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.