Okay, it's still too freaking warm out to get intensely serious about football, however, it was fun to get the college season underway. A few observations:
Notre Dame
Coach Weiss was so secretive about who he was going to go with at QB Saturday that I thought perhaps Vikings Coach Brad Childress had invaded his body. Sad to say, the results were similar, if not worse, than Childress' lame efforts have been in Minnesota thus far. Yikes, what an ass-kicking and AT Notre Dame to boot! Geez, did you put a Rudy wannabe in there at QB by mistake, Charlie?? Hey, I'm still sold on Weiss' skills as a coach but ya might want to tone down the hype and arrogance, Chuckie...
PS, Or should I say "BS"? Did anyone hear Lou "All-Time Notre Dame Homer" Holtz on ESPN's pregame show? Christ, you'd of thought the Golden Domers didn't even need to show up for this tilt. Hilarious! Perhaps retirement would be a nice option, Lou....
Michigan
Holy shnikees! How about the speed and athleticism of the Appalachian State crew - WOW!! They were really fun to watch, that is, unless you wear the maize & blue. Never heard THE BIG HOUSE quite so tomb-like. To Michigan's credit, they battled their asses off to get back in this one, however, Lloyd Carr has to take some heat for not having his guys well enough prepared for what turned out to be a very tough opener. Maybe Coach Carr should fire his scheduler. By the way, NICE defense Lloyd! Your D ran around Ike they had concrete blocks on their feet. No question you'll see a better squad the rest of the way though; Carr is too good a coach and Michigan too good a program to let this completely derail their season.
Minnesota
Hee-hee, anyone living in the Midwest and particularly in Minnesota, has been overwhelmed by the superlative slinging, non-stop salesmanship of new head coach Tim Brewster. And while I appreciate the upbeat demeanor and energy of Coach Blather, there is such a thing as having a team overtly fired up and not nearly prepared for a football game. You can probably get away with excessive fire and brimstone at the high school level, but you still have to have a scheme that makes sense on both sides of the ball and just basic fundamental preparedness. None of which was in evidence in the first half last Saturday against mighty (HA!) Bowling Green. They better get this figured out and pronto because if they don't, the results will be too ugly for words once they begin playing higher-end competition (i.e., the Big 10 schedule). One last thought, Coach B -- knock off the hype; not every one of your players is "tremendous" or "special." People in Minnesota heard that crap far too much in the Jim Wacker era. It's time to shut up and coach!
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Sunday, August 26, 2007
FedEx Cup Fever, Anyone??
PGA Tour
Okay, let's break this down. I thought it'd be fun and (perhaps) interesting to juxtapose the Money List vs the FedEx Cup standings and throw in my 2 cents on Tim Finchem's fledgling attempt to breathe life into the post-major golf season or as some refer to it - Silly Season.
Money List --------------------- FedEx Cup Standings
1. Tiger Woods --------------- 1. Steve Stricker
2. VJ Singh -------------------- 2. KJ Choi
3. Phil Mickelson ------------- 3. Rory Sabbatini
4. Jim Furyk ------------------ 4. Tiger Woods
5. KJ Choi --------------------- 5. Phil Mickelson
6. Rory Sabbatini ------------ 6. VJ Singh
7. Zach Johnson ------------- 7. Jim Furyk
8. Sergio Garcia ------------- 8. Zach Johnson
9. Adam Scott --------------- 9. Adam Scott
10. Steve Stricker ---------- 10. Ernie Els
25. Mark Calcavecchia----- 11. Mark Calcavecchia
All right, some analysis:
Geez, do you suppose Tiger is stomping around the house in a manic panic, driving Elin and Sam Alexis nuts now that he is mired in 4th place in the proverbial Race for the Cup?? Gimme a break, Tiger loves this stuff! He's so like Jordan and Bird it's scary; in that he lives for dynamics like this to fire him up. He had such a massive lead in the FedEx standings that Tiger, in NFL terms, took a first round bye in these playoffs. He'll be ready to rumble and hopefully what transpired at the Barclays this weekend will make this FedEx stuff more interesting. I'm sorry, Stricker, KJ, and Rory are all nice players, but there's no way on earth they are going to supplant Mr. Woods in these playoffs. Although it's kind of fun to watch Rory and his acerbic self get under Tiger's skin. Thus far Tiger has mashed him like an annoying gnat; however, if Rory can stop playing like such a mutt when he goes head-to-head vs Tiger on Sundays, it could get really interesting.
As for VJ and Phil, it appears that some kind of Invasion of the Body Snatchers syndrome has kicked in. VJ looked absolutely catatonic at the Barclays and Phil has succeeded only in adding cleavage to his already sumptuous man boobs and his gut appears to be getting more orb-like by the day! It would be cool to see him get in better physical condition this coming off-season. Then come out of the gates in '08 with his hair on fire; as he is one of a minute handful of players that can give El Tigre` a tussle when he's on. Certainly the work with Butch is part of the reason for Phil's malaise as well.
Let's see. Furyk's too beat up to mount a serious challenge; Zach appears to be running out of steam from winning his first major; Adam is hard to figure - a nice player but he just can't seem to put it all together; Sergio is too busy whining like a petulant child - rumor has it that even many of the Euros think he's a punk; Ernie looks like he's on the right track but I think it may be '08 before he's hitting on all cylinders. And finally, you say why is Calc on this list? Because you gotta root for a guy that could give rat's ass about having the perfect body and would give a guy like his caddy another shot at a good life (he spent time in prison recently).
Whew, sorry for being so long-winded! Holler with your thoughts...
Okay, let's break this down. I thought it'd be fun and (perhaps) interesting to juxtapose the Money List vs the FedEx Cup standings and throw in my 2 cents on Tim Finchem's fledgling attempt to breathe life into the post-major golf season or as some refer to it - Silly Season.
Money List --------------------- FedEx Cup Standings
1. Tiger Woods --------------- 1. Steve Stricker
2. VJ Singh -------------------- 2. KJ Choi
3. Phil Mickelson ------------- 3. Rory Sabbatini
4. Jim Furyk ------------------ 4. Tiger Woods
5. KJ Choi --------------------- 5. Phil Mickelson
6. Rory Sabbatini ------------ 6. VJ Singh
7. Zach Johnson ------------- 7. Jim Furyk
8. Sergio Garcia ------------- 8. Zach Johnson
9. Adam Scott --------------- 9. Adam Scott
10. Steve Stricker ---------- 10. Ernie Els
25. Mark Calcavecchia----- 11. Mark Calcavecchia
All right, some analysis:
Geez, do you suppose Tiger is stomping around the house in a manic panic, driving Elin and Sam Alexis nuts now that he is mired in 4th place in the proverbial Race for the Cup?? Gimme a break, Tiger loves this stuff! He's so like Jordan and Bird it's scary; in that he lives for dynamics like this to fire him up. He had such a massive lead in the FedEx standings that Tiger, in NFL terms, took a first round bye in these playoffs. He'll be ready to rumble and hopefully what transpired at the Barclays this weekend will make this FedEx stuff more interesting. I'm sorry, Stricker, KJ, and Rory are all nice players, but there's no way on earth they are going to supplant Mr. Woods in these playoffs. Although it's kind of fun to watch Rory and his acerbic self get under Tiger's skin. Thus far Tiger has mashed him like an annoying gnat; however, if Rory can stop playing like such a mutt when he goes head-to-head vs Tiger on Sundays, it could get really interesting.
As for VJ and Phil, it appears that some kind of Invasion of the Body Snatchers syndrome has kicked in. VJ looked absolutely catatonic at the Barclays and Phil has succeeded only in adding cleavage to his already sumptuous man boobs and his gut appears to be getting more orb-like by the day! It would be cool to see him get in better physical condition this coming off-season. Then come out of the gates in '08 with his hair on fire; as he is one of a minute handful of players that can give El Tigre` a tussle when he's on. Certainly the work with Butch is part of the reason for Phil's malaise as well.
Let's see. Furyk's too beat up to mount a serious challenge; Zach appears to be running out of steam from winning his first major; Adam is hard to figure - a nice player but he just can't seem to put it all together; Sergio is too busy whining like a petulant child - rumor has it that even many of the Euros think he's a punk; Ernie looks like he's on the right track but I think it may be '08 before he's hitting on all cylinders. And finally, you say why is Calc on this list? Because you gotta root for a guy that could give rat's ass about having the perfect body and would give a guy like his caddy another shot at a good life (he spent time in prison recently).
Whew, sorry for being so long-winded! Holler with your thoughts...
Michael Vick Free Zone
All right, it needs to be said, there will be no mention of Mr Vick - aka Ron Mexico, aka Dog Pugilist Extraordinaire in this posting. Enough already! Amazing athlete with enough cash for 50 lifetimes chooses really stupid hobby - not to mention vicious and cruel. Time to move on and talk real sports:
BASEBALL
BASEBALL
Minnesota Twins. It doesn't take a neurosurgeon to recognize they have a really nice core of starters - Matt Garza, Scott Baker, Boof Bonser, Kevin Slowey, and hopefully, Francisco Liriano (recent Tommy John surgery/rehab on schedule). That and a handful of nice hitters - Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer, and Joe Mauer makes for a respectable, albeit only slightly above average, ball club. Period. Yeah, I get all the small market blather Twins GM Terry Ryan preaches, I really do. Yet here is how you make a quantum talent leap for this ball club - trade Johan Santana now. Insanity you say?? Arguably the best pitcher in baseball?? Well, not really to the first question and quite possibly to the second. HOWEVER, there is no way on this earth the admittedly small market Twins can afford what the market will bear for a pitcher of Santana's stature. NONE! So, you get a talent ransom in return for him - a young 3B with real power (sorry folks, Nick Punto will NEVER be more than a high-end utility player) and a youngish, slick-fielding, left fielder with power. You hate to lose Santana but with the money you save you resign Torii Hunter (the heart and soul of these Twins); and with this young pitching staff (that is growing up fast this season) and infusion of power, you've got a real chance to compete for a championship.
Wow, that went on longer than I'd hoped but perhaps therapeutic to get it off my chest...
FOOTBALL
Far most pure sports fans, there is no better time of year than what's on the horizon - baseball's pennant races are heating up and football (HS, College, and Pro) is about to bust loose. Absolute sports nut HEAVEN!
Dallas Cowboys. Could it be that Head Coach Wade Phillips has figured out what no NFL coach before him has - how to handle Terrell Owens? Well it sure seems like Mr. Me, Myself, and I is quite happy coming and going as he pleases (or not coming to practice as he pleases). Sure seems to be working thus far, as TO looks as though he could actually realize at least part of his potential in the coming season. Long year though so stay tuned...
New York Giants. Could anyone (other than New Yorkers, that is) care LESS about the Tiki Barber/Eli Manning feud. Give me a break! Yes, whether intended or not, Tiki hurt his team by announcing his retirement in mid-season and Eli has been nothing but a whiny, under-achieving QB as yet. The Giants are merely a very average team in a massive media market; this they get far more attention than they deserve. I will admit they have cool uniforms though. Just play football and shut up already!
Okay, gotta go for now. Thanks for reading and let me know what you're thinking out there...
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