Here’s a little known fact…. John Tesh composed the original NBA on NBC theme song. Everyone knows the song… it’s one of the greatest – if not THE greatest sports theme song ever. I’m partial to the ESPN National Hockey Night Theme, but Tesh’s masterpiece is up there. You won’t see me shedding any tears if and when he passes away, but I’ll be damned if I’m not BLASTING this song all day when the news breaks. It came on my iPod while I was driving home from work through rainy Sacramento today, and I’m telling you, it picked me right up. I may have only been going 15 mph, but I felt like I was racing through life. So, on this day, I present to you, John Tesh, LIVE, performing the NBA on NBC theme song….
Pebble Beach Stories Part III: The Baseball Players
The 8th at Pebble is my favorite hole on the course. There isn't a better over the cliff 2nd shot anywhere I've played!
Here’s the third installment of my stories from working at Pebble Beach. If you missed PART I or PART II click on the links to view. The baseball players are easily the most entertaining group of characters that I saw stumble their way the through the golf course. The best part about the baseball guys is that they show up to the first tee smelling like booze at 8-9AM. No other professional sports group drinks nearly as much as them. They will often ask you to grab them a bloody mary to cure the hangover before their round. It’s pretty funny when the mini-store they have at the resort runs out of booze EVERY time they come to town. The only times I saw the store sold out was during tournaments or when the baseball players were there! Another fun part is watching the baseball guys BOMB their drives. They are one of the groups that plays a lot of mini golf games while at the resort such as scrambles/best ball/elimination games throughout the week. I always would volunteer to be a judge for the events and got to most of the time. Anyways, with spring training in full swing here’s my most notable memories from the always fun, MLB players.
Brett Boone – Easily the winner of the biggest drunk guy maneuver.
Although there were complaints of someone leaving fecal matter in the elevator on this very night, but nobody owned up to that one, so it will be a mystery forever. We just know it had to be one of the ball players. It might be a coincidence, but the two times that Boone came to Pebble, I saw him occasionally over their week, and about 6 of the 7 times I saw him, he had a cocktail in hand. I remember helping him in the morning of the particular day of the “incident”, and he was dropped off in the front area where the bag drop is. He had a cocktail in hand, and already had that drunk lazy eye look at 8:30 in the morning. Not surprising by any means, but he was slightly ahead of pace on this particular morning if you know what I’m saying.
Anyways, fast forward 16 hours to a little after midnight. Brett Boone and another player that was never identified to me decided to start a bonfire just outside his hotel room at Spanish Bay. A good chunk of landscape got burnt luckily not any fairway, and also a little of the building had some charring on it. This extremely smart idea no doubt came from some heavy drinking, and earned Boone a $20K fine for fixing up the damages. He also received a ban from the resort. In case you were wondering why so many athletes go broke, this could be another good example of why…
Adam Dunn – He holds the title for the best golf shot I’ve ever seen by a non-golf professional. We were doing a scramble, and I was the judge for the six pairings (twelve players overall). Basically, the game was; the two worst scores are eliminated on each hole, each pair had players alternating shots, when there were three teams left it went to a single elimination for each hole. I can’t remember who Dunn’s teammate was for this mini game, but there were only three teams left at the time of the shot. We were on the par 4 15th hole at Pebble. Dunn was hitting his fourth shot, and it looked like the other two teams had VERY make-able par chances(Neither groups made them). He was about 45-50 yards out, and he hit his shot a mile up in the air. It bounced on the green once with a little backspin slowing the balls speed after it touched down, and on the second hop it went into directly into the hole. His 50 yard chip in saved them on the hole, and they eventually won the scramble. It very well could be the only time I’ve really seen Dunn win! Sorry Reds and Nats fans, pun intended.
Derek Lee – The longest drive I’ve ever seen on the 18th hole came from Derek. I’m not sure exactly how far it traveled, but it went close to 400 yards. It was past the trees that are supposed to give you trouble on your second shot. It was a shame he wasted that monster drive by shanking his second shot into the water to the left of the green, but hey, most of us would be happy with just having that first shot… A side note on DLee, my buddy in guest services wouldn’t accept any of his money/tips from him all week while “hooking” him up with upgrades to his room and things of that nature. At the end of the weekend, he sent my buddy to the pro shop to get fitted for clubs and sent him a brand new set of Nike golf clubs. My friend couldn’t turn that down! I’ll always root for him no matter how much he struggles or how much Chicago fans rip him, he just made that good of an impression on me!
Cory Lidle – I was debating whether putting a negative on the deceased was in bad taste, but essentially I’m just telling a story. Also, it’s been two years since the plane crash, so I figure enough time has passed. It’s a shame my memory of Lidle was the most horrid display of putting I’ve seen. I could really see two year old throwing a ball at the hole and getting as close as him. He missed so bad on one putt he was slightly off the green after it. He took his time setting up these putts, and seemed to put some genuine effort into the shots which made it more perplexing. Something just wasn’t clicking, I felt bad for the guy. He ended up four putting that green, and the one that actually went in, was a rocket that he was lucky it stayed down. Maybe he didn’t care or was just THAT bad at putting.
UFL Moving Two Franchises
I wouldn’t normally care about the UFL, let alone write a post about it, but they announced that the California Redwoods, who played last season in San Francisco, will move to Sacramento for the upcoming season. The New York franchise is also moving to Hartford, CT. Both teams struggled with attendance last season, and the UFL as a whole lost somewhere in the neighborhood of $30 million. This move is notable because it comes at a time when Sacramento’s viability as a pro sports town is in question. The Kings have long been the only major sports franchise in town, but their issues have been well documented. While the team sold out almost every game for its first 15+ seasons in Sacramento, the fan base got spoiled, and has recently lost interest with the poor results and lack of direction of the team. Fortunately, with the arrival and quick progression Tyreke Evans, along with other young pieces like Omri Casspi, Donte Greene, and the recent addition of Carl Landry, things are looking up for the Kings. A new arena remains the primary issue regarding the long term sustainability of the team in Sacramento.
The city recently lost the WNBA’s Monarchs, due to the Maloofs letting the team go. While Sacramento will never challenge San Jose as the boutique sport capital of California, inheriting the UFL franchise can be considered a step in the right direction. With the Raiders and 49ers playing just down I-80, NFL football has always been accessible to local fans. It’ll be interesting to see how the Redwoods fare at Sacramento State’s Hornet Stadium. I don’t see it being an overwhelming success, but hopefully they can draw more fans than San Francisco did, thus helping the case for the Kings’ new arena. In addition to the Kings mostly successful run in Sacramento, the Oakland A’s minor league affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats, has been a huge success in the 10 seasons they’ve been here, leading the minor leagues in overall attendance in each of the first 9 seasons. I can’t say I’ll be purchasing season tickets to watch Doug Gabriel and the Redwoods take the field week in and week out, but it’s definitely something to check out. I’ll at least have to catch a game to watch Denny Green roaming the sidelines and see if the UFL really is who we thought they were.
NFL Needs to Change the OT Rules, but Not to This!
The NFL announced today that they are looking into changing the rules for overtime. It’s a good thing as far as I’m concerned, since we have nearly all the game decided by opening coin toss, and the team that gets the ball winning about 99% of the time. There definitely should be a more fair way to do things in deciding critical games. The proposed plan would give only playoffs games the following scenario in a tie score at the end of regulation.
Team A receives the ball. If they score a TD, they win the game. If they are held to a FG, then team B is given the ball, and has one chance to either tie or win the game.
I think it’s a start, but I have a few problems with the proposed solution. One, this will give team B the knowledge that they will be going for it every 4th down thus changing offensive strategy. It just feels like the NFL is putting a band-aid on the problem instead of fixing the debate completely. I guess giving both teams the opportunity to have the ball will appease the masses, but shouldn’t we get an overtime that will will get everyone excited about. I understand some owners won’t want all the those extra chances that one of their players can get hurt on, but who cares if it improves the game, right!?!
In my mind the NFL should change OT to one of these two possible solutions.
1) They change it to the same as the NCAA, but I’d like to see teams start from midfield in the pros at a mimimum, so it’s truly a scoring drive.
2) They add one extra period that ranges from 8-10 minutes, and is more like basketball. Whoever is winning at the end of the OT is the winner. This would give both teams at least enough time one drive each.
I don’t understand why it’s so hard to make a rule change. Especially a rule that has caught a ton of flack over the years for being supremely outdated and unfair. I mean you can argue that the defense of team B should stop the other team, but on the same token defenses are pretty winded by the time OT rolls around.
Moving Ramp = Disaster
I know that this clip is pretty old, a lot of times when I hurt myself I revisit this clip, and think, well at least I didn’t do something this stupid… When this stunt was thought up, I’m not sure why they thought it was a good idea. Jumping over the car would be cool in itself without the ramp moving.
Tiger and Playboy?
Tiger’s losing his sponsors left and right if you haven’t noticed. Gatorade (aka. Pepsi Co.) just kicked his contract to the curb, which isn’t all that surprising since he never said when he’d return to golf. Why pay the guy that goes into hibernation. I’m think that this is a bigger deal than losing his sponsorship with Accenture since they are a company that caters to the upper class. Gatorade on the other hand is drank by pretty much everyone, at least the people I’m around. I guess they thought his little fake sobbing during the speech wasn’t convincing enough to keep him on the payroll. Maybe it was those references to having a tough life, the Gatorade front office thought “Well, we will try as hard as we can to make your super celebrity life harder!” Maybe they decided they only wanted one robot in Federrer. What’s next for Tiger? Only he could tell you that, and I’m sure he’d have to write up a prepared statement that he can’t even memorize ready for you in six short months. This would only confirm he is indeed some type of cyborg, and has only learned the same amount of emotions as a Terminator.
One thing I’d like to see come out of all this, is him losing ALL of his sponsors, and starting from scratch. As soon as he wins his first major all this will be in the past and new opportunities will be coming along. 
I’m guessing Nike and EA will stick with him, because they have products based completely on him, but he’s going to have to pick up some new sponsors. Maybe he could get sponsored by Playboy. I’d probably pin him more as a Hustler type guy from all the fetishes he seems to have, but since Playboy is a little classier it would be the more likely of the two scenarios. Playboy has had some rough times lately due to the huge surge of internet porn out there for free. Hugh is an idol to most men, and I’m doubtful Tiger’s marriage will work out, so he’d be an amazing spokesman for the company. Instead of getting sponsored, he should just buy the company! We could even have a reality show with him feeding off the Girls Next Door success called Girls on the 19th hole or maybe Get in the Hole. Hugh you need to make this happen, there isn’t better icon to save your empire than sponsoring the most publicized affair of all time. Would people all of a sudden change their opinion on Tiger? Doubtful, because he doesn’t have the dynamic personality that Hugh does.
Hope you enjoyed the rant. I had a long conversation about this with a buddy today.
Boner Jamz
I know… I’ve really been milking this boner thing the last few days. But really, this marks the end of the last time we’ll ever be able to utter the word boner in complete innocence. It’s also just a page out of the 40 year old virgin book. Anyway, there’s really no way to segue in to the actual boner jam of the week. The sports tie-in is that it’s one of the great arena jamz there is. If you’re a Kings or Suns fan you definitely know it. Picture it now – your team is bringing the ball up the court, and you hear… du-duh-du-du-du-duh. You know the sound, but you don’t really know the song. I didn’t really know the song until a Suns fan pointed it out to me. In honor of Friday night NBA action featuring both teams in action, let’s slip into some nu shooz…
Chuck or Biens: Who Has the Worst Form?
Last night I was watching the Warriots play on TNT. A mini part of going to a Warriors games at Oracle is the crowd reactions to Andris Biedrins shooting his free throws. He has has the worst free throw form of anybody in the NBA. He’s worse than most guys playing in an AAU game. I mean, don’t you think he should try something different!?! I’ve heard things from sitting in an inflatable chair, to throwing it up there Rick Barry underhanded style. It sounds like he doesn’t want to change his form, so you can be the judge for yourself what he should do.
On to our next contestant of the worst form known to man, is Charles Barkley, and his golf swing. We’ve seen him get a little better through the Haney project, but Charles is far from fluid with a golf club in his hands. I have to admit the first time I saw him swing a golf club I thought it was a joke!
Personally, I think Chuck’s form is waaay uglier, but since he isn’t a professional golfer, I’m giving Biedrins the nod for the worst form. I’ve seen tons of terrible golf swings, but can’t recall a more awkward jerky one than Charles’s. Biens looks less comfortable than Shaq at the line. It looks like he is throwing a medicine ball on all of his free throw attempts…
Doin Work’s 2010 Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft
Alright fantasy fans, we’ve are proud to say that we’ve now completed our cycle of fantasy sports here at Doin Work. We had a mock football, basketball, and now we’ve done baseball. I guess we could do one for Hockey and Golf, but seriously, I doubt there’s much interest from the fantasy community for either of them. As always, we had a 12 team mock, with people writing a little bit on why they picked the player they did, and in some cases why the already regret picking them! With out further ado here’s the first three rounds of the draft!
1) Matt La Porta Potties – Albert Pujols (Cardinals)
HELLO #1 PICK!!! I can’t remember the last time there has been a more straight forward #1 pick in a fantasy draft?!? Matt La Porta is going to be shitting on some Potties for sure this season. The only downside now is waiting two full rounds to pick again.
2) Huff Huff Pass – Hanley Ramirez (Marlins)
Tough to NOT pick Han Ram. Sure he might be considered weak when it comes to pain tolerance by his teammates, but that doesn’t effect any of his play when he’s out on the field. He’s a 30HR/30Steal/100Run/100RBI guy, so it’s tough to find any reason not to take him. Oh yeah, and he’s a shortstop that’s usually in the race for a batting title too! Shortstop was my weakest position last year, so I decided to sure that position up right off the bat this season…
3) Who Creamed in My Clear – Chase Utley (Phillies)
This was a tough choice for me, A-Rod and Miguel Cabrera were hard to pass up. In the end I’ve decided to go with the player that has won me two previous championships. Locking up a 2nd baseman who’s production is so prolific is a valuable early draft piece to have. There will be plenty of other players at corner positions and in the out field to pick up later on down the road.
4) Triple Hawpes Brewed – Alex Rodriguez (Yankees)
I really hate the Yankees, and dislike A-Rod to the extent that I probably wouldn’t mind if he got hurt. If there’s a guy in the league that is as feared as Pujols, I’d say A-Roid fits that mold. He’s hit 30 HR’s and 100 RBI’s in 12 consecutive seasons, so no reason to think he’ll slow down batting in the middle of the most feared lineup in the big leagues.
5) Blue Va-Jay-Jays – Miguel Cabrera (Tigers)
Ummmmm…..When I saw I had the fifth pick I immediately wrote down Chase Utley and A-rod, and by god they went three and four right in front of me. Miguel is essentially a panic pick based on me looking at a million possible picks right up to time expiring. Longoria, Braun, and Kemp got long looks right up before I hit the “Draft” button. From a talent stand point, I probably got the best player on the board, not much to complain about really.
6) I need TP for my Pujols – Prince Fielder (Brewers)
Prince killed me every time I played him last year. I think he hit 40 of his 46 home runs when he was playing me in this head to head league. Seriously though, Prince is a one man wrecking crew, and he is just turning 25 years young. He looks like he could be an MVP contender for years to come. Even though there’s a lot of 1B that can put up comparable numbers, I sided with him because he killed me every time I was against him, and if you can’t beat him pick him!
7) Kinsler’s List – Ryan Braun (Brewers)
Bamm, I was hoping Braun would still be here. He’s a dynamic young power producer and I was hoping he’d be here instead of kemp. Alas, they were both still available making my decision even more simple. Getting a power outfielder is a great pick, there is so much power available in later rounds to build off, I’m just happy I got my guy. I’ve seen in happen in other drafts, but I’ll keep my fingers crossed that Ryan Howard makes it back to me. If these league values pitching I’ll have a chance.
#8 Lawn Mauers – Joe Mauer (Twins)
League wide I’m known for picking my hometown Minnesota players too early in drafts, and since I never seem to do all THAT great in the leagues why not change my strategy you ask? I’d much rather draft a guy I like earlier than I should instead of drafting a guy that I want to see fail in non-fantasy situations. I LOVE Mauer, and pray that we sign him to a long term deal. He’s easily the best catcher in the league, and will be producing at a spot that it’s hard to find good production at!
9) The Uggla Truth – Evan Longoria (Rays)
Lincy or Longoria? Lincy or Longoria? Lincy or Longoria? Lincy or Longoria? Lincy or Longoria? Honestly, I took a shot of Jack, flipped a coin, and landed with heads. Longoria it was. Thanks Mr. Daniels for making my pick a tad easier.
10) Keeping up with the Kouzmanoffs – Mark Texiera (Yankees)
Tex went invisible in the playoffs, but maybe it was because he was nervous in his first year with the Yankee playoff spotlight. I don’t see any reason for him to struggle during the regular season. Sitting in the heart of the order in the best lineup in the bigs he will put up huge numbers.
11) The Good,The Bad,And The Utley – Tim Lincecum (Giants)
Wow, okay so I hate taking pitchers early in drafts. I love building from the infield and then out, and tackling pitching last. I’m also an avid believe in streaming. Seeing Lincecum here so late, I couldn’t pass on the value. This has totally shaken up my draft strategy, but will see what happens, I also feel very good knowing I’d have a ton of trade partners with other owners in this league.
12) Mound Rubbers – Ryan Howard (Phillies)
There are no sure things in baseball, but Howard is pretty close. He’s smacked 45 or more homers in the last four straight seasons, and I doubt he’ll slow down anytime soon residing in a very hitter friendly lineup and park. I’m not sure how I got screwed with the last pick this year. I finished second to last in the standings and still have the disadvantage of picking last. Screw you random pick generator!
2ND ROUND Continue reading
Boner Nowhere To Be Found
Los Angeles, California (CNN) — When former “Growing Pains” actor Andrew Koenig missed his flight home to Los Angeles from Vancouver, British Columbia, last week, his father became worried.
Walter Koenig, an actor known for playing Pavel Chekov in the original “Star Trek” series, had just received a letter from his son that had a “despondent tone,” according to a family statement on the father’s Web site.
Two days later — on February 18 — the elder Koenig and his wife, Judy, called Vancouver police to report their 41-year-old son missing.
Koenig appeared in 25 episodes of “Growing Pains” from 1985 to 1989, playing Richard “Boner” Stabone, according to the Internet Movie Database Web site.
This isn’t intended to poke fun at Boner’s misfortune. This is simply to take advantage of a phenomenon that will soon be gone. Probably the last character to bear the name Boner on a network television show is in the news, and the may be the final time. I never really knew how to feel about the fact that there was a fellow on Growing Pains named Boner. All I know is it’s one of the top 10 most notorious sitcom character names of all time; up there with the likes of Screech, Urkel, Carlton, Corky, and Cockroach. So all jokes aside, I hope he’s okay and they find him. All jokes back inside, I’d like to have a few more Boners in my life.
Durant is Playing Like an MVP… Seattle Must Hate Life…
I have to admit the only time Durant has failed me was during the NCAA tourney as a Longhorn. He made me a believer that he could single-handedly win a title during the year hitting a few buzzer beaters. Unfortunately, he had a god awful performance in the 2nd round of March Madness, and was out of college basketball forever. Needless to say it destroyed my brackets that year. When he went to Seattle I was pretty happy, and grew a mini-mancrush on him through his rookie season. After Presti hi-jacked the team, I’ve found it very hard to watch them. I feel like I should be boycotting anything that is the Thunder. Another reason why every picture I put up of Durant on posts is him in a Seattle uniform. Alas, it’s impossible not to watch this amazing young team hitting full stride, and Westbrook has grown a TON since he came into the league. The main reason for their success has been Kevin Durant, and how he has put them into contender status at the vetran age of 21 years old.
He's a PC with Windows 7 at least!
The Sonics (still resisting calling them the Thunder) are like that up and coming boxer that is knocking out everyone that they face, skyrocketing up the rankings. Most likely they will fall to the champ in a fight for the belt, but it’s always fun to see the potential of the young guns. Rattling off 9 straight wins has made them relevant in the west, and I don’t see losing the last two being overly devastating. It hasn’t been a small story that KD had 29 straight 25+ point performances, until he scored a measly 21 tonight. He’s turned into the full package, and if he ever learns how to start dishing it, watch out. Then again, why would he pass, when he’s going to score no matter how he’s being defended. I’m already more impressed with his offensive game more so than I am with Melo’s. It doesn’t matter who the other team puts on him or what kind of double team he is facing, he figures it out and finds a way to score! If Melo is a PC, then KD has to be Mac. There’s one thing I’ve always liked about Durant, and that is the fact that he only cares about basketball. I mean, could you ever see him shooting up a night club or even having a gun for that matter? Making a rap video? Sending naked texts of himself? That’s what I thought. He’s a pretty clean cut guy, and only seems to care about getting better at basketball. I wonder if he’ll get arrogant like Kobe and Jordan are. You see something different with him, he’s just one of those competitors that won’t allow himself to waste away his talent.
One thing he has going against him is that he’s playing in the Lebron era, because in any other year, he’d get my MVP vote. It’s wild that if you took Durant or Lebron off either these teams, both would probably be counting how many ping pong balls they had for the John Wall lottery. That is why, I’m picking both of them above Kobe. Their importance to their teams is invaluable. I can still see the Lake Show making the playoffs with the supporting cast they have in place. Lebron looks like he’s hitting his Michael Jordan type stride, where it’s going to be nearly impossible for anyone to get an MVP but him for a few years. I guess Jordan wasn’t given the award a couple times in what many felt was the league getting tired of giving the award to him, and just wanted a change of pace. It seems like as long as Lebron is healthy, and has a good enough cast to get the top seed, it will be his award to lose. I’m praying that I’ll get to see his Big-O impersonation one year, and average a triple double for a entire season. My question is, when are we going to see the third puppet come out in the MVPuppet commercials? KD is already sponsored by Nike, why wouldn’t they throw him in there! He’d be my favorite character of the three.
Spring Keeping – A Fantasy Dilemma
With Spring Training upon us, it’s time for players and coaches to report and start preparing for the new season. It’s also time for fantasy GMs to start preparing for their season as well. While many of my counterparts already have their keepers locked in and are deep into the season previews and projections, I have yet to spend more than 5 minutes thinking about who I want to bring back on my team. Just to be clear, I’m not trying to play the role of the guy who goes out of his way to tell people how little time he spends looking at his team but still does well. No no, I waste countless hours tinkering with numbers and positions and rarely does it pay off. My football and basketball resume is atrocious, but baseball is the one sport I’ve had some success. In my first year playing fantasy baseball, I finished second back in 2005. The next year I won the league. Then, we started playing for money and quickly my luck changed. Last year I returned to the Olympic podium, clinching third place – fortunately, since I never paid and third place gets their money back.
Anyway, the time has come for me to declare my keepers and I’m as lost as ever. The end of last season seems like so far gone that I don’t even know if all the guys on my roster are still alive. All I know is that I’m pretty sold on Matt Kemp as one of my three keepers. After that, it’s a toss up. So, help me out Workforce…. who should I keep?
Here We Go, Here We Go, As The Tune Starts To Bloom….
Call it the RFR (Random Forgotten Rapper) of the Day… Domino. He was kinda like the hip hop equivalent of LaBradford Smith, in terms of relevance at least. I don’t think LaBradford ever had a bigger impact on the court than Domino did with Ghetto Jam. Though, Smith did have 37 points in a game once in 1993. Coincidentally, that was the same year Domino dropped this phat, phat, phat chor-e-us…..
Future RFP Of The Day: Adam Morrison
Some day, kids are going to look at this and say, "he played in the 2000s?! No way, I thought he played in the 1970s!"
I am not an Adam Morrison hater. Nor am I a Gonzaga fan. These are the two things you need to know first, otherwise you’d assume the opposite. The title might also be a bit misleading, as it may suggest this is gonna be a kick-Adam-Morrison-while-he’s-down party. I don’t like Adam Morrison, but I don’t not like him. I never rooted for him, but I also never really rooted against him. Well, no more than I would any player playing against my team. See, my Adam Morrison story goes back further than most’s. I’ve more or less watched his career every step of the way. Although of late, like with any sitcom that’s run its course , there’s just not much new going on. Much like Head of the Class, you don’t really see a lot of him on TV anymore. But when you think about it, that’s what RFPs really are. Players and shows you used to like watching as a kid, but now they’re nothing more than a once-every-9-years blip on your life’s radar. It’s not a flattering distinction, but it’s not the worst either. I’ll be damned if I didn’t respect each and every one of those guys I’ve featured in an RFP of the Day. 
The pilot episode of my Adam Morrison saga was in the beginning of 2004. I was playing (not ball) at USF and he was a freshman at Gonzaga. The Zags were continuing their rise to the upper echelon of college basketball, and the Dons were continuing their decline to the outer realms of relevance. Gonzaga was making their annual visit to the Hilltop in San Francisco, led by Ronny Turiaf, Blake Stepp, and Corey Violette. They also had a new freshman on the team, who came pretty highly touted. In front of a sellout crowd at War Memorial Gym, the game went down to the final possession. With the game tied at 63, the Dons had an opportunity at the last shot. When their game winning attempt rimmed off, JP Batista grabbed the rebound, outletted to the freshman with the buzz cut, and Adam Morrison pulled up just in front of the half court line and buried a 40 footer at the horn that silenced the crowd and sent the Zags home with a 66-63 win. (Editor’s Note: I have since learned that none of this ever happened. I combed the annals of the WCC and could not find a box score to validate this story. But I have believed it to be truth for the last 6 years, so I’m leaving it. -mc)
The following season – or so I thought, my memory’s credibility is completely shot at this point – Gonzaga returned to the City, this time with Morrison as the man. They still had Turiaf, and Derek Raivio had emerged into a star player as well. Unbeknownst to me, ESPN was in the building filming for the original series, The Season. The show seemed more focused around Morrison than the rest of the team, or at least in this episode. I’m sure it was the only one I ever watched. But in this particular episode, it was highlight after highlight of Morrison, and every highlight showed the same skinny guy in a green Keyshawn Johnson jersey standing courtside. Morrison went for 30+ that night, and every one of those shots was recorded on video with me in the background. I hated being associated with that. The closeup of me in the crowd on Wheel of Fortune? No complaints. But broadcasting Adam Morrison propaganda to the entire world with my face as an accessory? I don’t want that burden. (Editor’s Note: Naturally I was unable to find this video anywhere. If anyone knows how or where to find it, let me know.)
Picture was taken in 2014, during Morrison's first game back in Charlotte after being traded for Jerry Stackhouse and DJ Augustin's expiring contract.
So, now that the Adam Morrison show has long been removed from primetime and we all know what’s happened since, I hereby declare him the First Ever FUTURE RFP OF THE DAY. He 
did me wrong on the first night we met, when he may or may not have hit a game winner to beat my school. He also dragged me along on his traveling soap opera when I was in the background of every highlight that ESPN may or may not aired. He deserves to be random and forgotten for that. Fifteen years from now, some kid who’s in 2nd grade right now will blog something to the tune of, “Hey, remember Adam Morrison? He’s random and forgotten. Member his hair and mustache? Member when he was good? Blah blah blah.” Well this is the prelude to that post. This is my Nostradamus prediction (insert ‘of the week’ for recurring blog feature idea), that this man, here’s a man, who may end up being best known for crying at the end of a game, but here’s a man…. Well, he’s just the man for his place and time. The random, forgotten, mustache having, Head of the Class watching man.
Is the AL West the Best Division in Baseball?
I guess it might be a stretch, since none of the four teams residing in the AL West are truly considered a threat to knock the Yankees off their thrown, but is there really anyone that looks like they can derail the Yankees besides injuries? I don’t think so… Can you name the only division that had three teams finish the season with 85 wins? Surprisingly, it’s the AL West! Sure you can argue that the AL East had three 84 win teams, but the basement is a lot worse than it is in the West.
The Yankees have pushed over the $1 billion mark in payroll a long time ago, and the Red Sox aren’t all that far behind, so we’ve been trained to see the East as far superior. Surprisingly the AL West had a great record versus the East going 95-79 in 2009. I think the best team in the West (Angels) regressed a little over the off-season losing their horse/ace in Lackey, and their versatile infielder Figgins, and that has put the division up for grabs.
I felt that Seattle made the biggest push to be a force in the west by trading for a bonafied yearly Cy Young contender, Cliff Lee, and last year’s runner up Felix Hernandez was already there setting up one of the deadliest duos in the league. They also stole Figgins away from the Angels, which should get them two guys on base if Ichiro and Figgy are hitting one and two. Milton might be able to knock them in if he’s on the field for more than 80 games, but that’s a big IF.
The Rangers bolstered their roster, but there are question marks already on the health of the players they signed. Vlad seems past his prime, but if he can be productive anywhere, it’s going to be in Arlington where careers being revived happens. They also signed the often injured Rich Harden, which could be a boost if they have a plan b for all the starts he gets scratched from each year. They were in the race for the West crown up to the last couple weeks, and have a ton of young talent that will only be better this coming season. It seems like a lot of the experts are picking them to win the west this year, but those predictions don’t seem to have much confidence behind them.
I’ll do my A’s preview a little closer to the season when I’ve gathered all my expectations of them, but honestly, all I’m hoping for from them is to stay healthy for once. We’ve used the DL more over the past two years than anytime in franchise history, and broke records two straight years in a row for DL usage. Not a good stat for a young team trying to figure out what pieces go where, and far from a recipe for success! Not sure about the offense, but the pitchers must be happy to have a true ace on the staff in Sheets. They owned a better run differential than Seattle last year, so there’s some hope!
All in all, I’d say the top teams of the AL West aren’t as good as the AL East. From top to bottom though, the West has teams that will be able to pull out wins night in and night out. You know you aren’t getting that from Toronto or Baltimore, who have both probably already given up on this year. I’d say that one distinct advantage that the West has over the East is in the farm systems. The East gets better through buying free agents that most of the time we can’t afford, and the West gets better by building up their prospects from within. I’m pretty pumped to see how it all shakes out, and one thing is for sure, the West is up for grabs this year with none of the teams completely out of the picture. Can’t say the same for the AL East.
What really defines the best division in baseball? The degree of difficulty? The balance from top to bottom? General intrigue?
Maybe I’ve been worn down from all the northeastern hype, and the YES network, but I believe there’s a solid argument that the west is the “best” division in baseball!
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