3 major bowls that are currently held in cities that were not recently devastated are the Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl, and Fiesta Bowl. So the Semis and the Finals will rotate between Dolphins Stadium in Miami, Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA, and University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ. The First and Second round games will be held in neutral locations. Each conference will have a "home" stadium (listed below) where the higher seed in the game will play. If there are 2 or even 3 teams from the same conference that are the higher seed that given week, then the game will be played in the next closest available neutral location (thanks to Ryan for helping me decide on the first 2 round format and locations).

ACC: Alltell Stadium - Jacksonville, FL
Big 12: Arrowhead Stadium - Kansas City, MO
Big East (and Notre Dame): Giants Stadium - East Rutherford, NJ
Big Ten: RCA Dome (Lucas Oil Stadium in 2008) - Indianapolis, IN
C-USA: Reliant Stadium - Houston, TX
MAC: Ford Field - Detroit, MI
Mountain West: Rice-Eccles Stadium - Salt Lake City, UT
PAC-10: Qualcomm Stadium - San Diego, CA
SEC: Georgia Dome - Atlanta, GA
Sun Belt: Superdome - New Orleans, LA
WAC: Monster Park - San Francisco, CA

Now how it all shakes out....

Conference Champs
ACC: Wake Forest (14)
Big 12: Oklahoma (10)
Big East: Louisville (6)
Big Ten: Ohio State (1)
C-USA: Houston (NR)
MAC: Central Michigan (NR)
Moutain West: BYU (20)
PAC-10: USC (5)
SEC: Florida (2)
Sun Belt: Troy (NR)
WAC: Boise State (8)

At-Large Teams: Michigan (3), LSU (4), Wisconsin (7), Auburn (9), Notre Dame (11)

First Round Matchups:
#1 Ohio State vs. #16 Troy @ Indianapolis
#8 Boise State vs. #9 Auburn @ San Francisco
#4 LSU vs. #13 BYU @ New Orleans
#5 USC vs. #12 Wake Forest @ San Diego
#3 Michigan vs. #14 Houston @ Detroit
#6 Louisville vs. #11 Notre Dame @ East Rutherford
#7 Wisconsin vs. #10 Oklahoma @ Kansas City
#2 Florida vs. #15 Central Michigan @ Atlanta

I actually invested money in this site today, by buying NCAA 07 for the Playstation 2, even though its been a very long time since I've even played video games. I'm going to simulate the results and see how it turns out.

College Football Tournament: Let the Speculation End

2006-11-29T21:03:00.000-05:00

Ok. Time for another College Football tournament update. Next week I'll be able to release the "final" bracket.

Conference Leaders
ACC: Wake Forest (17)
Big 12: Oklahoma (12)
Big East: Rutgers (13)
Big Ten: Ohio State (1)
C-USA: Houston (NR)
MAC: Ohio (NR)
Mountain West: BYU (21)
Pac-10: USC (2)
SEC: Florida (4)
Sun Belt: Middle Tennessee State (NR)
WAC: Boise State (8)

At-Large Teams: Michigan (3), LSU (5), Louisville (6), Wisconsin (7), Arkansas (9)

First Round Matchups
#1 Ohio State vs. #16 Middle Tennessee State
#8 Boise State vs. #9 Arkansas
#4 Florida vs. #13 BYU
#5 LSU vs. #12 Wake Forest
#3 Michigan vs. #14 Houston
#6 Louisville vs. #11 Rutgers
#7 Wisconsin vs. #10 Oklahoma
#2 USC vs. #15 Ohio

Week 12 Through Someone Else's Eyes (That has NFL Sunday Ticket)

2006-11-29T21:00:00.000-05:00

I wrote this on Ryan's Victoria Times site. Enjoy....

Since Ryan went to the Vikes-Cards game this weekend (see below), he asked me to fill in for him on his weekly NFL post. I didn't see all of the games, but I happen to be a proud owner of NFL Sunday Ticket, so I did get to catch bits and pieces of every single Sunday game. Since I'm writing on VT for the first time, I'll take this moment to shamelessly promote my site here...Is It Sports?

Thanksgiving Games
Dolphins vs. Lions - The Lions season closely resembles their owners' profit margins...completely tanking, on the verge of collapse. I thought if anything, just this one time, they could get their act together and show the world they are at least better off without Joey Harrington. But once again the Lions showed the world in the Thanksgiving spotlight they are the 2nd most poorly run franchise in the NFL. Right now I'm just waiting for Toyota to buy them, convert them to a soccer team, and move them to Japan.

Cowboys vs. Buccaneers - Didn't see any of it, but America apparently has Tony Romo fever now. I'd write him off, but from looking at this year's NFC with heavily flawed teams and remembering Kurt Warner's contract with Satan in 1999, anything is possible.

Chiefs vs. Broncos - The Broncos are abandoning Jake Plummer in favor of Jay Cutler, and I say, why not? Just close your eyes and try to imagine Jake Plummer holding a Super Bowl trophy. You can't right? Well, I think that's a great reason to bench him. Great QB's win Super Bowls (except Jim McMahon, Brad Johnson, Trent Dilfer, and Mark Rypien) and Plummer is far from great. It's like he's gotten a free pass and contract renewals just because he played for the Cardinals, so people think the team was holding him back. His career has been filled with dumb decisions and tons of interceptions, but that won't stop someone else from having him on their team next year. At least those 4 guys I mentioned above were smart enough to stay out of their defense and running games' way.

Sunday Pregame Shows - I was watching ESPN, hoping to see their story about Fantasy Football, and the touchy-feely-ESPN-trying-to-win-an-emmy music comes on, and they start talking about Nick Mangold's sister. Following my Sportscenter Procedure, I immediately switch to CBS, only to see someone shopping with a small boy with soft music in the background. So I eventually settle on a 7-minute long chuckle involving everyone on Fox. But you know what? I'd take the chuckle any day. Call me crazy, but I think people watch pregame shows to get pumped up for the games, check injuries, see interviews with players and coaches, and get expert picks. Why do all the networks insist on sucking away 10 minutes of our lives on a somber story that is usually on the far, far fringes of anything resembling football? Isn't this why ESPN has a show called "Outside the Lines"?

Saints vs. Falcons - We learned 2 things from this game. The Saints are pretty much a lock for the playoffs in the dismal NFC, and the Falcons are just hopelessly lost. On the plus side, maybe if Michael Vick flips off enough people, even more people in Atlanta outside the 33 sports fans will take notice.

Bills vs. Jaguars - The Bills and 49ers are similar in the sense that both of their 5-6 records are the product of them being at the bottom of the middle of the pack teams that can beat the really bad teams but then get crushed by the really good ones. For the Jaguars, there should be a rule that losing to Houston twice and Buffalo automatically eliminates you from the playoffs

Bengals vs. Browns - The Browns celebrate 50 years of horrible uniforms by getting shut out. If we've learned anyting is that Throwbacks = Losses and Coaches in Suits = Wins. The Solution? Romeo Crennel in a suit.....uh...nevermind.

Rams vs. 49ers - The Niners are actually fun to watch again, but they are still a year or 2 away. especially on defense. Both of these teams are showing signs of life, but neither has much of a chance to make a run at the wild card or catch Seattle for the West title.

Vikings vs. Cardinals - Ryan already explained this one in detail...Note to the Cardinals: When you give up 3 passing TD's to a 38 year-old Brad Johnson, things may not be going well for you.

Jets vs. Texans - All I remember about this one was watching Samkon Gado getting a one yard gain, enjoying a nice laugh, and changing the channel

Redskins vs. Panthers - Apparenly, no one wants the last wild card spot in the NFC. It's basically Carolina's for the taking, but they're too pathetic to scoop it up. Jake Delhomme makes a lot of bad decisions, and watching him play while starting him in fantasy football could be bad for your health. I know he went to a Super Bowl with them, but he's really only mediocre. Imagine Drew Brees with the recievers Delhomme has. Scary, huh?

Ravens vs. Steelers - I guess the Super Bowl loser curse effects the team that should have lost... Meanwhile, the Ravens and Chargers are getting me very excited for the AFC Playoffs.

Chargers vs. Raiders - What more is there to say about LT at this point? As I mentioned above, the Ravens and Chargers are looking tough to beat and they'll be in the playoffs with the Colts and Pats...should be interesting. Also, we might get a Denver team with a rookie QB and the crazy Jaguars to compliment those 4 big boys. Also, don't look now, but the Raiders are fiesty. I know people have knocked them a lot this year, and they deserve it, but their defense is solid. The way the NFL is today, with some major offensive changes and a good draft, they could be back in the playoffs next year.

Titans vs. Giants - What an amazing finish...but I was busy driving through Indiana. What more is there to say, really? The Titans are starting to rally behind Vince Young and they could be a strong team next season. You could say this game pretty much sticks a fork in the Giants' season, but in reality, if they don't make the playoffs, who will?

Patriots vs. Bears - A sloppy game, and the Patriots, who are probably the 4th or 5th best team in the AFC, take down the best team in the NFC. The Bears are really not as good as everyone thinks they are. Their offense is falling apart, and Grossman's bad decisions are not making a turnaround any easier.

Colts vs. Eagles - I'm sure NBC execs were just beyond pleased when they picked this game for prime time, after McNabb went down. I mean, America loves Jeff Garcia, but the Colts? come on.

Seahawks vs. Packers - Thank You, Shaun Alexander, for getting my fantasy team a win this week, and thanks to your entire season of work, I'm now 3-9. But seriously, isn't Brett Favre losing in the snow enough to convince everyone, including himself, that he is beyond washed up? You know what, screw it, I'm not getting into that debate. I hope he plays forever and changes his mind about retirement over and over again each year, becuase it makes for such intriguing television. And if him never retiring will prevent ESPN from making a touchy-feely story about him in retirement one day, then I'm all for it.

I almost published this post without another shameless plug: Is It Sports?

$136 Million for What?

2006-11-20T21:36:00.000-05:00

There was quite a stir in the baseball world in the past few days. Alfonso Soriano signed an 8-year, $136 million deal with the Cubs. Now, before everyone gets all excited about how the Cubs are going to snap their now 99-year World Series drought, let's just step back and think about this. When was the last time a team signed a big name free agent, while having only 1 decent starting pitcher, and turned around from a miserable season to win a World Series? Remember how many World Series rings A-Rod picked up in Texas? Sure, the Cubs will have a lineup to fear with Soriano, Lee, Ramirez, Jones, etc** (**=If they are all healthy enough during the season for all of them to be in the lineup together for more than 50 games), but my concern is who will be hitting 9th. Carlos Zambrano has been dominant, and I won't take that away from them, but the rest of their rotation SUCKS. Are Sean Marshall and Rich Hill pitchers you'd like in your rotation to lead you to a World Series? "But dude, once we get Wood and Prior back its over!!!!1111" Uh...yeah. Well the last time those guys had good, healthy seasons it was 2003. A lot can change in that time. Prior has become absolutely hittable, and he was terrible in his limited work last season. Kerry Wood's career is over, but the Cubs still feel like paying him out of the kindness of their hearts I guess. I guess if claiming he'll be back some day gets female bartenders and bottom of the totem pole accountants that like to drink Old Style and stare at bartenders to come to games, then he's worth his pay. So congrats, Cubs. You're the Baltimore Orioles of the National League.

Tournment Time...
Conference Leaders (ties broken by BCS rank)
ACC: Georgia Tech (16)
Big 12: Texas (13)
Big East: West Virginia (7)
Big Ten: Ohio State (1)
C-USA: Houston (NR)
MAC: Ohio (NR)
Mountain West: BYU (23)
Pac-10: USC (3)
SEC: Florida (4)
Sun Belt: Middle Tennessee State (NR)
WAC: Boise State (11)

At-Large Teams: Michigan (2), Notre Dame (5), Arkansas (6), Wisconsin (8), Louisville (9)

First Round Matchups
#1 Ohio State vs. #16 Middle Tennessee State
#8 Wisconsin vs. #9 Louisville
#4 Florida vs. #13 BYU
#5 Notre Dame vs. #12 Georgia Tech
#3 USC vs. #14 Houston
#6 Arkansas vs. #11 Texas
#7 West Virginia vs. #10 Boise State
#2 Michigan vs. #15 Ohio

Tournament Update: Huge Shakeup

2006-11-13T13:45:00.000-05:00

This crazy weekend in college football has now come to pass, and the question that is flying around now is who's number 3? Is it USC? Florida? Notre Dame? Rutgers? Someone else? Well, I bet a tournament could solve that little dilema....but we're not going to get that. Because of some of the other upsets that took place (Louisville, Texas, Auburn, California) the lineup for my tournament plan was completely changed this week. Imagine the talk on TV if they used my plan instead.....Instead of speculating on who was number 3 without really proving it, they could be talking about who is in and who is out for the tournament. Georgia Tech, Louisville, California, Auburn are out this week and Wake Forest, Rutgers, Arkansas, and Wisconsin are in. Let's see where we stand now

Conference Leaders (Ties broken by BCS rank)
ACC: Wake Forest (16)
Big 12: Texas (13)
Big East: Rutgers (6)
Big Ten: Ohio State (1)
C-USA: Houston (NR)
MAC: Central Michigan (NR)
Mountain West: BYU (25)
PAC-10: USC (3)
SEC: Florida (4)
Sun Belt: Middle Tennessee State (NR)
WAC: Boise State (12)

At-Large Teams: Michigan (2), Notre Dame (5), Arkansas (7), West Virginia (8), Wisconsin (9)

First Round Matchups
#1 Ohio State vs. #16 Middle Tennessee State
#8 West Virginia vs. #9 Wisconsin
#4 Florida vs. #13 BYU
#5 Notre Dame vs. #12 Wake Forest
#3 USC vs. #14 Houston
#6 Rutgers vs. #11 Texas
#7 Arkansas vs. #10 Boise State
#2 Michigan vs. #15 Central Michigan

College Football Update

2006-11-09T19:13:00.000-05:00

Alrighty, time for another BCS/Playoff Update. Looks like my Boilermakers might make it to a bowl after all. All they need to do is win 1 game out of their next 3 and they have Illinois on the road, Indiana at home, and Hawaii on the road. So as long as they don't really choke, I'll have something to care about around December 28th or so.

Conference Leaders (ties broken by BCS rank)
ACC: Georgia Tech (18)
Big 12: Texas (5)
Big East: Louisville (3)
Big Ten: Ohio State (1)
C-USA: Houston (NR)
MAC: Central Michigan (NR)
Mountain West: BYU (NR)
PAC-10: California (8)
SEC: Florida (4)
Sun Belt: Middle Tennessee State (NR)
WAC: Boise State (14)

At-Large Teams: Michigan (2), Auburn (6), USC (7), Notre Dame (9), West Virginia (10)

First Round Matchups
#1 Ohio State vs. #16 Middle Tennessee State
#8 California vs. #9 Notre Dame
#4 Florida vs. #13 BYU
#5 Texas vs. #12 Georgia Tech
#3 Louisville vs. # 14 Houston
#6 Auburn vs. #11 Boise State
#7 USC vs. #10 West Virginia
#2 Michigan vs. #15 Central Michigan

Worst.....Predictions.....Ever!

2006-10-31T21:23:00.000-05:00

I couldn't have been more wrong with my predictions throughout the baseball playoffs. I succeeded in picking 6 of the 7 playoff series wrong, with my only correct one being the Mets over the Dodgers, in the first round, and I came very, very close to picking the Dodgers as my "surprise" pick. Anyways, as many writers have said, this year saw some of the worst playoff series ever played. The Tigers rolled over the listless Yankees. The Twins made a lot of uncharacteristic mistakes to get swept by the A's. The Padres failed to turn the tables on the Cardinals, whose record was so bad they really didn't belong in the playoffs to begin with, just like last year's Padres. The Mets buried the Dodgers in boring fashion. Did the Tigers-A's series even happen, or did the A's just forfeit? The one series that could have been good, the Cardinals and Mets, was tarnished because A) The Cardinals W-L record was worse than 8 out of 14 AL teams (more than half!!!!) and B) Both pitching staffs were so messed up that the fans of just about any of the other 28 teams were wishing that their team could face either team in the NLCS. The World Series will be remembered for a 40+ pitcher cheating after being declared a changed man by the media a year after beating up a cameraman for no reason, the Tigers not being able to execute basic little league defensive skills, and a team that had a worse record than the Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays at just 4 games over .500 winning the World Series. Don't get me wrong....I sorta like the Cardinals because their fans hate the Cubs just like Sox fans, so I'm sure their win with the Sox win last year added to the misery of the Cubs, which is always fun. But I think baseball fans for now need to put 2006 behind them and hope 2007 is a little more entertaining.

On to the BCS.
Conference Leaders (Ties broken by BCS rank)
ACC: Boston College (15)
Big 12: Texas (7)
Big East: West Virginia (3)
Big Ten: Ohio State (1)
C-USA: Tulsa (NR)
MAC: Central Michigan (NR)
Mountain West: BYU (NR)
PAC-10: California (10)
SEC: Florida (4)
Sun Belt: Middle Tennessee State (NR)
WAC: Boise State (14)

At-Large Teams: Michigan (2), Louisville (5), Auburn (6), USC (8), Notre Dame (9)

First Round Matchups
#1 Ohio State vs. #16 Middle Tennessee State
#8 USC vs. #9 Notre Dame
#4 Florida vs. #13 Tulsa
#5 Louisville vs. #12 Boston College
#3 West Virginia vs. #14 BYU
#6 Auburn vs. #11 Boise State
#7 Texas vs. #10 California
#2 Michigan vs. #15 Central Michigan

World Series/BCS Update

2006-10-22T20:02:00.000-04:00

First off, I didn't get a chance to weigh in on the World Series yet. I'm going to pick the Tigers in 6, despite last nights deabacle. This was also my pick before the series started. My reasoning behind this pick is pretty simple. The American League is superior, and they've proved it with Interleague play and the All-Star Game. Plus, the Cardinals had the 5th best record in the National League, and can become the team with the worst regular season record to win the World Series by winning 3 more games. Another factor that plays into favor for the AL from a history standpoint is that they have won 15 of the last 22 World Series, going back to 1983. Maybe more interesting in that time period is that the AL is 12-1 when they've had home field advantage, with only the schizo 2003 Yankees blowing the advantage of playing 4 games in New York. Maybe there is more to the DH helping the AL than we thought.....(As an AL fan though, I'm not knocking the DH, I think the NL just fears progress, or maybe they should make more of an effort to get another bat before the trade deadline so they wouldn't have to use a backup catcher to fill the spot in October)

On to the College Football Playoff plan. The BCS was just released, so here we go again...
Conference Leaders (Ties broken by BCS rank)
ACC: Clemson (12)
Big 12: Texas (7)
Big East: West Virginia (4)
Big Ten: Ohio State (1)
C-USA: Tulsa (NR)
MAC: Kent State (NR)
Mountain West: BYU (NR)
PAC-10: USC (3)
SEC: Florida (6) - Auburn is ranked higher, but does not lead division
Sun Belt: Arkansas State (NR)
WAC: Boise State (15)

At-Large Teams: Michigan (2), Auburn (5), Louisville (8), Notre Dame (9), California (10)

First Round Matchups:
#1 Ohio State vs. #16 Arkansas State
#8 Louisville vs. #9 Notre Dame
#4 West Virginia vs. #13 Tulsa
#5 Auburn vs. #12 Boise State
#3 USC vs. #14 BYU
#6 Florida vs. #11 Clemson
#7 Texas vs. #10 California
#2 Michigan vs. #15 Kent State

2nd Round Matchups if Favorites win: Ohio State vs. Louisville, West Virginia vs. Auburn, USC vs. Florida, Texas vs. Michigan

Semi-Finals Matchups if Favorites win: Ohio State vs. West Virginia, USC vs. Michigan

I added those next round matchups just to show that for Ohio State to be crowned National Champs in this system, they'd have to beat 3 teams in a row that are currently undefeated. Those teams will probably have losses by the time January rolls around, but this would truly earn someone the title of national champs while entertaining the fans greatly in the process. We'll see how this Saturday changes things....

My College Football Tournament Idea

2006-10-16T19:40:00.000-04:00

The first BCS rankings come out yesterday (and shockingly, my Purdue Boilermakers' 31-10 win at Northwestern was not enough to get them in ;-) , and once again the talk is out about how the system is flawed and there needs to be a tournament. Opponents always say that the universities need to hold their players to high academic standards and with the tourney, they'd miss too much class and possibly finals.....and I say, what a load of crap. Let's face it, each year, the players on the top BCS teams are not majoring in Geography, Undergrad Studies, or Philosophy. They are majoring in Football with their career in mind being the NFL, and if that's not their goal, they probably should have picked a more promising major with their free ride through college. Also, no one seems to complain about basketball where there is a 30+ game schedule sometimes (where a lot of games are played on weekday nights), a conference tournament, and a 64-team tournament that lasts 3 weekends. Obviously, the 6 BCS conferences, Notre Dame, and the Bowl Games are holding back progress with their exclusive TV deals and the lesser bowls complaining about losing their luster (like they ever had any to begin with). But, with all of that aside, here's my plan....

The Basketball tournament is wildly popular by having 34 conference champions had 31 at-large teams, so why not just copy it? People love to pull for an underdog, and giving the 5 smaller conference champs a shot at the title will bring in even more interest. My plan is to have a 16-team tournament with the 11 conference champions and 5 at-large teams, which could be the top 5 teams in the BCS that didn't win a conference. Just like the basketball tournament, their status as a conference champ would not matter in their cede and it could be determined by the BCS or a special committee. So, for example, the Sun Belt champ could be #16 and take on #1 in the first round.

Each week this season, I'm going to post an updated tournament bracket, just to show how intriguing some of these matchups could be....

Conference Leaders (ties or multiple division leaders broken by BCS rank)
ACC: Clemson (12)
Big 12: Texas (9)
Big East: West Virginia (5)
Big Ten: Ohio State (1)
C-USA: Tulsa (25)
MAC: Kent State (NR)
Mountain West: BYU (NR)
PAC-10: USC (2)
SEC: Florida (6)
Sun Belt: Arkansas State (NR)
WAC: Boise State (15)

At-Large Teams - Michigan (3), Auburn (4), Louisville (7), Notre Dame (8), California (10)

First Round Matchups
#1 Ohio State vs. #16 Arkansas State
#8 Notre Dame vs. #9 Texas
#4 Auburn vs. #13 Tulsa
#5 West Virginia vs. #12 Boise State
#3 Michigan vs. #14 BYU
#6 Florida vs. #11 Clemson
#7 Louisville vs. #10 California
#2 USC vs. #15 Kent State

Let me know what you think and I'll post an updated bracket next week.

LCS Picks

2006-10-09T23:55:00.000-04:00

Since my LDS picks were so amazing (completely wrong), I figured I'd let the world (hardly anyone) know what I feel about the upcoming LCS. Ryan made his picks on Victoria Times, so you can check his picks out and compare them to mine....maybe he'll have better luck than me

ALCS
Oakland Athletics vs. Detroit Tigers
How dare I retract my statements from August, where I declared Detroit the 2006 team of destiny. In my ALDS predictions, I completely wrote the Tigers off, claiming that they did not fulfill the destiny of last year's White Sox by hanging onto the AL Central Title and carrying that momentum into the playoffs. Apparently, they didn't need it. They staggered into the playoffs only the turn around after game 1 and crush the Yankees, who are quickly becoming the new Atlanta Braves. I just wonder if George Steinbrenner will start showing 2nd rate pro wrestling and crappy movies while the hosts cook lamely named meals on the YES network as well. The team I was quick to name the team of destiny, the Twins, did not play in the playoffs like they did down the stretch at all by making costly defensive mistakes and being impatient at the plate (I stole that from Ryan....I didn't actually watch any of the games because of work). So since I totally didn't expect these teams to be facing each other in the ALCS, I have no idea who is going to win. Both teams are pretty evenly matched with their decent pitching and timely hitting by a solid lineup from top to bottom. I never would have guessed 6 or 7 years ago that Frank Thomas would be facing Magglio Ordonez with a trip to the World Series on the line. Since my heart is still with Frank Thomas, and the A's have home field advantage because they were division champions, I'm leaning toward the A's in this series, especially if their pitching can perform the way the did against Minnesota. Plus, I think Detroit celebrated their win against the Yankees a little TOO much. I know its been 19 years, but uh, you still need to win 8 more games to have something real to celebrate, guys.
Pick: A's in 7

NLCS
St. Louis Cardinals vs. New York Mets
The Cardinals decided to come to life in the playoffs, proving me wrong yet again. The Mets looked much more impressive against the Dodgers than I would have guessed, despite their depleted pitching staff. The Cardinals have a stronger lineup to combat those Mets pitchers, but I think the Mets just have too much talent to not win this series and rightfully go to the World Series, since they are the only team that deserves it in the NL. I really could care less about the NL, and I'm pretty sure their champion will lose the World Series since the Yankees or Cleveland aren't going to be there this year (the last non-Cleveland or Yankees AL team to lose the World Series was Oakland in 1990), so since I want to go to bed I think I'll just leave it at that.
Pick: Mets in 5

Now check out Ryan's picks and see if we should be bickering like grumpy old men.

The Quick and Dirty Playoff Picks

2006-10-02T19:35:00.000-04:00

I'd like to start off by retracting my post from about 2 months ago, where I called the Tigers the team of destiny, much like last year's White Sox. Unlike the the Sox, they didn't rally at the end of the season to hold onto the division title, and now they are like a 3-legged kitten limping into a pitbull house named Yankee Stadium. Now its almost looking like the Twins are the team of destiny, or maybe this is the Yankees year to restake their usual claim on top of baseball's mountain. Only time will tell. For now, let's get onto my first round picks for the playoffs.

National (Minor) League
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Mets
The Dodgers head into the playoffs as the hottest team in baseball, winning their last 7 in a row to hold off the Phillies for the wild card and coming up just short of taking the NL West title from the Padres. Now they go on the road to face the Mets, who have been on cruise control for the past few months. The Mets were about to come into the playoffs rested and ready, but Pedro Martinez's injuries have thrown their rotation into disarray. Now they are relying on Orlando Hernandez, (who has been excellent in the playoffs, but how much does he have left?), Tom Glavine (there's a reason the Braves only won one World Series), Steve Trachsel (only one quality start in September), and John Maine (unproven semi-rookie). Their lineup, however, has star power from top to bottom and they could easily ride the bats of Beltran, Wright, Delgado, and everyone else all the way to the World Series. The Dodgers have a strange mix of youngsters and veterans with only a little left in the tank. You can even see it in the pitching staff with 40 year-old Greg Maddux being followed in the rotation by 22 year-old Chad Billingsley. The Dodgers are also one of the streakiest teams I've ever seen. They had a stretch following the all-star break where they went 1-13 in 14 games, then followed that by a 17-1 run in the next 18. Is their 7 game win streak going to turn into a 10? or maybe a 3 game losing streak? There's no way to tell. I'm going to go with neither, and the Mets will pull out a dramatic game 5 win in Shea.
Pick: Mets in 5

St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Diego Padres
Last year, the Padres were a sorry excuse for a playoff team, winning the miserable NL West with a record barely above .500. I was telling people that if there was any justice out there, the 100-win Cardinals would sweep them out of the playoffs, which they did. This year, the tables have turned. Sure, the Padres were far from 100 wins, but no one has ever entered the playoffs ass-first like the Cardinals have. I'm not even going to bother going into player matchups, because the Cardinals chances of winning relies on the one man that just barely got them into the playoffs in the first place (and could earn him the MVP), Albert Pujols. If Pujols produces and the rest of the team can step it up a notch, they could advance, if not, they'll be swept. I think Pujols will get them a win in game 3 at Busch, but Trevor Hoffman will shut the door on their season in the next game.
Pick: Padres in 4

American League
Detroit Tigers vs. New York Yankees
I already discussed the Tigers a little above, and I'm still amazed by what happened to them. They had me absolutely convinced that they would not fade, and they managed to do it with 2 weeks to go, yet still make the playoffs. Now, instead of hosting Oakland for 2 games in a raucous Comerica Park to start their first playoff run in 19 years, they stumble into Yankee Stadium. Jim Leyland has done some amazing things as manager, but I don't think he'll be able to motivate this relatively young team to turn it around and defeat one of the better Yankee teams in years. Speaking of the Yankees, despite all of their injuries throughout the season, they still managed to win the AL East by 10 games over 2 teams that had a better record than the Cardinals. Now, heading into the playoffs, they finally have Sheffield and Matsui back to go along with A-Rod, Jeter (who had his best offensive year), Abreu, Damon, Cano, Posada, and, whew....this team is stacked. Their pitching is not the best in the playoffs, but it is enough to take them to the promised land and snap their 6-year "curse." But first things first....
Pick: Yankees in 3

Oakland Athletics vs. Minnesota Twins
After looking pretty miserable to start the season, the Twins have been unstoppable in June and the 2nd half of the season, carrying them all the way to the AL Central title. Their offense is lead by Morneau, Mauer, and Cuddyer, who unfortunately, does not have 3 consecutive vowels in his last name. There's also a Torii, who should add a third "i" just for consistency. Their pitching was lead by the unstoppable Johan Santana and rookie sensation Francisco Liriano, who is now done for the year, and if healthy, would have probably made the Twins the favorite in the AL. Now the rest of their playoff rotation is filled in by Brad Radke, who is held together by staples and duct tape, Carlos Silva, and possibly a 2nd rookie sensation, Matt Garza. The A's have basically been solid and consistent, and I guess rather boring. While the other teams in the AL West were up and down, they just kept plugging way and picking up wins with solid pitching and a solid lineup. Of course, as I mentioned in my last post, I'm jumping on the A's bandwagon because of Frank Thomas, but because of Johan Santana in a short series, 3 games in Minnesota, and no playoff series wins since 1990, despite 5 playoff appearances since then, I'm going with the Twins
Pick: Twins in 4

Ryan Got Linked to on Deadspin!

2006-09-27T20:13:00.000-04:00

The man behind Victoria Times, Ryan, got his blog linked to on deadspin a few days ago for making some comments on the site. He then went on to post about it and welcomed people to his blog, should anyone click the link. Well he has my blog linked to on his, so if you liked his comment on deadspin, felt motivated to click the link, then felt motivated yet again to click on the link to my site from his links, well then I welcome you.

Anyways, so why no posts for over a month after bringing the old Is It Sports? back to life in blog form? Well for starters, I just came back from a stretch where I was only home for 9 out of 37 days, and the White Sox completely curling up and dying in September didn't help either. I guess I needed a break from sports for a while. I didn't even bother to make any NFL predictions. Meh, oh well. Here are my observations from the past month....

- Some people seem surprised the White Sox are out of the playoffs this year, but they are far from being the same team they were last year. The team ERA is a full run higher than last year, and 4 of their starters' ERAs from 2005 (Buehrle 3.12; Garland 3.50; Contreras 3.61; Garcia 3.87) were significantly better than the top starting pitcher ERA this year (Contreras 4.27). There was a huge offensive improvement this year however, and they more or less became the same group of mashers they were in 2000 all over again, but this time, unfortunately for them, they had 2 of the top 3 best records in baseball in their division. A funny thing to think about between 2005 and 2006 is the Sox have actually given up 41 more runs in 2006 than they scored in 2005, but they scored 210 more runs in 2006 than they gave up in 2005. Imagine if you flipped the offense and defense from the past 2 years...one season would be under .500, the other would probably challenge the 116-win record. I have some feelings on what the Sox should be doing in the offseason, but I'll save that for later. For now I'm jumping on the green and gold Oakland A's playoff bandwagon because.....

- If someone had to personally bury the White Sox 2006 repeat campgaign, I'm glad it was Frank Thomas. I mean, come on, at least I cheered for this guy for 15 years, did you really think I'd rather have had it been Justin Morneau or Travis Hafner? Kenny Williams unceremoniously let Frank leave for Oakland, and picked up Jim Thome to replace him. The fans quickly fell in love with Thome, but in the stretch run these past 2 months, he's proved exactly why he never won a ring in Cleveland, while 2000 miles away, the legendary castoff was solidifying his spot in the Hall of Fame. I know most of Chicago will be behind him, and it kills us to see him in any other uniform, but it also killed us to see him finally get his World Series ring last year while sitting on the bench. So here's to Frank getting his own ring this year, getting that 500th home run next year, and wearing that Sox hat once again on his Cooperstown plaque.

- A few college football thoughts.....I'm a Purdue season ticket holder, and they are a very unimpressive 4-0 right now, but they have been looking better each game. If they would have played the way they did against Indiana State or Miami (OH) against Minnesota, they would have gotten blown out, so there may be hope for them after all. They need 7 wins to make it to a bowl, but they still have Indiana and Illinois on their schedule, along with Hawaii, a lackluster Northwestern team, and schizo Michigan State. I hope this upcomng loss to Notre Dame won't set them back a few games in cohesiveness. Speaking of the Irish....

- Notre Dame is highly overrated, yet they'll more than likely hang around the top 10 in the rankings as the season goes on, only to get demolished by USC and a BCS opponent. Now that it looks like Penn State has come back down to Earth, they truly have a cupcake schedule this year. Michigan and USC are their only top-notch opponents, and we saw what Michigan did to them. They faced Georgia Tech, who are 3-1, but beat Samford, Troy, and Virginia (who lost to Western Michigan) so far. Then they have Penn State, Michigan State, and Purdue, who may finish 5th, 6th, and 7th in the Big Ten this season. They also have, not 1, not 2, but all 3 military academies on their schedule. But wait, you say, "isn't Navy at least decent this year? I mean, they blew out Stanford!" Well Notre Dame is playing Stanford too just for kicks. And just for fun, they even threw in basketball school North Carolina. I'm kind of wondering where Duke, Indiana, Kansas, and Temple are too. So anyways, at the very least, I'll get to gloat over how much Notre Dame was lacking this year in January when they get completely obliterated by someone like West Viriginia or Texas in the Sugar Bowl. Let's just hope I manage to have another post before then....

Is It Sports? On Location

2006-08-23T21:27:00.000-04:00

Well I know I hyped the return of Is It Sports, and you, my oh so few readers, may have even been pleasantly surprised by me cranking out 3 posts in a week, only to go 20 days without one. Well, I've been a traveling man, so I'm happy to say this is the first "on location" Is It Sports post, something I couldn't do with the old site because I needed Front Page. I spent the week of August 7 with my girlfriend in Colorado Springs, and now I'm coming to you live from Mesa, Arizona. Here are some thoughts from the past few weeks.

- In Colorado, I got to go to my first game at Coors Field, and it did not disappoint. I saw the Rockies lay a 10-2 smackdown on the Cubs, and now I can tell my grandkids one day that I saw a man named Jacque and a man named Choo homer in the same game.

- As I mentioned in my last post, I went to my first ever PGA Event, the International, that same weekend. I found the whole experience pretty interesting, especially how far everyone could drive the ball in that thin Colorado air. I also think its fun to see a man in pink, neon blue, or yellow pants holding a metal rod being followed around by hundreds of people

- A summary of some talk I've been hearing around town...
Cardinals football is heating up here in Arizona!!!....uh yeah
But they have the Edge!!.....that's nice
Matt Leinart is the QB of the future!!!.....probably for another team

- But here's my favorite story of them all...Apparently, there is a restaurant chain that is getting popular in the southwest called the Pink Taco. If you don't know what the joke is, look it up on google image search with parental controls turned off. The owner of the chain is serious about naming the new Cards stadium in Glendale "Pink Taco Stadium." Now I know I like to doctor pictures for the site, but this picture is very real. I got it from the Arizona Republic. Of course, the stadium will never be named this, but really, of all the teams in the NFL, wouldn't this be the most appropriate one to play in a place called Pink Taco Stadium? They are already the joke of the league. They're the only team that can't sell out, and they've only won one playoff game since 1947. So in my opinion, I think Pink Taco Stadium is perfect.

Well that wraps everything up. Ryan is doing his NFL Preview right now, mine will be coming soon in my next post.

The 2006 American League Show! Same Plots, Scrambled Characters

2006-08-03T20:23:00.000-04:00

If the American League was a sitcom, the 2006 season would have all the same plots as 2005, but all the charcters would be different. For example, if they did this on the Office, Jim would be the wacky boss, Pam would fall madly in love with the engaged Dwight, and Michael would be the creepy suck up.

The 7 playoff contenders in 2005 fell nicely into 7 different roles, and the 8 playoff contenders in 2006 can fit into those same 7 roles just as well (with 1 role having 2 teams). So without further ado, it's time to present the 2005 and 2006 cast of characters, in reverse order of contention...

Role: Solid Season, Never a serious threat
2005: Oakland A's 2006: Oakland A's, Toronto Blue Jays
The A's gave the Angels a run for the AL West title last year, but faded in September as the Angels got red hot and ran away with the division. This year, the A's currently lead the division but it would be surprising if they can hang on with the Angels and their monsterous budget chasing them. Even if they do manage to make the playoffs, they would probably run into an AL East or Central brick wall in the first round. The Jays are definitely a team to take notice of this season, but with the Yankees and Red Sox in their division, they'll need to step it up to 1992 levels in order to be considered a serious contender.

Role: The Underachiever
2005: Minnesota Twins 2006: Los Angeles Angels
Last season, the Twins were a popular World Series pick after coming off 3 straight Central titles, but they wound up just being slightly above average, got dominated by the White Sox head to head, and had the Indians blow by them in the 2nd half. This year, the Angels, with their high team salary and coming off an ALCS appearance looked like a cinch to win the low budget AL West and be a major player in the playoffs. They've played just over .500 ball, and only because of a recent run that pulled them out of last place. However, division alignments make this a much different role for this season. The Twins were buried in 3rd behind the White Sox and Indians, but the Angels have a good shot at still taking the division title, only to probably get smoked in the playoffs instead of making a decent run like many expected.

Role: Through Hell and Back...and then Back again
2005: Cleveland Indians 2006: Minnesota Twins
The Indians went from a team that was supposed to compete with the White Sox and Twins after a great late 2004 run, to an underachieving piece of crap, to the team that almost dethroned the wire to wire division leaders, only to be put in their place by the Juggernaut they were trying to catch. The Twins didn't come into 2006 with as high of expectations, but no one expected them to suffer as badly they did early in the season. Now after an amazing run fueled by excellent starting pitching and career years by Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, they are right back in the playoff race. Now can they keep the winning ways alive, or will they stumble and fall just short like last year's Indians? We'll know in 2 months.

Role: The Yankees
2005: New York Yankees 2006: New York Yankees
This one didn't change. The Yankees are the Yankees and always will be the Yankees. They aren't the team they were in the late 90's anymore, that just crushed everything in site, but they've been the same team every year since then. They slug it out with Boston, get a piece or 2 at the trade deadline, and steal the division away, only to get "upset" in the playoffs when their old guys finally get burned out. They aren't much different than the 1991-2005 Braves. Can they win the World Series this year? They always can. Will they win the World Series this year? Probably not.

Role: The Forgotten Recent Champ
2005: Los Angeles Angels 2006: Boston Red Sox
The Angels won it all in 2002, and in 2005 they still had some of the old gang around, replacing the ones that left with new talent. They had a nice combination of playoff experience and new guys hungry for a first title. However, heading into the playoffs, they were an afterthought. Then they "upset" the Yankees, and maybe if AJ Pierzynski doesn't wisely run to 1st on a dropped 3rd strike, they win it all again. I can see the Red Sox as that team this year. Now of course, the Red Sox are the media darlings, so you're probably wondering how I can say they're "forgotten." But actually if you listen closely, most of the talk has been about the great individual season of David Ortiz and I've heard almost every contender but them being declared the "Team to Beat in the AL."

Role: The Faded Defending Champs
2005: Boston Red Sox 2006: Chicago White Sox
Both of these teams came into their respective seasons as the defending World Series Champs, and both were very good once again, but they seemed to be missing the magic that they posessed a year earlier. The Red Sox had their "idiots" and a midget mascot in 2004 and the White Sox "Don't Stop Believing" campaign lead to what I think was the kidnapping of Steve Perry. Both teams came into the season with high hopes of repeating, but their style of play changed dramatically. The Red Sox lost most of their key starting pitching through free agency and injury and they faced more clubhouse drama. The White Sox "small ball" has turned into a home run derby and not capitalizing on baserunners, and their rotation is almost completely in tact, but is now magically terrible. Despite this, the slumping Red Sox stole the Wild Card from the surging then choking Indians only to get swept by the White Sox, and the White Sox are probably still the Wild Card favorite, since they had a nice lead on it until a recent poor stretch made it a tight race again, but don't expect much in the playoffs.

Role: The Unbelievable Juggernaut
2005: Chicago White Sox 2006: Detroit Tigers
The White Sox were clearly the best team in baseball last year, and the entire world outside of the South Side of Chicago refused to believe it. The entire season for them was marked by "They'll fade" and "They can never win in the playoffs." When the Indians made their late season run, everyone had Chicago's obituary written and declared them the biggest chokers since the 1969 Cubs, even though the Indians never actually caught them! They had that magic and passion for winning that all great underdog champions have, and the negative comments fueled them to be even better. They played smart ball, not leaving many baserunners, and had dominant pitching, and very few non-White Sox fans believed in them until they tore through the playoffs, only losing once, on the way to their first title in 88 years.

The Tigers are this year's White Sox. Nothing has ever been more obvious. No one believes in them, everyone says they will fade, but they just keep winning. Until this recent rough stretch for the White Sox, it was widely agreed that this was the White Sox' division, and the Tigers were just keeping first place warm for them, completely ignoring the negatives about the Sox that I mentioned above and discreditng all the things that Detroit is doing right. I was a doubter too, but now I'm a believer, and I'm sure if the White Sox and Twins go on another run people will start writing off the Tigers again, but they have what it takes (including that "we can't lose" mentality the White Sox have) to take them all the way this season.

A Little Background, and a Preview for Things to come

2006-07-30T18:49:00.000-04:00

So what do you expect to see on the new Is It Sports? The best way to introduce you to the site is for me to introduce myself, and what I like and don't like in sports. Let's take it away....

Baseball: Growing up in the South Side of Chicago, I've been a White Sox fan since the day I was born, and their amazing World Series run last year was by far the greatest sports moment of my life. I'm pretty sure they'll be the #1 topic on this site, but definitely not the only one. Consequently, I'm not very fond of the other AL Central teams or the Cubs, but I kept my Cubs bashing to a minimum on the old site

Football: When you're a child of the 80's, it was hard not to love the San Francisco 49ers and their offensive firepower growing up. I picked them as my team when they won the Super Bowl on my 2nd birthday and I've stuck with them since, even with the hard times they've fallen on. My team "1b" is the Raiders. They are my dad's favorite team, and he's worked as a part time scout for them since 1997, so most of my NFL experiences (including sneaking into the RCA Dome as a member of the "camera crew") have been Raider-related. I'm also a big fan of the college game, with my alma mater Purdue Boilermakers as my favorite team.

Basketball: I guess I'm what you call a spoiled Bulls fan. The Bulls won their first NBA title when I was 8 so I didn't really appreciate the ladder they climbed the get to the top of the NBA. And then they kept winning, and winning, and winning, and pretty soon, it was big news in Chicago if they actually lost a game. Believe it or not, its hard to fall in love with a team when you've only seen them basically bore you with success. After their title runs, I lost interest in the NBA for a few years, only to get it back when I got involved in a fantasy basketball league, and my old high school classmate, Dwyane Wade, got drafted 5th overall in the draft. Where do I stand now? Well, I'm excited by the baby Bulls; I live in Indy now (and Detroit before that) so I've always hated the Pacers and Pistons; and I've adopted Wade's Miami Heat as a close 2nd favorite to the Bulls. I don't really get into college basketball until the tournament rolls around.

Hockey: I come from a city where the owner cares less about the team, I moved from a city that has fans so rabid it's impossible to get tickets (and happens to be the most hated rival of my hometown team) and now I live in a city that doesn't have a team. So even though I follow hockey (sort of) don't expect to see too much of it here (unless Ryan helps out with this blog, see below).

Other Sports
Golf: I'll actually be going to my first PGA Event, the International (featuring everybody's favorite modified Stableford Scoring System) in 2 weeks when I go to Colorado with my girlfriend, so I'll probably post on that. I've started to follow it a little more because of her, but I can't see myself posting on it too often.

Tennis: No Thanks....wait I have an opinion...Serena Williams is not hot! She never has been, never will be.

Auto Racing: I sorta follow NASCAR, always pulling for the Chevy drivers of course, and I'll probably get even more interested now that I'm a real automotive engineer instead of making sheet metal look pretty like I was doing before. Indianapolis is the only place in the world that cares about the IRL, and I don't plan on joining the rest of my new city.

Soccer: I'm Italian, so watching Italy win the World Cup was a lot of fun (especially beating France in the process) but now that it's over, I won't care again until 2010.

Other stuff: I'll probably just talk about what's on my mind sometimes too, whether it be music, cars, the little nuances of life in Indiana, or whatever. That's why the site is called Is It Sports? because when Ryan and I created it, we weren't sure how much we'd actually talk about sports.

Well now that I've covered that, the original purpose of Is It Sports? was to post some of the crazy IMs Ryan and I had, but then we started writing ridiculously long posts, and the formatting and overall length got to me and Ryan started his own blog. Now that I have this up and running, Ryan will probably be joining me on posts every now and then, maybe once a week. We're working on a plan to do this right now, and you'll probably be seeing more (and hopefully more entertaining) posts in the future.

Is It Sports? returns....in different form

2006-07-27T22:44:00.000-04:00

This may be the first Is It Sports? blog post, but it has some history...

My friend Ryan and I started a yahoo geocities site back in January 2005 at www.geocities.com/isitsports. We had a great time doing it and pumped out a lot of entertaining posts (mostly by Ryan, who is a far better writer) but since I was the only one that knew how to use frontpage to actually update the site, our number of posts began to dwindle as I got involved more with my new job. Eventually, Ryan created his own blog called the Victoria Times. (Check it out, its really good). Anyway, I noticed that its probably way easier to edit the site through blogspot so I'm going to attempt to bring Is It Spors? back to life through here. I'll have a legit post again soon, this is more of a test than anything else.