There is no such thing as bad publicity…really? Between the McCourt Family and the Woods family, local royalty is testing this axiom. The McCourt’s were interlopers from the east. They are an acquired taste much like smelt eggs. Tiger Woods was our local prodigy who grew up before our eyes. He played his first PGA event at Riviera and had his first extramarital affair in the OC. Both families have taken a public TMZ style unraveling of unmanageable publicity. Both divorces are inevitable. These legal proceedings will be historic in grandeur and in commas.
It appears Frank McCourt did a bit more planning than El Tigre. According to his assertions, Jamie stepped out on the marriage while attending the Maccabiah games in Israel with Dodger Team driver, Jeff Fuller. Driver Fuller then represented the Dodgers on a junket to Taiwan last week. The Yard thought the Dodger pilates instructor was a better catch for the J-Dog.
Frank had already fired Dodger Team President Jamie. Frank claims that he can not afford to provide Jamie the $448,000 per month that she needs to keep her boat afloat. Research is underway but it is our understanding that being the president of the Dodgers would not sustain a $448,000/month lifestyle anyways. Tiger would give Elin $448,000/month effective immediately.
Elin Woods did not sign up for the Tiger Woods Cocktail Waitress Open. Apparently, she was unaware that this tour event was in the mix. She will be well paid for her ignorant tolerance. We do not believe all of these women are legit but even with the Calloway scoring system, Tiger has covered the over in the infidelity pool. Rumors are that Tiger will attempt a comeback playing left field in the White Sox organization prior to the 2011 Masters.
There is no better college football conference in America than the Pacific Ten. The SEC might have more BCS champions but they have never produced a good cabernet or a renowned nuclear physicist. The Pac-10 will win more than they lose over the next three weeks. During this time, Stanford and UCLA will begin classes. Alabama University will close down the school from January 6-8 in proper recognition of the school’s first trip to the BCS Championship game. The BCS money that Oregon brings to the conference this year will fund the athletic departments as well as academia. The SEC BCS riches will never be wasted on math or science.
Stanford senior Toby Gerhart should have won the Heisman trophy. Gerhart rushed for 1,726 yards while scoring 26 touchdowns. Gerhart accrued 22 hours of Stanford course credit while keeping up with his job on Saturday afternoon. Alabama’s Mark Ingram won the award with his 1,542 yards rushing/15 touchdowns and course credit towards his ceramics major.
Gerhart is the epitome of what the Heisman trophy stands for. Mark Ingram is what it has become. Ingram had a fine year and is a noble recipient. He will leave school early, never graduate and play 4.6 years in the NFL. Gerhart will graduate with his class and will play in the NFL because he wants to not because he has to.
The USC athletic scandal continues to evolve. The NCAA does not want to kill the only golden goose of western American college football revenue. With no other football power west of Austin, the NCAA can not have USC on probation even as the alleged infractions grow in dimension.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
The Foundations of Karma
It was a blustery day at the Chevron World Challenge at Sherwood Country Club last weekend. The Tiger Woods Foundation hosts this event every year to raise money for his foundation. Tiger was unable to attend and was unavailable for comment. Apparently, he has been out raising money for two new organizations. The Elin Woods Foundation received a $20 million grant to continue her charitable work as supporting wife and mother of his children. The Rachel Uchitel foundation was hastily formed by the ever present Gloria Allred and an undisclosed grant by Mr. Woods. It is unclear about their mission but silence seems to be a core value. There are rumors of other similar organizations with similar agendas being formed.
It is unfortunate that Tiger’s benevolent works that he has tirelessly worked to conduct without his wife’s or the public’s scrutiny came to light on the eve of his annual event. He is a multi-tasker and we expect to see him right back on the links right after the next big celebrity scandal grabs the TMZ baton. Tiger is going to traffic school for his incident. Elin is taking golf lessons to improve on her swing mechanics.
Upon further review, the Yard ruling on the last blog has been overturned. USC had every right to throw the ball if the Bruins called time out. Our real issue was with Pete Carroll jumping up and down and running on the field like they had just accomplished brilliance. It was meaningless, controversial play with USC already leading by 14. In a down season for USC, the head coach was acting like the Trojans had won the national championship or something. His example morphed into taunting from his players which lead to an ugly confrontation at midfield before the game ended. Trojan fan, take down the banners hanging in your front yard until next fall…please.
Alas, Peter of Carroll got bit by the karma bug in the Trojan’s final home game. The Trojans let Arizona hang around all day until the Wildcats took the lead with 3:14 to go. Troy went four and out and Arizona took over on the USC fifteen yard line with under two minutes. Arizona could have punched in another score from the USC fifteen yard line but they took knees and actually gave USC the ball back with four seconds left. By losing their 4th Pac-10 this year, Troy equaled their total of the past four years. They ensured a hard earned trip to the San Diego Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl on December 23. The Bruins will be relaxing at home preparing for next year’s USC game.
This is not going to be a year that we can compartmentalize the miserable performance of the UCLA football season while basking in the success of the Bruin hoopsters. Basketball has already been really ugly. The Yard got to see the home opener OT loss to Cal State Fullerton live. Well, “live” might be a bit effusive because the Bruins were barely above flat line on that night. Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook, and Jrue Holiday are all playing significant minutes in the NBA and would have been the leaders of a potential national champion at UCLA this season. They sold out the millions of dollars they are now guaranteed annually. Ben Howland gets that. You will never see Ben go Pete Carroll if one his players goes pro prematurely.
The Lakers put the rest of the NBA on notice Wednesday night. In a close game with division rival Utah, the Lake show outscored the Jazz 26-6 in the 4th quarter. In softball, the Jazz would have been given the mercy rule with five minutes to go and a plane to catch.
It was their 10th win in a row after losing two ugly games three weeks ago. When the Lakers lost to the Nuggets in Denver by 26 and limped home two days later only to lose to the undermanned Rockets by ten, the Lakers had a 7-3 record with two home losses. Questions were being asked and Ron Artest was on Jimmy Kimmel show in only his shorts answering those questions. 21 days later, the Lake Show is 15-3 and Artest is talking about the good old days in Chicago drinking Hennessey during halftime of games. It is going to a different kind of championship this year but the Lakers will repeat unless Bynum goes down…oh wait…bad karma…
19th Hole: If another media outlet wonders about the impact of Tiger Woods fornicating outside his marital contract or an athlete using performance enhancing drugs or some other superstar’s bad behavior on our children, we will collectively puke. We are raising the smartest generation of kids that this planet has ever seen. They do not care if Tiger cheated or Roger Clemens shot steroids in his and his wife’s buttocks or that Barry lied to the feds as it relates to their goals.
The Yard is putting these kids, especially my three investments that they are on notice to fix all the things we messed up. Get busy making this place better for us in our retirement. You have been given a lot and much is expected. You have never been without a computer, cell phone or the internet. You had every chance to go to college. Your clock is ticking and the heroes have left the building.
Our children do not look up the athletes, actors or celebrities as their heroes. Their heroes are their parents and never let them forget that. Tiger’s responsibility or lack thereof is not to us, it is to his family. It is private but I do hope TMZ gets the security camera tapes.
We can't all be heroes, because somebody has to sit on the curb and applaud when they go by.” Will Rogers
It is unfortunate that Tiger’s benevolent works that he has tirelessly worked to conduct without his wife’s or the public’s scrutiny came to light on the eve of his annual event. He is a multi-tasker and we expect to see him right back on the links right after the next big celebrity scandal grabs the TMZ baton. Tiger is going to traffic school for his incident. Elin is taking golf lessons to improve on her swing mechanics.
Upon further review, the Yard ruling on the last blog has been overturned. USC had every right to throw the ball if the Bruins called time out. Our real issue was with Pete Carroll jumping up and down and running on the field like they had just accomplished brilliance. It was meaningless, controversial play with USC already leading by 14. In a down season for USC, the head coach was acting like the Trojans had won the national championship or something. His example morphed into taunting from his players which lead to an ugly confrontation at midfield before the game ended. Trojan fan, take down the banners hanging in your front yard until next fall…please.
Alas, Peter of Carroll got bit by the karma bug in the Trojan’s final home game. The Trojans let Arizona hang around all day until the Wildcats took the lead with 3:14 to go. Troy went four and out and Arizona took over on the USC fifteen yard line with under two minutes. Arizona could have punched in another score from the USC fifteen yard line but they took knees and actually gave USC the ball back with four seconds left. By losing their 4th Pac-10 this year, Troy equaled their total of the past four years. They ensured a hard earned trip to the San Diego Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl on December 23. The Bruins will be relaxing at home preparing for next year’s USC game.
This is not going to be a year that we can compartmentalize the miserable performance of the UCLA football season while basking in the success of the Bruin hoopsters. Basketball has already been really ugly. The Yard got to see the home opener OT loss to Cal State Fullerton live. Well, “live” might be a bit effusive because the Bruins were barely above flat line on that night. Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook, and Jrue Holiday are all playing significant minutes in the NBA and would have been the leaders of a potential national champion at UCLA this season. They sold out the millions of dollars they are now guaranteed annually. Ben Howland gets that. You will never see Ben go Pete Carroll if one his players goes pro prematurely.
The Lakers put the rest of the NBA on notice Wednesday night. In a close game with division rival Utah, the Lake show outscored the Jazz 26-6 in the 4th quarter. In softball, the Jazz would have been given the mercy rule with five minutes to go and a plane to catch.
It was their 10th win in a row after losing two ugly games three weeks ago. When the Lakers lost to the Nuggets in Denver by 26 and limped home two days later only to lose to the undermanned Rockets by ten, the Lakers had a 7-3 record with two home losses. Questions were being asked and Ron Artest was on Jimmy Kimmel show in only his shorts answering those questions. 21 days later, the Lake Show is 15-3 and Artest is talking about the good old days in Chicago drinking Hennessey during halftime of games. It is going to a different kind of championship this year but the Lakers will repeat unless Bynum goes down…oh wait…bad karma…
19th Hole: If another media outlet wonders about the impact of Tiger Woods fornicating outside his marital contract or an athlete using performance enhancing drugs or some other superstar’s bad behavior on our children, we will collectively puke. We are raising the smartest generation of kids that this planet has ever seen. They do not care if Tiger cheated or Roger Clemens shot steroids in his and his wife’s buttocks or that Barry lied to the feds as it relates to their goals.
The Yard is putting these kids, especially my three investments that they are on notice to fix all the things we messed up. Get busy making this place better for us in our retirement. You have been given a lot and much is expected. You have never been without a computer, cell phone or the internet. You had every chance to go to college. Your clock is ticking and the heroes have left the building.
Our children do not look up the athletes, actors or celebrities as their heroes. Their heroes are their parents and never let them forget that. Tiger’s responsibility or lack thereof is not to us, it is to his family. It is private but I do hope TMZ gets the security camera tapes.
We can't all be heroes, because somebody has to sit on the curb and applaud when they go by.” Will Rogers
Monday, November 30, 2009
LA Confidential
The conclusion to the USC-UCLA was foregone weeks ago when USC got pummeled by Stanford 55-21. Preternatural Peter has never appeared more perplexed as he did in the aftermath of that record loss at home. Pete’s Trojans lost at home in front of their maddening masses worse than any USC coach has ever lost in school history. With two weeks to prepare and disappointment cursing their veins, Pete had Troy ready on Saturday night for their cross town rivals.
In the weeks preceding the game, omnipresent Pete zigzagged through the carnage. He struggled to explain why the Trojans were going to be playing a bowl game in December for the first time in seven years. Carroll seemed confused and at a loss to explain the recent chain of events. It had never happened since his first season. In 2007, between championships, he could dismiss the aberration of one point loss to a 41 point underdog Stanford team on the last play of the game. The Trojans still went to the Rose Bowl. Explaining a 34 point beat down to that same ten point underdog this season is far more vexing and the second mea culpa after the Oregon pasting two weeks earlier.
Two weeks ago, Peter was staring down Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh when he went for a two point conversion leading 48-21 with seven minutes to go. Stanford had ruined USC’s title hopes in 2007. Pete made them pay last year in Palo Alto with a 27-0 rout while he left his NFL starter laden line up playing late in the game. Payback is never timely or fair. In this season’s upset, Pete Carroll and Harbaugh shared much dissected comments at midfield after this year’s game. Pete looked about as happy as he was at the Mark Sanchez press conference earlier this year.
With the Stanford and Oregon blowouts of both teams, the magnitude and importance of this game was underscored by the 7:00 PM telecast on local cable channel Prime Ticket in standard definition. Fortunately, this game did not require high def. It was an ugly, meaningless game that the only Yard copy occurred in the last minute. UCLA has never won a USC game when the game’s first touchdown is a Trojan interception return for that touchdown. USC linebacker Malcolm Smith ended UCLA’s night with that first half pick and the only score of the first half. Twenty-nine minutes and six seconds of the second half were a screen saver.
Then Peter the Bitter went for seven with a 21-7 lead and 54 seconds left. UCLA coach Rick Nuehiesel had called time out to stop the clock. It is our understanding that once time expires if one team has 21 and the other has seven, you lose that game. The only hope is to slow the clock with the hope for a miracle. Miracles sound like some of our parlays this weekend at the Hilton sports book but however remote, it is the only hope to win the game besides capitulation. Capitulation might have been polite protocol for Pete and his brightly festooned fans. It might have ended the game ten minutes earlier.
In response to the timeout, angry Carroll called a play action pass when no one in the stands or any other coach in America would have called that play at any time and never in a rivalry game. Postgame, Peter the classless disingenuously suggested that “he did not call that play” but when he heard the call on his head set, his competitive spirit took over and the Trojans executed the play perfectly. Pete, WTF?
With eleven UCLA players in the box attempting to stop the run and force a fumble, Damian Williams on a post pattern was a play in the play book that should not have been called. Pete cheered at the outcome like he had not in a month. The Yard does not completely understand the petulance of Rick the young in delaying the inevitable but it was not an effort to run up the score. We are not sure when Pete decided he needed to be that guy to bitch slap him in his hood. It was like the bar scene from Good Fellas. Pete was Joe Pesci.
Pete might leave USC and take many of the open jobs before he needs to face UCLA at the Rose Bowl next year. He has owned this town for seven years but losing three ugly Pac-10 games this year has not gone unnoticed. Pete is never going to pass up the San Diego deal again. He understands that myopic loyalty is earned a year at a time.
USC QB Matt Barkley does not have the same options. He was beaming after throwing his only never should have been thrown TD pass of the game. He purred telling Prime Ticket how he made the correct read that lead to his last second gift in a marginal season. He apparently needed that 12th touchdown to move ahead of his eleven interceptions. His parents must be proud.
OT: Toby Gerhard will win the Heisman trophy. He is the epitome of what a Heisman winner should be. He is from Norco High School. He leads the nation in rushing, is taking 21 hours in course credit in his senior year at Stanford and starts in centerfield on the baseball team. He is a humble, low gloss work horse who is exciting to watch.
In the weeks preceding the game, omnipresent Pete zigzagged through the carnage. He struggled to explain why the Trojans were going to be playing a bowl game in December for the first time in seven years. Carroll seemed confused and at a loss to explain the recent chain of events. It had never happened since his first season. In 2007, between championships, he could dismiss the aberration of one point loss to a 41 point underdog Stanford team on the last play of the game. The Trojans still went to the Rose Bowl. Explaining a 34 point beat down to that same ten point underdog this season is far more vexing and the second mea culpa after the Oregon pasting two weeks earlier.
Two weeks ago, Peter was staring down Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh when he went for a two point conversion leading 48-21 with seven minutes to go. Stanford had ruined USC’s title hopes in 2007. Pete made them pay last year in Palo Alto with a 27-0 rout while he left his NFL starter laden line up playing late in the game. Payback is never timely or fair. In this season’s upset, Pete Carroll and Harbaugh shared much dissected comments at midfield after this year’s game. Pete looked about as happy as he was at the Mark Sanchez press conference earlier this year.
With the Stanford and Oregon blowouts of both teams, the magnitude and importance of this game was underscored by the 7:00 PM telecast on local cable channel Prime Ticket in standard definition. Fortunately, this game did not require high def. It was an ugly, meaningless game that the only Yard copy occurred in the last minute. UCLA has never won a USC game when the game’s first touchdown is a Trojan interception return for that touchdown. USC linebacker Malcolm Smith ended UCLA’s night with that first half pick and the only score of the first half. Twenty-nine minutes and six seconds of the second half were a screen saver.
Then Peter the Bitter went for seven with a 21-7 lead and 54 seconds left. UCLA coach Rick Nuehiesel had called time out to stop the clock. It is our understanding that once time expires if one team has 21 and the other has seven, you lose that game. The only hope is to slow the clock with the hope for a miracle. Miracles sound like some of our parlays this weekend at the Hilton sports book but however remote, it is the only hope to win the game besides capitulation. Capitulation might have been polite protocol for Pete and his brightly festooned fans. It might have ended the game ten minutes earlier.
In response to the timeout, angry Carroll called a play action pass when no one in the stands or any other coach in America would have called that play at any time and never in a rivalry game. Postgame, Peter the classless disingenuously suggested that “he did not call that play” but when he heard the call on his head set, his competitive spirit took over and the Trojans executed the play perfectly. Pete, WTF?
With eleven UCLA players in the box attempting to stop the run and force a fumble, Damian Williams on a post pattern was a play in the play book that should not have been called. Pete cheered at the outcome like he had not in a month. The Yard does not completely understand the petulance of Rick the young in delaying the inevitable but it was not an effort to run up the score. We are not sure when Pete decided he needed to be that guy to bitch slap him in his hood. It was like the bar scene from Good Fellas. Pete was Joe Pesci.
Pete might leave USC and take many of the open jobs before he needs to face UCLA at the Rose Bowl next year. He has owned this town for seven years but losing three ugly Pac-10 games this year has not gone unnoticed. Pete is never going to pass up the San Diego deal again. He understands that myopic loyalty is earned a year at a time.
USC QB Matt Barkley does not have the same options. He was beaming after throwing his only never should have been thrown TD pass of the game. He purred telling Prime Ticket how he made the correct read that lead to his last second gift in a marginal season. He apparently needed that 12th touchdown to move ahead of his eleven interceptions. His parents must be proud.
OT: Toby Gerhard will win the Heisman trophy. He is the epitome of what a Heisman winner should be. He is from Norco High School. He leads the nation in rushing, is taking 21 hours in course credit in his senior year at Stanford and starts in centerfield on the baseball team. He is a humble, low gloss work horse who is exciting to watch.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Laker Country
The Lakers have been radio broadcast on KLAC AM570 since our very first strains of purple and gold myopia in the late 60’s. As a native Glendalian, KLAC radio was the local radio station right down on Glendale Blvd. They had an old school DJ in the window spinning country tunes and crooning into a microphone the size of a Direct TV dish. It was a country station but 82 + nights a year it was the Laker station.
Laker nation was more like Laker County in those days. The Lakers had already lost five NBA finals to the Boston Celtics before Yard youth was able to embed basketball into our tortured legacy. Being an LA Ram fan had built up the required scar tissue before the Lakers were added. We were fully engaged for the back to back NBA Final upset losses in 1969 and 1970. The Lakers were heavily favored in both finals with three Hall of Famers, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West and Wilt in the starting lineup. West became the only NBA Finals MVP to play for the losing team in 1969.
The Lakers played at the Sports Arena and were rarely on TV and barely on radio. Chick Hearn put the mustard on our hot dog while we dribbled along in his cadence. Chick told the story each night with passion and emotion without being a homer. Radio and television broadcasting are completely different given the nature of the media. Chick was the only broadcaster who did the play by play on television and radio at the same time. He kept both audiences in awe.
Mornings after the games, it only took one Wichita lineman and an “I Walk the Line” to recall the hard court memories on these same airwaves eight hours earlier. KLAC was our local station that provided our portal to Chick. The Laker legacy improved through the exploits of Kareem, Magic, Big Game James and the rest against the freeway overpass of our memories. Along the ride, Chick called every single play on AM 570.
ESPN took over this year broadcasting the Laker games. Spiro Dedes and Mychal Thompson worked the broadcast at KLAC and have moved over to ESPN. It only a click up the dial and another chit whittled from the legacy of our youth. The Lakers will win the west regardless of which network broadcasts the games and we will listen. Kobe has the best supporting cast and the highest quotient of unbridled relent in the relentless skill set. He will never let Ron Artest listen to the voices in Artest’s head. He will be the voice in Andrew Bynum’s head. Kobe is and it will be.
Trojan Fan, calm down. You could have been the lead story. A bad day in the Cardinal and Gold is a lifetime in blue and gold. These historic defensive melt downs will end soon. Pete has two weeks to prepare for the Trojans next home game. The team will be angry and focused and playing their cross town rival at home which is never good for the cross town rival. Pete, if Rick Neuheisel is ever ahead of your team 48-21 with seven minutes left in the game, he will not go for two!
Laker nation was more like Laker County in those days. The Lakers had already lost five NBA finals to the Boston Celtics before Yard youth was able to embed basketball into our tortured legacy. Being an LA Ram fan had built up the required scar tissue before the Lakers were added. We were fully engaged for the back to back NBA Final upset losses in 1969 and 1970. The Lakers were heavily favored in both finals with three Hall of Famers, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West and Wilt in the starting lineup. West became the only NBA Finals MVP to play for the losing team in 1969.
The Lakers played at the Sports Arena and were rarely on TV and barely on radio. Chick Hearn put the mustard on our hot dog while we dribbled along in his cadence. Chick told the story each night with passion and emotion without being a homer. Radio and television broadcasting are completely different given the nature of the media. Chick was the only broadcaster who did the play by play on television and radio at the same time. He kept both audiences in awe.
Mornings after the games, it only took one Wichita lineman and an “I Walk the Line” to recall the hard court memories on these same airwaves eight hours earlier. KLAC was our local station that provided our portal to Chick. The Laker legacy improved through the exploits of Kareem, Magic, Big Game James and the rest against the freeway overpass of our memories. Along the ride, Chick called every single play on AM 570.
ESPN took over this year broadcasting the Laker games. Spiro Dedes and Mychal Thompson worked the broadcast at KLAC and have moved over to ESPN. It only a click up the dial and another chit whittled from the legacy of our youth. The Lakers will win the west regardless of which network broadcasts the games and we will listen. Kobe has the best supporting cast and the highest quotient of unbridled relent in the relentless skill set. He will never let Ron Artest listen to the voices in Artest’s head. He will be the voice in Andrew Bynum’s head. Kobe is and it will be.
Trojan Fan, calm down. You could have been the lead story. A bad day in the Cardinal and Gold is a lifetime in blue and gold. These historic defensive melt downs will end soon. Pete has two weeks to prepare for the Trojans next home game. The team will be angry and focused and playing their cross town rival at home which is never good for the cross town rival. Pete, if Rick Neuheisel is ever ahead of your team 48-21 with seven minutes left in the game, he will not go for two!
Monday, November 2, 2009
Ducks in the Mist
When your team loses every Saturday for a month, it is an ugly stretch. When the moons align and there are five Saturdays in the month, it is a downright frightful stretch of primordial goo. The Bruins were “0” for October with the final Halloween beat down by the Beavers on Saturday. The only bright spot was it was televised in tape delay and we chose not to watch. October was not much kinder to the Dodgers or Angels either. When all seemed to swirling down the emotional drain of futility, USC delivered in the clutch in Eugene. It was heartwarming to see the Trojans go down hard in the Oregon mist.
That morning, we were startled to see the young USC quarterback Matt Barkley being interviewed on ESPN during College Game Day. His confidence was stout and endearing to the cardinal and gold. Barkley is a likeable kid and unfortunately has a huge upside in the wrong colors for years to come. During the course of the interview, Mattie from the OC smiled and winked about the unruly crowds he had faced in Columbus, South Bend and Berkley during his freshman year. With three victories in the duffel bag, he smirked at the reporter and said he enjoyed quieting those hostile crowds in victory. There was no such disquiet on this night.
Eugene is not Columbus or South Bend and on a Halloween night it is a nightmare on Elm Street for stout youth. Autzen Stadium holds 40,000 less than the horseshoe in Columbus. It can sound like 40,000 more and a young QB can hear every derisive comment and smell every pre-game beverage. Barkley may have wanted to silence the crowd but his offensive line twitched with each yell in route to seven illegal procedure calls. It was a beat down that we anticipate in Westwood but has never happened during the reign of Prince Pete. Bruin humility is a coping strategy, Trojan humiliation is karma.
Oregon wins out, USC wins out and the Pac-10 wins out with possibly two BCS teams and the resulting pay day for the UC system. USC will recover and let us all root on the Ducks. Chip Kelly has done an outstanding job navigating a first game melt down in Boise that still has a right jab on You Tube.
The Bruins have Washington at home and WSU wherever and they will win those games. It is a difficult time but Neuheisel has always been willing to do the unsavory things that lead to success. Bob Toledo was too lazy and Karl Dorrell was too proud. The 4th stringer at USC will come to UCLA in the years ahead. The 4th stringer that chose not to go to USC beat them on Halloween.
That morning, we were startled to see the young USC quarterback Matt Barkley being interviewed on ESPN during College Game Day. His confidence was stout and endearing to the cardinal and gold. Barkley is a likeable kid and unfortunately has a huge upside in the wrong colors for years to come. During the course of the interview, Mattie from the OC smiled and winked about the unruly crowds he had faced in Columbus, South Bend and Berkley during his freshman year. With three victories in the duffel bag, he smirked at the reporter and said he enjoyed quieting those hostile crowds in victory. There was no such disquiet on this night.
Eugene is not Columbus or South Bend and on a Halloween night it is a nightmare on Elm Street for stout youth. Autzen Stadium holds 40,000 less than the horseshoe in Columbus. It can sound like 40,000 more and a young QB can hear every derisive comment and smell every pre-game beverage. Barkley may have wanted to silence the crowd but his offensive line twitched with each yell in route to seven illegal procedure calls. It was a beat down that we anticipate in Westwood but has never happened during the reign of Prince Pete. Bruin humility is a coping strategy, Trojan humiliation is karma.
Oregon wins out, USC wins out and the Pac-10 wins out with possibly two BCS teams and the resulting pay day for the UC system. USC will recover and let us all root on the Ducks. Chip Kelly has done an outstanding job navigating a first game melt down in Boise that still has a right jab on You Tube.
The Bruins have Washington at home and WSU wherever and they will win those games. It is a difficult time but Neuheisel has always been willing to do the unsavory things that lead to success. Bob Toledo was too lazy and Karl Dorrell was too proud. The 4th stringer at USC will come to UCLA in the years ahead. The 4th stringer that chose not to go to USC beat them on Halloween.
Monday, October 26, 2009
CSI: The Yard
It has been CSI: TheYard these last few weeks. Horatio should have been there to flip those shades up and say, “There won’t be any more fun when he gets back from the Yard”. There was very little trace evidence but a full season of baseball allegiance and an infant college football season were murdered with extreme prejudice. We had to pull the yellow tape out for this crime scene and we can only hope the CSI team can find the culprit before next season.
It all started two weekends ago on a scorching October afternoon at the Rose Bowl. UCLA was still amongst the “other receiving votes” club nationally and proud of it. The Bruins faced a resurgent Oregon team donning one of their 81 uniform combinations that Phil Knight has bequeathed them. It was a particularly ghastly ensemble.
The home team fought hard to a 3-0 half time lead. The kick off to start the second half was gloriously booted three yards deep in the Cal end zone. The play ended 103 yards later in the Bruin end zone. Ducks up 7-3. After the ensuing kickoff, UCLA’s first offensive play covered thirty seven yards beginning with a Duck interception in the flat and ending with a personal foul for excessive celebration in the Bruin end zone. Ducks 14-3. Twenty minutes of half time optimism died in the first thirty six seconds of the second half reality. The Bruin football season left some telling DNA at the crime scene on this afternoon.
In the week that followed, the Yard and the Dodgers basked in the sweep of the favored Cardinals and the fodder contained in our first high profile celebrity divorce. Then the Dodgers were bludgeoned during a Phillies home invasion robbery on Thursday night. The CSI team was already Birkenstock deep in the Bruin crime scene before Randy Wolf threw his 34th pitch in the first inning at the Ravine in Game 1 of the NLCS. The Phillies came on harder than a DEA dragnet in Broward County. Cole Hamels pitched as marginally as advertised but two three run homers beats fourteen hits and a full house most nights.
Then on another Saturday of despair, we were reluctantly called back to the Rose Bowl by the double helix of myopia and hope. Cal was coming off a bye week after two weeks and 66 points in losses. It was a battle of California State institutions fighting through the work furloughs of their coaching staffs to come up with a game plan. Tom Tedford and Rick Neuheisel each gave 10% of their salaries back to the state. We wish Cal had given back the 277 rushing yards last Saturday afternoon. We made a decision not to read about this past Saturday’s game at Arizona until we were safely shielded in the Laker basketball season opener.
John Broxton went from being a massive 100 mph country boy flame thrower to part of the discussion that includes Terry Forster and Tom Neidenfurer. These two Dodger relievers had prodigious body types, threw hard and gave up legendary post season changing home runs. Johnny B has more upside but he has had back to back years when a save changes the series. He might have been thinking about the home run 67 year old Matt Stairs hit last year when he walked him on four pitches in Game 4 this year. In the end, Stairs started a rally that ended the Dodgers hopes and our dreams.
TMZ is good. They had the Frank McCourt letter firing his wife as Dodger team president posted on their website practically before she did. Frank wrote the Jamie had become insubordinate and had acted inappropriately. The Yard has some experience in this area and insubordination and inappropriate behavior are pretty standard offerings during divorce proceedings. Jamie seemed like a load but she was Frank’s load. They were omnipresent and worked hard to become celebrity owners in a town of celebrity fans. Gradually, the team improved and so did our perception. Suddenly, what took years to achieve has been destroyed in the past week. We understand Frank firing Jamie he should have never hired her as team president.
It was a nice touch that the news broke before game one of the NLCS. Apparently, what had been known for months had to get into the LA Times prior to the first pitch. We were at that game and Jamie gabbed on her cell phone, cried on a Dodger executive shoulder and acted about as involved in the game as Paris Hilton while Frank sat stoically two rows behind her. She now wants to buyout Frank and be the owner of the Dodgers. If that happens, I have two words-Georgia Frontiere. And as TJ Simers queried, "Who gets custody of Lasorda?"
It all started two weekends ago on a scorching October afternoon at the Rose Bowl. UCLA was still amongst the “other receiving votes” club nationally and proud of it. The Bruins faced a resurgent Oregon team donning one of their 81 uniform combinations that Phil Knight has bequeathed them. It was a particularly ghastly ensemble.
The home team fought hard to a 3-0 half time lead. The kick off to start the second half was gloriously booted three yards deep in the Cal end zone. The play ended 103 yards later in the Bruin end zone. Ducks up 7-3. After the ensuing kickoff, UCLA’s first offensive play covered thirty seven yards beginning with a Duck interception in the flat and ending with a personal foul for excessive celebration in the Bruin end zone. Ducks 14-3. Twenty minutes of half time optimism died in the first thirty six seconds of the second half reality. The Bruin football season left some telling DNA at the crime scene on this afternoon.
In the week that followed, the Yard and the Dodgers basked in the sweep of the favored Cardinals and the fodder contained in our first high profile celebrity divorce. Then the Dodgers were bludgeoned during a Phillies home invasion robbery on Thursday night. The CSI team was already Birkenstock deep in the Bruin crime scene before Randy Wolf threw his 34th pitch in the first inning at the Ravine in Game 1 of the NLCS. The Phillies came on harder than a DEA dragnet in Broward County. Cole Hamels pitched as marginally as advertised but two three run homers beats fourteen hits and a full house most nights.
Then on another Saturday of despair, we were reluctantly called back to the Rose Bowl by the double helix of myopia and hope. Cal was coming off a bye week after two weeks and 66 points in losses. It was a battle of California State institutions fighting through the work furloughs of their coaching staffs to come up with a game plan. Tom Tedford and Rick Neuheisel each gave 10% of their salaries back to the state. We wish Cal had given back the 277 rushing yards last Saturday afternoon. We made a decision not to read about this past Saturday’s game at Arizona until we were safely shielded in the Laker basketball season opener.
John Broxton went from being a massive 100 mph country boy flame thrower to part of the discussion that includes Terry Forster and Tom Neidenfurer. These two Dodger relievers had prodigious body types, threw hard and gave up legendary post season changing home runs. Johnny B has more upside but he has had back to back years when a save changes the series. He might have been thinking about the home run 67 year old Matt Stairs hit last year when he walked him on four pitches in Game 4 this year. In the end, Stairs started a rally that ended the Dodgers hopes and our dreams.
TMZ is good. They had the Frank McCourt letter firing his wife as Dodger team president posted on their website practically before she did. Frank wrote the Jamie had become insubordinate and had acted inappropriately. The Yard has some experience in this area and insubordination and inappropriate behavior are pretty standard offerings during divorce proceedings. Jamie seemed like a load but she was Frank’s load. They were omnipresent and worked hard to become celebrity owners in a town of celebrity fans. Gradually, the team improved and so did our perception. Suddenly, what took years to achieve has been destroyed in the past week. We understand Frank firing Jamie he should have never hired her as team president.
It was a nice touch that the news broke before game one of the NLCS. Apparently, what had been known for months had to get into the LA Times prior to the first pitch. We were at that game and Jamie gabbed on her cell phone, cried on a Dodger executive shoulder and acted about as involved in the game as Paris Hilton while Frank sat stoically two rows behind her. She now wants to buyout Frank and be the owner of the Dodgers. If that happens, I have two words-Georgia Frontiere. And as TJ Simers queried, "Who gets custody of Lasorda?"
Saturday, October 10, 2009
The Boys of Summer
The Boys of Summer always bring a great fall in one way or another. There is no other sport with the torture and legacy of baseball. It can be long and drawn out yet agonizingly majestic. Without a clock to challenge the outcome, baseball challenges only the players to finish their business. No team will ever run out of time if they can keep the rally alive. Thursday afternoon, the Dodgers never gave into the last out.
Matt Holliday dropped a fly ball that would have ended any Little League game. It was a routine catch that Manny Ramieriz would have made with the usual anxiety. With the game on the line, Holliday caught a Rawlings indent on his scrotum. He fell trying to recover both sets of ball, while churning up Seber sized divots out of the Dodger left field turf. It will be discussed and reviewed for years. I had a moment like that in a softball beer league twelve years ago and it was not easy going back to the dugout then. It has never popped up on You Tube and I never told my kids. Matt was not so lucky today with that series changing blunder.
Even with that opportunity, the Dodgers were down to their last out. Loney hustling down to second base on the error was important. Thank goodness it was not Manny or he would have been still in the batter’s box. While Holliday could not rub his stinging nuts in left, Cardinal closer Ryan Franklin had both of his hands around his neck. Casey Blake’s nine pitch walk that followed was the play of the inning. The first base umpire called a check swing second strike on appeal and Blake glared. He battled back to walk towards that same ump who dropped back three steps. The rest is history when a few batters later Mark Loretta delivered the hit of the season and the Doyers won their 23rd game of the season in their last at bat.
It is 1988 all over again. Half of that championship team is coaching the Angels. The other half is rooting for this team. This Dodger team is not always pretty but they play with more heart than any edition since 1988. Before Gibson’s historic home run to win Game 1 of that World Series, Mike Davis had to nut out a two strike count to scratch out a walk. Davis was big free agent signing that season but batted .199 for the season. He was an after thought and would have been the last out and there would have not been any Gibby heroics. His walk kept the rally alive. He was the tying run scoring tens seconds ahead of the gimpy fist pump that scored right behind him.
The Dodgers will still have to beat Carpenter and maybe Wainright to win this series but 2-0 is a whole lot sweeter than 1-1. The October sky will be blue today even in cloudy Saint Louis.
“Since baseball time is only measured in outs, all you have to do is succeed utterly; keep the rally alive and you have defeated time.” You remain forever young.
Roger Angell
Matt Holliday dropped a fly ball that would have ended any Little League game. It was a routine catch that Manny Ramieriz would have made with the usual anxiety. With the game on the line, Holliday caught a Rawlings indent on his scrotum. He fell trying to recover both sets of ball, while churning up Seber sized divots out of the Dodger left field turf. It will be discussed and reviewed for years. I had a moment like that in a softball beer league twelve years ago and it was not easy going back to the dugout then. It has never popped up on You Tube and I never told my kids. Matt was not so lucky today with that series changing blunder.
Even with that opportunity, the Dodgers were down to their last out. Loney hustling down to second base on the error was important. Thank goodness it was not Manny or he would have been still in the batter’s box. While Holliday could not rub his stinging nuts in left, Cardinal closer Ryan Franklin had both of his hands around his neck. Casey Blake’s nine pitch walk that followed was the play of the inning. The first base umpire called a check swing second strike on appeal and Blake glared. He battled back to walk towards that same ump who dropped back three steps. The rest is history when a few batters later Mark Loretta delivered the hit of the season and the Doyers won their 23rd game of the season in their last at bat.
It is 1988 all over again. Half of that championship team is coaching the Angels. The other half is rooting for this team. This Dodger team is not always pretty but they play with more heart than any edition since 1988. Before Gibson’s historic home run to win Game 1 of that World Series, Mike Davis had to nut out a two strike count to scratch out a walk. Davis was big free agent signing that season but batted .199 for the season. He was an after thought and would have been the last out and there would have not been any Gibby heroics. His walk kept the rally alive. He was the tying run scoring tens seconds ahead of the gimpy fist pump that scored right behind him.
The Dodgers will still have to beat Carpenter and maybe Wainright to win this series but 2-0 is a whole lot sweeter than 1-1. The October sky will be blue today even in cloudy Saint Louis.
“Since baseball time is only measured in outs, all you have to do is succeed utterly; keep the rally alive and you have defeated time.” You remain forever young.
Roger Angell
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Face the Book the Yard is here!
After much debate and cultural spin, the Yard now has a link on Face Book. We can still be found at http://tonyattheyard.blogspot.com/ but there is now a new link on Face Book. It is under our stage name-tony.seber@gmail.com. We struggled with the decision. FB seems like chick thing but with four sisters and a daughter, the Yard has chick thing embedded in our rugged veil of testosterone. My children and the woman I date apparently do not want to be our friend on FB at this time. Other than that home court rejection, the response has been positive and we welcome all of our Yard Brethren.
We appreciate all of the positive feedback and we encourage you to connect with the Yard as an RSS feed. Your internet toolbar should have an RSS icon, and if you go the Blog site and click on that icon, you should be notified whenever this Yardomite gets inspired and puts words out. There might be more to it than that but in this economy we had to lay off the IT Director. Good luck.
The staff lobbied for tight deadlines and a regular publishing date for the Yard to keep our 27 readers current and boost revenue. The people that send me my real paycheck suggested otherwise. The VIP group of e-mail members will continue to receive Yard spam but please notify the circulation department if you find the content offensive, irrelevant or both. We would suggest being offensively irrelevant is not easy and the very reason to continue your subscription.
The Yard has been drowning in the Dodger Malaise this past week. Manny has been largely quiet since going into rehab for his female hormone supplement addiction. Dodger starting pitching has been sketchy during their bright moments and scary in most others. If we hear one more Bigelow Tea commercial for Joe Torre, we are going to yak. Joe, come on man do a beer, scotch, chew or some other advertisement that men do when they need to be men. The Chamomile and green tea is not working in the Dodger dugout.
Ok, ok, the Yard went Face Book but we are so far off the radar that our testicles were largely unaffected during this transition. The shrinkage was blamed on the recent cold snap and so far unnoticed. Joe, you are the leader of the Dodger nation and we want a Jose Cuervo commercial with a beer back by the first round of the playoffs dammit!
The 160 bottles of champagne that were traveling with the Dodgers are almost as tired as the starting rotation. The Dodgers only had to win that one game and the bubbly is spraying in the eyes and dreadlocks of many. The champagne was chilled four times, plastic sheeting put up twice and goggles made available in anticipation each night. The sparkling wine is so well travelled it is now registered as a new friend on FB. We have welcomed all who want to be a friend of the Yard and champagne is always our friend. We want this champagne cracked before Sunday afternoon.
Waiting a week is anticlimactic at best and downright disturbing to most of us. The Dodgers were playing the Pirates and the Padres during this stretch. These teams are a collective 172 games out of the playoffs and have been since late May. They traded away half their teams in July. Their payrolls are comparable to the Dodger coaching staff and they beat the Boys of Summer all the way back to Elysian Park. The red hot Rockies are coming to town and this is not a Bigelow moment, Joe. We would drop an F-bomb right but we are new to FB and that shit might not roll over there.
Postgame: Laker camp opened and the paparazzi were there to catch a glimpse of Lamar Kardashian. He had his hat pulled down low with Ray Bans and a Starbucks coffee in an effort to sneak in the building. Jake Gyllenhaal does that quite effectively in Star magazine or so we hear. This 6’11” 250 double espresso is tough to miss in any disguise. With his $10 million a year paycheck, Chole did not miss this opportunity to get on an NBA payroll. Next stop is spawning followed by child support and alimony. Lamar, there is so much quality trim in LA with no baggage and better upside. You will not still be married to this hoe before your contract expires and you better have a pre-nuptial.
We appreciate all of the positive feedback and we encourage you to connect with the Yard as an RSS feed. Your internet toolbar should have an RSS icon, and if you go the Blog site and click on that icon, you should be notified whenever this Yardomite gets inspired and puts words out. There might be more to it than that but in this economy we had to lay off the IT Director. Good luck.
The staff lobbied for tight deadlines and a regular publishing date for the Yard to keep our 27 readers current and boost revenue. The people that send me my real paycheck suggested otherwise. The VIP group of e-mail members will continue to receive Yard spam but please notify the circulation department if you find the content offensive, irrelevant or both. We would suggest being offensively irrelevant is not easy and the very reason to continue your subscription.
The Yard has been drowning in the Dodger Malaise this past week. Manny has been largely quiet since going into rehab for his female hormone supplement addiction. Dodger starting pitching has been sketchy during their bright moments and scary in most others. If we hear one more Bigelow Tea commercial for Joe Torre, we are going to yak. Joe, come on man do a beer, scotch, chew or some other advertisement that men do when they need to be men. The Chamomile and green tea is not working in the Dodger dugout.
Ok, ok, the Yard went Face Book but we are so far off the radar that our testicles were largely unaffected during this transition. The shrinkage was blamed on the recent cold snap and so far unnoticed. Joe, you are the leader of the Dodger nation and we want a Jose Cuervo commercial with a beer back by the first round of the playoffs dammit!
The 160 bottles of champagne that were traveling with the Dodgers are almost as tired as the starting rotation. The Dodgers only had to win that one game and the bubbly is spraying in the eyes and dreadlocks of many. The champagne was chilled four times, plastic sheeting put up twice and goggles made available in anticipation each night. The sparkling wine is so well travelled it is now registered as a new friend on FB. We have welcomed all who want to be a friend of the Yard and champagne is always our friend. We want this champagne cracked before Sunday afternoon.
Waiting a week is anticlimactic at best and downright disturbing to most of us. The Dodgers were playing the Pirates and the Padres during this stretch. These teams are a collective 172 games out of the playoffs and have been since late May. They traded away half their teams in July. Their payrolls are comparable to the Dodger coaching staff and they beat the Boys of Summer all the way back to Elysian Park. The red hot Rockies are coming to town and this is not a Bigelow moment, Joe. We would drop an F-bomb right but we are new to FB and that shit might not roll over there.
Postgame: Laker camp opened and the paparazzi were there to catch a glimpse of Lamar Kardashian. He had his hat pulled down low with Ray Bans and a Starbucks coffee in an effort to sneak in the building. Jake Gyllenhaal does that quite effectively in Star magazine or so we hear. This 6’11” 250 double espresso is tough to miss in any disguise. With his $10 million a year paycheck, Chole did not miss this opportunity to get on an NBA payroll. Next stop is spawning followed by child support and alimony. Lamar, there is so much quality trim in LA with no baggage and better upside. You will not still be married to this hoe before your contract expires and you better have a pre-nuptial.
Monday, September 28, 2009
September Promise
September College football is exciting and unpredictable. USC has lost to an unranked Pac-10 foe early almost every season of late. The Trojans have never lost another game in any of those seasons. They have overcome the upset and been in a BCS game each season. The Trojans did not look like a contender against woeful WSU on Saturday night. BCS titles are not won in September and with road games at Cal, at South Bend and Oregon on Halloween, the Trojans have a rugged road with their freshman QB. Rick Neuheisel had a nice Saturday night at home with his family. He awoke on Sunday as the only unbeaten head coach in the Pac-10. It does not happen often and it may end before next Sunday but Ricky is one up on the Peter this week.
There was drama at the end of last season when Utah finished 12-0 yet finished 6th in the final regular season BCS Poll. The Utes did not make the championship game and then demolished a 4th ranked Alabama team 31-17 in the 2009 Sugar Bowl. The Banner of Heaven and Utah Senator Orrin Hatch had expressed outrage with the BCS system and how unfairly the great state of Utah had been treated. Recently, Hatch publicly debated that the BCS Series violated antitrust laws and was “un-American”. Utah and BYU opened the season with solid wins and the discussion murmured louder with each passing week.
On September 19th, 18th ranked Utah got stuffed by unranked Oregon 31-24. Later that afternoon, Florida State went in to Salt Lake City and stiff armed the # 7 BYU Cougars 54-28 faster than you can find a drink with two ounces of alcohol in downtown SLC. Senator Hatch, there is nothing more American than 54,000 fans at Autzen stadium in Eugene, Oregon watching their beloved Ducks put a hurt on the Utes. Bobby Bowden and his Seminoles hammered the last nail into the coffin of BCS small conference outrage for the 2009 season. “We got your antitrust laws right here, Orrin!”
Dodger right fielder Andre Ethier is the MVP of the Dodgers and at least in the discussion for the NL MVP after Albert Pujols. He has six walk off hits this year, more than any major leaguer. He might have made his most valuable play on defense this past week. Ethier fielded an 8th inning single while the tying run had already been recorded racing home from second base. When two bounces would cost a run and maybe a game, Andre fired a one-hopper to nail Willie Harris at the plate preserving a one run lead. Broxton pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to cap the victory. In a tight pennant race, September wins are golden. Wins on September 25th are valued like cat lives…by seven.
It has been uglier than the G-20 in Pittsburgh for the Dodgers. Sunday, the Dodgers gave up a three run lead in the 9th and lost a game that would have clinched the division. This afternoon, Pirate 3rd baseman Andy LaRoche went five for five with six RBI’s in a “thanks for trading me to the Outback, Ned” kind of day for this ex-Dodger. Next year could be the Dodgers real opportunity but this year, we like their rhythm and gnash. Rafael Furcal could be the man that sets the table for that lineup.
OT: Lamar Odom married Chloe Kardashian this weekend or so the story goes. Chloe being part of the Laker family is scarier than Ron Artest joining the team. The Kardashian women have had a 100% negative impact on all male athletes. Olympic champion Bruce Jenner looks like Joan Rivers older brother since marrying into the family. Reggie Bush struggles only intensified under the power of Kim Kardashian’s snapping gyro. LO is the coolest cat on the Lakers and could be a radio DJ if he was not an integral cog in the Laker dysfunctional smooth running machine. Chloe is a poser wannabe and not even close to the best looking Kardashian biatch. We would do the mom before Chloe but all of them require a six mil protection shield with foam. Who are these people?
Double OT: The Yard summer interns meticulously reviewed the Serena Williams verbal meltdown at the 2009 US Open. Serena’s aggressive, expletive laced shout down directed at a line judge was unprecedented in female sports let alone the gentile rules of tennis. Yard interns felt that with Serena in their face threatening to shove a fu--ing tennis ball down their fu--ing throat, if they were the line judge, they would have rescinded the foot fault and given her their wallet. It was a scary moment for all involved.
There was drama at the end of last season when Utah finished 12-0 yet finished 6th in the final regular season BCS Poll. The Utes did not make the championship game and then demolished a 4th ranked Alabama team 31-17 in the 2009 Sugar Bowl. The Banner of Heaven and Utah Senator Orrin Hatch had expressed outrage with the BCS system and how unfairly the great state of Utah had been treated. Recently, Hatch publicly debated that the BCS Series violated antitrust laws and was “un-American”. Utah and BYU opened the season with solid wins and the discussion murmured louder with each passing week.
On September 19th, 18th ranked Utah got stuffed by unranked Oregon 31-24. Later that afternoon, Florida State went in to Salt Lake City and stiff armed the # 7 BYU Cougars 54-28 faster than you can find a drink with two ounces of alcohol in downtown SLC. Senator Hatch, there is nothing more American than 54,000 fans at Autzen stadium in Eugene, Oregon watching their beloved Ducks put a hurt on the Utes. Bobby Bowden and his Seminoles hammered the last nail into the coffin of BCS small conference outrage for the 2009 season. “We got your antitrust laws right here, Orrin!”
Dodger right fielder Andre Ethier is the MVP of the Dodgers and at least in the discussion for the NL MVP after Albert Pujols. He has six walk off hits this year, more than any major leaguer. He might have made his most valuable play on defense this past week. Ethier fielded an 8th inning single while the tying run had already been recorded racing home from second base. When two bounces would cost a run and maybe a game, Andre fired a one-hopper to nail Willie Harris at the plate preserving a one run lead. Broxton pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to cap the victory. In a tight pennant race, September wins are golden. Wins on September 25th are valued like cat lives…by seven.
It has been uglier than the G-20 in Pittsburgh for the Dodgers. Sunday, the Dodgers gave up a three run lead in the 9th and lost a game that would have clinched the division. This afternoon, Pirate 3rd baseman Andy LaRoche went five for five with six RBI’s in a “thanks for trading me to the Outback, Ned” kind of day for this ex-Dodger. Next year could be the Dodgers real opportunity but this year, we like their rhythm and gnash. Rafael Furcal could be the man that sets the table for that lineup.
OT: Lamar Odom married Chloe Kardashian this weekend or so the story goes. Chloe being part of the Laker family is scarier than Ron Artest joining the team. The Kardashian women have had a 100% negative impact on all male athletes. Olympic champion Bruce Jenner looks like Joan Rivers older brother since marrying into the family. Reggie Bush struggles only intensified under the power of Kim Kardashian’s snapping gyro. LO is the coolest cat on the Lakers and could be a radio DJ if he was not an integral cog in the Laker dysfunctional smooth running machine. Chloe is a poser wannabe and not even close to the best looking Kardashian biatch. We would do the mom before Chloe but all of them require a six mil protection shield with foam. Who are these people?
Double OT: The Yard summer interns meticulously reviewed the Serena Williams verbal meltdown at the 2009 US Open. Serena’s aggressive, expletive laced shout down directed at a line judge was unprecedented in female sports let alone the gentile rules of tennis. Yard interns felt that with Serena in their face threatening to shove a fu--ing tennis ball down their fu--ing throat, if they were the line judge, they would have rescinded the foot fault and given her their wallet. It was a scary moment for all involved.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Hope and change from the Yard.
The unparalleled investment in hope by the US government to affect change is giving us pause about what the return policy is on hope. The Yard did not have much hope there would be change but we absolutely had no idea how expensive hope could be. At this point of the discussion, we are not sure if we can even hope to find any change left under the sofa cushions.
The college football season has begun and baseball is in that classic season where legends are made. UCLA is a university of hope and discovery. We hope Ricky the Neu and Norman of Chow discover a running game. We could not hope for much more than that except maybe a little more urgency from the NCAA with their investigation of USC. The Dodgers seem to now have 27 pitchers on their staff as they crawl towards the October lights. None of them seem to be a guy who we can hope will win two playoff games under playoff pressure. There are many good stories for the Dodgers and Manny is not one of them.
The most secure job in sports reporting today is legal analyst. The NFL alone requires a 24/7 break down of the X’s and O’s of the NFL wide receiver in the wild on his way to the club. Poor judgment is an audible that is called often after 1:00 AM. Alcohol, hand guns and strippers is a linear progression that ends with policeman, witnesses and victims. If anyone named Palixico or PacMan shows up at your BBQ in a shimmer suit, call the police before you serve them drinks.
Rick Pitino and John Calipari have become almost interchangeable personas. They are NCAA basketball legends with east coast roots and patterns of success, mutual spite and most recently, scandal.
Media savvy Pitino made references to 9/11, the war, and the economy during a press conference about why he allegedly financed a $3,000 abortion for a woman he had sex with at an iHop in Louisville. Rick asked the media to move on to the more important issues at hand and not his marital indiscretions. Mrs. Pitino had a lot more questions and they were not about the hope and the change.
Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari took the higher road of silence with his scandal. He has taken two different schools to the Final Four. Each of those teams were investigated and penalized by the NCAA for violations committed during these seasons. Each school was stripped of their victories for that season and the tournament. In each case, Calipari had already leveraged his ill gotten success to a better job before the sanctions came down. The alleged athletes, Marcus Camby and Derrick Rose, also prospered, moving on to the NBA and also were never were penalized. The Yard only respectfully requests that the semifinal bitch slap of the Bruins in the 2008 National Semifinal by Calipari’s Memphis Tigers be overturned with extreme prejudice. Calipari is snipe hunting in eastern Pennsylvania and was unavailable for comment.
Brett Farve was in the news cycle all summer. It was surprising to see Brett’s reaction when a member of the media asked him if his deliberately late arrival had caused a schism in the locker room. It was surprising to the media that Brett would be surprised and react negatively to that question. The Yard was surprised that Brett apparently knew what the word schism meant!
Extra Innings: Giant fan is up in the Yard grill about the Giants still being in the hunt for the playoffs in September. The Yard was relentless in April and we never expected to see the Giants trading for players at the deadline in September. They will be formidable if they get to the playoffs with that starting rotation. Their September schedule is not very forgiving and we hope Brad Penny does for the Giants what he did for the Dodgers and the Red Sox.
We are thrilled that USC is starting their heralded freshman quarterback Matt Barkley. First, hopefully the next two heralded QB’s that are now considering USC might think twice with Barkley starting for the next 3-4 years. No football team has ever won a national title starting a freshman at QB. Lastly, Barkley threw 18 picks last year against high school defenses playing all of his games in southern California. Hostile crowds and D1 defenses await your young arm in Columbus, South Bend, Eugene and Berkley, young Barkley. 8-3 is not a good season in the hood.
Last note: If you get the chance this season, go to a Loyola High School football game. Senior Cub tailback Tony Barr is rated the #1 tailback in the state and being recruited by everyone. At 6’4” 230 pounds with break away speed, he is a man amongst boys who rushed for 1800+ as a junior. He has NFL skills and you can say you saw him now! Junior QB Jerry Neuheisel, yes that Neuheisel, is just like his father not being recruited by anyone but scrappy and efficient. Loyola head coach Jeff Kearin is a good friend of the Yard who has experienced a year of personal tragedy that no one should have to endure. It is good team with great stories. Go Cubs!
“One who has never hoped can never despair.” George Bernard Shaw
The college football season has begun and baseball is in that classic season where legends are made. UCLA is a university of hope and discovery. We hope Ricky the Neu and Norman of Chow discover a running game. We could not hope for much more than that except maybe a little more urgency from the NCAA with their investigation of USC. The Dodgers seem to now have 27 pitchers on their staff as they crawl towards the October lights. None of them seem to be a guy who we can hope will win two playoff games under playoff pressure. There are many good stories for the Dodgers and Manny is not one of them.
The most secure job in sports reporting today is legal analyst. The NFL alone requires a 24/7 break down of the X’s and O’s of the NFL wide receiver in the wild on his way to the club. Poor judgment is an audible that is called often after 1:00 AM. Alcohol, hand guns and strippers is a linear progression that ends with policeman, witnesses and victims. If anyone named Palixico or PacMan shows up at your BBQ in a shimmer suit, call the police before you serve them drinks.
Rick Pitino and John Calipari have become almost interchangeable personas. They are NCAA basketball legends with east coast roots and patterns of success, mutual spite and most recently, scandal.
Media savvy Pitino made references to 9/11, the war, and the economy during a press conference about why he allegedly financed a $3,000 abortion for a woman he had sex with at an iHop in Louisville. Rick asked the media to move on to the more important issues at hand and not his marital indiscretions. Mrs. Pitino had a lot more questions and they were not about the hope and the change.
Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari took the higher road of silence with his scandal. He has taken two different schools to the Final Four. Each of those teams were investigated and penalized by the NCAA for violations committed during these seasons. Each school was stripped of their victories for that season and the tournament. In each case, Calipari had already leveraged his ill gotten success to a better job before the sanctions came down. The alleged athletes, Marcus Camby and Derrick Rose, also prospered, moving on to the NBA and also were never were penalized. The Yard only respectfully requests that the semifinal bitch slap of the Bruins in the 2008 National Semifinal by Calipari’s Memphis Tigers be overturned with extreme prejudice. Calipari is snipe hunting in eastern Pennsylvania and was unavailable for comment.
Brett Farve was in the news cycle all summer. It was surprising to see Brett’s reaction when a member of the media asked him if his deliberately late arrival had caused a schism in the locker room. It was surprising to the media that Brett would be surprised and react negatively to that question. The Yard was surprised that Brett apparently knew what the word schism meant!
Extra Innings: Giant fan is up in the Yard grill about the Giants still being in the hunt for the playoffs in September. The Yard was relentless in April and we never expected to see the Giants trading for players at the deadline in September. They will be formidable if they get to the playoffs with that starting rotation. Their September schedule is not very forgiving and we hope Brad Penny does for the Giants what he did for the Dodgers and the Red Sox.
We are thrilled that USC is starting their heralded freshman quarterback Matt Barkley. First, hopefully the next two heralded QB’s that are now considering USC might think twice with Barkley starting for the next 3-4 years. No football team has ever won a national title starting a freshman at QB. Lastly, Barkley threw 18 picks last year against high school defenses playing all of his games in southern California. Hostile crowds and D1 defenses await your young arm in Columbus, South Bend, Eugene and Berkley, young Barkley. 8-3 is not a good season in the hood.
Last note: If you get the chance this season, go to a Loyola High School football game. Senior Cub tailback Tony Barr is rated the #1 tailback in the state and being recruited by everyone. At 6’4” 230 pounds with break away speed, he is a man amongst boys who rushed for 1800+ as a junior. He has NFL skills and you can say you saw him now! Junior QB Jerry Neuheisel, yes that Neuheisel, is just like his father not being recruited by anyone but scrappy and efficient. Loyola head coach Jeff Kearin is a good friend of the Yard who has experienced a year of personal tragedy that no one should have to endure. It is good team with great stories. Go Cubs!
“One who has never hoped can never despair.” George Bernard Shaw
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Others receiving Votes.
While anxiously waiting for the college football season, there was water cooler debate about why our President would be involved with a parochial issue between the Cambridge police and his college professor friend? With his rugged agenda and ubiquitous presence in our lives, it was odd to see so much time spent with a civil matter. A Yard intern connected a few dots and proffered a scenario. While Michele and the girls are hunkered down in Martha’s Vineyard, Barry scoots back to the White House for some beers with the boys? The same week, former President Clinton flies to North Korea to diffuse the school yard fight between Kim Jong II and Hillary and maybe hit a few karaoke bars? Solving problems or cover stories for nights out? These guys are good.
The college football season begins in earnest when the USA Coaches Top 25 poll is released early each August. BCS fortunes can be dashed before the first game is played. The only team to win the BCS Championship without being ranked in the pre-season Top 10 is Oklahoma in 2000. We have a call into the White House to see if can catch a beer in the rose garden to drill into this BCS profiling.
The 4th ranked Trojans look to contend for another National Championship. Pete is past the Mark Sanchez departure. He had his hissy fit at the press conference when he flipped the game board on Sanchez. Sanchez did sign a 5 year $60 million contract with 28 million of those clams guaranteed by the New York Jets. He might be the first rookie QB to start in the Big Apple since Joe Namath. Or he could be partying in LA, taking cake classes at the U, impregnating girlfriends and being worshipped by the Trojan faithful for staying and leading the team for one more season. Sanchez will never regret not staying. Pete, what did getting Matt Leinart to stay for one more year do for Matt?
The Bruins broke back into the “Others receiving votes” category in the national polls. Some might snicker about the Bruins fourteen votes compared to USC’s 1,321 but Michigan only had one vote! Coach Neuheisel hopes the defense plays better and the Bruins can put some points on the board. We all hope that the NCAA gets a little more hitch in their giddy up and starts deposing people and stuff across town. The best defense is a good offense and the NCAA Rules committee is one of the best in college football.
USC fan is outraged that Pete Carroll was on the front page of the LA times with a cover story about USC’s use of an NFL consultant last season. It is a violation of the rules albeit a rather obscure one. Pete was shocked it was even an issue and we must admit it did seem rather petty. Peter, you should have been paying more attention when Reggie Bush was showing up to football practice in a fully restored powder blue Impala sporting two carat diamond studs. Timmy Floyd should have maybe asked a few questions of O.J. Mayo’s posse while they were installing that 56 inch 1080 DPI flat screen in his dorm room.
Extra Innings:
We were surprised by all of the hoopla about the high tech swim suits at the World Swimming Championships in Rome. Michael Phelps was soundly beaten and his world record smashed by a no name German swimmer in a soon to be outlawed neoprene suit. Phelps’ coach was outrageously outspoken. He threatened to pull Phelps from future meets if these suits were used. He declared that Phelps is the one who “puts butts in the seats” at these swim meets.
The Yard had two thoughts on this swim suit controversy. First, Phelps would probably be using the same suit if he did not get one million clams from Speedo to wear their suit. He might have picked the wrong suit but we do not believe the other company had the mil in the briefcase for Phelps and his coach.
Secondly, who attends swim meets outside of the Olympics anyway? We can name more people in the Hot Dog eating championships than in World Swimming Championships! American Joey Chestnut is keeping the American dream alive being ranked #1 in the International Competitive Eating Federation! He holds world records for macaroni and cheese, jalapenos, waffles and every other food group that is never on the Food Channel. He has kicked arch rival Kobayashi’s ass the past two summers in Coney Island to keep the competitive eating world title in this McNation!
After Phelps, name anyone on the men’s swim tour? We do have Dana Torres in our Fantasy swim pool league. She did not win either but she gets all of our votes and she rocks in any swim suit.
Tony
http://tonyattheyard.blogspot.com/
626-278-4736
The college football season begins in earnest when the USA Coaches Top 25 poll is released early each August. BCS fortunes can be dashed before the first game is played. The only team to win the BCS Championship without being ranked in the pre-season Top 10 is Oklahoma in 2000. We have a call into the White House to see if can catch a beer in the rose garden to drill into this BCS profiling.
The 4th ranked Trojans look to contend for another National Championship. Pete is past the Mark Sanchez departure. He had his hissy fit at the press conference when he flipped the game board on Sanchez. Sanchez did sign a 5 year $60 million contract with 28 million of those clams guaranteed by the New York Jets. He might be the first rookie QB to start in the Big Apple since Joe Namath. Or he could be partying in LA, taking cake classes at the U, impregnating girlfriends and being worshipped by the Trojan faithful for staying and leading the team for one more season. Sanchez will never regret not staying. Pete, what did getting Matt Leinart to stay for one more year do for Matt?
The Bruins broke back into the “Others receiving votes” category in the national polls. Some might snicker about the Bruins fourteen votes compared to USC’s 1,321 but Michigan only had one vote! Coach Neuheisel hopes the defense plays better and the Bruins can put some points on the board. We all hope that the NCAA gets a little more hitch in their giddy up and starts deposing people and stuff across town. The best defense is a good offense and the NCAA Rules committee is one of the best in college football.
USC fan is outraged that Pete Carroll was on the front page of the LA times with a cover story about USC’s use of an NFL consultant last season. It is a violation of the rules albeit a rather obscure one. Pete was shocked it was even an issue and we must admit it did seem rather petty. Peter, you should have been paying more attention when Reggie Bush was showing up to football practice in a fully restored powder blue Impala sporting two carat diamond studs. Timmy Floyd should have maybe asked a few questions of O.J. Mayo’s posse while they were installing that 56 inch 1080 DPI flat screen in his dorm room.
Extra Innings:
We were surprised by all of the hoopla about the high tech swim suits at the World Swimming Championships in Rome. Michael Phelps was soundly beaten and his world record smashed by a no name German swimmer in a soon to be outlawed neoprene suit. Phelps’ coach was outrageously outspoken. He threatened to pull Phelps from future meets if these suits were used. He declared that Phelps is the one who “puts butts in the seats” at these swim meets.
The Yard had two thoughts on this swim suit controversy. First, Phelps would probably be using the same suit if he did not get one million clams from Speedo to wear their suit. He might have picked the wrong suit but we do not believe the other company had the mil in the briefcase for Phelps and his coach.
Secondly, who attends swim meets outside of the Olympics anyway? We can name more people in the Hot Dog eating championships than in World Swimming Championships! American Joey Chestnut is keeping the American dream alive being ranked #1 in the International Competitive Eating Federation! He holds world records for macaroni and cheese, jalapenos, waffles and every other food group that is never on the Food Channel. He has kicked arch rival Kobayashi’s ass the past two summers in Coney Island to keep the competitive eating world title in this McNation!
After Phelps, name anyone on the men’s swim tour? We do have Dana Torres in our Fantasy swim pool league. She did not win either but she gets all of our votes and she rocks in any swim suit.
Tony
http://tonyattheyard.blogspot.com/
626-278-4736
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Voices of Turnberry
President Obama has been omnipresent of late. There he was throwing out the first pitch at the All-Star game, exchanging sound bites with Joe Buck in the booth, and presenting awards via satellite at the ESPY’s. We checked to see if he wanted to sit in the Yard box for Manny Bobble Head night on Wednesday at the Ravine but he was already having dinner with Tom Watson. We agreed to try and catch a UCLA game in the fall.
We invited Tom in for dinner this week. He begged off but we agreed to circle back in the afterlife if his schedule frees up by then. Sunday at Turnberry was great theater and just because ABC Television could not figure out the satellite feed does not diminish Tom Watson’s heroic efforts.
Golf is humbling and requires more concentration than any other sport. Many sports enthusiasts might argue this point. If you have ever stood over a short putt with a three skin carry over on the line, you have a small sense of the demons Mr. Watson faced on Sunday. Golf is not about the athleticism. It is about dealing with adversity when the voices in your head want to review your failures while you are lining up that putt. The voices are loud in Yard golf lore and execution always suspect with these dimpled balls.
Professional golf does reward athleticism on Thursday and Friday with the promise of the weekend. It is the grinders who overcome adversity and are in the hunt on Sunday. While Tiger did not make the cut, there was 59 year old Sir Tom, 26 years after winning his fifth British Open and last major, leading in the fourth quarter with two out in the ninth and the goalie pulled while the loyal fans were roaring.
On the 72nd hole, with his 275th shot of The Open, he proved for the world one of the universal axioms of golf that a well placed shot does not always end in a well place. Two shots later, he stubbed a nine foot putt two feet short just like we all have done with less at stake and with fewer people watching.
Watson aged about twenty years while walking down the 18th fairway Sunday under the canopy of adoring cheers from the Scottish faithful. He teed off like a 40 year old pounding a 270 yard drive. He sagged ten years when he realized the aforementioned well placed second shot had rolled off the back of the green. He tacked on five more rings to the fraternal tree when he putted nine feet past the hole on his third shot. Then while standing over a nine foot putt that could earn him a historic 6th British open, he added the last five before our eyes just before putting that stubby. He hopelessly searched for the Benjamin Button secret sauce through four miserable playoff holes and eventually creaked into the clubhouse defeated but not in defeat.
It was tragically historic. In a nation that reveres efforts but remembers results, Watson’s effort will overshadow the result for this fan.
Extra Innings: It was great to see Jason Schmidt pitch in his first game in two years. He won and also homered. It is a nice comeback story. The Yard is not sure he is going to win too many more with that 83 mile an hour fast ball.
What kind of reception did David Beckham expect after he tried to get out of his Galaxy contract? Is he as out of touch as that vapid woman he married?
St. Louis Ram defensive lineman Leonard Little killed a woman with his car with a BAC of .19 in 1998. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail and suspended for 9 games by the NFL. It cost him $125,000 in salary. Mr. Little has earned over $35 million since his arrest. Mike Vick committed a heinous crime as well but has lost three prime years of income, $20 million in signing bonus and he is bankrupt. Has he not paid a lot more for his crime than Little has for taking a human life?
We invited Tom in for dinner this week. He begged off but we agreed to circle back in the afterlife if his schedule frees up by then. Sunday at Turnberry was great theater and just because ABC Television could not figure out the satellite feed does not diminish Tom Watson’s heroic efforts.
Golf is humbling and requires more concentration than any other sport. Many sports enthusiasts might argue this point. If you have ever stood over a short putt with a three skin carry over on the line, you have a small sense of the demons Mr. Watson faced on Sunday. Golf is not about the athleticism. It is about dealing with adversity when the voices in your head want to review your failures while you are lining up that putt. The voices are loud in Yard golf lore and execution always suspect with these dimpled balls.
Professional golf does reward athleticism on Thursday and Friday with the promise of the weekend. It is the grinders who overcome adversity and are in the hunt on Sunday. While Tiger did not make the cut, there was 59 year old Sir Tom, 26 years after winning his fifth British Open and last major, leading in the fourth quarter with two out in the ninth and the goalie pulled while the loyal fans were roaring.
On the 72nd hole, with his 275th shot of The Open, he proved for the world one of the universal axioms of golf that a well placed shot does not always end in a well place. Two shots later, he stubbed a nine foot putt two feet short just like we all have done with less at stake and with fewer people watching.
Watson aged about twenty years while walking down the 18th fairway Sunday under the canopy of adoring cheers from the Scottish faithful. He teed off like a 40 year old pounding a 270 yard drive. He sagged ten years when he realized the aforementioned well placed second shot had rolled off the back of the green. He tacked on five more rings to the fraternal tree when he putted nine feet past the hole on his third shot. Then while standing over a nine foot putt that could earn him a historic 6th British open, he added the last five before our eyes just before putting that stubby. He hopelessly searched for the Benjamin Button secret sauce through four miserable playoff holes and eventually creaked into the clubhouse defeated but not in defeat.
It was tragically historic. In a nation that reveres efforts but remembers results, Watson’s effort will overshadow the result for this fan.
Extra Innings: It was great to see Jason Schmidt pitch in his first game in two years. He won and also homered. It is a nice comeback story. The Yard is not sure he is going to win too many more with that 83 mile an hour fast ball.
What kind of reception did David Beckham expect after he tried to get out of his Galaxy contract? Is he as out of touch as that vapid woman he married?
St. Louis Ram defensive lineman Leonard Little killed a woman with his car with a BAC of .19 in 1998. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail and suspended for 9 games by the NFL. It cost him $125,000 in salary. Mr. Little has earned over $35 million since his arrest. Mike Vick committed a heinous crime as well but has lost three prime years of income, $20 million in signing bonus and he is bankrupt. Has he not paid a lot more for his crime than Little has for taking a human life?
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Don't Cry for me Trevor Ariza...
Don’t cry for me Trevor Ariza…we kept our promise..You kept your distance…
Trevor and his agent figured that with those two steals and hitting 39% of his 3’s in the NBA Finals, local boy Ariza had earned more than a paltry $6 million per year for the Laker’s mid-level exemption. They were publicly upset with the Lakers making an offer after such Trevor’s spectacular five games in the finals. He was brilliant in the playoffs but he was average during the 82 games to get there. He was not a starter and it is not certain he would be next year even if Lamar leaves. Trevor, public outrage in LA gets you five years in Houston and a chalupa to be named later. You might want to check with Yao and see if he is playing next year because the reports are not good. And good luck getting a pass back from Tracy McGrady.
People forget that on national television in the finals of any professional sport extraordinary performances are exponentially remembered. It is like all statistics get multiplied by Pi for all of history. Trevor should maximize his return but he is going to miss LA. Mitch went all in on the first hand, sorry TA. Your agent did not read the situation quite right. Playing for $6 million a year for three years below the radar as the 3rd option on offense, in the town you played high school and college basketball is priceless.
In 1996, Larry Brown of the Dallas Cowboys was the MVP of the Super Bowl. He intercepted two passes and became the first cornerback ever to win the MVP of this game. He was a free agent and signed a lucrative contract with the un-lucrative Oakland Raiders. He played 12 more NFL games. Aaron Boone has secured employment every season since his historic walk off home run in game 7 of the 2003 ALCS against the Red Sox until this season.
Trevor, we thought you should have never left UCLA after your freshman year when you were injured, young and injured. You did play in all 82 games this season but started only 20. You are Bruin success story in the NBA and it would be nice to see you in the purple and gold. But Artest is an upgrade for less money, bro. For $18 million over three years, the Lakers get to see how many more championships Kobe can will them with the wingman he has never had. For $33 million over five years, the Rockets get to find out if your five games of fame this past June will be repeated nightly next season. Be careful about giving unproven 24 year olds huge five year guaranteed contracts in the NBA.
Ron Artest is the disaster that never happened. He is a tough NYC kid who went to Saint John’s and was 1st team All Big East. He played against Rip Hamilton and Lamar Odom in the NCAA tournament that year. While with the Pacers in 2004, he went into the stands to attack a drunk that threw a beer on him and a teammate. He has behaved since that infamous November night in Detroit, eccentricities notwithstanding. These days, he gets in more trouble with his mouth than his elbows. He is no saint but he is out of the news and down in the paint.
Compared to the sinewy Ariza, Artest is 6’7” and 260 pounds of inside out with an attitude. He averaged 16 points and 5 boards while shooting 40% from beyond the arc last season. He was a lock down defender and had fourteen games that he scored more than 24 points last year. Ariza averaged 9 points, 4.3 rebounds and scored over 20 points once all season. Ariza, Walton, and Fisher were all terrible for long stretches spotting up beyond the line for kick outs from Gasol, Odom and Kobe. Trevor hit his threes in the Finals but he would disappear for games at a stretch during the season. Grinders get you to the finals where heroes sometimes emerge.
Lamar, the Trevor deal was a clear shot across your Snickers bar. If you want to hang in LA, play the Ron Harper role for Phil, be a big dog in this great sports town while making solid Benjamins, have your agent pump the brakes a bit. You and Ronnie A. go way back to NY AAU ball together. This could be priceless and be careful, Mitch seems a little pissy and quick on the leverage. Sometimes you have to be careful in what you wish for in life.
"Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. Lou Gehrig July 4, 1939.
Trevor and his agent figured that with those two steals and hitting 39% of his 3’s in the NBA Finals, local boy Ariza had earned more than a paltry $6 million per year for the Laker’s mid-level exemption. They were publicly upset with the Lakers making an offer after such Trevor’s spectacular five games in the finals. He was brilliant in the playoffs but he was average during the 82 games to get there. He was not a starter and it is not certain he would be next year even if Lamar leaves. Trevor, public outrage in LA gets you five years in Houston and a chalupa to be named later. You might want to check with Yao and see if he is playing next year because the reports are not good. And good luck getting a pass back from Tracy McGrady.
People forget that on national television in the finals of any professional sport extraordinary performances are exponentially remembered. It is like all statistics get multiplied by Pi for all of history. Trevor should maximize his return but he is going to miss LA. Mitch went all in on the first hand, sorry TA. Your agent did not read the situation quite right. Playing for $6 million a year for three years below the radar as the 3rd option on offense, in the town you played high school and college basketball is priceless.
In 1996, Larry Brown of the Dallas Cowboys was the MVP of the Super Bowl. He intercepted two passes and became the first cornerback ever to win the MVP of this game. He was a free agent and signed a lucrative contract with the un-lucrative Oakland Raiders. He played 12 more NFL games. Aaron Boone has secured employment every season since his historic walk off home run in game 7 of the 2003 ALCS against the Red Sox until this season.
Trevor, we thought you should have never left UCLA after your freshman year when you were injured, young and injured. You did play in all 82 games this season but started only 20. You are Bruin success story in the NBA and it would be nice to see you in the purple and gold. But Artest is an upgrade for less money, bro. For $18 million over three years, the Lakers get to see how many more championships Kobe can will them with the wingman he has never had. For $33 million over five years, the Rockets get to find out if your five games of fame this past June will be repeated nightly next season. Be careful about giving unproven 24 year olds huge five year guaranteed contracts in the NBA.
Ron Artest is the disaster that never happened. He is a tough NYC kid who went to Saint John’s and was 1st team All Big East. He played against Rip Hamilton and Lamar Odom in the NCAA tournament that year. While with the Pacers in 2004, he went into the stands to attack a drunk that threw a beer on him and a teammate. He has behaved since that infamous November night in Detroit, eccentricities notwithstanding. These days, he gets in more trouble with his mouth than his elbows. He is no saint but he is out of the news and down in the paint.
Compared to the sinewy Ariza, Artest is 6’7” and 260 pounds of inside out with an attitude. He averaged 16 points and 5 boards while shooting 40% from beyond the arc last season. He was a lock down defender and had fourteen games that he scored more than 24 points last year. Ariza averaged 9 points, 4.3 rebounds and scored over 20 points once all season. Ariza, Walton, and Fisher were all terrible for long stretches spotting up beyond the line for kick outs from Gasol, Odom and Kobe. Trevor hit his threes in the Finals but he would disappear for games at a stretch during the season. Grinders get you to the finals where heroes sometimes emerge.
Lamar, the Trevor deal was a clear shot across your Snickers bar. If you want to hang in LA, play the Ron Harper role for Phil, be a big dog in this great sports town while making solid Benjamins, have your agent pump the brakes a bit. You and Ronnie A. go way back to NY AAU ball together. This could be priceless and be careful, Mitch seems a little pissy and quick on the leverage. Sometimes you have to be careful in what you wish for in life.
"Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. Lou Gehrig July 4, 1939.
Monday, June 29, 2009
The Day the Icons Died.
It was a rough week for cultural icons. The Gloved One and Farrah going down on the same day was cosmically tragic. This perpetual live coverage of death featured Michael Jackson with Farrah as a soft undercurrent for many of the Yard loyalists. As we watched the impromptu celebration in front of the original Jackson Family home in Gary, Indiana, we could not help but wonder who among them had any of Jackson’s classic songs on their iPod that they played in that hood the previous week?
We grew up watching Michael Jackson grow up. He turned out a bit different than the parameters of his gene pool and other social mores but his song deck is on this parental iPod. In 1970, twelve year old MJ was shaking it on the Ed Sullivan Show for the nation. On another November night in this seminal year, this thirteen year old was shaking before the tribunal council of my parents, Sister Leona and Mrs. Salisbury at Incarnation Elementary School. Jackson had defined his path on his way to becoming the King of Pop. My inquiring parents and educators wanted to know how much more of my youth would be wasted on idle musings and quixotic ramblings about nonsensical things in effort to elicit laughter. There were more questions than answers that night in 8th grade.
Farrah was a tougher blow. We shared an intimate relationship that went beyond the red bathing suit poster. It was introspective and special at a level that only 11 million other teenage boys were enjoying with that angel of Charlie. We broke it off before college without any hard feelings but her passing was a difficult day nonetheless.
Back at the Yard…Laker Fan, we cherish the championship; hope the doctor can keep the band together because the future looks bright. But it is time to lower the purple and yellow flags off the passenger windows of your car. We never quite got on board with Laker Flag Nation but supported the enthusiasm. It is time to store the flags for next May and get out the blue foam finger. Check that off for this holiday weekend.
L.A. Times and Bill Plaschke, enough about the outrage of Manny playing tune-up games in the minors. He paid more for his sins than any other MLB steroid offender ever. Barry, A-Rod, Clemens, Cansecidiot, and the rest of the unindicted legions who never paid a dime while garnering big salaries at ages when most Generation IX Hall of Famers have long retired without recompense. Ramirez is paid by the MLB game so he is not paid while playing in the minors. The Yard argues that is a boon for Albuquerque to have a player like Manram playing before the local fans. It was good for local and national baseball and Manny did not profit. He was docked fifty games pay and he is coming back. We do not need the mea culpa story or the reason just a home run threat in the three spot. We are more concerned about the chemistry of a young team that has played better without him than his confession of a sin most would commit given the skill and the chance.
While all current potential hall of fame players will have their career scrutinized for traces of performance enhancement, Donald Fehr and Bud Selig should be equally scrutinized for their glaucoma laden leadership. Commissioner Bud Selig and Donald Fehr should have asterisks next to their names when and if they come up for election to the hall. They were at the helm for the start of the abuse. Bud Selig became commissioner of the MLB in 1992. Don Fehr has been the Executive Director of the Major League Baseball Players association since 1985.
In March 2005, Buddy Selig testified before congress stating that he had no personal knowledge of any PED abuse and that the MLB owners supported the Drug Free Sports Act. Bud knew full well that the players association would fight mandatory testing and that no reliable tests for the HGH existed. He threw down the limp gauntlet towards a players association that was profiting as much as he and the others owners were. He had already cashed out of the pyramid scheme twelve months earlier as an owner. Bud Selig now earns $18.3 million per year as the commissioner of baseball, not bad for a car salesman from Milwaukee!
In May 2005, Fehr as has the head of the players union testified before congress that he felt that the Drug Free Sports Act was a threat to the nation’s most widely held beliefs?! We are still researching what widely held beliefs mandatory drug testing would subjugate these well paid athletes but his patriotic outrage has been well noted. Attorneys testifying to attorneys can be a clever exercise among the smartest a-holes in the room arguing about verbs. Fehr and the boys on the hill did not disappoint.
Don Fehr is retiring and garnering praise for his stalwart leadership. Bud can not be too far behind him. It is hard to imagine that these leaders of the owners and the players union had no idea of the size and scope of the performance enhancing drug issue. MLB Players salaries went from an average of $964,979 per year in 1995 after the last labor strike to $3.3 million this past year. Don Fehr made millions and fought drug testing for years. Bud bought the Brewers for $13 million and sold them for $180 million in 2004 before these scandals under his leadership became public. Turning a blind eye was minimally invasive and extremely profitable for Bud, Don and their minions.
The rain is famous for falling on the just and unjust alike, but if I had the management of such affairs I would rain softly and sweetly on the just, but if I caught a sample of the unjust out doors I would drown him. Mark Twain
We grew up watching Michael Jackson grow up. He turned out a bit different than the parameters of his gene pool and other social mores but his song deck is on this parental iPod. In 1970, twelve year old MJ was shaking it on the Ed Sullivan Show for the nation. On another November night in this seminal year, this thirteen year old was shaking before the tribunal council of my parents, Sister Leona and Mrs. Salisbury at Incarnation Elementary School. Jackson had defined his path on his way to becoming the King of Pop. My inquiring parents and educators wanted to know how much more of my youth would be wasted on idle musings and quixotic ramblings about nonsensical things in effort to elicit laughter. There were more questions than answers that night in 8th grade.
Farrah was a tougher blow. We shared an intimate relationship that went beyond the red bathing suit poster. It was introspective and special at a level that only 11 million other teenage boys were enjoying with that angel of Charlie. We broke it off before college without any hard feelings but her passing was a difficult day nonetheless.
Back at the Yard…Laker Fan, we cherish the championship; hope the doctor can keep the band together because the future looks bright. But it is time to lower the purple and yellow flags off the passenger windows of your car. We never quite got on board with Laker Flag Nation but supported the enthusiasm. It is time to store the flags for next May and get out the blue foam finger. Check that off for this holiday weekend.
L.A. Times and Bill Plaschke, enough about the outrage of Manny playing tune-up games in the minors. He paid more for his sins than any other MLB steroid offender ever. Barry, A-Rod, Clemens, Cansecidiot, and the rest of the unindicted legions who never paid a dime while garnering big salaries at ages when most Generation IX Hall of Famers have long retired without recompense. Ramirez is paid by the MLB game so he is not paid while playing in the minors. The Yard argues that is a boon for Albuquerque to have a player like Manram playing before the local fans. It was good for local and national baseball and Manny did not profit. He was docked fifty games pay and he is coming back. We do not need the mea culpa story or the reason just a home run threat in the three spot. We are more concerned about the chemistry of a young team that has played better without him than his confession of a sin most would commit given the skill and the chance.
While all current potential hall of fame players will have their career scrutinized for traces of performance enhancement, Donald Fehr and Bud Selig should be equally scrutinized for their glaucoma laden leadership. Commissioner Bud Selig and Donald Fehr should have asterisks next to their names when and if they come up for election to the hall. They were at the helm for the start of the abuse. Bud Selig became commissioner of the MLB in 1992. Don Fehr has been the Executive Director of the Major League Baseball Players association since 1985.
In March 2005, Buddy Selig testified before congress stating that he had no personal knowledge of any PED abuse and that the MLB owners supported the Drug Free Sports Act. Bud knew full well that the players association would fight mandatory testing and that no reliable tests for the HGH existed. He threw down the limp gauntlet towards a players association that was profiting as much as he and the others owners were. He had already cashed out of the pyramid scheme twelve months earlier as an owner. Bud Selig now earns $18.3 million per year as the commissioner of baseball, not bad for a car salesman from Milwaukee!
In May 2005, Fehr as has the head of the players union testified before congress that he felt that the Drug Free Sports Act was a threat to the nation’s most widely held beliefs?! We are still researching what widely held beliefs mandatory drug testing would subjugate these well paid athletes but his patriotic outrage has been well noted. Attorneys testifying to attorneys can be a clever exercise among the smartest a-holes in the room arguing about verbs. Fehr and the boys on the hill did not disappoint.
Don Fehr is retiring and garnering praise for his stalwart leadership. Bud can not be too far behind him. It is hard to imagine that these leaders of the owners and the players union had no idea of the size and scope of the performance enhancing drug issue. MLB Players salaries went from an average of $964,979 per year in 1995 after the last labor strike to $3.3 million this past year. Don Fehr made millions and fought drug testing for years. Bud bought the Brewers for $13 million and sold them for $180 million in 2004 before these scandals under his leadership became public. Turning a blind eye was minimally invasive and extremely profitable for Bud, Don and their minions.
The rain is famous for falling on the just and unjust alike, but if I had the management of such affairs I would rain softly and sweetly on the just, but if I caught a sample of the unjust out doors I would drown him. Mark Twain
Monday, June 15, 2009
Yes, we need a parade!
Kobe Bryant is a polarizing personality in LA sports history. He is loved more than hated but either emotion breathes fire and presence in the bearer. His basketball brilliance is at times overshadowed by his relationship with Shaq and a certain concierge in Eagle Colorado. Kobe Haters are as a rabid as his local supporters. Many of those haters are former Laker Fans who will never forget the aftermath of the debacle in Detroit. The Yard is a fan of his basketball brilliance and has a different perspective on the Shaq era. Regardless, Sunday night was a championship for the Lakers, history for Phil Jackson, vindication for Kobe and a reason to celebrate in LA.
In the past twelve months, Bryant has played in two NBA finals and the Olympic Games. His team lost to the hated Celtics last June and he wanted to face them this June. Kobe will be back to the Finals but the Celtics might not again during his era. Before time could heal the defeat by the hated, the Beijing Olympics called a new Dream Team. Basketball USA needed the US back to get back to the top against a formidable world. On a Saturday night last August, Kobe buried Pau Gasol and his Spanish team mates on the way to the gold medal. This past Sunday night, Kobe and Pau partnered to win the NBA gold medal. For many, that is great career. For Kobe, it was a great year. Yard speak suggests he is not done on the career thing.
While news pundits across the basin debate the merits of hosting a championship parade during this economic downturn, may we focus on the host and not the merit. The merit was earned in Orlando against an opponent that was dispatched with purpose and resolve. The city needs a champion and a rally and a damn parade…make it happen.
Jack, Leonardo, Dustin, and the rest of the celebrity fans that root for the Lakers while navigating the best camera angles, step up. Is it better to be photographed in soup kitchens or Darfur or to pony up some dough to Tony V and the team downtown to host this event? Probably not but LA needs a reason to celebrate that does not have a voter interest. Jerry Buss already committed $1 million from the Lakers to subsidize costs. If the city gets close, call Jeannie not Jerry for the last hundie. Dr. B is half asleep most of the time and Jeannie looks like a good time waiting to be financed.
You can argue that such frivolity is out of line with these dire economic times. Shall we wallow in despair and fret or embrace a heroic effort by a much maligned team in a beleaguered city that delivered in prime time to the nation? See the merit, find the hosts.
In the past twelve months, Bryant has played in two NBA finals and the Olympic Games. His team lost to the hated Celtics last June and he wanted to face them this June. Kobe will be back to the Finals but the Celtics might not again during his era. Before time could heal the defeat by the hated, the Beijing Olympics called a new Dream Team. Basketball USA needed the US back to get back to the top against a formidable world. On a Saturday night last August, Kobe buried Pau Gasol and his Spanish team mates on the way to the gold medal. This past Sunday night, Kobe and Pau partnered to win the NBA gold medal. For many, that is great career. For Kobe, it was a great year. Yard speak suggests he is not done on the career thing.
While news pundits across the basin debate the merits of hosting a championship parade during this economic downturn, may we focus on the host and not the merit. The merit was earned in Orlando against an opponent that was dispatched with purpose and resolve. The city needs a champion and a rally and a damn parade…make it happen.
Jack, Leonardo, Dustin, and the rest of the celebrity fans that root for the Lakers while navigating the best camera angles, step up. Is it better to be photographed in soup kitchens or Darfur or to pony up some dough to Tony V and the team downtown to host this event? Probably not but LA needs a reason to celebrate that does not have a voter interest. Jerry Buss already committed $1 million from the Lakers to subsidize costs. If the city gets close, call Jeannie not Jerry for the last hundie. Dr. B is half asleep most of the time and Jeannie looks like a good time waiting to be financed.
You can argue that such frivolity is out of line with these dire economic times. Shall we wallow in despair and fret or embrace a heroic effort by a much maligned team in a beleaguered city that delivered in prime time to the nation? See the merit, find the hosts.
The Har-Rah of it all!
The Yard was participating in the annual Har-rah Cup golf event at La Quinta this past week. This prestigious cup in the brainchild of three Yard brethren in a noble effort to distill wild male testosterone through an alcohol maze using $4 golf balls in pursuit of the elusive first cut of grass. Attempting to quell the voices in your head with Cuban Cigars and Colorado fire water, while fighting thirty mile an hour afternoon winds is not exactly our sweet spot for athletic prowess. Fortunately, there was a team competition and even the last kid picked sometimes ends up on a winner.
It has been a brilliant week in Los Angeles with the Lakers racing to a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals and struggling Andre Ethier hitting two walk off bombs to beat the world champion Phillies at the Ravine. The Lakers hit the wall just outside of the Magic Kingdom in Orlando last night but the Dodgers continue their take no prisoner’s bus ride through the NL West. And last night, Tim Floyd called Arizona to see if there was still an opening after he resigned from “the last job he will ever have” as head coach of the USC Trojans. Under the current tsunami of punishable allegations, the unemployed Floyd might be right about the last job thing.
From Orlando, the Yard is waiting for all of the “We will take it one game at a time” sound bites and the comparisons with all of the other 1-2 comebacks in the history of the NBA. Magic fan visit the Kingdom this week that is as close as you are going to get to a crown this season. The Magic shot 62.5% for the game and held the Lakers to 62% shooting from the foul line. Kobe shot 11 for 25 from the field which happens given the shots he takes. Kobe never shoots 50% from the free throw line as he did Tuesday night. All of those shitake mushrooms and the Magic squeak out a four point win that was not decided until the final moments. The Magic had to win game 3 because no team has ever come back from a 0-3 deficit and the franchise was 0-6 in the NBA Finals. They need to win Game 4 before we all start loosening our seat belts on the bandwagon. Kobe is not going to let that happen.
Lakers win game four with Kobe lighting up three different defenders for 36+. Lamar has a double/double and Dwight Howard does something stupid. Lakers do not show for game five so the good doctor can get another home game in LA and the championship bus rolls down Figueroa on their way to City Hall on June 23. Mark Madsen is already on board to provide the dance moves and Kobe has a DJ gig lined up in NYC night club so he can shout out to ask Shaq how his ass tastes!
Dodgers may not be able to come back to the pack in the NL West. The wolves are getting close to the campfire for some of these teams already. The Padres are a five game losing streak away from unloading Jake Peavey and Adrian Gonzales. Colorado and Arizona are already doing what they do best, rebuild. The Giants are the over achievers who will swoon now that Randy has his 300th win. Giant clean up hitter Benji Molina would not bat clean up for any other major league team. The Dodgers will need some adversity to get to their first World Series since 1988. Winning your division by double digits and coasting in September is a recipe for a first round upset. See Angel Team video from last year. The Dodgers need someone else to hit homeruns and another starter. An ornery Manny is coming back to fill the first job. The trading deadline has been Ned Colletti’s friend the last few years and there will be starters on the block. Adversity has a way of finding the front runners in Yard lore and the Dodgers have been walking on rose petals so far, Manny’s gonads notwithstanding. Many months to go but at least Nomar’s hamstrings are in Oakland this summer.
USC Fan, your wolves are getting close to the campfire as well. The myopic fire still burns bright with National Championships and March Madness victories spiking the flames of the chosen ones. The Reggie Bush civil suit looms with your erstwhile Heisman winner being deposed under oath to explain his relationship with those pesky sports agent plaintiffs this summer. Tim Floyd resigning is just the first domino in that maelstrom of allegations, payoffs and lack of institutional control. When all is quiet after the NBA playoffs, you do not want to be the lead story. USC Sports has already been on the front page of the LA Times twice in the past two weeks for all of the wrong reasons. Wait until the real games begin with the NCAA suits start sifting through the trash. USC will be on the front page of all of the nation’s newspapers for all of those same reasons.
It has been a brilliant week in Los Angeles with the Lakers racing to a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals and struggling Andre Ethier hitting two walk off bombs to beat the world champion Phillies at the Ravine. The Lakers hit the wall just outside of the Magic Kingdom in Orlando last night but the Dodgers continue their take no prisoner’s bus ride through the NL West. And last night, Tim Floyd called Arizona to see if there was still an opening after he resigned from “the last job he will ever have” as head coach of the USC Trojans. Under the current tsunami of punishable allegations, the unemployed Floyd might be right about the last job thing.
From Orlando, the Yard is waiting for all of the “We will take it one game at a time” sound bites and the comparisons with all of the other 1-2 comebacks in the history of the NBA. Magic fan visit the Kingdom this week that is as close as you are going to get to a crown this season. The Magic shot 62.5% for the game and held the Lakers to 62% shooting from the foul line. Kobe shot 11 for 25 from the field which happens given the shots he takes. Kobe never shoots 50% from the free throw line as he did Tuesday night. All of those shitake mushrooms and the Magic squeak out a four point win that was not decided until the final moments. The Magic had to win game 3 because no team has ever come back from a 0-3 deficit and the franchise was 0-6 in the NBA Finals. They need to win Game 4 before we all start loosening our seat belts on the bandwagon. Kobe is not going to let that happen.
Lakers win game four with Kobe lighting up three different defenders for 36+. Lamar has a double/double and Dwight Howard does something stupid. Lakers do not show for game five so the good doctor can get another home game in LA and the championship bus rolls down Figueroa on their way to City Hall on June 23. Mark Madsen is already on board to provide the dance moves and Kobe has a DJ gig lined up in NYC night club so he can shout out to ask Shaq how his ass tastes!
Dodgers may not be able to come back to the pack in the NL West. The wolves are getting close to the campfire for some of these teams already. The Padres are a five game losing streak away from unloading Jake Peavey and Adrian Gonzales. Colorado and Arizona are already doing what they do best, rebuild. The Giants are the over achievers who will swoon now that Randy has his 300th win. Giant clean up hitter Benji Molina would not bat clean up for any other major league team. The Dodgers will need some adversity to get to their first World Series since 1988. Winning your division by double digits and coasting in September is a recipe for a first round upset. See Angel Team video from last year. The Dodgers need someone else to hit homeruns and another starter. An ornery Manny is coming back to fill the first job. The trading deadline has been Ned Colletti’s friend the last few years and there will be starters on the block. Adversity has a way of finding the front runners in Yard lore and the Dodgers have been walking on rose petals so far, Manny’s gonads notwithstanding. Many months to go but at least Nomar’s hamstrings are in Oakland this summer.
USC Fan, your wolves are getting close to the campfire as well. The myopic fire still burns bright with National Championships and March Madness victories spiking the flames of the chosen ones. The Reggie Bush civil suit looms with your erstwhile Heisman winner being deposed under oath to explain his relationship with those pesky sports agent plaintiffs this summer. Tim Floyd resigning is just the first domino in that maelstrom of allegations, payoffs and lack of institutional control. When all is quiet after the NBA playoffs, you do not want to be the lead story. USC Sports has already been on the front page of the LA Times twice in the past two weeks for all of the wrong reasons. Wait until the real games begin with the NCAA suits start sifting through the trash. USC will be on the front page of all of the nation’s newspapers for all of those same reasons.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
It is 1988 all over again!
On this past Memorial Day, the Dodgers and Lakers were both in Denver playing against the locals. The Lakers had more at stake and unfortunately the Dodgers almost topped the Laker point total. The Nuggets tattooed the Lakers while the Dodgers were just beginning their sweep of the Rockies. After grinding out the much needed Game 3 victory to regain home court advantage, the Lake show eased into the barcalounger for Game 4 with the Laker bench being the best seat in the house. The Dodgers continued to beat up on the downtrodden while Manny’s testicles recover from the public humiliation.
It was1988 when many of the stones of Los Angeles sports legends paved the highway of Yard legacy. The Dodgers and Lakers both gnashed and churned towards remarkable championships. The Showtime Lakers became the first NBA Champion to repeat since the 1969 Celtics. The underdog Dodgers beat the heavily favored pioneers of the steroid era, the Oakland A’s. The Showtime Lakers were still playing at the Forum and it was the last championship in that building. The Dodgers were still owned by the O’Malley’s and it was the storied family’s six and final championship. For the Lakers, it was the end of era. For the Dodgers, it was an era that ended.
This legendary 1988 Laker team was lead by Magic, Kareem and Big Game James and was the most talented team in the NBA. These Hall of Famers could take over playoff games throughout their career and during this championship run. The 1988 Lakers grinded through three, seven games series towards their last championship of the Show Time era. This Magical team tortured the fans and looked miserable at times while getting slapped top side of the head by the Jazz, Mavericks and Pistons in ugly losses. And when they lost game one at home in the Finals to the youthful Isaiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Dennis Rodman lead Pistons and all was lost in the LA media and fan base. The Bad Boys of Detroit had arrived.
With the sunscreen of Los Angeles upon them, Show Time limped into Detroit and won the first game of the last Piston series at the Pontiac Silver Dome in the city that Obama now owns. With at the very least another Buss Family pay day on the line, the Lakers lost games 4 & 5 in Detroit by 11 and 25 respectively to force two more well attended games in Los Angeles. In the first game seven since the NBA adopted the 2-3-2 format, James Worthy scored 36 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and handed off 10 assists in a triple double that will never be repeated in either it’s impact or its grandeur to win game seven.
The 1988 Dodgers had a team batting average of .248 without a single regular hitting over .300. The Mets had several potential Hall of Famers who had not yet thrown their lives down the toilet doing blow. With Darryl, Doc, Keith and Mookie they played the Dodgers twelve times in 1988 and won 11 times. The Mets won game 1 at Chavez Ravine and Game 3 at Shea 8-4. In Game 4, Doc Gooden was overpowering this JV lineup through eight with a 4-2 lead. Then with one out, Mike Scioscia hit the game tying two run home run in the 9th. Kirk Gibson homered in the 12th with his only hit of the game. Winning the National West was awesome, upsetting the A’s in the World Series incredible, coming back and beating any team from New York, priceless.
In 2009, the sun stills blesses the sea while the mountains smile on the humans cursing in their cars. This Laker team showed us who they could be last night in Denver. They also showed us another version on Memorial Day. The Dodgers are going to come back to the pack at some point and fortunately that pack is the National League West. The Dodger kids have not faced much adversity just distraction. In a 162 game season, adversity is guaranteed. Resilience is not. Just ask Cleveland Fan. Grab a beer, find a good seat, it is going to be a fun LA summer.
It was1988 when many of the stones of Los Angeles sports legends paved the highway of Yard legacy. The Dodgers and Lakers both gnashed and churned towards remarkable championships. The Showtime Lakers became the first NBA Champion to repeat since the 1969 Celtics. The underdog Dodgers beat the heavily favored pioneers of the steroid era, the Oakland A’s. The Showtime Lakers were still playing at the Forum and it was the last championship in that building. The Dodgers were still owned by the O’Malley’s and it was the storied family’s six and final championship. For the Lakers, it was the end of era. For the Dodgers, it was an era that ended.
This legendary 1988 Laker team was lead by Magic, Kareem and Big Game James and was the most talented team in the NBA. These Hall of Famers could take over playoff games throughout their career and during this championship run. The 1988 Lakers grinded through three, seven games series towards their last championship of the Show Time era. This Magical team tortured the fans and looked miserable at times while getting slapped top side of the head by the Jazz, Mavericks and Pistons in ugly losses. And when they lost game one at home in the Finals to the youthful Isaiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Dennis Rodman lead Pistons and all was lost in the LA media and fan base. The Bad Boys of Detroit had arrived.
With the sunscreen of Los Angeles upon them, Show Time limped into Detroit and won the first game of the last Piston series at the Pontiac Silver Dome in the city that Obama now owns. With at the very least another Buss Family pay day on the line, the Lakers lost games 4 & 5 in Detroit by 11 and 25 respectively to force two more well attended games in Los Angeles. In the first game seven since the NBA adopted the 2-3-2 format, James Worthy scored 36 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and handed off 10 assists in a triple double that will never be repeated in either it’s impact or its grandeur to win game seven.
The 1988 Dodgers had a team batting average of .248 without a single regular hitting over .300. The Mets had several potential Hall of Famers who had not yet thrown their lives down the toilet doing blow. With Darryl, Doc, Keith and Mookie they played the Dodgers twelve times in 1988 and won 11 times. The Mets won game 1 at Chavez Ravine and Game 3 at Shea 8-4. In Game 4, Doc Gooden was overpowering this JV lineup through eight with a 4-2 lead. Then with one out, Mike Scioscia hit the game tying two run home run in the 9th. Kirk Gibson homered in the 12th with his only hit of the game. Winning the National West was awesome, upsetting the A’s in the World Series incredible, coming back and beating any team from New York, priceless.
In 2009, the sun stills blesses the sea while the mountains smile on the humans cursing in their cars. This Laker team showed us who they could be last night in Denver. They also showed us another version on Memorial Day. The Dodgers are going to come back to the pack at some point and fortunately that pack is the National League West. The Dodger kids have not faced much adversity just distraction. In a 162 game season, adversity is guaranteed. Resilience is not. Just ask Cleveland Fan. Grab a beer, find a good seat, it is going to be a fun LA summer.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Barkley and Bits
While watching the Lakers’ loss on ESPN, the biggest surprise was how miserable ESPN is at hosting an NBA playoff game. The Entertainment Sports Programming Network should really be the best at entertaining us with sports programming. The Yard is surprised that Turner Network Television would provide the superior entertainment of Yard sports programming for NBA basketball.
ESPN can seem almost as intrusive in sports programming as Google is on the internet. ESPN is on most of the day at the Yard World Headquarters. Sports Center rocks and when the Top 10 of anything plays, SC never disappoints. NBA Hoops should be ESPN in their sweet spot but not so much. TNT, the network that brings us Charmed and Angel delivers a better telecast that is far more entertaining than the self proclaimed experts of sports programming.
TNT’s Marv Albert and Doug Collins are the two best in the business. It is tough to forget the stories of Marv in a bra and panties singing show tunes but he can call an NBA game like few others and he is always dressed in a suit. We will never forget Doug Collins standing head down on the floor as the 1972 Olympic team was robbed of the Gold Medal or trying to corral the force of rookie Michael Jordan as an NBA rookie head coach in Chicago. Collins DNA and pedigree are delivered in understated brilliance on Marv’s broadcast canvas.
ESPN offers a hang dog Jeff Van Gundy, a half asleep Mark Jackson and the white dude we do not know. Van Gundy has a face made for radio and he talks like he has mouthful of saltines. The Yard can never get over the image of then Knick Coach Van Gundy hanging on to Alonzo Mourning’s calf while trying to break up a fight in the 1998 NBA Playoffs. The 5’9’’ 160 pound Van Gundy must have missed 5th grade playground 101A when he attempted to intervene in a fight between the 6’10” 260 Mourning and 6’6” 230 pound Larry Johnson. Mourning was trying to shake Van Gundy off his leg like dog doo on a tennis shoe. We must admit that Van Gundy was as tenacious as said canine fecal matter.
The TNT studio show with Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson could be a stand alone show. Sir Charles is at his sports casting as a reality show TV best each night. He is the most honest, humorous television commentator of any sport and the most entertaining of NBA hoops. The Yard does not condone all of Barkley’s antics but we would be his wing man any night in Las Vegas if asked. Kenny does not waste words while trying and keeping up with Barkley in the paint. Ernie Johnson is the white guy we all know. ESPN Studio Show, different people with similar shortcomings (see above).
The Lakers got outscored and out-tattooed last night. The next six games are not going to be pretty and there will be blood. Lakers will win game seven in Los Angeles after every Laker fan calls in a solid for the hope of a game seven. The Nuggets have more energy and more ink than the Lakers through the first two games. There is no Denver player that touches the ball who does not have a screen saver painted on their epidermis. And is it just us, or is Archie Bunker coaching Denver?
King James might have won the championship this evening while evening the series with the Magic. Find the last two seconds of the Magic-Cav’s game somewhere on You Tube. The last second is brilliant but you have to watch the last two seconds in order to fully witness the passing of the crown from Jordan to Lebron.
ESPN can seem almost as intrusive in sports programming as Google is on the internet. ESPN is on most of the day at the Yard World Headquarters. Sports Center rocks and when the Top 10 of anything plays, SC never disappoints. NBA Hoops should be ESPN in their sweet spot but not so much. TNT, the network that brings us Charmed and Angel delivers a better telecast that is far more entertaining than the self proclaimed experts of sports programming.
TNT’s Marv Albert and Doug Collins are the two best in the business. It is tough to forget the stories of Marv in a bra and panties singing show tunes but he can call an NBA game like few others and he is always dressed in a suit. We will never forget Doug Collins standing head down on the floor as the 1972 Olympic team was robbed of the Gold Medal or trying to corral the force of rookie Michael Jordan as an NBA rookie head coach in Chicago. Collins DNA and pedigree are delivered in understated brilliance on Marv’s broadcast canvas.
ESPN offers a hang dog Jeff Van Gundy, a half asleep Mark Jackson and the white dude we do not know. Van Gundy has a face made for radio and he talks like he has mouthful of saltines. The Yard can never get over the image of then Knick Coach Van Gundy hanging on to Alonzo Mourning’s calf while trying to break up a fight in the 1998 NBA Playoffs. The 5’9’’ 160 pound Van Gundy must have missed 5th grade playground 101A when he attempted to intervene in a fight between the 6’10” 260 Mourning and 6’6” 230 pound Larry Johnson. Mourning was trying to shake Van Gundy off his leg like dog doo on a tennis shoe. We must admit that Van Gundy was as tenacious as said canine fecal matter.
The TNT studio show with Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson could be a stand alone show. Sir Charles is at his sports casting as a reality show TV best each night. He is the most honest, humorous television commentator of any sport and the most entertaining of NBA hoops. The Yard does not condone all of Barkley’s antics but we would be his wing man any night in Las Vegas if asked. Kenny does not waste words while trying and keeping up with Barkley in the paint. Ernie Johnson is the white guy we all know. ESPN Studio Show, different people with similar shortcomings (see above).
The Lakers got outscored and out-tattooed last night. The next six games are not going to be pretty and there will be blood. Lakers will win game seven in Los Angeles after every Laker fan calls in a solid for the hope of a game seven. The Nuggets have more energy and more ink than the Lakers through the first two games. There is no Denver player that touches the ball who does not have a screen saver painted on their epidermis. And is it just us, or is Archie Bunker coaching Denver?
King James might have won the championship this evening while evening the series with the Magic. Find the last two seconds of the Magic-Cav’s game somewhere on You Tube. The last second is brilliant but you have to watch the last two seconds in order to fully witness the passing of the crown from Jordan to Lebron.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Cheerios and Steriods
Yard debate this week has centered around whether it was worse for Manny Ramirez to test positive for steroids, be suspended for 50 games, give up $7.5 million in salary and being publicly shamed as a cheat or disclosing to the world that his testicles had shrunk to a level that impaired sexual performance in an effort to divert this shame? Biology is not a Yard competency but we never throw our balls under the bus even when money is on the line.
The Yard has been very patient while the Obama administration has socialized the economy politically and on You Tube. Firing executives and pressuring bailed out companies to rescind bonuses has seemed onerous and manipulative but we watched in silent prudence. But this week when they went after Cherrios, that will just not be tolerated at the Yard. Cherrios are as American as apple pie and as innocuous as the milk we poured on these allegedly deceptive whole grain oats. We fear there will be Senate inquiries and law suits from people who tried to cure heart disease by eating Cherrios!
Laker fan let us all back away from the precipice of despair. The Rockets won a home game that mattered more to them while providing Dr. Buss another date night and an 18,000 fan payday on Sunday. In 1988, the Magic Johnson lead Lakers barely won game five at home against the Jazz. Michael Cooper buried his only basket of the night with five seconds left as the Lake Show took a 3-2 lead in the series. In the aftermath of that scintillating victory Hall of Famers Magic, Kareem, and Big Game James lost at the Salt Palace 108-80 two days later forcing game seven for another Buss Family payday. They gnashed through two more seven game series to finally win their fifth and final championship of the 80’s. This Laker team needs another hero besides Kobe but they will prevail in the west.
Manny abused his “Manny being Manny” hall pass. He was caught, fined and punished.
The Dodgers are going to weather the Manroid storm. The next few weeks will be critical to our seat on this fan band wagon but winning 2 of 3 from the Phillies on the road is a good start. We appreciate all of the input and comparisons offered by the Giant faithful who patronize the Yard. Yard stones had been thrown with extreme prejudice during the Barroid era and the recompense was expected.
After spending two years pretending Barroid never played for the team, there were the Giants trotting unrepentant Barry Bonds out to their adoring fans at the Dodger-Giant game on April 20th at AT&T field. The Yard covered the game and was surprised with the video highlights and hero worship of this indicted pumpkin head. Steroids might cost Barry the Hall of Fame but it never cost him a game, a nickel or a tear. He never conceded anything, offered an apology or any remorse. No one believes for a moment that he did not abuse steroids. Manny has been forced to admit, he will pay and his testicles will never forgive him. Perjury to the grand jury is more serious but apparently perjury to the Giant nation has been forgiven.
The Yard rarely gloats on predictions but USC basketball coach Timmy Floyd has some skid marks in his underwear to explain. Playing second fiddle to the legendary Trojan football program might cause one to take chances while competing with the legendary basketball program of your cross town rival. It is not a job for the weak of heart or scant of ethics. With Reggie Bush going to court in June and Tim against the ropes paying blood money, it could be a long summer at the U in the hood.
“Always do right—this will gratify some and astonish the rest” Mark Twain
The Yard has been very patient while the Obama administration has socialized the economy politically and on You Tube. Firing executives and pressuring bailed out companies to rescind bonuses has seemed onerous and manipulative but we watched in silent prudence. But this week when they went after Cherrios, that will just not be tolerated at the Yard. Cherrios are as American as apple pie and as innocuous as the milk we poured on these allegedly deceptive whole grain oats. We fear there will be Senate inquiries and law suits from people who tried to cure heart disease by eating Cherrios!
Laker fan let us all back away from the precipice of despair. The Rockets won a home game that mattered more to them while providing Dr. Buss another date night and an 18,000 fan payday on Sunday. In 1988, the Magic Johnson lead Lakers barely won game five at home against the Jazz. Michael Cooper buried his only basket of the night with five seconds left as the Lake Show took a 3-2 lead in the series. In the aftermath of that scintillating victory Hall of Famers Magic, Kareem, and Big Game James lost at the Salt Palace 108-80 two days later forcing game seven for another Buss Family payday. They gnashed through two more seven game series to finally win their fifth and final championship of the 80’s. This Laker team needs another hero besides Kobe but they will prevail in the west.
Manny abused his “Manny being Manny” hall pass. He was caught, fined and punished.
The Dodgers are going to weather the Manroid storm. The next few weeks will be critical to our seat on this fan band wagon but winning 2 of 3 from the Phillies on the road is a good start. We appreciate all of the input and comparisons offered by the Giant faithful who patronize the Yard. Yard stones had been thrown with extreme prejudice during the Barroid era and the recompense was expected.
After spending two years pretending Barroid never played for the team, there were the Giants trotting unrepentant Barry Bonds out to their adoring fans at the Dodger-Giant game on April 20th at AT&T field. The Yard covered the game and was surprised with the video highlights and hero worship of this indicted pumpkin head. Steroids might cost Barry the Hall of Fame but it never cost him a game, a nickel or a tear. He never conceded anything, offered an apology or any remorse. No one believes for a moment that he did not abuse steroids. Manny has been forced to admit, he will pay and his testicles will never forgive him. Perjury to the grand jury is more serious but apparently perjury to the Giant nation has been forgiven.
The Yard rarely gloats on predictions but USC basketball coach Timmy Floyd has some skid marks in his underwear to explain. Playing second fiddle to the legendary Trojan football program might cause one to take chances while competing with the legendary basketball program of your cross town rival. It is not a job for the weak of heart or scant of ethics. With Reggie Bush going to court in June and Tim against the ropes paying blood money, it could be a long summer at the U in the hood.
“Always do right—this will gratify some and astonish the rest” Mark Twain
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Historic JuJu
Weeding through Ashton’s twitters and life when the warranty needs to be renewed can compromise the best intentions. But brilliance is never compromised or ignored at the Yard. Yard Budget and DNA affords a narrow focus. With the Lakers losing Game one and the Dodgers winning game 26, there are bandwagons that need riders and stories that need to be told.
Last Saturday was a day at races, a night at the fights, and frigging history for a bunch of us. Horse Racing, Boxing and NASCAR are not usually in the Yard sweet spots for idle banter and clinical musings. It was a photo finish between Ricky Hatton and Mine That Bird. Mine That Bird raced to the wire in under two minutes while Ricky raced into Manny Pacquiao’s left hook in just under six minutes. Both outcomes were shockingly amazing in their poignant brevity before the nation.
A 50-1 shot, $9500 gelding, driven 21 hours to Churchill Downs in a trailer, ridden by an eight tooth, high school dropout to victory is historic in Kentucky Derby history. It is poetic in this nation’s history. Jockey Calvin Borel coaxed Mine That Bird from 30 lengths behind to win by three. The post race interview with trainer Chip Woolley was a lesson in “F--- you and yes this is the horse I came in on! You got a problem with that?” kind of moxie directed at the Kentucky Blue Bloods who were ripping their tickets in disbelief. In this country of long shots, we all cheer the underdog even when their nuts are whacked and they are tired from the drive. It is all about who rises above their situation to achieve greatness.
Ricky Hatton, England’s most recognizable sports hero since the colonies rode the shoulders of 25,000 screaming Brits storming into Las Vegas for a showdown with the next president of the Philippines Manny P. Hatton hit the mat with one second left in the second round. The 500 Limey’s that might have had enough money or available credit to see the knockout will most assuredly be thrilled with the 359 seconds of boxing that they witnessed. In this country, we like to see England’s ass get whipped whenever wherever and Ricky got wherevered whenever by Pacquiao Saturday night at the MGM Grand.
NASCAR is not a Yard sweet spot either but NASCAR Fan can not be ignored. When Carl Edwards scraped his car along the catch fence at Talladega going 180 mph on this same Saturday, the fans seated right against this fence barely flinched. If you study the footage on You Tube it seemed like five in the first row protected their beer first and three others scrambled to get metal shards for souvenirs. The rest just cheered. Any one of them can be a Yard wingman.
In the economic tidal wash where reality intersects with loyalty, the New York Mets christened Citi Field. Citibank subjugated with billions of Barack’s Benjamin’s paid the already committed $400 Million for the naming rights of the Met’s new baseball stadium. We all should take great civic pride in this grand conduit of baseball, beer and other related fast food that we will be paying for in the years ahead prior to the anguish of the impending senate hearings.
San Diego Padre Jody Gerut was the first batter ever at our new stadium. He homered. No human has ever done that in the home opener at a brand new stadium representing the visiting team in major league history. There is no scientific explanation for bad juju but that event is already featured on the bad juju Wiki site.
An Englishman is a person who does things because they have been done before. An American is a person who does things because they haven't been done before.
Mark Twain
Last Saturday was a day at races, a night at the fights, and frigging history for a bunch of us. Horse Racing, Boxing and NASCAR are not usually in the Yard sweet spots for idle banter and clinical musings. It was a photo finish between Ricky Hatton and Mine That Bird. Mine That Bird raced to the wire in under two minutes while Ricky raced into Manny Pacquiao’s left hook in just under six minutes. Both outcomes were shockingly amazing in their poignant brevity before the nation.
A 50-1 shot, $9500 gelding, driven 21 hours to Churchill Downs in a trailer, ridden by an eight tooth, high school dropout to victory is historic in Kentucky Derby history. It is poetic in this nation’s history. Jockey Calvin Borel coaxed Mine That Bird from 30 lengths behind to win by three. The post race interview with trainer Chip Woolley was a lesson in “F--- you and yes this is the horse I came in on! You got a problem with that?” kind of moxie directed at the Kentucky Blue Bloods who were ripping their tickets in disbelief. In this country of long shots, we all cheer the underdog even when their nuts are whacked and they are tired from the drive. It is all about who rises above their situation to achieve greatness.
Ricky Hatton, England’s most recognizable sports hero since the colonies rode the shoulders of 25,000 screaming Brits storming into Las Vegas for a showdown with the next president of the Philippines Manny P. Hatton hit the mat with one second left in the second round. The 500 Limey’s that might have had enough money or available credit to see the knockout will most assuredly be thrilled with the 359 seconds of boxing that they witnessed. In this country, we like to see England’s ass get whipped whenever wherever and Ricky got wherevered whenever by Pacquiao Saturday night at the MGM Grand.
NASCAR is not a Yard sweet spot either but NASCAR Fan can not be ignored. When Carl Edwards scraped his car along the catch fence at Talladega going 180 mph on this same Saturday, the fans seated right against this fence barely flinched. If you study the footage on You Tube it seemed like five in the first row protected their beer first and three others scrambled to get metal shards for souvenirs. The rest just cheered. Any one of them can be a Yard wingman.
In the economic tidal wash where reality intersects with loyalty, the New York Mets christened Citi Field. Citibank subjugated with billions of Barack’s Benjamin’s paid the already committed $400 Million for the naming rights of the Met’s new baseball stadium. We all should take great civic pride in this grand conduit of baseball, beer and other related fast food that we will be paying for in the years ahead prior to the anguish of the impending senate hearings.
San Diego Padre Jody Gerut was the first batter ever at our new stadium. He homered. No human has ever done that in the home opener at a brand new stadium representing the visiting team in major league history. There is no scientific explanation for bad juju but that event is already featured on the bad juju Wiki site.
An Englishman is a person who does things because they have been done before. An American is a person who does things because they haven't been done before.
Mark Twain
Monday, April 20, 2009
Boat Racing at Chavez Ravine
The first daughter of the Yard could probably provide valuable skills to the Obama administration in these turbulent times. The way that she negotiates the terms and conditions of all of our deals are truly remarkable. For example, she celebrated her 21st birthday this past March. To honor her first beer and the passing on of her fake ID, she felt a party bus was in order for 30 of her closest friends. She consulted with finance and indicated that her mother, brother and this author could each pitch in a “couple of hundred” towards the cost of the bus. Friday, the Yard was notified that our “couple of hundred” to be pitched in was actually $400. Daughter let us know that “a couple of hundred” was actually $300 and she needed an extra hundred to cover a motherly shortfall. It sounded like the way the AIG deal had been negotiated behind closed doors. The Yard did have a Party Bus stimulus package earmarked on one bill before finance. So this deal should get funded but damn, she could provide counsel to GM. They may still go down but not without a party bus!
This is the season the Dodgers make it back to the World Series for the first time since the magical year of 1988. This Yard prognostication might be a bit premature and injuries to pitching arms and Manny’s psyche could derail this team before the October sun shines. Manny on a one year deal and Orlando Hudson on similar terms will help carry this team for the summer and post season. The young pitching that had been a question mark has been outstanding with Chad Billingsley emerging as the ace. Winning eight in a row against their western division opponents, closing out a 6-0 first home stand and out scoring the opposition 50-17 during that home stand have band wagons shined, polished and ready for a long ride this summer. It always is amazing in baseball how it seems like the teams with the most potential free agents have the best years.
Orlando Hudson at second base was a significant upgrade over Officer Kent. The Yard loved future Hall of Famer Jeff Kent’s work ethic, grit and porn star mustache. We loved that he stood up to Barry Bonds while with the Giants. Kent would never again hit 20 homeruns in a season and he had the defensive range of the Lincoln Memorial. Hudson makes the pitching better with his defensive prowess. He is penciled in the batting order in the #2 spot and he hit .542 for the home stand.
The $25 million the Dodgers the Dodgers are paying Manny Ramirez this year were earned from the on deck circle on Saturday afternoon. Manny had already homered in his first two at bats against Rockie “Ace” Aaron Cook. Andre Ethier was working a 3-1count with two out and two and the dreaded one on deck this afternoon. Mr. Cook did not want to see Manram in the box with the based jacked. So he reared back and threw when he needed to pitch. His throw to Andre was parked in the right field seats while Manny smiled his way to the batters box.
The best part of this Dodger opening week was sweeping the San Francisco Giants. Walter O’Malley convinced Giant owner Howard Stoneman to follow the Dodgers west in 1958. The Giants had won their 5th World Championship in 1954. The Dodgers won their first in 1955. The National League needed at least two teams in the west and no team but the Yankees were ever going to garner the heart of NYC. Who knew that the Dodgers would win five championships and the Giants would never win another since their moves in 1958?
The Yard despises all sports that have San Francisco somewhere in their nomenclature. When the discussion is about the moribund Giants, Giant Fan’s first response is to remind us all of the football 49ers history. San Francisco Green Bloods wax and wane about the miracle years of the 49ers under Bill Walsh, Joe Montana and Steve Young. The next argument about their baseball malfeasance is the lack of professional football in Los Angeles. SF Fan, stop, we know there is no professional football in Los Angeles. This is baseball season and yours is almost over.
If you all want to go down that rat hole, show us evidence of professional football in the Bay Area?! Los Angeles has won as many Super Bowls as San Francisco or Oakland since 1996 and LA does not have or need an NFL team to accomplish that. This is a world of what have you done for me lately and the city by the bay is living on borrowed legends. The last football championship was fifteen years ago and the last playoff appearance was seven years ago. The Giants have never won a Championship since they have been in the City. The Giants uniform colors are made for October but they will be mathematically eliminated from the pennant race by the end of May. It will be another year of fine Cabernet, garlic fries and blown leads in the China Basin.
"The coldest winter I ever saw was the summer I spent in San Francisco." Mark Twain
This is the season the Dodgers make it back to the World Series for the first time since the magical year of 1988. This Yard prognostication might be a bit premature and injuries to pitching arms and Manny’s psyche could derail this team before the October sun shines. Manny on a one year deal and Orlando Hudson on similar terms will help carry this team for the summer and post season. The young pitching that had been a question mark has been outstanding with Chad Billingsley emerging as the ace. Winning eight in a row against their western division opponents, closing out a 6-0 first home stand and out scoring the opposition 50-17 during that home stand have band wagons shined, polished and ready for a long ride this summer. It always is amazing in baseball how it seems like the teams with the most potential free agents have the best years.
Orlando Hudson at second base was a significant upgrade over Officer Kent. The Yard loved future Hall of Famer Jeff Kent’s work ethic, grit and porn star mustache. We loved that he stood up to Barry Bonds while with the Giants. Kent would never again hit 20 homeruns in a season and he had the defensive range of the Lincoln Memorial. Hudson makes the pitching better with his defensive prowess. He is penciled in the batting order in the #2 spot and he hit .542 for the home stand.
The $25 million the Dodgers the Dodgers are paying Manny Ramirez this year were earned from the on deck circle on Saturday afternoon. Manny had already homered in his first two at bats against Rockie “Ace” Aaron Cook. Andre Ethier was working a 3-1count with two out and two and the dreaded one on deck this afternoon. Mr. Cook did not want to see Manram in the box with the based jacked. So he reared back and threw when he needed to pitch. His throw to Andre was parked in the right field seats while Manny smiled his way to the batters box.
The best part of this Dodger opening week was sweeping the San Francisco Giants. Walter O’Malley convinced Giant owner Howard Stoneman to follow the Dodgers west in 1958. The Giants had won their 5th World Championship in 1954. The Dodgers won their first in 1955. The National League needed at least two teams in the west and no team but the Yankees were ever going to garner the heart of NYC. Who knew that the Dodgers would win five championships and the Giants would never win another since their moves in 1958?
The Yard despises all sports that have San Francisco somewhere in their nomenclature. When the discussion is about the moribund Giants, Giant Fan’s first response is to remind us all of the football 49ers history. San Francisco Green Bloods wax and wane about the miracle years of the 49ers under Bill Walsh, Joe Montana and Steve Young. The next argument about their baseball malfeasance is the lack of professional football in Los Angeles. SF Fan, stop, we know there is no professional football in Los Angeles. This is baseball season and yours is almost over.
If you all want to go down that rat hole, show us evidence of professional football in the Bay Area?! Los Angeles has won as many Super Bowls as San Francisco or Oakland since 1996 and LA does not have or need an NFL team to accomplish that. This is a world of what have you done for me lately and the city by the bay is living on borrowed legends. The last football championship was fifteen years ago and the last playoff appearance was seven years ago. The Giants have never won a Championship since they have been in the City. The Giants uniform colors are made for October but they will be mathematically eliminated from the pennant race by the end of May. It will be another year of fine Cabernet, garlic fries and blown leads in the China Basin.
"The coldest winter I ever saw was the summer I spent in San Francisco." Mark Twain
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Running shotgun with Jim Nance.
The Yard would have loved to have been running shot gun with Jim Nance this week. The venerable sportscaster from CBS called the NCAA Basketball Championship on Monday night in Detroit. Then he high tailed it to Augusta, Georgia to anchor CBS’s coverage of the Masters Golf tournament. Gentleman Jim is among the best in business with a story to tell that never interferes with the one that we read with our eyes.
The Michigan State Spartans played the North Carolina Tar Heels last Monday night with the hopes on an entire state pining for an escape. On a cold dreary night in Detroit, with 60,000 State fans among the record 72,000, the Spartans hoped to lead this city, even for just one night, away from the other story being lived outside the stadium.
The Spartans were an excellent story radiating the hard scrabble veneer of their coach Tim Izzo and the hopes of their state. They grinded down USC and then boat raced #1 Louisville back to Lou’a’ville or so the name goes in Kentucky. With cautious hope, the Spartans faced the heavily favored UNC Tar heels. On this night, the Spartan would cave like a car executive before a senate sub-committee. They were down 14 with five minutes gone. It was the last game of this outstanding tournament and possibly the worst. The Yard takes no solace in choosing the dastardly Tar Heels to win. But finishing in the chips for the first time in our brief pool history was kind of nice.
We lost out to Spuddy in the Yard pool. We would have felt better if Spuddy had not signed up for the pool nine minutes before the cut off. The last person to join the Yard pool wins?! The first guy to join the pool finished 52nd. This is just another tidbit from the Yard. You can add it to the mix while co-relating your Ouija Boards, tea leaves, and tournament blogs to make those picks. Spuddy also picked Angel Cabrera and Kenny Perry in the Masters so we are going to Vegas with him in the near term.
Masters coverage dominates the weekend at the Yard. The pageantry, the bigotry, and the Azalea’s make the Masters a unique blend of historic golf played under the canopy of southern discrimination. Augusta National is happily ensconced in the south of the 1800’s while hosting the most prestigious golf event of this or any era. The Yard does not support Augusta National Country Club’s social mores but we watch this golf event every year with vigilance and hope to attend the event before the dirt nap.
This event has melted many hopes and dreams during the back nine on Sunday. There are no other nine holes of television viewing that will define a career with the outcome. Larry Mize holed out from 140 ft on the second play off hole to beat Norman in the 1987 Masters. Larry Mize never made another shot like that or won another Major but every golfer remembers that shot. Raymond Floyd was cruising towards golf history in 1990. Raymond was trying to become the only golfer to win a major in four decades. With the ghosts of Amen corner holding services, Floyd faded and lost in the playoff to Nick Faldo. History called on Ray that day but Nick answered. Greg Norman’s melt down in the 1996 will be studied by sports psychologists for decades more. Many will not remember that Nick Faldo won his second green jacket that afternoon in Georgia. We all knew remember who lost in his last real chance. Easter Sunday was no exception as everyone tried to lose the event everyone wants to win.
College Basketball is over except for the early declarations to the NBA. This is the NCAA Sanction period in College football. College football between the end spring football and August 1 is really quiet. If your school is in the news at this time, it is never good news and will usually include the words “alleged violation” and “We can not comment at this time”. The NCAA gave USC a two-fer when they combined the Reggie Bush and OJ Mayo’s investigations into one circus this past week. It should be an interesting off-season at the U in the hood.
With four games left in the regular season, NBA hoops is still six weeks from being relevant. The Lakers will not earn the best record, it does not matter. The Cavaliers should clinch home court throughout the playoffs this weekend. The Lakers need home court against the Celtics which they have already earned if they were to meet them in the finals. The Cavaliers are 38-1 at home but that one loss was Kobe and Company during the last game of a 6-0 road trip. Possible MVP LeBron James was 5 for 20 in that game at home. Boston Garden has enough demons from our youths that it can suffocate the entire Laker nation. Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, not so much.
Manny Ramirez is the most exciting personality in Los Angeles. Every one stops what they are doing when they are able to watch him hit. The intensity that Manny displays at the plate is completely invisible in most other aspects of his game. He is a hitter pure and simple. Manny’s practice habits are amazing and well documented. It is all about hitting. We have never heard of Manny shagging extra fly balls or practicing hitting cut off throws. LA needs a sports personality that has a real personality. Whatever personality Kobe had, was sodomized in a hotel room in Denver several years back. Manny has captured our attention. Manny could be a car crash waiting to happen but in LA, we watch car crashes like no other city in the nation. Manny being Manny is way more fun than Kobe being Kobe.
The Yard is trying to find a ticket stub from the Sacramento Kings vs. Los Angeles Clippers game last Friday in Sacramento. It was the Blake Griffin sweepstakes. Score one for the Kings losing to the Clips by 31 at home.
If at first you don’t succeed, find out if the loser gets anything. William Lyon Phelps
The Michigan State Spartans played the North Carolina Tar Heels last Monday night with the hopes on an entire state pining for an escape. On a cold dreary night in Detroit, with 60,000 State fans among the record 72,000, the Spartans hoped to lead this city, even for just one night, away from the other story being lived outside the stadium.
The Spartans were an excellent story radiating the hard scrabble veneer of their coach Tim Izzo and the hopes of their state. They grinded down USC and then boat raced #1 Louisville back to Lou’a’ville or so the name goes in Kentucky. With cautious hope, the Spartans faced the heavily favored UNC Tar heels. On this night, the Spartan would cave like a car executive before a senate sub-committee. They were down 14 with five minutes gone. It was the last game of this outstanding tournament and possibly the worst. The Yard takes no solace in choosing the dastardly Tar Heels to win. But finishing in the chips for the first time in our brief pool history was kind of nice.
We lost out to Spuddy in the Yard pool. We would have felt better if Spuddy had not signed up for the pool nine minutes before the cut off. The last person to join the Yard pool wins?! The first guy to join the pool finished 52nd. This is just another tidbit from the Yard. You can add it to the mix while co-relating your Ouija Boards, tea leaves, and tournament blogs to make those picks. Spuddy also picked Angel Cabrera and Kenny Perry in the Masters so we are going to Vegas with him in the near term.
Masters coverage dominates the weekend at the Yard. The pageantry, the bigotry, and the Azalea’s make the Masters a unique blend of historic golf played under the canopy of southern discrimination. Augusta National is happily ensconced in the south of the 1800’s while hosting the most prestigious golf event of this or any era. The Yard does not support Augusta National Country Club’s social mores but we watch this golf event every year with vigilance and hope to attend the event before the dirt nap.
This event has melted many hopes and dreams during the back nine on Sunday. There are no other nine holes of television viewing that will define a career with the outcome. Larry Mize holed out from 140 ft on the second play off hole to beat Norman in the 1987 Masters. Larry Mize never made another shot like that or won another Major but every golfer remembers that shot. Raymond Floyd was cruising towards golf history in 1990. Raymond was trying to become the only golfer to win a major in four decades. With the ghosts of Amen corner holding services, Floyd faded and lost in the playoff to Nick Faldo. History called on Ray that day but Nick answered. Greg Norman’s melt down in the 1996 will be studied by sports psychologists for decades more. Many will not remember that Nick Faldo won his second green jacket that afternoon in Georgia. We all knew remember who lost in his last real chance. Easter Sunday was no exception as everyone tried to lose the event everyone wants to win.
College Basketball is over except for the early declarations to the NBA. This is the NCAA Sanction period in College football. College football between the end spring football and August 1 is really quiet. If your school is in the news at this time, it is never good news and will usually include the words “alleged violation” and “We can not comment at this time”. The NCAA gave USC a two-fer when they combined the Reggie Bush and OJ Mayo’s investigations into one circus this past week. It should be an interesting off-season at the U in the hood.
With four games left in the regular season, NBA hoops is still six weeks from being relevant. The Lakers will not earn the best record, it does not matter. The Cavaliers should clinch home court throughout the playoffs this weekend. The Lakers need home court against the Celtics which they have already earned if they were to meet them in the finals. The Cavaliers are 38-1 at home but that one loss was Kobe and Company during the last game of a 6-0 road trip. Possible MVP LeBron James was 5 for 20 in that game at home. Boston Garden has enough demons from our youths that it can suffocate the entire Laker nation. Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, not so much.
Manny Ramirez is the most exciting personality in Los Angeles. Every one stops what they are doing when they are able to watch him hit. The intensity that Manny displays at the plate is completely invisible in most other aspects of his game. He is a hitter pure and simple. Manny’s practice habits are amazing and well documented. It is all about hitting. We have never heard of Manny shagging extra fly balls or practicing hitting cut off throws. LA needs a sports personality that has a real personality. Whatever personality Kobe had, was sodomized in a hotel room in Denver several years back. Manny has captured our attention. Manny could be a car crash waiting to happen but in LA, we watch car crashes like no other city in the nation. Manny being Manny is way more fun than Kobe being Kobe.
The Yard is trying to find a ticket stub from the Sacramento Kings vs. Los Angeles Clippers game last Friday in Sacramento. It was the Blake Griffin sweepstakes. Score one for the Kings losing to the Clips by 31 at home.
If at first you don’t succeed, find out if the loser gets anything. William Lyon Phelps
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Mr. Floyd should have gone to Tucson and other stories.
The Yard was fortunate enough to cover the last three Final Fours. We did not exactly have a Press Pass last year while we watched the game through the Hubble Telescope in Section 324 of the Alamodome. It was great Final Four and the Memphis Kansas game was one for the ages. We did question Memphis’ 64% Free throw shooting all year. It really never mattered until the last 75 seconds of the National Championship Game. Tigers make 3 of 5 and Memphis raises the flag and Johnny C might still be there this AM. Los Tigres clanked 4 of 5 and let Kansas tie the game and beat them in OT.
The Bruins did not make a 4th consecutive trip to the finals. That would have been glorious and unprecedented in recent history. But after Indie, Atlanta and San Antonio, Detroit in early April did not sound like a great destination for us anyway. It is 45 degrees with a chance of showers today. Detroit is not just the murder capital of the nation any longer, it is the swirling vortex of bailed out dreams and stimulus package nightmares.
The Yard likes Michigan State into the Finals. Tom Izzo is a great story for another blog. He has coached every senior he has ever graduated to the Final Four. That is more amazing than the title he won in 2000. UCONN has the 7’3” Thabeet that Jim Calhoun recruited out of a village in Africa. Some people ask about Calhoun’s salary, the Yard questions their recruiting budget! Get Thabeet in foul trouble and the Huskies are a far different team. The Yard despises UNC but we have them winning the dance. Villanova is a great story and they took down the Bruins, so we are glad they went this far. Nova Coach Jay Wright idolizes UNC Coach Roy Williams. That usually spells defeat for the star struck at their first dance. Of course, that and a veteran UNC team that was in the Finals last year.
Tim Floyd considering the University of Arizona job was a shocker to the Yard on several levels. This is the second straight season where Floyd has pledged his allegiance to the Cardinal and Gold stating that this “is my last job” only to entertain another job as he did with LSU last year. Floyd was pleading with his underclassmen to remain at the university so they could do something special. His remarks were made at the team sports banquet earlier this week. Nice words from Timmy, funny thing though the LA times reported he was considering the Wildcat job in the morning paper the very next day. Once again when it comes to Floyd, nothing illegal but it is best to be up wind from his activities.
When did the UofA job become such a big deal? Lute Olsen was a big deal and he shepherded that program for 67 years or something. Arizona was not on any radar screen before he arrived and what he accomplished is nothing short of remarkable. His exit strategy these past three years has been a bit messy but it does not diminish his resume. But once Lute is gone, so is the only face this program has ever had. Wildcat Fan, Rick Pitino is not coming. Tim Floyd is not coming. Steve Lavin is available.
Of course, the Yard can not blame Coach Floyd. USC will always be a football school. Basketball has never been embraced by the Myopians who can be found on fall Saturdays at the Coliseum in garish colors. 92,000 show up for every USC home game. In the sparkling new Galen Center that had to be built for USC to be competitive in basketball or so the story goes, 5400 on average attended the basketball games this year. UCLA averages 10,000+ in ancient Pauley Pavilion and 65,000 still go to the football games at this basketball school.
Trying to gain mind share at this football school causes Tim to take chances. Being the underdog every year to your legendary cross town rival has Tim trolling in murky waters as well. The OJ Mayo’s and Demar DeRozan’s of one and done fame at USC were never recruited anywhere significant because of their baggage and potential liability. What elite school lets a player tell them that they will only come if their best friend can be on the team also? USC did for DeRozan. Elite programs will not waste their time with these Kwame Brown starter kits who will give their compliance department heart burn long after they are gone.
Renardo Sydney from Fairfax High School is the next one of those problem children. USC is awaiting his taking of the SAT test. The Yard does not know many high school seniors who had not taken the SAT test by April 2?! We are confident Renardo is pulling all nighters for the test so he will get that one year at USC completed before he is 23 like his predecessor Taj Gibson. Mr. Sydney showed his USC colors wearing 2 carat diamond stud earrings when he announced his intention to enroll at USC.
Tim, you should have taken the Arizona job. Arizona is a basketball school. Arizona draws over 14,000 a game for hoops and is usually amongst the leaders every year in attendance and performance. The McHale center is one of the toughest places to play in the conference and in the nation. With Lute’s stumbling out the door the past two seasons, the bar has been lowered below the replacing a legend rung. The legend took a hit and the job did as well. And every athlete who wants to can get into school and can stay in school until the NBA calls. Tim, have fun winning 20 games in front of 5000 people and being a six seed in the dance every couple of years. Mr. Renardo’s agent is on the other line, got to run…
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.- Mark Twain
The Bruins did not make a 4th consecutive trip to the finals. That would have been glorious and unprecedented in recent history. But after Indie, Atlanta and San Antonio, Detroit in early April did not sound like a great destination for us anyway. It is 45 degrees with a chance of showers today. Detroit is not just the murder capital of the nation any longer, it is the swirling vortex of bailed out dreams and stimulus package nightmares.
The Yard likes Michigan State into the Finals. Tom Izzo is a great story for another blog. He has coached every senior he has ever graduated to the Final Four. That is more amazing than the title he won in 2000. UCONN has the 7’3” Thabeet that Jim Calhoun recruited out of a village in Africa. Some people ask about Calhoun’s salary, the Yard questions their recruiting budget! Get Thabeet in foul trouble and the Huskies are a far different team. The Yard despises UNC but we have them winning the dance. Villanova is a great story and they took down the Bruins, so we are glad they went this far. Nova Coach Jay Wright idolizes UNC Coach Roy Williams. That usually spells defeat for the star struck at their first dance. Of course, that and a veteran UNC team that was in the Finals last year.
Tim Floyd considering the University of Arizona job was a shocker to the Yard on several levels. This is the second straight season where Floyd has pledged his allegiance to the Cardinal and Gold stating that this “is my last job” only to entertain another job as he did with LSU last year. Floyd was pleading with his underclassmen to remain at the university so they could do something special. His remarks were made at the team sports banquet earlier this week. Nice words from Timmy, funny thing though the LA times reported he was considering the Wildcat job in the morning paper the very next day. Once again when it comes to Floyd, nothing illegal but it is best to be up wind from his activities.
When did the UofA job become such a big deal? Lute Olsen was a big deal and he shepherded that program for 67 years or something. Arizona was not on any radar screen before he arrived and what he accomplished is nothing short of remarkable. His exit strategy these past three years has been a bit messy but it does not diminish his resume. But once Lute is gone, so is the only face this program has ever had. Wildcat Fan, Rick Pitino is not coming. Tim Floyd is not coming. Steve Lavin is available.
Of course, the Yard can not blame Coach Floyd. USC will always be a football school. Basketball has never been embraced by the Myopians who can be found on fall Saturdays at the Coliseum in garish colors. 92,000 show up for every USC home game. In the sparkling new Galen Center that had to be built for USC to be competitive in basketball or so the story goes, 5400 on average attended the basketball games this year. UCLA averages 10,000+ in ancient Pauley Pavilion and 65,000 still go to the football games at this basketball school.
Trying to gain mind share at this football school causes Tim to take chances. Being the underdog every year to your legendary cross town rival has Tim trolling in murky waters as well. The OJ Mayo’s and Demar DeRozan’s of one and done fame at USC were never recruited anywhere significant because of their baggage and potential liability. What elite school lets a player tell them that they will only come if their best friend can be on the team also? USC did for DeRozan. Elite programs will not waste their time with these Kwame Brown starter kits who will give their compliance department heart burn long after they are gone.
Renardo Sydney from Fairfax High School is the next one of those problem children. USC is awaiting his taking of the SAT test. The Yard does not know many high school seniors who had not taken the SAT test by April 2?! We are confident Renardo is pulling all nighters for the test so he will get that one year at USC completed before he is 23 like his predecessor Taj Gibson. Mr. Sydney showed his USC colors wearing 2 carat diamond stud earrings when he announced his intention to enroll at USC.
Tim, you should have taken the Arizona job. Arizona is a basketball school. Arizona draws over 14,000 a game for hoops and is usually amongst the leaders every year in attendance and performance. The McHale center is one of the toughest places to play in the conference and in the nation. With Lute’s stumbling out the door the past two seasons, the bar has been lowered below the replacing a legend rung. The legend took a hit and the job did as well. And every athlete who wants to can get into school and can stay in school until the NBA calls. Tim, have fun winning 20 games in front of 5000 people and being a six seed in the dance every couple of years. Mr. Renardo’s agent is on the other line, got to run…
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.- Mark Twain
Saturday, March 28, 2009
McDonald's All American Madness
It is a bittersweet Madness this March at the Yard. Our picks in the Yard pool have performed admirably but our Bruins did not make the second weekend of the event. We saw it that way as well but it still pains the Yard to be painted into that difficult intersection where DNA meets reality. We made the right choice but it still feels hollow.
Duke getting spanked by Villanova did ease some of the pain. Duke has seven McDonald’s All-Americans and has never been a Yard favorite. NBA legacy guard, Gerald Henderson, shot 1 for 14 in the loss to Villanova. If he went 7 for 14, Duke still loses but missing 13 of 14 was not only disastrous, it is a difficult thing to do. Duke has lost to a lower seeded team each of the past five years. If there is a silver lining in these turbulent times, it is that.
Why do Duke and North Carolina get so many McDonald’s All-Americans? Both schools recruit well and have respected programs run by legendary coaches. In basketball, most top recruits commit before their senior year. It has been suggested by more than one source, that a recruit to either school has a better chance of being selected as a MCD All-American during their senior year because said recruit accepted a scholarship at either school during their junior year. And how does the corporation who super sized a fast food nation become synonymous with basketball excellence?
Duke lost in the 1999 finals to the Richard Hamilton lead UCONN Huskies. The Blue Devils were lead by sophomores Elton Brand, Corey Maggette and William Avery. With those returning stars, Duke would have been back to the Finals in 2000 to secure legendary Mike’s 3rd championship. Back then, all the little Dukies drank the Coach K blue Kool aid, got treated like rock stars by the Cameron Crazies, and stayed four years.
Elton Brand became the first Duke sophomore to declare early for the NBA draft. Corey and William followed him right out of the Blue Devil cocoon. That was the day the music died for Coach K. That 3rd championship would come in 2001 and another Final Four in 2004. But five years of early exits from the tournaments to teams like Virginia Commonwealth underscores the value of a Mickey D All-American these days. Do you want fries with that power forward?
The Yard applauds USC’s fine run through the Pac-10 tournament and into the second round of the tournament. The Trojans have three future NBA players and that is the magic number for collegiate success. Demar DeRozan will declare and be selected in the top half of the draft. Taj Gibson should declare because he is not going to survive another year in the class room.
Daniel Hackett may declare. He has started for two years at USC since walking on as a non-scholarship athlete at this $50,000 a year school. Daniel’s father was hired by USC the year before he graduated from high school. As the son of a USC employee, Daniel received a free scholarship and USC did not have to waste one of these precious scholarships on their starting point guard. Hackett walking on was fortuitous because USC did not have another scholarship to waste. Lil’ Romeo became the scholarship to be named later in DeRozan recruitment deal. The Yard is researching our data but we could not find too many other BFF Scholarships deals at other D1 schools. These are maneuvers within the NCAA rules. It just reeks a bit, that’s all!
The Yard salutes the unprecedented and steady efforts of this UCLA senior class. These seniors played in 18 NCAA tournament games. Their class played in three final fours in their four years. They never won the big game but this group accomplished more than any other class since the field expanded to 64 teams. Alfred already graduated and is in graduate school. Josh and Darren will walk with their class. May the returning UCLA freshman and sophomores embrace this legacy and finish what these blue and gold warriors re-ignited.
All Time March Madness Pool Winner: Rick Neuheisel. University of Washington coach Nehheisel wins the athletic department office pool for $5,000. Rick gets fired by UW for lying about winning the office pool. Rick sues UW and wins $4.5 million for being wrongfully terminated for lying about winning the office pool. $4.5 million is sweet but winning the office pool…priceless.
Duke getting spanked by Villanova did ease some of the pain. Duke has seven McDonald’s All-Americans and has never been a Yard favorite. NBA legacy guard, Gerald Henderson, shot 1 for 14 in the loss to Villanova. If he went 7 for 14, Duke still loses but missing 13 of 14 was not only disastrous, it is a difficult thing to do. Duke has lost to a lower seeded team each of the past five years. If there is a silver lining in these turbulent times, it is that.
Why do Duke and North Carolina get so many McDonald’s All-Americans? Both schools recruit well and have respected programs run by legendary coaches. In basketball, most top recruits commit before their senior year. It has been suggested by more than one source, that a recruit to either school has a better chance of being selected as a MCD All-American during their senior year because said recruit accepted a scholarship at either school during their junior year. And how does the corporation who super sized a fast food nation become synonymous with basketball excellence?
Duke lost in the 1999 finals to the Richard Hamilton lead UCONN Huskies. The Blue Devils were lead by sophomores Elton Brand, Corey Maggette and William Avery. With those returning stars, Duke would have been back to the Finals in 2000 to secure legendary Mike’s 3rd championship. Back then, all the little Dukies drank the Coach K blue Kool aid, got treated like rock stars by the Cameron Crazies, and stayed four years.
Elton Brand became the first Duke sophomore to declare early for the NBA draft. Corey and William followed him right out of the Blue Devil cocoon. That was the day the music died for Coach K. That 3rd championship would come in 2001 and another Final Four in 2004. But five years of early exits from the tournaments to teams like Virginia Commonwealth underscores the value of a Mickey D All-American these days. Do you want fries with that power forward?
The Yard applauds USC’s fine run through the Pac-10 tournament and into the second round of the tournament. The Trojans have three future NBA players and that is the magic number for collegiate success. Demar DeRozan will declare and be selected in the top half of the draft. Taj Gibson should declare because he is not going to survive another year in the class room.
Daniel Hackett may declare. He has started for two years at USC since walking on as a non-scholarship athlete at this $50,000 a year school. Daniel’s father was hired by USC the year before he graduated from high school. As the son of a USC employee, Daniel received a free scholarship and USC did not have to waste one of these precious scholarships on their starting point guard. Hackett walking on was fortuitous because USC did not have another scholarship to waste. Lil’ Romeo became the scholarship to be named later in DeRozan recruitment deal. The Yard is researching our data but we could not find too many other BFF Scholarships deals at other D1 schools. These are maneuvers within the NCAA rules. It just reeks a bit, that’s all!
The Yard salutes the unprecedented and steady efforts of this UCLA senior class. These seniors played in 18 NCAA tournament games. Their class played in three final fours in their four years. They never won the big game but this group accomplished more than any other class since the field expanded to 64 teams. Alfred already graduated and is in graduate school. Josh and Darren will walk with their class. May the returning UCLA freshman and sophomores embrace this legacy and finish what these blue and gold warriors re-ignited.
All Time March Madness Pool Winner: Rick Neuheisel. University of Washington coach Nehheisel wins the athletic department office pool for $5,000. Rick gets fired by UW for lying about winning the office pool. Rick sues UW and wins $4.5 million for being wrongfully terminated for lying about winning the office pool. $4.5 million is sweet but winning the office pool…priceless.
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