-Yesterday we got out to the ballpark for our first baseball game of the year. Yeah, it took awhile for us to get one in. We went with a couple friends to the Orioles-Reds interleague game, and it was fun. The Reds ended up winning 10-5, but the teams set a ML season high for HRs in a game with a combined nine shots. Home runs are fun to watch, especially when you’re pretty much indifferent about both teams. But let me tell you…Joey Votto is the real deal. Not only did he hit two jacks (absolutely smashed both of them), but all of his at bats were quality. He must have fouled off 5 or 6 pitches in a row before he cracked his second HR of the night. I can now see (and appreciate) why he won NL MVP last year.
-I was watching a bit of the Nationals-Mariners game the other night, and the Nationals ended up scoring a run and the camera did a shot of the crowd cheering. Normally I don’t pay much attention to the crowd shots, but something caught my eye this time. I had to rewind the TV to see, and yup, there was an old guy with a “Lets Go Nads” t-shirt. I cracked up.
Apparently I wasn’t the only one who saw this, as a couple other blogs noticed it as well. And there is a website that sells these t-shirts, with a creepy kid modeling the shirt. Ummm, okay.
-This Austin Hatch story is so sad. It’s incomprehensible to me why the dad would even want to fly again after his first wife, daughter, and other son died. I get the whole mentality of moving on, mistakes happen, don’t let your life be ruined by one event, keep doing what you enjoy (flying), blah blah blah. But really? You lost three family members. Your wife….daughter…and son. And you go back in a plane??? I just…whatever. What’s crazy to me is I’ve been reading and watching a lot of footage on the kid- a 2013 UofM basketball commit- because he just accepted an offer from Michigan a week ago. You know I’m a recruiting junkie, so even though I don’t really the know the kid, I feel like I know about him, so it’s making the story a little more painful to hear and read.
-Does anybody understand why Bill Simmons has a separate website now from ESPN (other than now he can cuss on it), and why it’s called “Grantland”? Maybe he said it somewhere and I just missed it, but I’m a little confused about the change/move.
-It’s about this time of the year I go to the local bookstore and grab a fantasy football magazine and start doing some early research, but I’m just not in the mood. This lockout has kind of killed any excitement for fantasy football because there’s no mini-camp/training camp buzz, free agents haven’t been signed, trades haven’t been made, etc. For Christ’s sake, there has hardly been any Brett Favre comeback talk! Hopefully when the lockout ends I’ll get back into football and fantasy football, but right now, eh.
-Oh, one NFL rumor I’ve heard numerous times is that the Lions are going to make a serious push to sign free agent stud corner Nnamdi Asomugha. I know he’s just one guy, and one guy can’t fix the entire secondary and linebacking corps, but it’s a start. I can definitely see us as a playoff team next year, and then one more solid year of free agency and drafting (OL, LB, and CB) and assuming everyone stays healthy (cough cough Mathew Stafford)…dare I say championship run? Lions and Super Bowl…in the same sentence??? Who’s with me!?
-I know this is old news, but Peyton Hillis on the Madden cover? Weakest Madden cover ever??? Hopefully next year they take the choice away from the fans, as we have clearly proven we cannot handle the responsibility.
-I’m glad the NHL is planning on realigning the divisions. It’ll be interesting how it all shakes out, but it’s going to be great for teams like Detroit and Columbus, who for years have had to suffer through 10:00pm start times and long west coast trips. I read somewhere how Columbus- a young franchise- will be able to build a stronger fan base because fans will be able to watch the team on a more regular basis. I never really thought about that, being a Detroit fan. The Red Wings ultimately would be fine if they stayed in the west because they’re such a strong franchise. But for a team like Columbus trying to stay afloat, a move to the East is absolutely necessary and logical.
-Love the Brandon Knight pick for the Pistons. He doesn’t fit a need, but in a draft where talent was thin, Dumars grabbed one of the 4-5 best players available, and I think that’s the way to go. It also gives him a little flexability in trading one of the guards (Stuckey, Hamilton, Bynum) as well. The Pistons are definitely in rebuilding mode, and it’s a transition phase. Get rid of the old, stockpile the talent. With Monroe, Jerebko, Daye, and Knight, the young guys are coming. Now it’s time to say bye to Hamilton, Prince, Villanueva, and Gordon. Do what you can to get rid of em’ Joey D! I’m hoping for another year of misery for the Pistons so we can land another top-flight talent in the draft, as next year’s draft should be LOADED.
-Speaking of next year’s draft. If the NBA season ends up getting cancelled for the year, but they have a labor agreement in, let’s say May, and they decide to hold a 2012 draft…how will it work? Would all the teams get placed in the ping-pong ball lottery? Would they keep the same order as last year? Hmmm just curious.
-ESPN has been devoting more time to the soccer Gold Cup than I thought it would. Is soccer’s popularity really rising that much? I’ll be honest- it’s nice when the US wins, but I really don’t care about the end result one way or the other. Maybe I’m being naïve, but I still think that’s the way it is for most US soccer fans. Other than the World Cup, I have no interest in soccer. I’ll see if I can get into the Women’s World Cup, since I have a little more free time in the summer.
-Delvon Roe out 6 weeks with a sprained ankle (at least it’s not his effed-up knees this time) and Russell Byrd had another foot surgery. Please please please let the injuries stop. Last year was bad enough. I want health from here on out!
-I hate Purdue basketball, but it was kind of cool to see Johnson and Moore get drafted by the Celtics. They had obvious chemistry at Purdue, so why not carry it over to the NBA? I think it’d be cool to see them continue their success at the next level…except when they play the Pistons. Their draft story is going to be on the BTN this Thursday at 8pm. I'll probably watch.
-Couple Tigers thoughts. He probably won’t get voted in by the fans, but Alex Avila deserves to be the starting catcher for the AL. The guy is hitting .303, 10 HRs, and 45 RBIs. You don’t get that kind of production from the catcher position, unless you’re Joe Mauer (just not this year’s Joe Mauer). Right now Avila is second in voting, a cool half million behind the leader, Yankee catcher Russell Martin. Martin’s stats? .231, 9 HRS, 30 RBIs. Fuck that and fuck Yankee fans.
-Verlander was AMAZING last night. Is this the year Verlander puts it all together? 8 out of his last 10 starts he’s gone 8+ innings. That’s Roy Halladay-ish. I can’t remember the last time he’s had a bad outing. If he continues to pitch this way for the rest of the year, and somebody steps up as a legit #2 guy in the rotation, the Tigers could make some noise in the postseason, if they get there. Just saying.
Well I think I got all the sports covered. Baseball, football, basketball, hockey, soccer…yep, that about does it. Haha you deserve a gold star if you made it all the way through this long post.
~Mikey D
-I was watching a bit of the Nationals-Mariners game the other night, and the Nationals ended up scoring a run and the camera did a shot of the crowd cheering. Normally I don’t pay much attention to the crowd shots, but something caught my eye this time. I had to rewind the TV to see, and yup, there was an old guy with a “Lets Go Nads” t-shirt. I cracked up.
Apparently I wasn’t the only one who saw this, as a couple other blogs noticed it as well. And there is a website that sells these t-shirts, with a creepy kid modeling the shirt. Ummm, okay.
-This Austin Hatch story is so sad. It’s incomprehensible to me why the dad would even want to fly again after his first wife, daughter, and other son died. I get the whole mentality of moving on, mistakes happen, don’t let your life be ruined by one event, keep doing what you enjoy (flying), blah blah blah. But really? You lost three family members. Your wife….daughter…and son. And you go back in a plane??? I just…whatever. What’s crazy to me is I’ve been reading and watching a lot of footage on the kid- a 2013 UofM basketball commit- because he just accepted an offer from Michigan a week ago. You know I’m a recruiting junkie, so even though I don’t really the know the kid, I feel like I know about him, so it’s making the story a little more painful to hear and read.
-Does anybody understand why Bill Simmons has a separate website now from ESPN (other than now he can cuss on it), and why it’s called “Grantland”? Maybe he said it somewhere and I just missed it, but I’m a little confused about the change/move.
-It’s about this time of the year I go to the local bookstore and grab a fantasy football magazine and start doing some early research, but I’m just not in the mood. This lockout has kind of killed any excitement for fantasy football because there’s no mini-camp/training camp buzz, free agents haven’t been signed, trades haven’t been made, etc. For Christ’s sake, there has hardly been any Brett Favre comeback talk! Hopefully when the lockout ends I’ll get back into football and fantasy football, but right now, eh.
-Oh, one NFL rumor I’ve heard numerous times is that the Lions are going to make a serious push to sign free agent stud corner Nnamdi Asomugha. I know he’s just one guy, and one guy can’t fix the entire secondary and linebacking corps, but it’s a start. I can definitely see us as a playoff team next year, and then one more solid year of free agency and drafting (OL, LB, and CB) and assuming everyone stays healthy (cough cough Mathew Stafford)…dare I say championship run? Lions and Super Bowl…in the same sentence??? Who’s with me!?
-I know this is old news, but Peyton Hillis on the Madden cover? Weakest Madden cover ever??? Hopefully next year they take the choice away from the fans, as we have clearly proven we cannot handle the responsibility.
-I’m glad the NHL is planning on realigning the divisions. It’ll be interesting how it all shakes out, but it’s going to be great for teams like Detroit and Columbus, who for years have had to suffer through 10:00pm start times and long west coast trips. I read somewhere how Columbus- a young franchise- will be able to build a stronger fan base because fans will be able to watch the team on a more regular basis. I never really thought about that, being a Detroit fan. The Red Wings ultimately would be fine if they stayed in the west because they’re such a strong franchise. But for a team like Columbus trying to stay afloat, a move to the East is absolutely necessary and logical.
-Love the Brandon Knight pick for the Pistons. He doesn’t fit a need, but in a draft where talent was thin, Dumars grabbed one of the 4-5 best players available, and I think that’s the way to go. It also gives him a little flexability in trading one of the guards (Stuckey, Hamilton, Bynum) as well. The Pistons are definitely in rebuilding mode, and it’s a transition phase. Get rid of the old, stockpile the talent. With Monroe, Jerebko, Daye, and Knight, the young guys are coming. Now it’s time to say bye to Hamilton, Prince, Villanueva, and Gordon. Do what you can to get rid of em’ Joey D! I’m hoping for another year of misery for the Pistons so we can land another top-flight talent in the draft, as next year’s draft should be LOADED.
-Speaking of next year’s draft. If the NBA season ends up getting cancelled for the year, but they have a labor agreement in, let’s say May, and they decide to hold a 2012 draft…how will it work? Would all the teams get placed in the ping-pong ball lottery? Would they keep the same order as last year? Hmmm just curious.
-ESPN has been devoting more time to the soccer Gold Cup than I thought it would. Is soccer’s popularity really rising that much? I’ll be honest- it’s nice when the US wins, but I really don’t care about the end result one way or the other. Maybe I’m being naïve, but I still think that’s the way it is for most US soccer fans. Other than the World Cup, I have no interest in soccer. I’ll see if I can get into the Women’s World Cup, since I have a little more free time in the summer.
-Delvon Roe out 6 weeks with a sprained ankle (at least it’s not his effed-up knees this time) and Russell Byrd had another foot surgery. Please please please let the injuries stop. Last year was bad enough. I want health from here on out!
-I hate Purdue basketball, but it was kind of cool to see Johnson and Moore get drafted by the Celtics. They had obvious chemistry at Purdue, so why not carry it over to the NBA? I think it’d be cool to see them continue their success at the next level…except when they play the Pistons. Their draft story is going to be on the BTN this Thursday at 8pm. I'll probably watch.
-Couple Tigers thoughts. He probably won’t get voted in by the fans, but Alex Avila deserves to be the starting catcher for the AL. The guy is hitting .303, 10 HRs, and 45 RBIs. You don’t get that kind of production from the catcher position, unless you’re Joe Mauer (just not this year’s Joe Mauer). Right now Avila is second in voting, a cool half million behind the leader, Yankee catcher Russell Martin. Martin’s stats? .231, 9 HRS, 30 RBIs. Fuck that and fuck Yankee fans.
-Verlander was AMAZING last night. Is this the year Verlander puts it all together? 8 out of his last 10 starts he’s gone 8+ innings. That’s Roy Halladay-ish. I can’t remember the last time he’s had a bad outing. If he continues to pitch this way for the rest of the year, and somebody steps up as a legit #2 guy in the rotation, the Tigers could make some noise in the postseason, if they get there. Just saying.
Well I think I got all the sports covered. Baseball, football, basketball, hockey, soccer…yep, that about does it. Haha you deserve a gold star if you made it all the way through this long post.
~Mikey D
3 comments:
Definitely a good game to get out to!
I was thinking the same thing with the Austin Hatch story. Obviously, very sad. A different article I read said that his dad was able to save him from the previous crash by throwing him out the window. I know that you have to move on, but I don't know that I could have gotten in a plane again with my father if I was him.
I read the debut article Simmons wrote (http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6635763/welcome-grantland) and he explained that it has been something he's wanted to do for a while. He wants it to show off other sports and pop-culture columnists. He said he's not sure what it's going to grow into, but it sounds like a way for him to have more control. I like the way he uses footnotes in his columns (his books are written that way).
NFL will have a deal done by mid-July. The growth of the Lions will still depend on Stafford. The RB core isn't good, we don't know what we'll get out of Fairley yet - just be cautious. I remember naming my first Fantasy team "Harrington to Rogers".
I think Peyton Hillis on the cover was spurred by fan support he got on Sportsnation. He campaigned for it, showed up on TV a lot... and there you go.
Columbus... here's the deal. Great sports town. A change to the East will probably help. But it's not going to make more people tune in. It's a FOOTBALL city. Remember almost half of the season takes place during Buckeye football (even writing that makes me sick) and Bengals/Browns/Steelers on Sunday (and there are a LOT of NFL fans here). By January/February, the CBJs usually aren't doing so hot. Also, Rick Nash is the premier player, but most fans are burnt out from him. He isn't a good leader and seems to not give his full effort sometimes. If they field a better team, fans will probably show up.
NHL realignment is necessary. A lot of Wings fans don't want to see them leave the West (the Avs, Blackhawks, Sharks rivalries) but think about what we'll be gaining... Rangers, Canadiens, Bruins, Leafs...
Also like Brandon Knight (hate him, but Calipari players have a good string of successes). I'm worried about the fact that NBA talent is stockpiling. The Pistons need to follow the Thunder/Grizzlies model and stockpile young draft talent b/c they're not going to get it in FA. They also aren't going to repeat the "nobody wanted us"/chip-on-our-shoulder magic that they got from the 2004 team.
Verlander should definitely get the Cy Young. Solid.
-I guess Simmons has earned the right to try something new (and have a bit more control). He's been their premiere columnist for quite awhile. As a casual reader of his, I hope he doesn't get too carried away with the freedom he's gained.
-You don't think the Lions have a good core of RBs? Best and LeShoure seem like a good 1-2 punch of speed and physicality. Well, at least they better be as former first and second round picks. I am definitely cautious, don't get me wrong, but I've seen the potential of the Lions offense with Stafford at the helm, and it's damn good. I've seen the potential of Suh and that dominating front line. That's the difference between this Lions team compared to years past- there's actual good play on the field! Of course we have to put it altogether and get over the "hump", which has always been the Lions problem.
-10 years from now when I go over the Madden covers, I'm going to be saying "Who???". The dude may be in a time share situation this season!
-Better teams will always draw more fans (well, maybe not in Tampa Bay), but having more games available for fans to tune into can only help their viability as a franchise. Whether the fans tune in, I'll defer to you on that, but it can't get worse, can it?
-I'm with you on the Wings. Who cares about losing the Sharks? I'd much rather see them get a rivalry going with the Rangers or another original six team out east.
-Brandon Knight doesn't bother me as much as other Kentucky/Memphis PGs because he seems like such a good kid. He had 60 credits after his first year at Kentucky, and a 4.3 GPA in high school. I know that has nothing to do with basketball, but obviously the kid has a good head on his shoulders (and is pretty bright), and we need those kinds of guys in Detroit.
I like Simmons' Grantland. I don't read every article, but I've enjoyed the ones that I've read.
I don't really care which division the Wings are in. But like you said, putting them in the East would avoid the 10pm start times, and I'm cool with that.
I haven't followed the Pistons since the first few games of last season. I agree that the team needs to be completely overhauled, starting with getting rid of Villanueva and Hamilton.
I've been watching more and more of the Tigers. Verlander - best pitcher in baseball right now? He's at least in the discussion.
I did watch the Gold cup, but I wouldn't expect any non-soccer fans to have watched it. (except for maybe the final) America against Guadalupe or Panama isn't all that exciting unless you are already a fan.
I'm mildly interested in the Women's World Cup. I'll watch it if it's on, but I'm not taping any games. I'll care about it more once we finish the group stage.
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