After a month of baseball, we all have a look at how some teams will perform this year. Some teams have gotten off to slow starts, while some have far exceeded expectations. Players have gotten off to hot starts, while we are waiting for some to heat up. Also we are able to look at some of the biggest free hits and busts. Here is my overview of the season so far.
First I will start with the performances of teams thus far. My biggest surprise team has to be the Seattle Mariners. After a horrible season with high expectations last year, they have put together a great season to far. Felix Hernandez is one of the top pitchers in MLB, and Erik Bedard and Jarod Washburn have helped make a solid starting rotation. I think they have a good chance at winning this division since Oakland is still young and rebuilding, the Angels dealing with multiple injury problems and losing Nick, and Texas because of their lack of pitching. The biggest disappointment is the Cleveland Indians. After finishing last year on a strong note, they are stuck in the cellar of the AL central. Cliff Lee has not been the same, and the pitching is not all there.
The biggest surprise player this year to many, if your not a Royals fan, is Zack Greinke. He finally allowed a run in his 5th start! He is arguably the best pitcher in baseball right now. He leads the majors in wins, strikeouts, and ERA. The biggest disappoint is Chien-Ming Wang. He was the ace of the Yankees rotation last year, and is no where close to what he has been in the past. He has gotten rocked in every start he has made, and now is on the DL. Part of it could be the balls flying out of the new stadium, and he should improve after a little tuning.
This off season many dollars were spent, mainly by the Yankees, to improve there teams, which brings me to the Yankees. The biggest free agent disappoint has to be CC Sabathia. He is 1-3 and has only a few quality starts. If your getting paid 200 million, you should be im the top 5 at least of every major pitching statistic. With the 435 million spent by the Yankees, it has yet to produce up to expectation. The best pick up has been RAAAUULLLL IBANEZ! At 36, he is among the top 5 in RBI and HR in the National league. He also has hit a few walk off home runs.
Its still early and we got another 5 months of baseball left. Every division in baseball is open for any team to win still, which looks like it will be an exiting summer.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
NFL Draft review
Here is my review of the 2009 drafts winners, losers, and shockers. Many teams were able to fill multiple needs while owners continue to corupt their franchises....cough..cough...Al Davis...cough..cough. Their were also players who fell much further then many expected along with many reaches.
First lets start off with the winner of this years draft. The biggest one I think was the Eagles. They had two 1st rounds picks. One of these picks were used in a trade to acquire Pro Bowl tackle Jason Petters who might be the best at his position in the NFL. The second was used to get the 2nd best reciever in the draft, Jeremy Macklin. He should have gone in the top ten but fell to 19th overall.
The loser was very easy to pick thanks to Al Davis for another questionable draft. With Michael Crabtree (might have been the best player in the draft), and Jeremy Macklin available the Raiders went with Darious Hayward-Bey. He was about the 4th best reciever in the draft, and was picked just because he has great speed and has decent size. This guy got honorable mention not in all of NCAA but his own conference! For their second round pick they got a saftey, Michael Mitchell from Ohio (Yes Ohio, didnt forget the State). He was a guy who would have been available at least by the 4th round if not later.
Yes there were many guys that were taken much higher then they should have been there was one player who slipped much later then projected. Michael Johnson was a DE from Georgia Tech who was projected to be drafted in the early 1st round but slipped all the was to the 3rd round. He was thought to be undersized by some, and had some attitude problems.
This was another exicting draft that was full uf surprises. Many teams took care fo their needs, while some failed to. Hopefully next years draft was as good as this years and not be so long.
First lets start off with the winner of this years draft. The biggest one I think was the Eagles. They had two 1st rounds picks. One of these picks were used in a trade to acquire Pro Bowl tackle Jason Petters who might be the best at his position in the NFL. The second was used to get the 2nd best reciever in the draft, Jeremy Macklin. He should have gone in the top ten but fell to 19th overall.
The loser was very easy to pick thanks to Al Davis for another questionable draft. With Michael Crabtree (might have been the best player in the draft), and Jeremy Macklin available the Raiders went with Darious Hayward-Bey. He was about the 4th best reciever in the draft, and was picked just because he has great speed and has decent size. This guy got honorable mention not in all of NCAA but his own conference! For their second round pick they got a saftey, Michael Mitchell from Ohio (Yes Ohio, didnt forget the State). He was a guy who would have been available at least by the 4th round if not later.
Yes there were many guys that were taken much higher then they should have been there was one player who slipped much later then projected. Michael Johnson was a DE from Georgia Tech who was projected to be drafted in the early 1st round but slipped all the was to the 3rd round. He was thought to be undersized by some, and had some attitude problems.
This was another exicting draft that was full uf surprises. Many teams took care fo their needs, while some failed to. Hopefully next years draft was as good as this years and not be so long.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Why Brewers Hatred is Ridiculous
I must say I have never seen anything like Brewers fans hating the Cubs. They hate them so much that more seem to care more about the Cubs losing then their own team winning. While I enjoy the rivalry and hatred with the Mizzery Tigers and Jayhawks, we could care less how the Tigers do and worry more about out own teams success. My point is SOME Brewers fans are just poor sports and not real baseball fans who care more about the Cubs curse of not winning the World Series for over 100 years.
First I must say the Brewers are not the Cubs biggest rival, or second, they might be third on this list and possibly lower. This makes this a one sided hatred and not a mutual one. Now if you want to talk hatred and a classic rivalry, it would be the Cardinals and Cubs. The main reason why these teams are rivals is because of another rivalry, the Bears and Packers.
While many teams fans enjoy poking fun at the Cubs for not winning a World Series in over 100 years, it maked no sense when your team hasnt ever won one. Many Brewers fans like to claim the they had with the Milwaukee Braves. To correct them, the Braves moved to Atlanta, meaning the Brewers are a seperate franchise. I guess its a big deal when the Brewers win one more game then the Cubs in the playoffs, but in the end who care since none of them one anything.
Lastly, watching the behavior of Brewers fans at games is ridiculous. Getting their drink on and harrasing Cubs fans who sported their teams jersey when the Cubs were not even playing. In the final inning of the game I went to, this fan recieved chants of "F*** the Cubs", cursing, and the finger as he was escorted of the the ballpark by security for his own safety. Brewers games would not be a place to take your kid if your a parent from what I saw.
First I must say the Brewers are not the Cubs biggest rival, or second, they might be third on this list and possibly lower. This makes this a one sided hatred and not a mutual one. Now if you want to talk hatred and a classic rivalry, it would be the Cardinals and Cubs. The main reason why these teams are rivals is because of another rivalry, the Bears and Packers.
While many teams fans enjoy poking fun at the Cubs for not winning a World Series in over 100 years, it maked no sense when your team hasnt ever won one. Many Brewers fans like to claim the they had with the Milwaukee Braves. To correct them, the Braves moved to Atlanta, meaning the Brewers are a seperate franchise. I guess its a big deal when the Brewers win one more game then the Cubs in the playoffs, but in the end who care since none of them one anything.
Lastly, watching the behavior of Brewers fans at games is ridiculous. Getting their drink on and harrasing Cubs fans who sported their teams jersey when the Cubs were not even playing. In the final inning of the game I went to, this fan recieved chants of "F*** the Cubs", cursing, and the finger as he was escorted of the the ballpark by security for his own safety. Brewers games would not be a place to take your kid if your a parent from what I saw.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
National Championship Game Blowout
I must say in all the brackets I filled out (About 15) I am proud to say I had North Carolina in all of them except one. Before this season even started, UNC the sexy pick to win it all with many thinking they could go undefeated. What not to like about this team, they had all their starters returners from a final four team, all will play in the NBA one day, and ohh yeah they got a Psycho T. I just knew this game was going to be a blowout and wouldnt be even close when you have a team with far more superior talent, which lead to many watching one of the most boring games played in March/April.
I must say that MSU did surprise me and had a great year. Tom Izzo is without question one of the top 10 coaches in the NCAA. Like I said before UNC just had far more superior talent and is built by scoring a whole lot of points (Averaged around 90 a game). Anyone of their starters had teh ability to lead the team in scoring including a bench player. MSU is was not a team that wanted to get into a shootout, and wanted to play tough defense and cause turnovers. They lacked a consistant scorer besides Lucas, which cost them in the title game.
This game by far was one of the most boring and hard to watch games. UNC had all their shots falling when MSU couldnt make a basket to save their lives. MSU was turing the ball over like crazy and were not relaxed. The halftime score pretty much determined the outcome when UNC was up my more then 20 and set an NCAA record for the most points scored at halftime in National Championship history.
The March/April madness ended on a bad note with a dispointing finale. Next year will be much more wide open with Kansas being the preseason pick by many to win it all. Not many teams are going to have their starting five returning which should make for a more competitive season.
I must say that MSU did surprise me and had a great year. Tom Izzo is without question one of the top 10 coaches in the NCAA. Like I said before UNC just had far more superior talent and is built by scoring a whole lot of points (Averaged around 90 a game). Anyone of their starters had teh ability to lead the team in scoring including a bench player. MSU is was not a team that wanted to get into a shootout, and wanted to play tough defense and cause turnovers. They lacked a consistant scorer besides Lucas, which cost them in the title game.
This game by far was one of the most boring and hard to watch games. UNC had all their shots falling when MSU couldnt make a basket to save their lives. MSU was turing the ball over like crazy and were not relaxed. The halftime score pretty much determined the outcome when UNC was up my more then 20 and set an NCAA record for the most points scored at halftime in National Championship history.
The March/April madness ended on a bad note with a dispointing finale. Next year will be much more wide open with Kansas being the preseason pick by many to win it all. Not many teams are going to have their starting five returning which should make for a more competitive season.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Preseason MLB Breakdown
Baseball season has finally come! Almost all the divisions in baseball can be won by multiple teams which means this will be a very exciting year. Some teams appear to be the clear cut favorites, while many have their own flaws to address throughout the season. I will tell you all who will win each league, world series, and the team that has a chance to be the Tampa Bay Rays of '09.
First I will start with the AL Central which has a chance to be won by any of these teams. While they appear to be one of the youngest teams in baseball, the Minnesota Twins are the team with the fewest flaws in the division. The pitching will be good with Fransico Liriano, and Joe Nathan, however, the batting order will be without Joe Mauer for the first month. Many think the Indians are the favorites, but besides Cliff Lee they dont have any other realiable starters. In the East I like the Red Sox who might be the deepest team in baseball. The Yankees made a lot of big moves, but the bullpen out side of Mariano is shacky, along with lots of vets who are injury prone. The Rays are a grat young team, but are unfortunately in a division that may have the best 3 teams in baseball. Also the Sox and Yanks improved more this offseason. In the west the Angels are the easy pick with solid pitching and good hitting. I am picking the Red Sox to win the AL with their great pitching and hitting, they also might be the best team in baseball.
In the National League, their wont be many close battles for divisions or many great teams. In the central, the Cubs should win without much competition. They lost Kerry Wood in free agency, and are without a reliable closer. The starting pitching should be great depending everyone can stay healthy. In east could be won by either the Mets, Phillies, Braves, or even the Marlins. Out of all of these teams, I like the Mets after they took care of their bullpen problems by signing K-Rod, and trading for JJ Putz. The favorites in the West are going to be the Dodgers. The starting pitching has a few questions but the hitting should be great with Manny in the middle.
The team that may surprise many this year could be the Kansas City Royals. The hitting is very well balanced top to bottom. The bullpen will be great, led by Joakim Soria along with the signing of Juan Cruz who was one of the best set up men this past year. The rotation has some questions at the 4th and 5th spots. Gil Meche, Zack Greinke, and Kyle Davies can anchor the rotation if they find some other decent pitchers in the last spots.
Finally ing the World Series I have to go with the Red Sox and the Mets. The Red Sox will win their third title this decade behind starters Josh Beckett, John Lester, Dice K, and closer Jonathan Papelbon. This should be another great season of baseball and I am eagerly looking forward to that first pitch.
First I will start with the AL Central which has a chance to be won by any of these teams. While they appear to be one of the youngest teams in baseball, the Minnesota Twins are the team with the fewest flaws in the division. The pitching will be good with Fransico Liriano, and Joe Nathan, however, the batting order will be without Joe Mauer for the first month. Many think the Indians are the favorites, but besides Cliff Lee they dont have any other realiable starters. In the East I like the Red Sox who might be the deepest team in baseball. The Yankees made a lot of big moves, but the bullpen out side of Mariano is shacky, along with lots of vets who are injury prone. The Rays are a grat young team, but are unfortunately in a division that may have the best 3 teams in baseball. Also the Sox and Yanks improved more this offseason. In the west the Angels are the easy pick with solid pitching and good hitting. I am picking the Red Sox to win the AL with their great pitching and hitting, they also might be the best team in baseball.
In the National League, their wont be many close battles for divisions or many great teams. In the central, the Cubs should win without much competition. They lost Kerry Wood in free agency, and are without a reliable closer. The starting pitching should be great depending everyone can stay healthy. In east could be won by either the Mets, Phillies, Braves, or even the Marlins. Out of all of these teams, I like the Mets after they took care of their bullpen problems by signing K-Rod, and trading for JJ Putz. The favorites in the West are going to be the Dodgers. The starting pitching has a few questions but the hitting should be great with Manny in the middle.
The team that may surprise many this year could be the Kansas City Royals. The hitting is very well balanced top to bottom. The bullpen will be great, led by Joakim Soria along with the signing of Juan Cruz who was one of the best set up men this past year. The rotation has some questions at the 4th and 5th spots. Gil Meche, Zack Greinke, and Kyle Davies can anchor the rotation if they find some other decent pitchers in the last spots.
Finally ing the World Series I have to go with the Red Sox and the Mets. The Red Sox will win their third title this decade behind starters Josh Beckett, John Lester, Dice K, and closer Jonathan Papelbon. This should be another great season of baseball and I am eagerly looking forward to that first pitch.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Changes at CUW
Concordia University it different from many schools around the country. Like many, it has its plus's and minus's. Being a Christian school, Concordia has some striter policies that the majority of students dont care for. These are some of the most common complants and some solutions to make CUW a more enjoyable expereince for students.
One of the rules that more then half the school may have a problem with is CUW being a dry campus. Several students on campus are 21 years old, are adults, and have the right to comsume alcohol. While this helps keeps a lot of drinking off campus, it posses a problem. This makes students have to drive off campus to drink, which means possible drunk drivers and students putting their lives in danger. A solution to this could be to put a bar on campus to for the 21+, or to just allow alcohol at school.
Unlike many, CUW has a curfew which does not allow atudents of the opposite sex in each others rooms after certain times. Again we are adults and are smart enough to make the right choices. We can do anything we want in someone elses room at any time of day so why does it really matter.
I think if these two rules are changed CUW will be a more enjoyable and exciting more many. These rules can effect our schools growth, and if applied, would bring in more money into the University. Many students would be pleased with the rules and they can help attract more students in the future.
One of the rules that more then half the school may have a problem with is CUW being a dry campus. Several students on campus are 21 years old, are adults, and have the right to comsume alcohol. While this helps keeps a lot of drinking off campus, it posses a problem. This makes students have to drive off campus to drink, which means possible drunk drivers and students putting their lives in danger. A solution to this could be to put a bar on campus to for the 21+, or to just allow alcohol at school.
Unlike many, CUW has a curfew which does not allow atudents of the opposite sex in each others rooms after certain times. Again we are adults and are smart enough to make the right choices. We can do anything we want in someone elses room at any time of day so why does it really matter.
I think if these two rules are changed CUW will be a more enjoyable and exciting more many. These rules can effect our schools growth, and if applied, would bring in more money into the University. Many students would be pleased with the rules and they can help attract more students in the future.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Why the College Basketball is Better then the NBA
Now that it is March Madness time everyone is busy filling out brackets and watching eagerly as their teams square off on national television. It might be that I am from Kansas but come playoff time there is absolutely no buzz going on with the NBA. In college basketball there is always some sort of parody as to who will be number one, watching the next stars emerge, and of course cheering for the underdog to beat Goliath. To top it all off at the end of the year their is a tournament that captures the attention of everyone picking the next champion, while the NBA which may feature far better talent lacks the excitement of college basketball.
Again being from Kansas, watching and cheering for my Jayhawks, I have been privileged see one of the most historic programs. At Allen Fieldhouse its not just another game, its a celebration of tradition, history, and success throughout the years no matter who the opponent is. Every game is sold out and has been for years, which contributes to an atmosphere that no school in America or NBA team can match. Hearing all the songs the bands plays, the Rock Chalk chant before the game (It literally sends chills through my spine), and after since its a given that they win at home. Its not just at Allen Fieldhouse but across the country. Fans are always engaged by clapping along with school songs. The NBA lacks that fans interaction and tradition which makes college ball so great.
Especially come tournament time, every player is giving it their all. Its also a more team oriented game rather then and individual one where its all about the numbers. That is what bothers myself along with many others. The college kids play with so much passion and care a lot about how their teams preform. That's why you see college players in tears when they get knocked out in the tourney because they CARE about how their TEAM does. The NBA has a lot of guys that have worked and play for a big paycheck rather then a championship.
No matter who is playing, their is always someone to cheer for. Come tournament time your either cheering for your team, picks made on bracket, or everyone's favorite underdog. To many the NBA features just another meaningless game. Teams like George Mason and Davidson in years past capture the attention of everyone and have America hoping they can pull off another upset. In these tournament games everyone is watching while no one cares about the NBA. The NBA lacks the drama, the buzzer beaters, David beating Goliath, spirit, and tradition that goes into every college game.
Again being from Kansas, watching and cheering for my Jayhawks, I have been privileged see one of the most historic programs. At Allen Fieldhouse its not just another game, its a celebration of tradition, history, and success throughout the years no matter who the opponent is. Every game is sold out and has been for years, which contributes to an atmosphere that no school in America or NBA team can match. Hearing all the songs the bands plays, the Rock Chalk chant before the game (It literally sends chills through my spine), and after since its a given that they win at home. Its not just at Allen Fieldhouse but across the country. Fans are always engaged by clapping along with school songs. The NBA lacks that fans interaction and tradition which makes college ball so great.
Especially come tournament time, every player is giving it their all. Its also a more team oriented game rather then and individual one where its all about the numbers. That is what bothers myself along with many others. The college kids play with so much passion and care a lot about how their teams preform. That's why you see college players in tears when they get knocked out in the tourney because they CARE about how their TEAM does. The NBA has a lot of guys that have worked and play for a big paycheck rather then a championship.
No matter who is playing, their is always someone to cheer for. Come tournament time your either cheering for your team, picks made on bracket, or everyone's favorite underdog. To many the NBA features just another meaningless game. Teams like George Mason and Davidson in years past capture the attention of everyone and have America hoping they can pull off another upset. In these tournament games everyone is watching while no one cares about the NBA. The NBA lacks the drama, the buzzer beaters, David beating Goliath, spirit, and tradition that goes into every college game.
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