Category Archives: Sports

October 8, 2010

AFC West Stronger Than Expected E-Mail Thread

By cali4dre

Friday’s aren’t always all that busy at work, and we had some time to break down the AFC West between a Chargers, Broncos, and Raiders fan.

Cali4Dre: So I was looking at the Chiefs schedule the rest of the way, here’s what it looks like with my assumptions highlighted (green=win, red=loss, yellow=too close to call).  My apologies to Oakland for not giving them a chance in their two games, and to Denver for calling their home game too close to call  I gave the Chargers the win at home because their loss in week one was on the road, and they still had a chance to win on the final drive of that fluky, stormy game.

I can easily see them winning at least 9 games, and if the split the yellow ones it looks more like an easy 11 win season.  Pretty scary for the Chargers and Broncos, they have to be fairly perfect clean the rest of the way to keep up cause it looks like the Chiefs will be 6-2 going into the second week of Nov…

After Sunday’s game against the Colts, the Chiefs play only two more games against teams that were in the playoffs in 2009

Chiefs’ Remaining 2010 Schedule

 

Date

 Opponent
Sunday, Oct. 10 at Indianapolis
Sunday, Oct. 17 at Houston
Sunday, Oct. 24 Jacksonville
Sunday, Oct. 31 Buffalo
Sunday, Nov. 7 at Oakland
Sunday, Nov. 14 at Denver
Sunday, Nov. 21 Arizona (Changed to Win)
Sunday, Nov. 28 at Seattle
Sunday, Dec. 5 Denver
Sunday, Dec. 12 at San Diego
Sunday, Dec. 19 at St. Louis
Sunday, Dec. 26 Tennessee
Sunday, Jan. 2 Oakland

Chappy: You have them losing to AZ!?! I guess you’re a Max hall/BYU fan…

I guess of anyone, I wouldn’t mind the Chiefs taking the division, kinda like me rooting for the Rangers to take the AL West this year…

It’s funny at the beginning of the year I chalked up the Chief’s games as wins for Oakland, but now I’d question any game they play as a win.

Comstock: tough day at work, huh?

I think it’s a little premature to say this team will win 10 games, as their 3 wins have come in the MNF “fluke,” pulling out a late win vs. a not very good Cleveland team, and blowing out a grossly overrated Niners team at home.  we’ll find out a lot about how good this team really is with 2 significant road tests in a row.

BUT they should beat Arizona at home…it’s safe to say after 4 weeks that team sucks.

Cali4Dre: Sorry guys, I did mean to put the Arizona game in green… my bad.  So if that’s the case, then they will definitely finish above .500???

Comstock: I can get down with that…they may not turn out to be a playoff team, but the turnaround is definitely well under way.

Chappy: I have my doubts that they will for sure be over .500, because didn’t the Broncos start 6-0 or something like that last year?!? That didn’t turn out so well…

Cali4Dre: With all the parity this year, such as the Colts not looking so dominant and owning the South division spot, there is a definite possibility that two teams will come out of the West this year… Continue reading

9 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

October 7, 2010

Doin Lines Week 5

By chappy81

That football is doing some serious lines!

Looks like we both need to re-evaluate how we are making these picks. We got one right out of ten last week, setting the lowest week total of wins since I’ve started doing this. Just like New Orleans picked itself up after Hurricane Katrina, we will have to do the same. We just need to hope that this turnaround happens a little faster than the real life one. This losing streak is showing me that no matter how much you think you know going into a game, you don’t really know crap compared to those lines makers. Just like the Geek and Sammy we have proven that we are good a pickin losers so far. It can’t be this bad for the rest of the year can it!?! I doubt it, so on to the picks.

What is the writing equivalent to being so ashamed, that you can’t even show your face in public?  Would it be, being so ashamed that you wouldn’t want to let anyone read your words?  Because that is how I feel after three consecutive, embarrassing weeks of football picks.  If you fancy my words, or my humor, or perhaps lack there of, I appreciate your loyalty to me.  But please, I beg of you, please do not read my picks for … *gasp* my picks.  After going 1/5 last week, it absolutely dawned on me.  I suck at this.  I suck at this bad.  Do I give up?  No.  But I am not cruel enough to wish bad upon our readers, so I hope you all either run as far away as you can from my picks, or simply pick the opposite.  My picks should have yellow caution tape surrounding them.  With that said, here are this week’s losers …

Last Week (Chappy 0-5, By 1-4) Overall (Chappy 8-14-1, By 6-12-2)

Denver (+7) @ Baltimore Continue reading

14 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

October 6, 2010

NBA Season is Creeping Up On Us

By chappy81

People let me tell you about my best friend!

D-Wade Officially Makes it Lebron’s Team

I actually caught some of the first look at the new Miami trio last night (only the first quarter). They looked really good even though D-Wade got hurt. I think the Pistons in general make most teams look good, especially ones that are supposed to be favorites for a title. At first I didn’t think much of Wade’s injury since he won’t really miss all that much time, and its still preseason. As the game progressed it became apparent that Lebron unsurprisingly would be the man without Wade in the lineup. Shocking revelation, I know. It seemed like as soon as Wade left the game, Lebron’s urgency stepped up a little. He took over that game, and showed us why this will eventually be his team. There’s no mistaking his godlike talents on the court, and even Bosh said after the game he’s never seen that many wide open shots. D-Wade is a fantastic player (easily top 5 in the league), but if you’re on the same floor as Lebron you are going to be overshadowed. Was last night the first step into the team transitioning to being all about Lebron? Probably. He even said in a pregame interview that he would not defer to anyone, and that was before Wade got hurt. Lebron endured the worst summer I can recall of any professional athlete. It was even more brutal because he didn’t even get into any kind of legal  trouble. Now it’s time for him to show us why we made such a big deal out of his decision, tanking the Boston series, and making retarded tweets and comments siding with Maverick Carter (the worst agent in the history of agents). After watching one preseason game, Lebron reminded me that he will overcome all the bad press, and will be vindicated this season through his amazing presence on the court. He is the Mike Vick of the NBA, he’s different than everyone else, and you can’t take your eyes off him when he’s playing. Miami might be Wade’s city, and it might still be his franchise, but after one missed meaningless preseason game from Wade, I think it’s already Lebron’s team.

Asian’s Breaking Ground in the NBA

You know we get up as much Asian pride posts as we can, so I couldn’t resist introducing our readers to this Chinese guy. Yesterday Sonny Xiao bought a small stake (5-10%) of the new Dallas expansion NBA D-League team named the Texas Legends. This isn’t all that exciting news since I can’t even name all the D-League teams nor have I really watched any of their games aside from a youtube clip or two. What makes Xiao so special? Is it because he’s only 27? Being 27 and owning a stake in a team was one of my goals, unfortunately it never came to fruition, and I’m older than 27 now… The real reason it’s unique though, is because he is the first Chinese born person to own a stake in a team. Mikhail Prokorov became the first overseas owner this year buying the New Jersey Nets this offseason, and now Xiao becomes the first guy from Asia to buy into the NBA, even if that happens to be a D-League team. Xiao came over from Beijing ten years ago as a foreign exchange student to attend SMU in San Antonio. He returned to Beijing to build up a couple of companies only to sell them off, and is now back in the states trying to help get this team going. It might be the first bridge to China that the NBA has been looking to find for awhile.

7 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

October 4, 2010

Doin Playoff Power Rankings

By chappy81

We haven’t put up any power rankings up for a long time, and don’t really need to anymore now that the regular season is over. Today we were debating about playoff teams, and some of us thought certain teams were stronger than others, and decided to rank them. No explanations for the rankings, just how we feel about each of these teams going into the October classic. Cincy and Atlanta seem to have the least support. Can you blame us though?!?

Chappy:

  1. Phillies
  2. Tampa Bay
  3. New York
  4. SF
  5. Texas
  6. Cincy
  7. Minnesota
  8. Atlanta

Cali4dre:

  1. Phillies
  2. New York
  3. Tampa Bay
  4. Minnesota
  5. Texas
  6. Atlanta
  7. SF
  8. Cincy

MCeezy:

1. Yankees
2. Phillies
3. Twins
4. Rangers
5. Giants
6. Braves
7. Rays (yeah, 7th)
8. Reds (although, I’ll be rooting for them)

Dyslecix:

1.       Tampa Bay

2.       Phillies

3.       NY

4.       Texas

5.       Minnesota

6.       SF

7.       Cincy

8.       Atlanta

10 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Sports

October 3, 2010

Hand It Over Already

By By

Denard Robinson is running away with the Heisman, so hand it over already, there is no other player even in the discussion right now.  He led newly ranked Michigan to a late game victory over Indiana yesterday, but what’s more impressive, was his body of work on the day.  How’s this for fantasy stats, 277 yards passing with 3 TD’s, and 217 yards rushing with 2 more TD’s?  On top of that, he was an efficient 10/16 through the air with no picks, and only needed 19 carries to break 200 on the ground.  He became the first player in NCAA history to have two games of over 200 yards passing and rushing in the same season.  Two games, and we’re only five games in!  He’s also doing this on the road (@ Notre Dame & @ Indiana), in hostile environments.  Needless to say, he is the single most important player to his team, anywhere.  Even #1 ranked Alabama kept it rolling without last year’s Heisman winner Mark Ingram earlier this season.  Oh and by the way, he’s also electrifying to watch, which is a Heisman trait.  I can’t wait to see his highlights every Saturday!

I could go on forever about this guy, but the numbers speak for themselves, here.  http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/player/profile?playerId=480237

And if reading isn’t believing, how about seeing?  Here.

And this was one of his “average” performances.  It almost sounds cliché to call him the next Michael Vick, it seems any running QB gets those comparisons now, but Denard Robinson does remind me of Mike Vick.  Which brings up an interesting argument, is he an NFL QB?  I know he flourishes in a Rich Rodriguez system out there in Michigan, but regardless of the system, he is putting up good passing numbers.  And of course, his ground game, which might be the best in college, could be an advantage at the next level.  So doesn’t that make him a potential NFL star behind center?  I don’t know what the experts are saying, but I think he can be.  I remember on one of the Doin-Work e-mail chains, we spoke of how it was difficult to read the transition of QB’s from college to the pros, and whether they’ll make it, well I think Denard Robinson is a prime example of that.  But without looking too far ahead, there’s one thing that’s not hard to read.  Denard Robinson, Heisman Award winner.

4 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Sports

October 1, 2010

Is That the Giants Headed for the MLB Postseason?

By mceezy

It’s usually not a smart idea to post about a team returning to the playoffs when they haven’t clinched yet, but I’m an A’s fan, so if the Giants meltdown and fail to make the playoffs, I won’t shed any tears. At any rate, I’ve got to admit I’m a little excited about the black and orange returning to the postseason for the first time since they blew the 2003 World Series to the Anaheim Angels. Now, they’d have to get swept this weekend by the Padres to force a one game playoff for the division, but the way the two teams are playing right now, that doesn’t seem likely. So let’s assume the “G-men,” as the much maligned announcing duo of Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow call them, hold off the Pads to win the NL West. Contrary to Chappy’s sentiments, I’m pretty excited for the MLB Playoffs this year – on the NL side at least. The Phillies are pretty much a perennial postseason favorite at this point, but if things hold the way they are, we’ll see the return of the Giants, the Atlanta Braves, and most refreshingly, the Cincinnati Reds.

In all likelihood, the Giants will open the first round at home against the Braves, which should be an exciting series. Remember that the Giants knocked off the Braves in the first round in 2003 on their way to a World Series berth. But SF has the makings of a pretty dangerous playoff team. The pitching staff is unparalleled, led by Tim Lincecum of course. Throw in guys like Matt Cain, a revitalized Barry Zito, and quite possibly the hottest pitcher in the rotation, Jonathan Sanchez, and you can’t figure them to give up many runs. On the offensive side, though not the most dangerous lineup on paper, the Giants are ridiculously deep. It’s a huge collection of guys that can come through with the big hit at any given time. Buster Posey, Jose Guillen, Pat Burrell, Aubrey Huff, Edgar Renteria, Pablo Sandoval, Freddy Sanchez, Mike Fontenot, Cody Ross, Aaron Rowand….. I could go on for days. I guess I’ll put away all my green and gold and break out that one Giants shirt I have for the next few…. weeks, hopefully.

4 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Sports

October 1, 2010

Two Quick Things…

By chappy81

Bynum’s surgery

It’s lame that Bynum put off his surgery opting to go to the World Cup instead. Even if he thought it was going to be a less serious surgery, he knew he was going to have surgery. I don’t buy his story that he didn’t know what the recovery time would be, anytime you know you are going under the knife, you get all the details from the doctor on the major points like say, recovery time. It was a bonehead move to say the least. Maybe he just thought, if Favre can do it, why not me?!? In the end, Bynum has never played a full season (35, 50, and 65 games), so why start now?!? It really won’t matter if he’s in the lineup for the first month or two. The Lakers are going to be in the playoffs regardless of what Bynum does to start the year, which makes me question how meaningful the regular season is. The Sports Chump brought up a good point that it comes down to three teams that truly have a shot at winning the title (Lakers, Heat, and Celtics), so why all the fuss. There’s always hope of OKC, Orlando, and Chicago pulling out some miracles, but would you really bet on them? In basketball missing a month or two isn’t the worst thing in the world for a team. It hurts, but when we already know who the title contenders are before the season nearly every year, it’s really a non-story. Maybe it matters if you’re a small team, and want to see LA early in the season while Bynum is still out, but that’s beyond a team’s control.

Baseball’s dated playoff system

The MLB has seen an attendance dip for yet another season. Not too surprising in a season with very little drama, and we ended up hearing about Strasburg for four straight months. Alas, we really only have one interesting race to get in the playoffs in the NL West, and that race is all but over, unless the Padres pull out a miracle in SF. Baseball is in a down year because of its lack of star power, but with all the good looking rookies that broke onto the scene this year, I’d say the future is very bright. It’s been brought up in hundreds of articles that the MLB playoffs should be changed to make it more interesting at the end of the year. I agree with most of them. We have a great race between Tampa and New York, but since home field really doesn’t mean crap in baseball this isn’t, and shouldn’t be getting much attention. Baseball is by far the slowest evolving sport, and has batted around the idea of instant replay for what seems like a decade. We already debated about instant replay, and unless you hate Armando Gallaraga you’d agree that getting the calls right are more important than anything, but the MLB continues to stay behind on the technology curve, and has chosen to stay in the simpler times of cassette tapes and VHS’s. We could upgrade to at least DVD’s and CD’s if we aren’t ready for IPod’s and Blue Rays, but I don’t think Selig’s great grandkids have told him what those are yet. I’d like to see more teams in the playoffs like two more in each league with a total of three wild card teams. Does that diminish the regular season? A little, but there’s ways around that to reward the division winners with some perks. Have the wild card winners play each of the division winners, but start a best of seven series at 2-0 in the division champs favor. Maybe even make the all the games at the division winners home stadium, so they only have to win two of five games to advance. Would that give the Yankees and Rays some incentive to play out this final week? I would certainly think so…

4 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Sports

September 29, 2010

Doin Lines Week 4

By chappy81

Lost in the Sunday sports shuffle I forgot fall was upon us. I was as excited about seeing the new “Eastbound and Down” series premiere as I was about the football games. There were a lot of shows just getting started, but this one was like watching the Raiders game for me. It didn’t disappoint, opening up with a messy cock fight, and ending with Kenny being left by his new Mexican homies, and returning to the mound. I’d recommend Eastbound and Down to any sportsfan, especially the ones that liked the movie Major League. Kenny Powers is basically a washed up Ricky Vaughn trying to remake himself into a star again. His mission is to convince himself, and everyone around him that he is still the best. There are classic lines every 2 minutes. Before we get to the real reason for the post, I’m wondering why didn’t I bet against every team that clinched a playoff spot yesterday, sans the Twins. They all lost, and hopefully typing this out will be a mental note to bet on those games after a team clinches a playoff spot in baseball. On to football, last week neither of us did well. I can’t get to .500, and By is going to have to have a helluva week to make up for this past one. Our results have me questioning if we can right the ship faster than the Raiders and 49ers!?! Hopefully so, or we could be in for a loooong season.

Well, I was absolutely destroyed last week.  I know I hit on 1/3 of my picks, but I don’t even want to look back at the two teams that came through for me.  Metaphorically speaking, last week was like eating a bad burrito that gave me the runs, now that it’s out of my system, I just want to forget about it.  I know it isn’t poetic, but it describes exactly how I feel.  But, as Jay-Z would say, “On To The Next One.”

Results for week 3 (Chap 3-3-0, By 2-4-0) Overall (Chap 8-9-1, By 5-8-2)

Denver @ Tennessee (-7)

By picks Tennessee (-7) Josh McDaniels was looking like a genius around this time last season, as his Broncos were undefeated and all the buzz.  Unfortunately they haven’t replicated the fast start in 2010, and heading into Week 4, things just got worse with the announcement of Knowshon Moreno missing his second straight game with a hamstring injury.  Kyle Orton has done a great job as the interim QB, but it hasn’t translated to wins.  Ultimately, Denver doesn’t have enough threats to compete with Tennessee.  For the Titans, Chris Johnson is a beast, we don’t have to get into it about him, what it all comes down to Vince Young.  If you throw away the Pittsburgh game, he’s done a good job directing the ship, and after dismantling the Giants in New York last week, I’ve seen enough from the Titans to feel confident in having them cover.

@ Pittsburgh (-1.5) vs. Baltimore Continue reading

7 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

September 29, 2010

Ryder Cup E-mail Thread

By dyslecix

With the Ryder Cup about to kickoff tomorrow, we chatted about the storylines (mainly Tiger) in our daily e-mail chain. It all started with this Gene Wojciechowski article.

Dyslecix: (Without reading it) Wild guess, the US team gets thoroughly trounced this weekend, and Tiger breaks even at 2-2 in his matchups sitting out a best ball or alternate shot round.

Cali4Dre: More along the lines of how much more Tiger needs this Ryder Cup than in the past… And how much getting a win would mean, how he can use it to repair his image, how he can mentor the 5 rookies, etc.

Chappy: I thought it was interesting watching Tiger’s interviews yesterday. I agree though Woods needs the Ryder Cup more than it needs him… And I agree with you Tony, the US team is going to get owned… I think the course favors the Euros… Aren’t there a bunch of hazards there that make the longer hitters club down right?

Dyslecix: I’m not really interested in individual story lines with the Ryder Cup, by Sunday when the single matches are going on, and the crowds are going crazy it’s more of a team story to me as they battle….It certainly didn’t miss a beat without Tiger in 08’ and was just as interesting to me at least.

I just read that despite what Monty said, the changes off the fairway to the course are pretty noticeable. It’s playing a lot like a US Open course with thick nasty rough.

Chappy: Yeah, I read that they were going to have the rough around 3 ½ inches, brutal… Oh and I disagree that this event alone would change Tiger’s image. I think winning Majors is the only way Tiger repairs that image…

Dyslecix: Nice little Monthly special…and predictable with Bubba, Phil, Tiger and crew and there wayward tee game.

Damm this is gonna be fun to watch.

How about just winning on the Tour again for starters?

Cali4Dre: I think that was Wojo’s point, not winning all year is weird for Tiger, this is his last chance since he usually doesn’t play in the Fall Series.

Dyslecix: Wasn’t Wojo a big Tiger supporter in the past?

Cali4Dre: Who wasn’t?

Chappy: I wasn’t 🙂

Dyslecix: Well at first everybody was on his side sure, but as he got older there was the crew of writers that were haters….Mainly the Lefty group, and the other group who thought he swore and cusses too much, the “gives the image of golf a bad name” writers.

Cali4Dre: Sure you weren’t, everyone loves a winner.  There does appear to be water on half the holes, and I believe the woods are in play on just about every hole looking at the pictures…

Dyslecix: It’s built along a river, and is amazingly incorporated in the country side. Visually it looks awesome in pics, should be fun to see it live on TV.

Chappy: Ok, I was on his side up until around 2002 or 2003, then I started rooting against him. He just rubbed me the wrong way, I never liked how robotic he was, he didn’t even seem human. It’s hard for me to like guys that don’t seem human at all…

Cali4Dre: I’ll admit, I only rooted against Tiger because I prefer to root for the underdog or no-namer, but who couldn’t be a fan of how Tiger dominated??

Dyslecix: You guys were a real minority…

Chappy: Totally, I was a fan of his game, and didn’t give a crap about how he acted on the course, but when he cussed and cried I was reveling in it. I guess just like MJ and Kobe, I just hate the best, and like to root against them. Not to say I don’t enjoy watching them, but still root for the underdog like dre…

Dyslecix: New article on the pairings.

Cali4Dre: Interesting… I think Pavin might be one of the bets mental players in terms of strategy in the game of golf because he has had to be since he wasn’t exactly the most physically gifted.  I think he’ll do just fan on the strategy parts… what do you guys think?

Dyslecix: I agree…Maybe he doesn’t have to with the “Pod” strategy because his players and pairings are developing despite it. Anyways, Pavin won’t get out “coached” by Monty in any way. This comes down to talent straight up I think.

Cali4Dre: It’s amazing how balanced the team is in terms of distance and accuracy, it’s almost too easy to make pairings that way…

Chappy:I don’t think it matters what the pairings are, the US is going to lose…

9 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Sports

September 29, 2010

There Shouldn’t Be A Debate Between Felix and CC For Cy Young

By chappy81

I must really be fired up about this AL Cy Young race, because it’s the second post I’ve done on it, and I rarely go back to any subject I previously poured out my views on a post, but hearing people argue that CC should win it aggravated me enough to write a post on it again. It’s obviously a two man race for the AL Cy Young Award, and both Felix and CC made their final starts of the year last night. Like I said back in August, it was Felix’s award to lose. If anything Felix has strengthened his case over the last month and a half. Since I wrote in the original post (end of August) that it was Felix’s Cy Young to lose, they both have the same record (3-2), are within a few innings pitched of each other, have about the same K’s as each other, but CC’s ERA is two full points higher over that span. CC just happened to win his 21st game during that time span, which made more people jump on his bandwagon. Does that make him a better choice for the award? I don’t think so, because I don’t value wins and losses all that much. The award is supposed to be given to the best pitcher period, not the best pitcher on the best team. Greinke winning the award should show us that you don’t have to be on a good team, same with Cliff Lee on the Indians. Over the whole year it’s easy to see who should win the award. They both had the same amount of starts (34), but Felix threw 12 more innings, had nearly one less run on his ERA (0.91 lower), struck out 35 more hitters, and threw four more complete games (6 total) than CC. I will argue for King Felix on the points that I keep seeing light on why CC should be the winner. One last stat, 12 of 13 pitchers that held the lead in strikeouts and ERA won the award, so I’m hoping that it doesn’t go to 12 out of 14 this year.

Argument: CC won 21 games on the best team.

I know CC has won 21 games, but he’s on a team that scored the most runs in the league by nearly 50. Conversely, Felix is on a team that scored 70 less runs than anyone else in the league. You tell me which guy you’d put money on to win more games. Hell, I’d probably would’ve put money on AJ Burnett or Javier Vasquez to have more wins than Felix. If wins are so important, why aren’t Lester, Pavano, and Verlander in those Cy Young talks? They still could get 20 wins, and are comparable to CC in ERA and K’s.

Argument: CC is in a tougher division. Continue reading

7 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

September 29, 2010

DUBS 2010

By By

Basketball is around the corner, and I am uberly excited!  I hope the Lakers fail and Kobe finally starts to show some wear & tear.  I’m intrigued to see how the Miami Thrice unification plays out, 73 wins?  Although “Miami Thrice” as a nickname is just lame.  But, most importantly, I’m excited for my new look Golden State Warriors!  I got high hopes on my boys! 

Here’s a little snippet from the Warriors YouTube channel, led by the freshly gold medaled Steph Curry, the Dubs run some basic 3 on 2 and 2 on 1 drills, if I must say so myself, our squad has the look of a playoff team.

PS – I know it’s only rumored … but just in case Lacob & Riley read this, DO NOT TRADE STEPH CURRY EVER!

6 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Sports

September 28, 2010

RFP of the Day: Matt Nokes

By mceezy

One of these things is unlike the others.

Tigers fans are probably cringing right now. Matt Nokes has got to be one of those names that just makes any Detroit fan shake his head. I may have been just a little whippersnapper in 1987, but I remember a pretty good AL Rookie of the Year race. Of course it would eventually go to my hometown hero, Mark McGwire, on the strength of 49 homers and 118 RBI. And first runner up may have gone to Kevin Seitzer of the Royals, but the guy I remember challenging McGwire for the trophy was Tigers’ catcher, Matt Nokes. Nokes was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 20th round of the 1981 draft. He spent a few years in the minors, made his big league debut in 85, went 11 for 53 and was dealt the following offseason to Detroit in a multiplayer deal that was essentially the swapping of poo poo platters between the Giants and Tigers. Nokes made just 24 plate appearance for Detroit in 1986, but then he broke out in 87. While batting .289, the Tigers new star player jacked 32 home runs and drove in 87 RBI, which earned him an All-Star berth, a Silver Slugger award, and third place in the AL ROY voting. He even got some clown to give him an MVP vote. The future looked bright for Nokes….. but it wasn’t. He never topped any of those numbers, and despite a slight resurgence in New York with the Yankees in 91-92, he never really made any noise. Those were terrible Yankee teams, so the numbers didn’t mean much. To be honest, I probably haven’t even thought of Matt Nokes in years. I was contemplating a feature on Glenallen Hill or Milt Thompson, and somehow I stumbled upon Nokes. Here’s to you Tiger fans!

4 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Random Forgotten Player, Sports

September 28, 2010

Mythbusters for Sports

By chappy81

I’m not usually big on gushing about every new site I run across, but the NBAplaybook.com is the exception to that rule. I spent numerous hours on the site reading most of the myths that they busted. It might not be the site for you if you aren’t into basketball, but yesterday they broke down a subject near and dear to me on whether Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis can play together, which made me want to write a post to recognize this site. Obviously this matchup is a nightmare for any team when they are on offense, but can be exposed when they are on defense. Monta has backed off his original statement from last year which is refreshing, so hopefully the mythbusters are right and they can play well together. If you love analysis and overanalyzing things like free throws, footwork, and Dwight Howards post game, then you will love this site. Just be sure you have some time to read for a bit!

13 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Blogs, Sports

September 27, 2010

Raiders Were Screwed Either Way…

By chappy81

I found myself saddened by the Bills decision to cut Trent Edwards today. It’s strangely the second pro athlete my mom has met since I left NorCal, and I was more excited to hear about her encounter with Ricky Williams, but Trent Edwards wasn’t a terrible silver medal. Edwards happens to be my mom’s neighbor’s wife’s cousin, so she has seen him a few times here and there. Anyways, the reason for this post wasn’t to be sad about Edwards getting the axe in Buffalo, but more to be happy that the Raiders couldn’t have selected a solid quarterback out of that 2007 draft when they gave their fate to arguably the biggest draft bust in the history of busts selecting Jamarcus. It might have been one of the ugliest classes in decades, unless Kolb somehow grabs the job from Vick (don’t hold your breathe for that one) it was a horrible draft for QB’s. It’s always fun to see where the top QB’s for the first 100 picks of that magical 2007 draft are today.

#1 Overall – Jamarcus Russell

I’ve said all I can say about this guy, but right now he’s probably pounding some sizznurup hoping the UFL will give him a call.

#22 Overall – Brady Quinn

He’s now hanging out in Denver behind Tim Tebow(another over drafted QB) of all people. I guess if Orton got hurt, he might see the field, but if his resume isn’t bust material I don’t know your definition of a bust is.

#32 Overall – Kevin Kolb

Can’t call him a bust yet, but can’t call him much of a success when Vick has already supplanted him as the starter in Philly after 6 quarters against bad teams. I’m not a beliver yet, but I guess there’s a chance he could be good…

#40 Overall – John Beck

Who? Took me a minute to remember who he was too. Miami didn’t like him all that much, now he’s a third stringer in Washington, not exactly a successful 2nd round pick.

#43 Overall – Drew Stanton

Another who? Is there an owl nearby or something?!? He is holding down the backup spot on Detroit right now, but when Stafford gets back on the field he’ll move down the depth chart.

#92 Overall – Trent Edwards

Just got cut, so the way I see it, if Kolb sucks the Raiders didn’t make a terrible choice in drafting Jamarcus, there was simply nothing to work with out of this QB class, so we were doomed no matter who ended up coming to Oakland.

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September 25, 2010

Vincent Jackson’s Value E-mail Thread

By mceezy

In response to Michael Silver’s article on Chargers’ GM, AJ Smith vs. Vincent Jackson over on Yahoo Sports, the Doin Work crew sounded off on the San Diego dilemma. Should the Chargers continue to hold out for what they want for Vincent Jackson, or simply take what they can get and move on?

Chappy: Sure isn’t a fan of AJ Smith. Can’t say I disagree with his point of view though…

Dyslecix: I get both sides of this…in the end though, this falls on VJ….he didn’t hold the cards to play AJ Smith heads up, and he lost. That’s just business.

Chappy: I think having his team blacked out on TV on the home opener might be making him reconsider not giving in… His business should be to fill up the seats…

Dyslecix: I can’t speak for Charger fans…but Dre and a ton of posts in the comment section sure make it seem like there happy he didn’t give in.

Chappy: That’s true, dre was pretty bitter… I guess the weather is just too good to go to football games that cost $100 for crappy seats…

Anonymous Broncos Fan: i don’t think vj has a leg to stand on in the whole situtaion, but they should’ve traded him.  2nd round picks become starters in the nfl…

Cali4Dre: I disagree with what this guy is saying, AJ Smith is not acting “misguided” here, it’s definitely the player

This isn’t the first time AJ Smith has gone head to head with someone else in the organization, and he’s fried much bigger fish than the other Vincent Jackson (See: Schottennheimer, Marty).  Football is a business, Players are assets, and the Chargers are one of the shrewdest teams in the league when it comes to trades (See #1 pick (Vick) in 2001 for picks that tuned out to be LT and Brees; see: see #1 pick (Manning) in 2004 for picks that turned out to be Rivers, Kaeding, and Merriman in 2005).  Let’s not forget the Chargers spent a #2 pick on Vj, so it’s not like they signed him as an undrafted FA or something.  They kept him on the sidelines until he was ready and in the next couple of years VJ will cash in on how the Chargers groomed him.  You’d think he would have a little bit of gratitude towards the Chargers, but instead he turns into a punk and goes out and gets a DUI not once but twice and decides he’s bigger than the teams 3.2M offer to play out his original contract.

Chappy: Since you’ve followed it every step of the way, I’ll take your word for it

MCeezy: Are we sure Vincent Jackson is really that good? You know I’m the last to admit Philip Rivers is good, but maybe VJ is just a product of having a good QB? He could easily go to another team and completely disappear. I think they should take whatever they can get for him and move on with Floyd and Nanee, or whoever else they can sign

Dyslecix:69 catches is his high total, and 8 TD’s. Mehhhh

Chappy: Slightly better than Heyward Bey

MCeezy: OH, well in that case he’s a stud!!!!  hahaha.

Cali4Dre: Point is he’s valuable to the Chargers because he knows his their system and he moves the chains.  I saw a stat that said he averaged the highest percentage of catches for a first down in the league last year, and the highest average YPC.  He’s big, fast, and can out-jump any corner in the league for a ball in the end-zone, so while he might not have racked up say 100 catches, he didn’t need to.  They have Gates who catches more balls than most TE’s, and Floyd caught his fair share.  The Chargers also spent a lot of time leading in games so they didn’t need to pass as often.

MCeezy: I agree with every bit of that. That’s why I think Jackson’s expendable. I know VORP is a baseball term, but I feel like they’re good enough offensively that they can plug in someone else and be just fine. He’s not worth the headache, or holding out for a 2nd & 3rd round pick

Anonymous Broncos Fan: obviously not THAT valuable.

Dyslecix: Expendable and not worth the money he was asking for.

Chappy: Don’t need to pass a lot!?! They were ranked 31st in rushing last year…

Dyslecix: What was there passing rank?

Chappy: 5th http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/team/_/stat/passing/year/2009

Cali4Dre: Point will missed on rushing when leading games, I would expect that from a Raider fan. I agree he’s easily expendable, but the Chargers aren’t going to let a punk or the rest of the league strong arm them into dealing their Pro-Bowl WR for something they don’t want…

Chappy: Ranked 19th in attempts and are 32nd in YPC… I guess when your ahead 3 and outs are acceptable…



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