It HAD to be a Hoax, right?

Unfortunately, I have been obssessed by Ortiz-gate over the last few weeks. No, not the sub .150 batting average to open the year. I have been closely following the Ortiz jersey buried in the foundation of the new Yankee Stadium. How ridiculous is this story? Seriously? A Red Sox fan throws a jersey into the concrete pour for a stadium to create a curse against one of the winningest sports franchises of all time? Really?

Well, I am going to be the first person to say it...It didn't happen.

The digging out of the jersey obviously happened. We saw it. But I am positive that the the storyline was fabricated. This is a hoax, and we are all the fool.

Let me pose a few questions:

1. Don't we think that there were at least as many Yankee fans working on the stadium as Red Sox fans? One person does not pour a foundation, it takes several teams of people. Don't you think that if someone threw a Red Sox jersey into the pour that he would have the piss beat out of him? Shouldnt someone have told a supervisor? Who was inspecting this job?


2. The Yankees have not won a World Series since 2000. The Red Sox have won two this decade. The balance of power appears to be shifting north and Yankee Nation can't be happy with this. Doesn't it seem plausible to invent a possible curse to throw the fan base off of bad personnel decisions on pitching and an aging lineup?


3. Hank Steinbrenner. He was 15 years old when George bought the team. He watched his father find a way into the headlines like it was sport. Doesn't this seem like something a spoiled kid might do? Don't ever let anyone upstage you. These are the New York F*&king Yankees, you are nothing!

So, here is what I think happened...Hank pays a crew to stage Jerseygate (Ortizgate if you like) in an effort to deflect attention away from an average baseball team and to announce his presence. You sell the Jersey on Ebay for $175,100 with proceeds benefiting a Boston based charity. And kablam, you kill off a curse that may or may not have even been real.

I love it! All of life should work like this. What if you could bury a pair of prized underwear under an ex-girlfriend's house? Tell her about it later, donate them to Goodwill and vex the curse of her on your future relationships...

It seems to me that Hank Steinbrenner is at the front edge of a fantastic sports revolution and we all ought to find a way to climb on board. This is baggy shorts in the NBA, flat brims on MLB caps, and sports reporters as television stars. It is the future!

I am ready, are you?

Our Namesake

As is reported by ESPN's Ed Werder, Our Namesake is now a Dallas Cowboy. He still has not been re-instated by the NFL. As a fan of Big D I am ported back in time to the days of the good ole' Cowboys: Jail/ Practice Facility Whore House/ Strippers/ Cocaine...(3 Championships)

Quick Recap of our Namesake:

July 13, 2005- Arrested and charged with assault and felony vandalism after a nightclub altercation.

October 2005- State of West Virginia filed a petition stating that Jones had not been contacting his probation officer and that he had not reported his July 2005 arrest.

March 23, 2006- Charged with marijuana possession in Fayetteville, Georgia.

August 25, 2006- Arrested for disorderly conduct and public intoxication after being ordered by the cops to leave a Murfreesboro night club several times.

October 26, 2006- Jones was issued a citation for misdemeanor assault after a female student from Tennessee State University claimed that Jones spit in her face at a Nashville night club.

Feburary 19, 2007- The facts are disputed and no charges have been made yet, but Jones was in the middle of a fight and shooting at a strip club in Las Vegas that left one man paralyzed and two more wounded. The fight broke out after Jones showered strippers on stage with $81,000 dollars. The club owner claims Jones was beating a strippers head against the bar while claiming to kill one of the club’s employees.

January 3, 2008- Pacman is accused of punching Wanda S. Jackson in the face at an Atlanta strip club called the Body Tap Strip Club

Although our namesake has a higher moral fortitude than say, the following previous Big D stars:

Hollywood Henderson: November 8 1983 - Henderson caught smoking crack with two underage girls. Hollywood was trading crack for sex. Go Hollywood - set the bar high.

Nate Newton: November 4, 2001 - Newton arrested for 213 pounds of pot in his car. About a month later gets busted with another 175 pounds in a van. Jail imminent.

Michael Irvin: March 4, 1996 - Irvin arrested in hotel room for snorting cocaine off a stripper's breast etc...trial features him in the full length fur coat.

I HOPE that he takes in the full opportunity bestowed upon him by the great city of Dallas to genuinely embrace his inner-heathen. There are a multitude of strip clubs along I35 between the stadium and the West End.

Know Your ... Hawks

The NBA Playoffs have begun with a vengeance with a scintillating double overtime game between the Suns and Spurs, absolutely sparkling postseason debuts by Dwight Howard and Chris Paul, big numbers by Duncan, Kobe, Gasol, Nash, Stoudamire, Iverson and Carmelo and to cap off the first games of the playoffs was the team with the NBA's best record, the Boston Celtics hosting the Atlanta Hawks. Wait, do I see that right, the Atlanta Hawks? Wow! How did that happen?

That reminds me. Today was my first day at my new office. You might be thinking why would I bring this up during a Know Your Team post. Simply, I felt more uncomfortable watching the game last night next to a self-proclaimed Hawks fan (he was from Atlanta) than I did at the office today, since I think I still knew more of my co-workers than he knew Hawks. Nevertheless, both situations involved being around strangers.

Now, this guy at least knew Mike Bibby was the starting point guard, as I thought he quit the league after the NBA gave the Lakers that series over Sacramento in the 2002 season. We all knew Joe Johnson as the big free agent signing from two years ago, Josh Smith for his spectacular dunking ability and overall athleticism (pictured above), Al Horford since he went to UF (we are in Florida, in case you didn't know) and Josh Childress because of his phenomenal afro. We must be pretty smart since we could actually name all 5 the starters.

Wait, Childress doesn't start and Marvin Williams does? So much for being smart. Should have remembered Marvin Williams, since the Hawks took him with the second pick in the 2005 draft over one of the guys listed in the first paragraph. I, however, thought that he was already out of the league.

The remaining players on the team? Ridiculous. The only player other than those listed that played over 12 minutes was the immortal Zaza Pachulia, the 6'11", 280 pound center from the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi. (That's the other Georgia). We also had a Salim Stoudamire sighting. Which makes more sense today than it did last night, when we, aided by some of our respective beverages, all thought that Damon Stoudemire was looking particularly young and spry). Even Acie Law from Texas A & M played a few minutes. I have no idea who the rest of the people are. A look at the roster indicates that they include Mario West, who nobody knew when he was at Georgia Tech, Jeremy Richardson from Delta State and Solomon Jones from South Florida. I am quite certain that I couldn't pick West, Richardson and Jones out of a lineup of the Supremes.

This is even crazier when you look at the Celtics roster, which had 8 players play over 16 minutes, and the remaining 4 included veterans P.J. Brown (who has played in countless postseason series and Eddie House (who once scored 61 in a game at Arizona State) and college stars Tony Allen and Glen Davis.

Generally the team with the best players win, and for this series, the Celtics have the best players 1-12. What they don't have is Josh Childress's hair. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your Eastern Conference playoffs.

A Good Mechanic

Like Sinickal, I am a huge fan of the Masters. I have been trying all week to think of a unique angle to discuss and describe this year's tournament, which was much more difficult than I thought given the relatively boring final round. (Watching a boring round at the Masters is still a great way to spend a day!) Now, Trevor Immelman brought that upon himself by shooting a scintillating 3 over par 75 to run away with this year's Masters. OK, that wasn't exactly fair. He did shoot 68, 68, 69 in the first three rounds to run away from the tournament. Even though Tiger finished only 3 shots back, he never actually challenged Immelman. In fact nobody did. No disrespect to Immelman, as he certainly earned his victory, but he was not the story of the weekend.

The story, which most people missed, was Miguel Angel Jimenez. Jimenez, the 20 year veteran from Spain, was one of only three golfers to shoot under par during the final round of the Masters, with a 68. (Nick Watney shot a 71 and Heath Slocum shot a 69). His 4 under par 68 moved Jimenez from a tie for 35th after round 3 all the way into a tie for 8th. Why is this remarkable? Because he was the absolute last player to make the cut after Friday's second round. Since 45 players made the cut, Jimenez played with a marker on Saturday. AND FINISHED 8th!!!

Jimenez made the type of charge that the public was looking for from Woods, Mickelson, or for crying out loud, anybody. Unfortunately, Jimenez was so far back after a first round 5 over par 77, that he was never able to make the top of the leader board. Nevertheless, Jimenez was outstanding on Sunday, and he deserves much credit for his truly amazing round.


Immelman won the Masters, in a convincing manner. He will forever be introduced as a Masters Champion. He will be remembered in the annals of golf as a Masters Champion. However, Jimenez, toiling in relative obscurity, turned in the weekend of the tourney.

NCAA 2008 National Champions

I would like to take a moment and recognize something great. The Boston College Eagles have won the NCAA Hockey Championship. They dominated the entire season and post season (BC killed 41 of 43 power plays in the postseason).

Here is a quote from the Boston College All-American Nathan Gerbe who was denied the Hobey Baker Award (although he led the nation in scoring with 35 goals and 32 assists), "Who needs the Hobey Baker? I've got the national championship". I like this. I really like this. An athelete that understands everything is about the final goal - Championship.

There was controversy with goal in the third period with 5 to play when a ND player attempted to score with his skate - the goal was disallowed. BC scored again 35 seconds later. It wouldn't have mattered.

Here is a snapshot of their achievements:

February 11, 2008
Won the Beanpot: For those familiar with this tradition you know why it's big.

March 22, 2008
Men's Hockey Wins Record Eighth Hockey East Tournament Title

April 10, 2008
BC Advances To 3rd Consecutive NCAA Title Game

April 12, 2008
Eagles Capture NCAA Championship


*The Cherry on the Ice Cream is that this latest accomplishment came at the Expense of the ND Irish. BC alum understand this...

He's Even Money in Vegas...You Have to Talk About Him

Like most everyone else that doesn't think a Red Sox - Yankees series in April is huge news, I have been watching every second of the Masters....on four different channels (God, I love DirecTV). As usual, I am fascinated by the tournament, the course, the weather, the coverage. You name it, and I am into it like women in thong bikini's - or bikini waxed greens. Whatever, I love this month! The Final Four, the Masters, the NFL Draft, the start of the NBA Playoffs, and there is even this sport called Hockey has its playoffs going on.

Anyway, I am driving to get coffee this morning and I am listening to a local sports radio station when I hear the following:

Tiger Woods is only 7 strokes back. Being in red numbers is very significant here. I expect Tiger to have a share of the lead at a minimum today, and to win this tournament tomorrow. I just don't see anyone on the leaderboard that can hold him off

You know what? I didn't even flinch. And this scares me.

Are you aware that Tiger Woods is a losing proposition bet in Las Vegas this week? You have to give away money to bet him against 83 other people playing at Augusta. This is unheard of. Nobody is this dominant at anything! Sports, business, politics, name it.

It is absurd to think that someone will make up 7 strokes and overcome 12 other professional golfers in a tournament where the leader is only 8 strokes under par, and yet we do. Not only do we expect Tiger to make up the strokes, we will be more surprised if he doesn't!

I am not prepared to call Tiger the greatest athlete we have seen, but I am impressed by the separation between him and the next group of golfers chasing him. He never misses cuts, he always finishes in the top 5, and if people think he is in play collapses are inevitable. It's staggering.

There have been very few athletes that have had this kind of run in sports...Babe Ruth was out homering entire teams back in the late 1920's. Mike Tyson was awe inspiring when he ruled the heavyweight division in the 1980's. There have been several track and field athletes that have dominated the landscape like Renaldo Nehemiah and Edwin Moses. But even with that, I don't think that we have a precedent for Tiger Woods.

Enjoy Sunday at the Masters. I don't believe that Tiger can win from 5 or more strokes back, but never rule out what EVERYONE expects to happen. And what everyone is betting will happen.

O Where, O Where Has My Little Dog Gone

With a lot of carousing and heavy drinking still in my system from last weekend, I decided to sit on the couch with my favorite six pack (ok - twelve pack), and watch the beginning of the best professional sports postseason from the comfort of my house. Yes ladies and gentlemen, the Stanley Cup playoffs have started.

Now, before you get all caught up and question why it is undoubtedly the best postseason, let me clarify a few things. First, the Super Bowl is a much bigger and much more social event, but the play isn't necessarily any better or more physical than during the regular season. That isn't the case with hockey, where each player seems to skate harder, hit harder, fight more and in general give the public an awesome athletic display not usually seen in team sports. Add that to the fact that hockey sudden death overtimes are absolutely riveting from a fans' perspective, and you have the most drama in professional team sports. (This eliminates the "tie" issue that Sinickal wrote about in a previous post).

There was only one thing missing: THE GAMES. NONE OF THE GAMES WERE ON TELEVISION. OK, sure, perhaps you found the local coverage in Pittsburgh, Colorado or the New York Metropolitan area, but for those of us in areas without hockey, or playoff teams for that matter, we couldn't watch any playoff hockey. AREN'T THESE THE PLAYOFFS?

I had to (not that I was forced) settle into a nice NBA double header with the Celtics/Wizards and Suns/Spurs, both games having interesting implications for the NBA playoffs.

It wasn't until this morning that I saw the scores of the four games: Rangers 4 Devils 1; Penguins 4 Senators 0; Flames 3 Sharks 2; and Avalanche 3 Wild 2 - in overtime, no less.


Let's sum it up this way. A sports fan who understands that the Stanley Cup playoffs provide the most exciting and exhilarating post-season in sports cannot watch those postseason games. So basically 7 people outside of Colorado and Minnesota saw the exciting overtime finish in which NHL great Joe Sakic (pictured) scored the sudden death goal in overtime. That somehow makes sense.

Keep in mind, I said most exciting moments in team sports since THE MASTERS starts today. More posts on that as the "Tradition Unlike Any Other" develops.

Know Your ... Heat

Welcome to the first of the feature series, "Know Your Team". With the NCAA tournament coming to an end, I thought the best pilot for this series would be the NBA team with the most use for Final Four talent, the 14-64 Miami Heat.

Now most of you think that you know the Miami Heat. A little older than their 2006 NBA Champions, but they still have Dwyane Wade, Jason Williams and Udonis Haslem, right? Well, technically correct, but no. Here is an examination of the team that beat the Chicago Bulls last night 95-88 to eliminate the Bulls from playoff contention.

The starters for the team included veterans Ricky Davis from Iowa and center Mark Blount from Pittsburgh. Both of those players should be familiar to NBA fans, since they have been contributors for several years, and in Davis' case, a decade. Familiarity goes downhill from there. Some college fans may remember starting point guard (Yes, I said starting point guard), Chris Quinn from Notre Dame. For those that don't remember Quinn, just find the absolute slowest player on the court, that's him. Opposite Davis was Earl Barron out of Memphis and opposite Quinn was rookie first round draft pick Daequan Cook from THE Ohio State University, who actually spent some time in the NBA Developmental League this year.

Speaking of the D-League, the star of the game was reigning D-League MVP Kasib Powell. Powell (pictured) is a 6'7", 218 pound forward out of Texas Tech who scored 18 to lead the Heat last night. He actually looks like he has NBA caliber game. He already is the best Kasib in the history of the NBA. Also playing minutes was forward Stephen Lasme, a 6'8", 220 pound forward from Port-Gentil, Gabon by way of UMass. On the roster, but earning the dreaded DNP-CD was point guard Blake Ahearn, a rookie from the basketball prowess that is Missouri State.

So for those of you wondering what happened to the Heat, here is a good answer. Look at the names above and spot the NBA players, and when you see that the answer is all of them, you know why the Heat have won only 14 games this year.

If you actually are a Heat fan, keep thinking that you will have Wade and Haslem back next year, playing with either Derrick Rose or Michael Beasley. That, might be a team worth knowing.

Which Would You Choose?

The Logo.....

or the Tie...

Either way, you lose UNC.

Wave That Wheat!

You know, that is actually what they call it in Lawrence, KS when the football team scores a touchdown or when an opposing player fouls out of a basketball game. It is that strange gesture that features everyone holding their hands up and waving from side to side. Great tradition for the school that produced the father of basketball (James Naismith), arguably the best basketball player of all time (Wilt Chamberlain) and the coach (Phog Allen) whose legacy is at the foundation of two of the most significant programs in college basketball (Adolf Rupp and Dean Smith). Pretty good program.

As you can probably tell, I couldn't figure out how to start this post about the Championship game last night. I am late to the blog party, so it isn't really worth talking about the game anymore. After all, the 'Memphis can't shoot free throws' angle has been played to death. All I will add is that John Calipari simply choked at the end of that game! His players were lost and he couldn't get control of the situation. It's too bad. They outplayed Kansas for 38 minutes last night.

For me, the game brought back memories of two other NCAA Championship games. The obvious comparison was the 1987 game when Keith Smart hit that baseline jumper to beat my Alma Mater Syracuse. The game winning shot is the only thing remembered in a game where Freshman Derrick Coleman missed a free throw that would have sealed the game, and the Syracuse team looked absolutely lost in the remaining seconds after that. I still remember that game vividly because it took me years to get over it. I had actually put it out of my memory, which is why it wasn't the first game I thought of.

No, the first game I thought of was the North Carolina State - Houston championship game from 1983. To me, the similarities were striking. Houston was coming off one the most amazing college games ever played. The Final Four match-up of Houston (Phi Slamma Jamma Fraternity) versus Louisville (The Doctors of Dunk) was even better than advertised. After all, it was billed as a game where the team with the most dunks would win. It was during this game that I became obsessed with the NCAA tournament. Simply amazing! Coming off of that performance, Houston played a game against a team that took away its strength (high flying dunks), and ultimately exposed a fatal flaw - free throw shooting.

NC State's strategy was to foul - starting with freshman Alvin Franklin with just over 2 minutes left in the game. Franklin missed the front end of a one-in-one, which ultimately led to a last second shot-turned-dunk that everyone remembers today.

Of course, from last night's game I rememberfreshman Derrick Rose missing a crucial free throw to seal the game and the last second shot by Mario Chalmers that essentially won the National Championship. Sound familiar?

It was an amazing game. There were at least 8 NBA players on the floor and the skill level was through the dome roof! For those of you who believed that UNC or UCLA belonged with these two teams just weren't watching all year. And I WAS one of those who thought UCLA belonged. Let me say two things here: 1) Darren Collison was simply outclassed against Memphis and UCLA could not score enough to handle either of the teams that played Monday night. And 2) Tyler Hansbrough is at the ceiling of his talent. A great college player with unbelievable energy who can't get his shot off against players of equal, or better talent. Unfortunately, he doesn't have great talent. UNC was sheltered by the fact that, prior to the Final Four, they have only had to leave North Carolina twice since early February.

Speaking of UNC, who saw Roy Williams with his Kansas patch at the game yesterday. If Jim Boeheim EVER showed up at a Georgetown game wearing their colors, I would fear for his life. It is not responsible and if I were a UNC alum/fan I would be furious. Having said that, the Jayhawk colors may have been better than that tie he was wearing on Saturday night. It was putrid.

Well, that's really all I have from the game last night. It is clear that the game will be more remembered for the shot than for the missed shots. It always happens that way. And for Chris Douglass-Roberts and Derrick Rose, this is a very good thing.

Random Thoughts...

I will often find myself with a bunch of things that I want to talk about, but not enough to post individually about any of them. Today is one of those days, so allow me a few paragraphs to hit a some topics:

1. Did you see Manny Ramirez' line today against Oakland? 4 AB, 0 H, 1 BB, 2 SO and 8 LOB. Huh? Eight left on base? How does that happen in a game? In this case, you leave the bases loaded twice and two on a another at-bat. If David Ortiz doesn't hit a home run in front of him in an at-bat, he could have left double digits on base! It's unheard of. Especially in a contract year. Talk about Manny being Manny....
2. The Cubs lost again. Clearly, I professed my love for this team much too quickly. 2008 bust, Kosuke Fukudome went 0-3 and the Cubs couldn't come up with a clutch hit for anything. It is possible that the Cubs go 0 - 162. Just disastrous!
3. Is this Spygate thing going to ever end? Seriously? What could Matt Walsh possibly have that would make the NFL jump through hoops like this? It seems to me that the most powerful league in sports is putting way too much effort into making sure that they are the first to see whatever video footage this clown may have. But I ask, if it is that damning, why wouldn't he have just gone public? Or written a book? Put a few million in the bank and see how it turns out.
4. Our Patron Saint's deal is in trouble! This sucks on a stick since Dallas is one of the great cities for debauchery in the country. Pacman could have reinvented the way athletes victimize "civilians" and there is very little more that I was looking forward to this year. Hey Jerry, shell out bonus money and the picks, and get this deal done. Pacman must play next year, and he must be in a big market!
5. Tom Crean is leaving Marquette for Indiana. I am going on record with this. IT IS THE WORST MOVE OF HIS COACHING CAREER! Here are my three reasons: a) Indiana simply isn't a better job anymore. That program is quickly becoming irrelevant. Bobby Knight was a great coach that relied on inferior talent because he couldn't/wouldn't recruit top notch players. Kelvin Sampson was simply not equipped for this job. Or Oklahoma for that matter. I think that Crean is going to have a hard time consistently recruiting locally and restoring this program to what it once was; b) The Big 10 is a craptastic conference! Don't look for it to rebound anytime soon; and c) Crean had developed Marquette into a program ready to make the leap in a power conference...I just don't like this.
6. Is there any reason to believe that Isiah Thomas will ever get another job in basketball? I mean EVER? Now that Donnie Walsh is in charge in NY, one thing is clear...Isiah's days are numbered. Possibly in single digits. And remember, Isiah was Walsh's choice as coach for the Indiana Pacers! Quite honestly, if you run the CBA into the ground and ruin one of sports most important franchises, the only thing you may be qualified for is President of the United States or CEO of subprime mortgage company. Good luck Isiah, you will be missed.
7. The NFL decided to table talks to reseed the playoffs to favor better records. That is, if a wild card team had a better record than a division winner then the wild card team would host the playoff game. How is this not a good idea? Well, surprise, surprise, Bob Kraft (cheater/owner of the NE Patriots) does not agree. He thinks that teams should always be rewarded for winning their division. I don't agree and I will write about this again.
8. What do the following college basketball players have in common? Danny Manning (Kansas), Lionel Simmons (LaSalle), Larry Johnson (UNLV), Christian Laettner (Duke), Calbert Chaney (Indiana), Glenn Robinson (Purdue), Joe Smith (Maryland), Marcus Camby (Massachusetts), Tim Duncan (Wake Forest), Antawn Jamison (North Carolina), Elton Brand (Duke), Kenyon Martin (Cincinnati), Shane Battier (Duke), Jason Williams (Duke), T.J. Ford (Texas), Jameer Nelson (St Josephs), Andrew Bogut (Utah), JJ Redick (Duke) and Kevin Durant (Texas)......They are the last 19 National Players of the Year. Hey, Tyler Hansbrough...Does this make you feel good? Outside of Tim Duncan, all there is here are a couple of multi-year paychecks.

By the way, are you aware that the Master's is next week and that the NFL Draft is in just over two weeks? It's like Christmas in April.

The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same

Sinickal beat me to the punch on my opening day thoughts, but I still feel mine need to be reduced to the written word for memorializing. Sinickal wrote about his beloved Cubbies and his hometown Braves (for now at least). Myself, I think I need to comment on Sinickal's beloved Cubbies, and my beloved and hometown Marlins.

For the Cubbies, change seems to be on the horizon. Oh, several normal ailments exist in Cubland:

1. Big Z, Carlos Zambrano being taken off the field with an injury while throwing an absolute gem;

2. At least one fan has already uttered, "Wait 'til next year;

3. The bullpen collapsing with Kerry Wood doing his best Ryan Dempster impersonation; and

4. Cubs fans worrying about what Kerry Wood has left.

However, the Cubs have been afflicted with a much more serious ailment than these. They have caught FUKUDOME FEVER. Cubs right fielder Kosuke Fukudome (whose jersey I will be purchasing post haste), had a tremendous game, finishing 3 for 3, with a walk, 1 run scored, 3 RBIs and a home run in the 9th inning off Brewers reliever Eric Gagne. On top of all that, he had a double off Ben Sheets, and threw out 4 runners on the base paths. (OK, I made that last part up). But Cubs fans, be careful, if left untreated Fukudome Fever can lead to an even more dangerous disease, Optimism. The more things change, indeed.

With regard to my Marlins (and yes they might as well be mine, nobody else likes them), I could not attend in person because I am now in the middle of changing jobs, but I listened to the broadcast in the office. What was the most astonishing fact from this game? It wasn't that Johan Santana absolutely hammered the fish, as that was to be expected. Nor was it that 35,308 people attended the game, since they were all New Yorkers anyway. Could it be that the Marlins payroll is $21 million dollars, $7 million less than A-Rod is scheduled to make this year? No. The most astonishing fact is that Luis Gonzalez, the Marlins starting right fielder with Jeremy Hermida on the DL, has played in 479 more games than the rest of the Florida Marlins starters, combined. That is absolutely ridiculous. It just goes to show that there are lots of kids on this team who nobody knows, and it is going to be a really long year. The more things stay the same.

Cubs and Braves...Opening Day

What song would you want playing when you are introduced? It doesn't matter what you are introduced for, what would you want playing? I will explain why I am asking this question a little later, but let's just say that I am still stunned by some things that happened at the Braves game last night....

I should mention that I am kind of a sports junkie. Maybe more of a competition junkie. I will watch just about anything if it will guarantee to finish with a winner and a loser. This probably explains why I don't watch a lot of hockey, and why I think soccer is only for girls. Or boys who can't make the football team. By the way, for those of you who know Hopps, you also know that was a direct shot at him.

My favorite sports are football, then baseball. And there are few events that I love more than Opening Day. So, yesterday I plopped down in front of the television to watch my beloved Cubbies home opener against the Brewers, then went to Turner Field to watch the Braves open against the Pirates. A great day all around despite heartbreaking losses by both home teams.

Here are a couple of thoughts on the two games:

I am really happy with the Cubs this year. Yeah, I know that 2008 MVP, Kosuke Fukudome was 3 for 3 with a double, a homerun and a walk, while the rest of the team was 2 for 31. And, I know that Kerry Wood and Bob Howry did not look great in there opening stints. No matter, I like this lineup, I really like the pitching, and I am expecting really nice things from this team. I am going to stop talking about this game now since I don't want to be too optimistic before the Cubs have their first win.

Onto the Braves.

The Atlanta Braves are now 0 and 2 and if the season keeps up like this we will be admitting Gondee from Talking Chop into a mental institution by the beginning of May. On Opening Day in Washington, DC, the Braves got a gem from Tim Hudson and lost on a heartbreaking walk-off homerun in the bottom of the 9th.

Last night was just sureal! The Pirates squandered a 5 run lead in the 9th inning, which included a routine pop-up that was allowed to drop between the left fielder and center fielder that scored the tying runs. Then in the top of the 12th, the Pirates get a 3-run homerun only to nearly squander the lead again. Braves catcher Brian McCann called it the craziest game he has ever been a part of. It is certainly one of the craziest games I have seen in person.

With that, here are the things that caught my eye last night during the pomp and circumstance of opening day:

1. Braves relief pitcher, Peter Moylan was introduced last night to "Down Under," by Men At Work. Seriously, is this the music you really want to be introduced to? Does this inspire anything? I can't imagine that it does. Of course, this got me to thinking what song I would want to be introduced to. I came up with....wait for it....Jay Z and "Show Me What You Got"
2. Okay, time out for trivia. Who is the winningest pitcher to ever play in the Braves organization? We will come back to this, but his number is NOT retired by the Braves!
3. Time out for trivia, part II. How many dffferent names have the Atlanta Braves had in their history? How about nine. That right, nine different team names since the organization started playing baseball in 1871 as the Boston Redstockings. I am not going to lie, I was dumbfounded by this.

The answer to the first question is Cy Young. Yeah, that Cy Young. He actually won game 511 as a Boston Rustler in 1911. Just some information that I found fascinating last night.