Friday, June 01, 2007

The TB guy, Billy Donovan, and A-Rod holding hands


What is up with the dude who has TB?.....I never heard about this until the other day....also, I'm going to be the first to say it, but did you get a look at his wife (photo).....when I first saw this photo I thought it was some hot steamy scene from a future movie.....then I read that this is TB guy's wife.....WO!!!......she's a babe!!!!.....


I was wrong about the Pistons last night.....all the credit should go to Lebron James.....now that is a Jordan-like performance.....but just like last season, the Cavs have a 3-2 lead going back home.....will they stick the knife in Detroit?....

  • Mitch Albom - Detroit Free Press


  • Drew Sharp - Detroit Free Press


  • Bill Livingston - The Plain Dealer


  • Right now the city of Cleveland owns Detroit.....the Cavs have the Pistons on the ropes and the Indians are 4-0 against the Tigers this season.....


    Billy Donovan - Gone!!!.....Billy the Kid turned his back on Gator-Nation for the moolah of the NBA.....financially, you cannot blame him.....he was going to be making $3.5 a year at Florida while the Magic are raking over $5.5 a year.....I think Donovan is going to give the NBA a whirl and use this as his big payday.....I believe he is thinking "if I succeed - great.....if not, I could get a job back in the college ranks in a few years ala former Gator ball coach Steve Spurrier".....Donovan is going to find out that NBA players do not listen to their coaches like NCAA players.....here is what is being written down in Florida about this.....

  • David Whitley - Orlando Sentinel


  • Mike Bianchi - Orlando Sentinel


  • Gainesville Sun


  • You gotta love the phoney "love" scene by A-Rod and his wife in Boston yesterday.....they were seen walking down the street in Beantown holding hands.....ahhhh, that makes me feel warm and fuzzy....

    Coming Wednesday, June 6 - Exclusive Interview with legendary Atlanta Journal-Constitution sports editor Furman Bisher

    Thursday, May 31, 2007

    Quick hits - Is A-Rod hot off the field too? And what is up with Kobe?

    Today's New York Post is reporting that Alex Rodriguez has been spotted with a certain blonde woman in five cities....the Post reports that A-Rod and the mystery blond have been spotted going into strip clubs in Dallas and Toronto....here is the link for that story:
  • N.Y. Post A-Rod Story


  • The Pistons will win game 5 tonight....take it to the bank.....


    Sticking with the NBA, what is up with Kobe Bryant?.....yesterday Kobe was upset and wanted traded because the Laker organization was not getting him any help.....he was also upset about them trading Shaq a few years back......am I missing something here, but wasn't Kobe the reason why Shaq was traded.....wasn't Kobe the one who wanted to show the world that he can lead the Lakers to an NBA title without Shaq......now it has suddenly become the organizations fault??.....Kobe is a dynamic player, but once thing has become clear over the past two seasons - Lebron James is a better player than Kobe.....both players are surrounded with mediocre to average players on each team.....but James has been able to take the Cavs farther into the NBA playoffs each year than Kobe.....Kobe has become the Dominique Wilkins of this era - a great scorer with a lot of flash, but the inability to lead his team to a conference title....check out N.Y. Post's Pete Vecsey's column which appeared on May 29th.....

  • Pete Vecsey

  • What the hell is wrong with Andy Roddick?.....I know Americans have a difficult time winning on the red clay at Roland Garros.....but this is ridiculous.....he was ranked third in the French Open and was bounced in the first round last year.....so what does Roddick do this year - he gets bounced once again in round 1......

    Tampa Devil Rays’ Elijah Dukes is a great talent but he will always be a screw up off the field....he is too gangsta for baseball.....

    Good move by Joe Torre not starting Roger Clemens in Boston.....Clemens would have guaranteed lost in Boston because he would have pumped himself up so much that he would have overthrown and given up at least 3 gopher balls....

    Mark Cuban and some other knuckleheads are talking about starting a professional football league to rival the NFL.....when will people learn that these rogue leagues will not succeed.....Cuban was correct when he stated that people love football.....but people love quality professional football, not some half-baked quack league......

    Say what you will, but Boston's Dice-K is just an average pitcher as the Indians proved last night by lighting him up for 12 hits and six earned runs in less than six innings pitched.....the great Dice-K with his much talked about "gyroball" is now sitting with an ERA of 4.83.....

    Finally, here is some advice to people who wear dark pants - never eat a powdered sugar donut before a meeting.....I was a little early for a meeting yesterday so I stopped at a Dunkin Donuts to kill 20 minutes or so.....I decided to eat my first donut of 2007, so I bought a powdered sugar donut filled with chocolate....as I was eating I did not realize that the powdered sugar was dropping on my blue Dockers....all I know, that sugar is impossible to get off your pants.....trust me on this.....

    Wednesday, May 30, 2007

    Five Good Questions with . . . Stan McNeal of The Sporting News about baseball

    Today's Five Good Questions is with Stan McNeal of The Sporting News.....Stan has been a managing editor at The Sporting News since 2000, coordinating coverage of major league baseball and the NBA...before coming to The Sporting News, Stan worked at newspapers in San Diego and Florida for more than 20 years......


    Q1. Starting in the American League, what is wrong with the New York Yankees? If you were in charge, what would you do to try and revive the team this season?
    What's wrong with the Yankees is what everyone thought would be wrong, their pitching. And during a recent stretch when they actually got strong pitching, their offense took a break. They're going to score but the rotation --- yes, there's been a lot of injuries --- isn't strong enough to win the division or a wild card. They did what they wanted in signing Clemens. He won't make them as good as the Red Sox or the second-place team in the Central.

    Q2. So far, how would you rate Lou Piniella's job as skipper of the Cubs?
    I think Lou's been fine. I thought he handled the Soriano situation right -- gave him a shot in center, let him gracefully move to left when it was clear it wasn't going to work out in center. I think the job has been tougher than Lou expected. But hey, it's the Cubs. Something always happens with the Cubs.

    Q3. Do the Cleveland Indians have the staying power to win the A.L. Central? If so, how far can this team go in the playoffs?
    Absolutely they can win the Central. So if they're the best team in the best division, they should do OK in October as well. The Red Sox have a big edge in playoff experience, though. Fausto Carmona is becoming a star. Torii Hunter told me recently (after Carmona dominated the Twins) that Carmona is every bit as talented as Francisco Liriano. Put Carmona with C.C., Lee and Westbrook and the Indians have as deep a rotation as the Tigers. Grady Sizemore (photo) is quickly becoming known as one of the game's best young players and the one-two combo of Pronk and Victor Martinez is right there with Sheffield and Ordonez of the Tigers.

    Q4. Who are some of the big name players who may get traded during the season and where could they end up?
    I think the Rangers would be wise to trade Mark Teixeira for starting pitching. I think the Tigers and Angels have a solid starter to spare. The Rangers have a few others --- Kenny Lofton, Eric Gagne, maybe even Sammy Sosa --- who could be moved when the team decides to start focusing on 2008.

    Q5. I have to ask, what is your opinion about Barry Bonds and "The Record"?
    I believe the storylines as we near the record are what I expected and frankly, what they should be. The media is not out to get Bonds. Bonds has brought this on himself with his actions over past years. It's not realistic to think his past would be forgotten and there would be nothing but happy stories as he nears the most celebrated record in American sports....

    I want to thank Stan for his time....I know he is a busy person working for a national publication like The Sporting News...

    Tuesday, May 29, 2007

    Five Good Questions with . . . Al Yellon of BleedCubbieBlue Blog about the Chicago Cubs


    Today’s Five Good Questions deals with the Chicago Cubs.....Al Yellon, editor-in-chief of the blog BleedCubbieBlue took some time to respond to our five questions....check out his site
  • BleedCubbieBlue



  • Q1. We are at the unofficial quarter point in the season and Alfonso Soriano and Derek Lee have a combined 7 homeruns. Why a power shortage with those two?
    That's a very good question. They've blamed the cold weather, but that's an excuse. Honestly, it hasn't been all that cold in Chicago so far this year, and the Cubs have played several games on the West Coast and in domes (Milwaukee). Lee's home runs are way down -- but his power isn't; his SLG is .534, above his career average of .501. He's second in the league with 19 doubles. The homers will come.

    Soriano -- well, I'm not quite sure. Part of it may be from being shuttled around to two positions, and also from the hamstring injury that kept him out for a week and has slowed him down. But he is also near the league lead in doubles with 15. If these two do come up to their career norms, watch out.

    Q2. Carlos Zambrano (photo) has a 5-4 mark so far. How much have all the off-field activities with his contract distracted him? Do you see him with the Cubs next season?
    If you'd asked me the latter question a month ago, I'd have said "absolutely". Now I'm not so sure, although after Saturday's game in LA he seems back on track. If he doesn't have a great "walk year", I imagine he'll probably be wishing he'd signed the extension offered in spring training.

    Is all of this a distraction? No, I think not. I think he's got some mechanical problems with his arm angle that are being worked on. He needs to keep throwing strikes the way he did in Los Angeles.

    Q3. So far, how would you rate Lou Piniella's job as skipper of the Cubs?
    If you want a letter grade, I'll give him a "B". His lineup shuffling reflects an intense desire to win. Unlike the previous occupant of that job, who would have kept sending the same people out there day after day to continue to fail, Lou won't sit still for failure. I like this. One of the Chicago papers today quoted one of his former players as saying "Lou wants to go 162-0 every year", which, of course, is impossible. Lou's got some 'out there' sort of ideas, which might even work, but I think he's playing mind games with both the media and his players when he, for example, says he wants Ryan Dempster to start, then retracts that a day later.

    Q4. What areas must the Cubs improve upon during the season? Who are some hot names they may try to acquire during the season?
    Bullpen, bullpen, and bullpen. Did I mention the bullpen? This Cub lineup will hit. And the bench is far superior to the one of the last couple of years. And the starting pitching has, in general, been outstanding. The bullpen is terrible, and that's being nice. They are 3-11, have nine blown saves (including two spectacular meltdowns in the last two weeks alone), and are this team's biggest weakness. I haven't heard that many "hot names" as being available -- but I do know I have repeatedly heard the Cubs are interested in Scott Linebrink. It'll cost a lot to get him, but I think they need him, and soon.

    Q5. How would you compare this year's Cubs with last season's? What improvements have you seen so far?
    There is absolutely no comparison. Last year's Cubs were the worst I have seen in 40+ years of being a fan, and that includes the 103-loss team of 1966 (that team, at least, had three Hall of Famers -- and should have four), and the awful teams of 1980 and 1981. The 2006 Cubs looked disinterested and played like it nearly every day. This year's team has made some baserunning and other mental errors, but they seem to be reducing them, and they do play hard, and when there are mistakes they get addressed immediately. That's the biggest improvement -- that Lou Piniella holds them accountable.

    Q5a. One extra question I have to ask, what is your opinion about Barry Bonds and "The Record"?
    You *really* don't want to get me started on this one, but I'll try to summarize. If Barry Bonds hits 756 home runs, he will statistically hold the lifetime home run record. In my opinion, that number is tainted. And it's too bad. I read "Game of Shadows", and it appears from what's written there that Bonds, supposedly, started doing steroids after the 1998 season because he was jealous of the attention Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire were getting, when he felt *HE* was the best all-around player in baseball. He was right, but he didn't have to do a single steroid, if indeed he did so (it is my personal opinion that he did, but that is strictly my opinion).

    He was a first-ballot Hall of Famer by the time the 1998 season had ended. I suppose it would be easier to forgive him, and maybe even root for him, if:
    1. he'd come clean, and
    2. he wasn't such a jerk, which is further made clear in "Game of Shadows".
    There is a possibility, now that he's been in a HR drought, that he might have a shot at breaking the record at Wrigley Field when the Giants are in Chicago from July 16-19. That could be an ugly scene -- Bonds is generally despised everywhere but San Francisco, and Chicago is no exception. No wonder Bud Selig doesn't want to show up. The only consolation I have in knowing that Bonds is likely to break Hank Aaron's record is the fact that Alex Rodriguez will break it himself about six or seven years from now.


    I want to thank Al for his time in responding.....it is very much appreciated....

    Monday, May 28, 2007

    Five Good Questions with . . . Nick Canepa of the San Diego Union-Tribune about the Padres




    Today's Five Good Questions is with San Diego Union-Tribune sports columnist Nick Canepa....Nick has been with the paper since 1974....on Sept. 25, 1978, a PSA airliner crashed in San Diego, at the time the worst airplane disaster in United States history, and Nick helped put together the story which won the Tribune staff a Pulitzer Prize....Nick was kind enough to respond to five questions about the San Diego Padres.....


    Q1. It seems as if the Padres have not missed a beat with Bud Black as the manager. What differences are there in managerial styles between Black and former skipper Bruce Bochy?
    Bud Black bunts. Bochy didn't like the bunt. Black also will hit and run, but he has little speed. Other than that, I don't see much difference.

    Q2. When it happened, was it a surprise that Bochy left San Diego for the job in San Francisco? Are there still any hard feelings about him leaving to a divisional rival?
    I don't think Bochy's move at all surprised. He isn't (Padres general manager) Sandy Alderson's kind of manager. He got more money. He's better off.

    Q3. Jake Peavy (photo) may be the best pitcher in baseball that no one on the east coast knows about. Tell us a little about Peavy.
    Jake may be the best pitcher in baseball right now. He's a funny guy. He'll talk the day he pitches, which is rare. He's tremendously competitive. Firey. Jake doesn't like to give anything up. I'm expecting a no-hitter from him one of these days. Just great stuff.

    Q4. Petco Park is known as a pitcher's park. However, there has been some discussion about moving in the fences. Why would the organization want to do that when the team is built around pitching?
    Because they don't have anything else to think about. They should leave the fences be. Alderson says he's tired of watching drives into the alleys die off. But he now says chances are less than 10 percent. Owner John Moores is against it, but says he'll go along with Alderson if that's what he wants. This is a team built around pitching.

    Q5. How have the "old men" David Wells and Greg Maddux been so far this year? How effective will they be late in the season during the playoff hunt?
    They've been about as expected thus far. I suspect these two guys can pitch until they drop. I know Wells can throw forever. Good clubhouse guys, too.

    I want to thank Nick for his time....it is much appreciated....

    Sunday, May 27, 2007

    The Sunday Baker's Dozen

    Here is the first edition of the Sunday Baker's Dozen.....13 links to stories from newspapers and bloggers around the country.....we start off in the city of Angels about Kobe Bryant....

    The L.A. Times Mike Bresnahan writes about Kobe Bryant's increasing frustration with the Lakers
  • Mike Bresnahan


  • As a follow-up to the Kobe saga, L.A. Times columnist Bill Plaschke writes that the Lakers should consider trading Kobe....
  • Bill Plaschke


  • The Boston Globe's Bob Ryan writes about the NBA Draft Lottery.....
  • Bob Ryan


  • The Miami Herald's Dan Le Batard writes that the Florida Marlins are not that bad of a baseball team.....
  • Dan Le Batard


  • Jim Trotter of the San Diego Union Tribune writes about the Chargers new uniforms and L.T.'s new Nike commercial....
  • Jim Trotter


  • The St. Louis News-Dispatch Bill Coats writes about the solid relationship between rams head coach Scott Linehan and qb Marc Bulger......
  • Bill Coats


  • Remember former Bronx Little League stud Danny Almonte.....Ian Begley of the N.Y. Daily News writes how Almonte is now pitching in an independent league....
  • Ian Begley


  • For our NASCAR fans, the Charlotte Observer's Tom Sorensen writes about the Rick Hendrick racing team.....
  • Tom Sorensen


  • The Cleveland Plain Dealer's Jodi Valade writes about the work ethic of Piston forward Tayshaun Prince.....
  • Jodi Valade


  • The Detroit Free-Press' Michael Rosenberg writes how the Pistons are winning ugly.....
  • Michael Rosenberg


  • The San Antonio Express News' Buck Harvey writes about Gregg Popovich's tough love....
  • Buck Harvey


  • The Atlanta Constitution Journal's Mark Bradley writes about Braves potential free agent outfielder Andruw Jones and his not-so-hot season so far....
  • Mark Bradley


  • The Las Vega Review-Journal's Ed Graney writes how Ultimate Fighting is getting the best of the boxing world....
  • Ed Graney