September 7th 2008. The season opener for both the New England Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs Tom Brady is hit by safety Bernard Pollard. Brady would be forced to leave the game and Matt Cassel would come in as the backup and lead the Pats to victory 17-10. After the game it was discovered that Brady would be out for the remainder of the season and that Cassel would become the new full time starter in New England.
In his first full season as a starter in the NFL Cassel would throw for over 3,600 yards 21 touchdowns and only 11 interceptions and finish with the 10th best passer rating in the league. He would lead the Patriots to a 11-5 finish but unfortunately miss the playoffs.
Coming off his breakout year Cassel was headed to free agency when the Patriots slapped the franchise tag on him which meant if a team signed him it would have to be for the same money the top 3 quarterbacks in the league make. Due to this it became well known that the Patriots were shopping Cassel around. Today he found a new home in the most coincidental city of all...Kansas City.
Cassel is now playing for the Chiefs who start Bernard Pollard, the very man who injured Brady and allowed Cassel to get his playing time. Of all the teams out there that needed a new quarterback (NY Jets, Vikings, Bears, 49ers, Lions, Raiders) Cassel landed on the Chiefs. I think this is a good scenario for Cassel as after finsihing 2-14 last year there is nowhere to go but up for the Chiefs so there won't be much pressure.
I think he will do well in Kansas City but my only question is will he give 45% or 50% of his signing bonus to Bernard Pollard?
The poll question of who is a Better Actor Clive Owen or Mark Ruffalo came to a conclusion this morning with Ruffalo taking it 8-6. Glad to see that there are some people out there who understand quality acting (Ruffalo) as compared to simply being British (Owen).
Today a new poll question will begin with the question being who is Hotter: Natalie Portman or Anne Hathaway.
Billy Beane is the GM of the Oakland Athletcis in MLB and is also one of the smartest guys walking around. He consistently gets high value prospects for players he doesn't need. Even when people question his decisions he stands behind them and always comes out looking like a winner. Since he has been the GM of the A's he has traded players such as Johnny Damon, Dan Haren, Jermaine Dye, Jason Giambi, Barry Zito, Mark Mulder, Tim Hudson, Rich Harden, Miguel Tejada, Carlos Pena, and Jason Isringhausen.
Now I know some of those names don’t seem that impressive but you need to remember that players like Hudson, Mulder, and Zito were all traded during their primes.Each of these moves was frowned upon by the A’s fans but when you look at their careers it becomes clear that Billy Beane knows what he is doing.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the deals though just to get a better idea of just how smart Beane really is.
Deal #1 Barry Zito
Zito made his debut in the big leagues in 2000 making a couple of appearances.In 2001, Zito finished third in the league in strikeouts per nine innings (8.61), fourth in strikeouts (205), sixth in wins (17), eighth in ERA (3.49), and tenth in winning percentage (.680) and became only the sixth lefty aged 23 or younger since 1902 to strike out at least 200 batters in a season.
In 2002 Zito won the AL Cy Young Award with a 23-5 record. He led the league with 23 wins, was second in winning percentage (.821), and third in both ERA (2.75) and strikeouts (182).
Zito pitched 4 more seasons for the A’s putting up 57 wins all the while making under $1 million a season.Beane made Zito sign a contract that guaranteed he would be a 1st round pick but that he would make under $1 million for his first 7 seasons.
Once 2007 hit Zito took the free agency route and signed, then, the biggest contract for a pitcher in MLB history.The deal was with the San Francisco Giants and was worth $126 million over 7 years, plus an option for an eighth season at $18 million.
In terms of compensation the A’s received two 1st round picks from the Giants which they turned into two great young prospects.Since the trade Zito is 21-30 with an ERA around 4.85.Last season he was moved to the bullpen and is now the new poster child for bad contracts.
Deal #2 Mark Mulder
In 2001, Mulder played his first full major-league season and quickly became a dominant pitcher. Leading the American League with 21 wins, he was in contention for a Cy Young Award.He continued to do well in 2002, winning 19 games and striking out a career-high 159 batters in 207.1 innings.
Limited by injuries in 2003, he would only log 26 starts, he still won 15 games and had a career-best 3.13 earned run average.2004 was a rough year for Mulder; he had a higher ERA and walked more batters.
Seeing that Mulder was going to fall aprt soon Beane traded him to the St. Louis Cardinals on December 18, 2004, for pitchers Danny Haren and Kiko Calero, and minor league catcher Daric Barton.
Since the trade Mulder has won just 16 games in 4 seasons with the Cards and has had an ERA of 8.46.he has been often injured and in the past two years has only made 5 starts.Dan Haren on the other hand became an ace and in the past two seasons has been in CY Young discussions and has made the All-Star game both seasons.
Another win for Billy Beane.
Deal #3 Matt Holliday
The A’s acquired Holliday through a trade with the Colorado Rockines in 2008 and sent pitchers Huston Street and Greg Smith, and outfielder Carlos González to Colorado for the young slugger.
In an injury plagued 2008 season Holliday finished the season batting .321 with 173 hits, 25 home runs, 88 RBI, 107 runs, and 290 total bases. He also end up winning his third consecutive Silver Slugger Award and had career highs in stolen bases (28) and on-base percentage (.409).
Now Holliday becomes a free agent at the end of the season so this year will go 1 of 2 ways.
1) With Holliday in the middle of the batting order, the A's are in the division race right until the end, challenging the Angels and furthering the quest for a new stadium. After the season, Holliday leaves as a free agent, and the A's get two first-round draft picks as compensation.
2) Even with Holliday in the middle of the batting order, the A's fall out of the race early and trade Holliday to a contender, for a package that is arguably richer than the one they sent to Colorado this winter to get him.
Yet Another win for Beane.
There are numerous other examples of how Beane swindled teams into giving him good young prospects for players he knew weren’t worth much.He knows when he sees talent and he knows when he can inflate the value of a player like he did with Zito, Mulder, and a number of other players (Billy Koch to the Blue Jays).In 2003 a book was written called “Moneyball” about Beane’s method in management and yet teams still haven’t learned how to deal with him.If the guy ever got some money to work with he would be the scariest man in MLB.
So I was on my radio show today and my buddy brought up the fact that the Leafs are trying to trade Antropov. We went over some possible scenarios and then he informed me GM Brian Burke is looking to get back at least a 1st round pick. At this point I laughed and said you would have to be an idiot to give up a 1st rounder for NikAntropov. Then the debate starts as to whether or not he is good and before we can finish we ran out of time so we cut it short. So I am taking this opportunity to state my argument as to why NikAntropov sucks.
Point #1 - He Doesn't Produce Points
Granted he plays on the Maple Leafs and they are hardly an offensive juggernaut but the man can't score. His best year in the NHL came last year when he put up 56 points (26 goals 30 assists) in 72 games. His next best season was 2002-2003 season where he put up a mind blowing 45 point all the while playing with Mats Sundin and Alexander Mogilny (who by the way scored 72 and 79 points respectively.) Simple put he is not a scorer even when he is on the top line with two talented players. He is currently sitting at 66th in the league in points. Dude sucks.
Point #2 - He is Slow
No stats for this one but I dare a single Leaf fan to say with a straight face that NikAntropov isn't a slow skater. My buddy Steve Poirier used to say he thought he was faster than NikAntropov and I used to disagree and say no way. However I have watched more Leaf games recently and have come to the conclusion that Antropov is the slowest player in the NHL. I think that most of the goalies could outskate this man even wearing their equipment.
Point # 3 - He Can't Win Face-offs
This man plays center in the NHL. One of the main jobs of a center is to win face-offs. NokAntropov currently has a face-off winning percentage of 39.7%. I tried seeing his rank on NHL.com but it only goes to 86 and the 86th best guy in the NHL at face-offs is James Shepphard of the Minnesota Wild. Way to help out your team there pal. Keep this man out of the circle at all costs.
Point #4 - He Can't Play Defense
Big Nik's current +/- rating is a muscular -13. Now I know all you Leaf fans out there will be quick to point out that the Leafs are rebuilding and its not fair to bring up the +/- but when you actually look at their team they aren't too bad...except Antropov. He currently boasts the second worst +/- rating ahead of only rookie sensation Luke Schenn who is at -14. Simply put if you want to get scored on throw Antropov on the ice and watch the other team light the lamp.
Point #5 - He was a 10th Overall Pick
Antropov was drafted 1oth overall in the 1998 entry draft. Just wanted to let Leaf fans know some of the players they could have had, all of who are better than Antropov.
Alex Tanguay
Simon Gagne
Scott Gomez
Jonathan Cheechoo
Mike Ribeiro
Shawn Horcoff
Andrei Markov
Pavel Datsyuk
Now I know that no one could have known all these players would have been good but it's just nice to look at what could have bee.
After looking at all this I dare someone to sit there and say he is a good player. It cannot be done. What possible defense could you have? If the Leafs get a 1st round pick for him the Brian Burke is a genius and the hands down best GM in the league. In contrast the GM that gives up that 1st round pick should be fired on the spot.
Well I've said my piece Leaf fans. Let's hear your response.
Now I realise that Bonner's last game was on Friday night but I feel the red Rocket needs some love. He hasn't been playing his best ball of late but the Spurs are winning and thats all he cares about. Big 98-67 win over the Wizards friday in which the Spurs held them to just 10 points in the 4th quarter.
3 points
5 rebounds (all defensive)
2 assists
4 personal fouls
19 minutes
Interesting Fact: Matt Bonner is the best ginger basketball player of All-time
Going into the 2009 NFL season I can't help but feel that there is something missing from the game. It had been bothering me for some time but then today I realised what was missing from the 2009 NFL season, coaches who were winners. Going into the 2009 NFL season there will be only 3 active head coaches who have won the SuperBowl, Bill Belichick, Tom Coughlin, and Mike Tomlin. That leaves 29 teams with head coaches who have 0 coaching experience in the SuperBowl. Yes some of them have been there as coordinators but that doesn't really count.
Over the past few years the NFL has lost a ton of coaches who have won the SuperBowl. Not all of them left voluntarily but in the end they all left. Coaches such as Dick Vermeil, Bill Cowher, Tony Dungy, Jon Gruden, Mike Holmgren, Brian Billick and Mike Shanahan have all either been fired or have retired.
Now I understand that at some point there will be new coaches that will enter and replace the old ones but I assumed it would be more gradual. These new breed of coaches are all younger guys who owners and GMs assume can get their players fired up in and relate to their players better than some of the "old timers."
I guess this isn't too surprising however as it seems every year and more and more coaches get fired at the end of the season. Last year 5 coaches were axed and this year that number jumped to 9. At this rate coaches will be given one year with a team and then fired if they don't win the SuperBowl.
The one real problem to this, besides the experience factor, is that this is going to make it harder and harder for coaches to become legends. Never again will there be another Vince Lombardi or Tom Landry. These guys they got now are all forgettable and will be forgotten in 3 years when their contracts expire and they are fired.
If I was to ask you who are the longest tenured coaches currently in the NFL would you be able to name them confidently (by the way its Jeff Fisher 15 years, Andy Reid 10 years, and John Fox 7 years)? The NFL Head Coach is starting to lose some of its prestige as these men are becoming expendable and have shorter life spans than the next female popstar de'jour.
I'm not suggesting that teams keep coaches around who lose every single year but there have been some firings lately that I wouldn't say were justified. A coach needs time to earn the respect of his players and to establish a system for running a team. NFL owners and Gms need to be very careful as they are heading towards a very dangerous path.
The only positive that comes out of all this is that if you are a SuperBowl winning coach and contract negotiation comes around you can make a killing because at this point you are one of three people in the whole league who can put SuperBowl winning coach on your resume.
Random Youtube Video (Crank the Volume on This One):
It turned out better than I could have imagined it. Mats Sundin's first game back in Toronto since leaving the Leafs in the off-season. The Leafs were leading 2-1 late in the 3rd but in typical Leaf fashion they choked and gave up a goal to Alex Burrows Safari Planet sending the game to OT. Clearly everyone knew this would solve nothing and a shootout would be needed. PavolDemitra scored first for Vancouver making it 1-0 and then after two Leaf misses (obviously) and a Kyle Wellwood miss (once again obviously) it all came down to Sundin. Now everyone in the building knew he was going backhand (cause he always does) except VesaToskala who got burned hard by a dirty backhand. Sundin returns and puts the nail in the coffin for that game. As a Canucks fan and a Leaf hater it doesn't get any better than that. Well unless Sundin had given the home crowd the finger or something or maybe given Toskala the People's Elbow while he was on the ice. Good work Mats.
Biggest Waste of Time Ever
Now being a sports fan I know one of my favorite days of the year is the NFL Draft. Its an all around great day as a new crop of players comes in and you sit there hoping your team doesn't blow it. Now every year before the NFL draft they have what is known as the NFL Combine. This is an event where prospective players come and participate in drills to showcase their athletic ability. Events range from the 40 yard dash to bench pressing 225lbs as many times as possible. Now this sounds somewhat interesting I guess but if you ever sit down and watch this stuff you get bored in roughly 90 seconds. Now I know there are some hardcores out there who eat this up and if so they had the best weekend ever because the Combine was on for more than 40 hours this weekend. That's right. If you played your cards right you could have watched over 40 hours or footballs drills, running, and if you were lucky some jumping. I realise that this is important to the NFL but I feel like having it on at from 8 in the morning til 4am is a bit ridiculous.
So Much for the Streak
I wrote yesterday that the Suns had returned to their old ways as they had scored at least 140 points in three straight games. I also pointed out that these 3 wins came against the Thunder and the Clippers (twice) so it didn't really count. Still it was hard not to buy into the hype. AmareStoudamire had to have surgery to repair a detached retina and will miss the remainder of the season. To make matter worse the Suns first true test under new coach Alvin Gentry was against the Boston Celtics. Thanks to Rajon Rondo (best young point guard in the league, suck it Jebson) and Ray Allen the Celtics put the beat down on the Suns 126-106. At least we know the old Suns are back cause once again they aren't playing defense.
Top 25 Teams that Lost
With March Madness only weeks away teams will have to start securing their place in the tourney and for some teams that means getting some impressive wins over ranked opponents. This weekend a number of ranked teams tasted defeat as #8 Wake Forest lost to #9 Duke and #24 Syracuse lost to #12 Villanova. Then there were teams like #2 Oklahoma, #3 North Carolina, #20 UCLA, and #25 Dayton who all lost to unranked teams. These wins will be crucial for these unranked schools down the stretch as they may be the wins they need to get into the tournament.
Spring Training Started
In baseball players from every position have now reported to their camps for the start of Spring Training. No one really cares cause spring training baseball is boring and useless but at least it means the regular season will be starting sooner rather than later.
Poll Update
In the blog poll Mark Ruffalo is current leading Clive Owen (hack) 8 votes to 6. The poll is so to once and for all determine who is the better actor. Clearly there are 8 smart people out there and 6 morons. 3 days left. Get out and vote.
The Youtube Video
I have started adding Youtube videos at the bottom of posts just becasue I spend a lot of time on Youtube. Sometimes they are relevant to the post but most of the time they will just be funny videos that I feel people need to see. Hope you enjoy.
Since the All-Star break the hottest team in the NBA has been the Phoenix Suns. They have won their last 3 games by a combined 85 points scoring at least 140 points in each game. Before the All-Star break the Suns had only scored more than 120 points 3 times and had never score more than 130 in a single game. Now it is important to note that the teams they have beaten since the break have been the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Clippers (twice).
What is the reason for this new found success? I would credit new coach Alvin Gentry with returning the Suns to their uptempo style that was the reason for their success in past years. Over the All-Star weekend the Suns fired head coach Terry Porter and named Gentry his replacement. Porter had promised to bring defense to the Suns but in doing so had taken away from their offense.
All Gentry did was use his common sense and lets the Suns do what they did when they were winning under Mike D'antoni. Before he was fired at the end of last season D'antoni had made the Suns the most exciting team in the league and coached them to a 232-96 record and had made the playoffs every year. The problem was that he could never lead them to the Finals and the Suns felt another coach could.
So when Porter took over the team he would he would try and fix something that wasn't broken and change the style of the Phoenix Suns. Clearly that didn't work as they were 28-23 and not in the playoff picture. Now the Suns are back to their old ways and winning big again and doing it with style.
Now I know people will say that the Thunder and the Clippers aren't a true test and that the Clippers couldn't beat a WNBA team (sick burn I know) but the fact of the matter is the team is running, scoring, and playing well. Steve Nash has looked like his old MVP self and AmareStoudamire is making teams wish that they had traded for him while they could.
Sometimes the secret to success in sports isn't trying to reinvent the wheel it's going with what works. Porter was handed a team that could put down 50 wins no problem and all he had to do was start coaching in the playoffs and get them over the hump. Instead he tried to change everything when it didn't need to be changed. Gentry on the other hand has realised that nothing needed to be done. Let the players do what they do best and once playoff time rolls around try and get the players to give you more.
Terry Porter blew his once chance at coaching in the NBA and a team would be stupid to hire him again. Gentry on the other hand could be the coach of the Suns for a long time as long. He is 3-0 in his career as a head coach so far and I believe as long as he continues doing what he is doing then he will be just fine.
Currently the biggest problem plaguing baseball is the use of steroids by the players and how that taints or ruins the game.All of these old men claim that this is the worst thing ever and that baseball isn't sacred anymore.To them I say was baseball ever sacred?
To begin with baseball was founded on the principal of racism.Only white men were allowed to play in the MLB and no African Americans, or any other race for that matter, were permitted to play.It wasn't until 1947 when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier that African Americans were allowed to play big league ball. Now I realise that at the time racism was commonplace in America but it does not overshadow the fact that the history of baseball begins with racsim.
Next we move to the very fact that in 1919 Shoeless Joe Jackson and some of his Chicago White Sox teammates rigged the World Series.Not even one game but the whole series.Imagine today if it was discovered that an entire team of players were being paid to throw the World Series.It would be the biggest scandal is sports history.However to baseball purists this is simply shrugged off as they claim it was merely the consequence of the times and the economic situation. Is it not a greater crime to rig the World Series than to take performance enhancers?
As we move further along down the timeline of baseball history we come to the era of doctoring the baseball. A time where almost every pitcher from the 1930's to the 1970s who would 'doctor' the ball to make their pitches harder to hit. Pitchers like Gaylord Perry, who slicked the ball up with whatever he could get his pitching fingers on to make him more dominant to Whitey Ford, who copped to nicking the ball with his wedding ring to give it more movement.This was the age when pitchers would take sandpaper to the ball or spit on it to get more movement. These men are in the Hall of Fame and yet no asterisk. Is it not worse if pitchers cheat rather than individual players? Pitchers control so much of the game where as a single player may only get 4 or 5 at bats per game.
We then come to the age of amphetamines and hard drugs.These "uppers" were used by noted players such as Ralph Kiner and Willie Mayes who are both in the Hall of Fame.These pills were used to give players more energy so they could compete at a higher level more frequently.Since the 1980s there have been tones of players who have stepped forward and claimed they used.What was their consequence?Nothing. Players like Keith Hernandez won the MVP award while being coked out of his mind 90% of the time. Is that not more detrimental to the game than hitting more homeruns? What's worse seeing your children's hero take cocaine or hit dingers?
Finally we come to the steroid era.Using performance enhancing drugs wasn't against the rules of baseball it was simply frowned upon.Instead of releasing lists of players who took steroids they should release a picture of guys who didn't.I would be willing to bet that more than half of the players in the MLB during the 1990s was taking steroids.
To pretend that steroids are the scourge that ruined baseball is simply ridiculous. The only reason the hallowed greats of bygone eras will stay hallowed is that there are no urine tests around to de-mystify them. And it's just plain stupid to think that by keeping a handful of players out of Cooperstown, the game's integrity is re-established and the slate is somehow wiped clean.
You can't rewrite history. You can't unplay those games, or remove those tainted home runs and strikeouts from the record. If the now-infamous 2003 tests are to be believed, more than one out of every seven players was ingesting something illegal that year. Which means that at every single game, at least a couple of players on the field were cheating. What are baseball writers going to do, pretend that major league baseball didn't exist in the '90s and the first part of this decade?
The rules are now in place to help ensure the guys on the field are playing clean. So let's stop with the asterisk-laden statistics, the ostracism of first-rank ballplayers, and the holier-than-thou attitude in general. It's time to move on.
