All-Star Revue

In lieu of the traditional "Thoughts From the All-Star Game" type format of analyzing last night's game, I thought that we here at "We Make It Rain" would just give you the synopsis of our thoughts on the festivities as our thoughts occurred.

As background, Sinickal and I were at completely different bars in completely different states, but through the wonderful world of technology were able to have the following conversations, some of which are printed here (Who on earth knows where Hopps was during all of this). Second, some of the conversations are not exact quotations, but rather revised and massaged for mass consumption, which means that we edited some of the conversations so that inside jokes and the like make more sense to anyone who may read this.

With that being said, the thoughts and conversations are time stamped. Other sentiments are editorials on last night's festivities are interspersed. Here we go:

Great idea having all of the Hall of Famers on the field. However, the crowd is what makes this part of the "ceremony" interesting.

8:19 - Sinickal - "How about boos for the Red Sox players, and Wade Boggs wearing a Yankee hat!"

8:20 - Pepster - "We were just commenting on that. Ridiculous."

Now keep in mind, the "ridiculous" was for both parts of Sinickal's observation, the boos and Boggs' hat. At least he didn't offer the Rays the chance for him to wear their hat for $25,000.

8:22 - Sinickal - "There are 1000 Cubs standing on the field."

8:23 - Pepster - "Except Ron Santo."

Yep, I am going to hell for that one. We love Ron Santo here at We Make It Rain, and may he give much joy to anyone that watches and/or listens to a Cubs game for many, many years. I sure hope that covers it.

8:24 - Pepster - "There are 1000 Cubs fans in this bar."

Which was true. No wonder the Marlins can't draw anyone to the game (more on this later).

8:25 - Sinickal (as Willie Mays is announced) - "Do you think he is muttering 'Where is my Godson?"

8:25:41 - Pepster - "Well Played."

Like him or not, Bonds should be playing somewhere if he wants, and there is no doubt in my mind he would have been in this game.

8:33 - Sinickal - "Look, its Tony Gwynn times 3."

9:25 - Sinckal (about Yogi Berra) - "Lawrence Peter? Did you know that?"

9:26 - Pepster - "I did not."

I mean honestly, hasn't he always been Yogi? His mama call him Yogi, Imma call him Yogi.

10:08 - Sinickal (in a familiar refrain) - "It is always Jeter in big spots!"

So true. Forget about how players perform in the clutch, Jeter always happens to have an at bat in a big spot. Now that we have mentioned it, look for it and you will see. Even during the World Baseball Classic Jeter had several key at bats during the tournament. Not key because of what happened, but he is just always hitting in the most crucial situations.

10:54 - Pepster - "Girardi is warming up K-Rod. Guys I am with just called him 'the fluffer'."

What other manager would do something like that? Let me see, LaRussa - no. Torre - no. Grady Little? - Oh, sorry. This is one of the reasons why Girardi should still be in Florida. Curse you Loria, boy did you blow that situation!

11:00 - Pepster - "Having a debate over whether Tejada is 45 or 53."

11:01 - Sinickal - "He's that young?"

11:33 - Sinickal - "About time someone got thrown out," when Navarro threw out Christian Guzman.

Sometimes there does have to be some actual baseball analysis.

11:37 - Pepster - "Drew is set up nicely to be the MVP. Good thing Dempster is 'closing'. He thrives so well in that situation." [Ed. note, Dempster struck out the side in the 9th, including Drew]. Too bad he couldn't do that when he was an actual "Closer".

11:41 - Sinickal - "I just wanted Papelbon to get the loss so that we could hear the NY media tomorrow."

11:59 - Sinickal - "Your Marlins clearly had money on this game. All 3 errors and non clutch hitting. What's up with that?"

Clearly Sinickal forgot about Hanley Ramirez's 2-3 with a run scored. Wait, never mind, there goes error number 3 for Uggla.

12:31 - Sinickal - "Can a Marlin help here?"

Nope, not if you are counting on Dan Uggla.

After that - well, we pretty much got sick of the game. Hope you enjoyed the game as much as possible, given that it lasted until well after 1:00 a.m. E.D.T.

Never Surrender

Later we will have a more detailed post filled with interesting observations from the MLB All-Star Game, but for now I just wanted to write briefly (which is generally difficult for me) about the main point I took from the game: Corey Hart needs to be banned from baseball. Yes, yes I know that the Milwaukee Brewers are finally in a legitimate playoff race, and that Hart is a big part of their lineup, but he made two egregious mistakes last night.


First, and foremost, he enters the game without any sunglasses. This might be a bad pun on Canadian rocker two-hit wonder Corey Hart's song Sunglasses at Night, but shouldn't he be required to wear them. If it isn't already, this should be a law. I mean, what on earth is our Congress working on? Iraq? Gas Prices? Foreclosure Bailouts? IndyMac? Please. We are talking important stuff. Especially since this was an exhibition game.

Second, how can a young right-fielder from the heart of the good ole U.S. of A. not be able to throw out a slow-footed Canadian at the plate on an average depth fly ball to the outfield off the bat of Michael Young. Especially since right fielders are supposed to have the strongest arms. It's not like Ben Johnson and Donovan Bailey were on the base paths. I'll bet Ichiro would have thrown him out.

Perhaps the Brewer Corey Hart decided to take a little vacation during the All-Star break and replaced himself with the Canadian Corey Hart, who actually wanted his compatriot Justin Morneau to score the game-winning run.

Or, he just wanted the game to finally be done, which if this was the case, I will gladly hear his petition for reinstatement.

Beep, Beep, Beep....

It was the only title I could think of to describe a backup...In this case, backup QB.

Okay, the site has been dormant for a while, and I have been absent through name changes to our Patron Saint, reinstatement for our Patron Saint, Grand Jury testimony by our Patron Saint...You get the picture. Part of the problem is laziness. Some of it is vacation. Some of it...well, it's just not defensible.

No matter, we are back and we are talking about someone I have loathed for most of my adult life - Brett Fucking Favre.

If you read the phenomenal piece by Big Daddy Drew (yes, I know he doesn't use that anymore) at Deadspin, you now understand the ABC's of hate. And I agree with every hate filled word. More, as a Chicago Bears fan, there is no one that I hate more than Brett Favre (and his ridiculously spelled name) ! I have always thought that the media sucked from his ass more than should be allowed. I have always believed that his career has been a long series of very good games where he threw 7 to 10 balls up for grabs (and several for interceptions). I have never liked that he became a crossover marketing sensation. And I hate that for nearly two decades, he has been the face of my arch rival.

But, do you know what I hate more? That since Brett Fucking Favre made his first start as QB for the Green Bay Packers in 1992, my beloved Bears have had 49 different people from week to week under center. Twenty three different starting QB's in 15 years. It is so depressing to look at the names and think about the ineptitude.

Who remembers such names as Peter Tom Willis from Florida State (anyone with three names should be assraped with a telephone pole, then killed by angry Costa Rican Nationalists); or Dave Krieg, who was 78 years old when he started for America's team; or Cade McNown of parking ticket fame; or Shane Matthews (Shane? As an NFL QB?); or small handed Rick Mirer?

Do you know any of the following names: Henry Burris, Moses Moreno, Eric Kramer, Steve Stenstrom, Jonathon Quinn, or Chad Hutchinson? They all have started at QB for the Chicago Bears. I will now weep uncontrollably.

I don't really have anything positive to put in this post so I will end with this...I really hate Brett Fucking Favre and I hope that he doesn't end up playing for my team. But at least didn't play for the Boston Red Sux.

Here We Go Again

It appears that our Patron Saint is at it again. Not content with just causing trouble in strip clubs, Mr. Jones has decided that he would also return home to wreak havoc, in of all places, an SUV.

According to reports, Mr. Jones and two of his friends were inside a Toyota SUV after 12:40 a.m. this morning in backwoods West Virginia with a white powder covering a card as Mr. Jones used a credit card to scrape the powder. After officers took the men out of the SUV, they found a plastic bag with a white substance, most likely cocaine, as well as a jar with possible marijuana residue. When asked about the substance, Mr. Jones apparently admitted that it was cocaine.

He is being held in jail on a charge of felony possession of a controlled substance, with his arraignment scheduled for tomorrow.

What? It wasn't our Patron Saint, Adam "Pacman" Jones, but rather a white receiver from Jacksonville named Matt Jones? It wasn't backwoods West Virginia, but rather Arkansas?

Good - that feels much better. Never mind!

Cedric the (Not So) Entertainer

The Chicago Bears, both Sinickal and my favorite team, decided to release talented but ultimately unproductive running back Cedric Benson this week after his second arrest in one month for drunken operation of heavy mechanized vehicles. Although he maintains his innocence, the first instance stemming from a stop on a lake outside Austin, Texas in his boat and the second after being stopped leaving a social meeting with some friends after "a couple of drinks", the Bears ultimately felt that these distractions, along with his Shaun Alexander-like ability to go down after gaining 3 yards upon first contact, would be detrimental to the team.

Now, this leaves the Bears with a serious dearth of running backs on the roster, and no running backs with any real starting experience. (The do have Matt Lawrence, P.J. Pope and Garrett Wolfe, along with Adrian Peterson who just underwent an appendectomy). This means that the Bears hope for a running game rests upon the 44th pick in the NFL Draft, Matt Forte from Tulane, as well as a much improved (I hope) offensive line. Couple this with the much publicized QB troubles, and the Bears seem to be starting the 2008 NFL campaign on a much less than offensive foot. (Except for Robbie Gould's - his is gold).

However, I welcome the release of Cedric Benson. He simply wasn't tough enough to be the type of running back that would live up to the expectations of being the fourth pick in the 2005 draft. In fact, Robert Guillaume may have been a tougher Benson.

When did I come to this conclusion? How about the instant that the Bears selected Cedric Benson - IN APRIL 2005 WHEN HE CRIED AFTER HIS NAME WAS CALLED AT THE NFL DRAFT!!! THAT'S RIGHT, CRIED!!!.

Now, perhaps I can understand that some people would show emotion at realizing their life-long dream of playing in the NFL. Nah, never mind. I CAN'T!!! Especially not when it was a foregone conclusion that Benson was going to be drafted no worse than 5th that year, and had the possibility of being drafted second or third. He knew that he was not only going to be drafted by the NFL, but drafted incredibly high. What on earth was there to cry about? Dumbass!

It is for instances like these where the NFL needs to institute a rule where the team that drafts a player has 10 minutes to observe that player after making the pick in order to determine if they want to keep their pick or select somebody else. It would be akin to the rule that gives you 72 hours to rescind a real estate contract or a contract for pest control services. Had this rule been in effect at the time of the 2005 draft, the Bears definitely would have considered Benson a vermin and drafted someone else, perhaps sixth pick Adam Jones, the Cornerback from West Virginia.

No way HE would have given the Bears any problems.

Voting Rights

I know that this may be off our general topic of sports, but I felt that this was important enough to address in writing to, at least, get these thoughts off my chest. And although this post will touch on politics, it is not meant to start a Democrat-Republican, McCain-Obama or even a Clinton-Obama feud. It is about what is supposed to be the most important, and easiest, right that we possess, voting.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I am a Republican, but not a card carrying one, as I vote for almost as many Dems. as Reps., depending upon the candidates and the office. That being said, the most important disclosure I feel compelled to make is that I live in Palm Beach County, Florida. Yes, that Palm Beach County, Florida.

You may have heard or read about the time, long ago in 2000, when we had a little voting fiasco in Palm Beach County. Something about a butterfly ballot and hanging chads or something (see below). I think HBO just released a movie about it. I looked outside of my office at the county building 1 1/2 blocks away and saw the protesters following election day. I still have my "I demand a revote now" sign, even though I knew no re-vote could ever occur. (I actually just thought it would be interesting to have for posterity). In that election, I (am reasonably sure that I) voted for Al Gore, primarily because he played wiffle ball with my friends and I in October of 1991 (which actually occurred). OK, maybe it was because I thought he was smarter than his opponent, since I am not a fan of stupid. AT ALL. PERIOD.


Now, this led me to my opposition of the protesters and lawsuits that followed. If any problem existed with the ballot in Palm Beach County, it was simply that some idiots didn't pay attention or couldn't read. Basically, they were too stupid to vote for the guy for which they apparently wanted to vote. And as mentioned earlier, I do not like stupid. (Ironically, this meant that some of the more vocal opponents of then Gov. Bush for being stupid, were themselves too stupid to vote against him, at least in Palm Beach County).

The long and the short of the above history - some Floridians felt that they did not get the chance to vote, or that their votes were either discounted or not counted at all. (Not technically true, as all the votes were counted, it was the re-counts that were stopped by the Courts). I have a whole rant on how the Florida Supreme Court's opinion overstepped its bounds so much that it basically handed the overrule to the Supreme Court on a platter, whereas a simple, short opinion by the Florida Supreme Court would have, and could have, actually allowed for a different result in the U.S. Supreme Court, but that is for another day.

Now, my Democratic brethren in Florida are again in a position where their votes do not count (or at least they don't count in full).

A brief recap of the facts that led to this current scenario. The Democratic Party has a rule that their primary calendar must be followed by all states, or else any offending states would lose at least half of their delegation to the convention. The Republican Party has a similar rule, but that never came to importance because McCain locked up the Republican nomination a long time ago, with or without the Florida delegation.

Now, the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate (headed by Republicans who have an overwhelming majority in both houses) passed a voting reform bill, which basically targeted ballot machines with a paper trail for possible recounts, but also included a move of Florida's primary up to January 29, which offended the Democratic calendar. This move was to make Florida's vote more important, since most party nominations were decided well-before Florida's traditional March "Super Tuesday" primary. Who knew that later would have been more important this year given the closeness of the race between Obama and Clinton? Anyway, the bill was controlled by Republicans, but virtually all of the Democrats in the two state houses voted in favor of it as well.

All of the Democratic candidates refused to campaign in Florida, but all candidates placed their names on the ballot. A record 1.7 million Democrats turned out to vote in the primary, which Clinton won handily. 1.7 MILLION. Prior to the primary, the Democratic Party had previously voted to strip Florida of all of its delegates for its violation.

Over the weekend, the Rules and By-Laws Committee (or whatever its official name was), voted to seat all of Florida's delegates at the national convention, but each delegate could only use 1/2 of their vote. The Democratic Party has told each Florida voter that they only count 1/2 of everybody else.

Ultimately, this most likely would not have had an effect on the nomination, although if each delegate received a full share, (and Michigan's "uncommitted" delegates were not awarded to Obama), then Obama would not have clinched 50% + 1 of the delegates after yesterday's Montana and South Dakota primaries. He most likely would clinch when the rush of the uncommitted super delegates flooded his way beginning today.

Nevertheless, the Democratic Party, who most likely need Florida to win, has just alienated the Democratic voters in the largest and most populous swing state in the country. In addition, after 8 years of chanting "count every vote" or some similar tune because of what happened in Florida in 2000, many party leaders have acquiesced to the "compromise" of counting every vote except for those from Florida, which count 1/2.

If the Democrats on that committee had any principles whatsoever, they would have voted to stick to the ban on Florida for breaking the party's rules, or they would have voted to reinstate all of Florida's delegates with full voting rights. Whichever of these two arguments has the most votes on the committee wins. A compromise on this issue is not a compromise, it's a sellout. PERIOD!

All I know is that people always have said that they don't think their vote means anything. Come November, I am REALLY not 100% sure whether my vote will even count, much less mean anything.

Now, hopefully soon, we will be back to our regularly scheduled programming, and I apologize for the interruption.

Euro Cup 2008

As this year's tournament is about to commence, this seems to be the right time to preview the overwhelming favorite of the Euro Cup 2008. It isn't France with their exciting young player Bafetimbi Gomis, Portugal with the ever-present Cristiano Ronaldo, or even defending champion Greece. This year's favorite is ... the San Antonio Spurs.

For those of you that thought I was actually going to write a column about soccer, you clearly do not know me that well. Although someday it may cross my mind to pontificate on the various ways to easily make the sport more exciting and better, today is not that day. Today is the day to single out soccer's most easily exported commodity to the rest of the sporting community, the flop!

Now, the flop is nothing new, and the fact that the San Antonio Spurs employ this, ahem, tactic, is also nothing new. Plenty of writers, bloggers and mainstream, have commented on this very topic. What makes this year's playoffs a bit different is the pervasiveness of the flop, as well as the four different manifestations employed by the Spurs.


The first, and most obvious flop, is where an off-the-ball defender attempts to draw a charge from an offensive player that is driving to the basket. The defender steps into the lane, and falls dramatically to the ground, perhaps with a George Ackles type yell, prior to contact, or falls overly dramatically after very, very minimal contact. This flop is best evidenced on the Spurs by Ginobili, and historically by Vlade Divac and Dennis Rodman. Although Rodman would jump in the air parallel to the ground and then fall, most floppers today go straight back, landing on their shorts for maximum sliding under the basket (OK, I may have done this once or twice in high school).

The second flop I call the Manu Ginobili special, although Tony Parker is fast becoming adept at this maneuver. The setup for this flop is on offense while making a usually ill-advised drive to the basket between several defenders. While driving to the basket, the offensive player either jumps into the defender at his side or hesitates slightly causing contact with the defender at his back. After causing the contact, the offensive player throws the ball toward the basket and then flies approximately 326 feet away. The fact that the ball kisses gently off the backboard and often through the rim belies the ferocity of the contact which the shooter wishes to convey. Again, this is exemplified by Ginobili, and sometimes Parker.

The third flop is a standard post defensive maneuver. The post defender and the offensive player are banging for position. Immediately before one of the "bangs", the post defender stops his momentum, absorbs some of the contact and then falls backward creating the offensive foul. Note, it isn't technically a flop if you catch an elbow in the chest or sternum, that is a deserved foul. This flop is evendenced by a ton of Spurs, but especially Tim Duncan, Robert Horry and even Kurt Thomas, and historically by Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn. This is the evolutionary heir to the pulling the chair defense at which Mahorn excelled. Mahorn would bang with an offensive player, and then right before the next expected hit, he would stop and avoid contact, as if pulling the chair out from under the post player, who, expecting the contact, would often travel.

The fourth flop is something I have never actually seen before these playoffs, at least not often. It occurs when the offense is on a fast break with a defensive player trying and failing to get proper defensive position, usually leaving him running beside the offensive player. The defender initiates a subtle hand check on the offensive player, who then slaps the hand away, causing the defender to fly into the stands at full speed. Bruce Bowen is the master of this maneuver, having done it twice in the past two games.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am not a Laker or Spur fan, just calling it like I see it. In fact, I would love to see Duncan win another ring, Bowen irritate the hell out of Paul Pierce, Richard Hamilton or Tayshaun Prince, and being Hispanic (well, at least half), I have to cheer for the greatest Hispanic basketball player ever, Ginobili. However, these Spurs have gone absolutely too far. It is almost as if they are playing soccer. Perhaps it is because Ginobili and Fabricio Oberto are both from soccer mad, and perennially dangerous, Argentina or perhaps it is because they are a year older as a team and losing a step of quickness. Whatever the reason, it has to stop. Now if only the officials could give them a red card.

With all this flopping, you would have thought that Brent Barry would have gone to the line last night when legitimate contact was made by Derek Fisher on the last play of the game. Oh well, at least the NHL playoffs are on tonight, and that is a league that doesn't tolerate flopping. Now, do I have the Home and Garden Network so I can watch the game?