Well, the Titans scrapped past the Pats in a surprising offensive showdown. Vince disappointed in his 07 debut, but there are many positives from this game.
Again, the defense wowed me. Yes, we gave up way too many points. But we played far better than I expected. Hearing the lineups announced, I cringed, and thought in particular our secondary was going to get carved up this season...and about that time, we got the first of two rapid takeaways, that first one getting housed for our opening score. Our D-line rolled the dice a few times, and we were on Tom Brady like a cheaply tailored version of one of his prettyboy suits.
Another likely weakness, our crop of no-name recievers...who played admirably. Kerry "Whoops, I Screwed Up Again" Collins actually fought us back into the game, as we scored 17 unanswered points to rally for the lead...and our defense held back the Patriots on a go-ahead 2 point conversion try.
All-told, good game. Vince will get better, and the "whole is better than the sum of its parts" 2007 Titans squad, if it holds to form, will be a competitive force this year.
Note: Dark pants with the white tops...our usual road set, but light blue pants are still better. Either way, one of the best-dressed road teams out there. Another solid road look? The Colts, one of the few teams to look sharp in monochrome.
Well, I was somewhat right on Becks. He started the SuperLiga game against DC United, and was pulled about when I said he'd appear. However, he was more than ready, as evinced by his gorgeous goal and assist. He then drew 66,000+ to Jersey for his first regular season, regular MLS game debut at the New York Red Bulls, playing the full 90 and setting up a trifecta of goals in a 5-4 loss.
Now GoldenBalls is off from NYC to London (England-Germany friendly) before jetting back to LAX to (maybe) take some part in the Honda SuperClassico, LA Galaxy/Chivas USA. As Yahoo! points out, the MLS schedule needs to be tweaked so it's not as hellish on internationals wanting to represent their countries as well as their clubs...but either way, the globetrotting phenom will draw attention to the biggest little league on the map right now. Go Becks. Go Gals. Yay rah.
The playoffs are set in the WNBA--NY/Detroit and Connecticut/Indy in the East, Seattle/Phoenix and Sacramento/San Antonio in the West. East top-seed Detroit backed into the playoffs on four straight losses, while 2-seed Indiana recovered from losing Tamika Catchings for much of the season to finish the year by dumping the Shock, after beating West 2-seed San Antonio. (Catch is listed day to day for the playoffs.)
The Silver Stars and Sacramento are way too streaky and inconsistent for my tastes, so I see that one going 3 games in a toss-up. Seattle/PHX should also be a wild one; the Storm has been unpredictable, but LJ has been a scoring machine for the Green-Gold-and-Red.
Any of these series has the chance of going 3 games, but the East may have the best shot at sweeps. Detroit lumbered into the playoffs by holding back its stars with homecourt guaranteed...but they will have to avoid getting too relaxed and used to losing, lest they find themselves quickly outed. However, I see them toppling NY pretty easily, as the Liberty has struggled to find an identity all season. The Sun always are a formidable, imposing foe, but the Fever are finally clicking with Sutton-Brown, Whitmore, White, Tully, and the bunch, and with Catch on the brink of rejoining them, I think the Fever could be due for a run.
My predictions? Detroit in 2, Indiana in 2; Phoenix in 3, and San Antonio in 3.
Good to see my girl Sid Spencer (I'm a fan, UT Lady Vol or not...Go Lady Dores!) leading all LA scorers with 25 points and 5 boards in a Sparks loss to Seattle on Saturday. Good work, Sid.
Also attaboys to Johan Santana for his 17-K performance, and to John Smoltz for overtaking Knucksie as the Braves' strikeout leader.
Bravos are 5.5 games out of first in the East, a game back of the Phils, as the Mets have won 3 straight; however, no one can really seem to get hot as everyone's hovering around 5-5 in the last 10.
And the Cubs have bumped the Brewers by a game in the Central. Chicago, winners of 3 straight as well, will be battling the Brew Crew for a while, as Milwaukee battles itself to prevent a nosedive. (Can't fault the talent...most of it is from the Sounds and Huntsville Stars.) Can anyone make ground in the NL Central? The Pirates are 52-70, last in the division, and just 11 out. The Cards have won 7 of their last 10...despite losing 2 straight...and they are 4 out. And the Great American Bandbox Redlegs are just 8 out. For comparison? Put the Central-leading Cubbies in ANY other division...they are currently no higher than 3rd place.
Please add a pair of teams, MLB, so we can balance this damned thing. Look at what it did to the NFL. +
Monday, August 20, 2007
Sunday, August 12, 2007
On Titans, Hockey Togs, and Beckham-Mania
Well, the Tennessee Titans played a solid game of preseason football on Saturday...for about 58 minutes. A one yard plunge buckled any attempt at a last-string goal line stand and erased any offense the Titans had put up...then a goof-up by a reserve center tossed the Redskins a "double your pleasure" bone to ice any hopes of a comeback. Ouch.
Positive thoughts? Kicking game was pretty good. Defense was outstanding. And we were without our best player on offense. Like a world-class kickboxer in a straight-up boxing match, our offense waddled and staggered through, doing a decent job, though propped up by our surprisingly scrappy defense. And though I want to fault Coach Jeff Fisher for holding Vince Young out, I can't. He violated a team rule, and must be punished by the team as a result. (By the TEAM...you hear that, Goodell?) No player is above the law. (Ask Pac, after his TNA toussle with the Titans' front office.)
All in all, I think we're going to be okay, especially when our rabid dog VY is let out of his cage and turned loose--all Michael Vick jokes aside.
Glad the team went tasteful for the preseason opener, with the reverse 2-tone blue look, light tops over dark pants. I think the alts need to be worn with white pants more than dark blue, though the dark pants don't look bad. Dark-over white I still prefer as the home set, and white over the light blue pants needs to be the permanent road set, no ifs, ands or buts. Matching shoulders to pants just looks good, and puts the dark blue road pants to shame. Monochrome white is weak, and don't even get me started on the blueberry monochrome set. Seeing Big Al in a down stance in the all-blueberries is enough to turn our fans into Ravens fans. (Just kidding. I don't think anything could be that bad.)
Speaking of attrocious uniforms...we come to the slow unveilings of the NHL's new Rbk EDGE jerseys. Nashville's? Ick. Made with the move in mind--the move that now seems less and less likely. The silver shoulders on the white roads are Nashville hockey's answer to the "Titan blue" football shirt--looks great on one person up close, but not so much at a distance (in this case, gets washed out) or on a whole team. I do like the last-minute addition of the "Nashville" wordmark however. The home blue looks...well...not riot-worthy, but still far too templated.
Many of the other teams look decent. The Bruins made a classy update. Columbus actually looks kinda cool now, with the flag-star crest and the explain-the-name alt logo (which in itself is kinda cool also). The Rangers and that red team from Detroit even seem to be true to their looks. Carolina's 'cane-flag trim even appears to have been integrated into its EDGE look, which is surprising as it was implied horizontal striping was iffy at best with the new looks. Washington's retro-retread is cool for traditionalists; I preferred the last set, with the screaming eagle and the Capitol building, but hey--classic sells too. Alt logo is PIMP.
Florida's new look pretty well sucks, being on a similar template to the Preds', but it could be worse. LA looks about the same, and everyone else is speculation at this point. New logos unveiled for SJ (upgrade), OTT (upgrade), and TB (slight upgrade, but they have a similar look to the Rays in terms of wordmarks...so I can't complain). Redesigns in the works for VAN, DAL, PHI, NYI, and STL.
Beckham-Mania appears to be growing weary. The fans are restless and agitated that soccer's Achilles has a thorn in his heel--heaven forbid he nurse an injury, especially when milking $250 mil to cross the pond.
I'm on his bandwagon for two reasons. First reason: He's a good player. Call him the MJ of soccer, if you must. He's not God(dess); he's human. MJ missed shots, Tiger doesn't win every tournament, and Barry Bonds--love him or hate him--doesn't dink MIR every time he sees a pitch. But bottom line--Becks is good. When he's 100%, he's going to excel...and he's going to lead.
Second reason: He's LA Galaxy. My teams are the Gals and the Rapids. He's on one of those squads, vis a vis I automatically like him more than Joe Soccerjockey in New York, Columbus, or Houston. There are exceptions (notable Atlanta Braves castoffs come to mind, like Vinny Castilla, Mark DeRosa, John Rocker...)
And let me add a third reason. He makes people care about MLS. He's selling out stadiums across the country. He's making crusty old Brits and soccer elitists overseas look at MLS. Granted, it's currently with looks of disgust and disdain, but they're actually LOOKING at us with a closer eye now. And as much as it pains me to admit it, he and Posh are getting the names of the Galaxy and its foes on the lips of blue-collar America with their featurettes, reality shows, and ET/People-mag fluff.
The jersey's selling. The kids are biting. The stadiums are filled. The media (though thinning) is still everywhere. And whether it's for his trademark kicks or his about-as-equal trademark smile (never underestimate the spending power of the sexually repressed mothers-of-many; an attractive man with an accent like this can work wonders, much less one with this much fanfare, legacy, power, and wealth)...people are caring.
They are falling asleep waiting or hopping mad that he's not out there playing--since he's not playing, how can he be out there netting 10 goals a game by himself, hmm? But they are paying attention, because no one wants to miss the big moment when Beckham makes a physical impact on soccer in America. (He's already making a general impact, through interest, merch sales, tv opportunities, and just more league money in general.)
And when he does play, slowly but surely, he's going to earn his spot among the MJ's and Willie Mays' of US sports immortality. Not overnight, but in due time.
Currently he's in a cycle of "play too soon, have to rest, repeat." If Yallop thinks he's ready I expect Becks to make an appearence early in the second half of the SuperLiga game against D.C. United. Around the 54th, 55th minute, if he's healthy enough. He might even start the second half, though I doubt it. I'm not entirely convinced he will play Wednesday, however, but we'll wait and see how the million-dollar ankle holds up. He set his sights on Giants Stadium and the New York Red Bulls for his first start, but I'd say hold up on that call. We'll see how he does with United before we make any rash decisions like that.
Worth noting:
How about Edwin Jackson's complete-game shutout on Saturday, giving the Rays their first shutout of the year, 3-0 at the Rangers? A man who improved to 3-11 bringing 99-mph heat in the 9th...in 96-degree Dallas-suburb heat? It's why the games are played and watched, my friends.
Positive thoughts? Kicking game was pretty good. Defense was outstanding. And we were without our best player on offense. Like a world-class kickboxer in a straight-up boxing match, our offense waddled and staggered through, doing a decent job, though propped up by our surprisingly scrappy defense. And though I want to fault Coach Jeff Fisher for holding Vince Young out, I can't. He violated a team rule, and must be punished by the team as a result. (By the TEAM...you hear that, Goodell?) No player is above the law. (Ask Pac, after his TNA toussle with the Titans' front office.)
All in all, I think we're going to be okay, especially when our rabid dog VY is let out of his cage and turned loose--all Michael Vick jokes aside.
Glad the team went tasteful for the preseason opener, with the reverse 2-tone blue look, light tops over dark pants. I think the alts need to be worn with white pants more than dark blue, though the dark pants don't look bad. Dark-over white I still prefer as the home set, and white over the light blue pants needs to be the permanent road set, no ifs, ands or buts. Matching shoulders to pants just looks good, and puts the dark blue road pants to shame. Monochrome white is weak, and don't even get me started on the blueberry monochrome set. Seeing Big Al in a down stance in the all-blueberries is enough to turn our fans into Ravens fans. (Just kidding. I don't think anything could be that bad.)
Speaking of attrocious uniforms...we come to the slow unveilings of the NHL's new Rbk EDGE jerseys. Nashville's? Ick. Made with the move in mind--the move that now seems less and less likely. The silver shoulders on the white roads are Nashville hockey's answer to the "Titan blue" football shirt--looks great on one person up close, but not so much at a distance (in this case, gets washed out) or on a whole team. I do like the last-minute addition of the "Nashville" wordmark however. The home blue looks...well...not riot-worthy, but still far too templated.
Many of the other teams look decent. The Bruins made a classy update. Columbus actually looks kinda cool now, with the flag-star crest and the explain-the-name alt logo (which in itself is kinda cool also). The Rangers and that red team from Detroit even seem to be true to their looks. Carolina's 'cane-flag trim even appears to have been integrated into its EDGE look, which is surprising as it was implied horizontal striping was iffy at best with the new looks. Washington's retro-retread is cool for traditionalists; I preferred the last set, with the screaming eagle and the Capitol building, but hey--classic sells too. Alt logo is PIMP.
Florida's new look pretty well sucks, being on a similar template to the Preds', but it could be worse. LA looks about the same, and everyone else is speculation at this point. New logos unveiled for SJ (upgrade), OTT (upgrade), and TB (slight upgrade, but they have a similar look to the Rays in terms of wordmarks...so I can't complain). Redesigns in the works for VAN, DAL, PHI, NYI, and STL.
Beckham-Mania appears to be growing weary. The fans are restless and agitated that soccer's Achilles has a thorn in his heel--heaven forbid he nurse an injury, especially when milking $250 mil to cross the pond.
I'm on his bandwagon for two reasons. First reason: He's a good player. Call him the MJ of soccer, if you must. He's not God(dess); he's human. MJ missed shots, Tiger doesn't win every tournament, and Barry Bonds--love him or hate him--doesn't dink MIR every time he sees a pitch. But bottom line--Becks is good. When he's 100%, he's going to excel...and he's going to lead.
Second reason: He's LA Galaxy. My teams are the Gals and the Rapids. He's on one of those squads, vis a vis I automatically like him more than Joe Soccerjockey in New York, Columbus, or Houston. There are exceptions (notable Atlanta Braves castoffs come to mind, like Vinny Castilla, Mark DeRosa, John Rocker...)
And let me add a third reason. He makes people care about MLS. He's selling out stadiums across the country. He's making crusty old Brits and soccer elitists overseas look at MLS. Granted, it's currently with looks of disgust and disdain, but they're actually LOOKING at us with a closer eye now. And as much as it pains me to admit it, he and Posh are getting the names of the Galaxy and its foes on the lips of blue-collar America with their featurettes, reality shows, and ET/People-mag fluff.
The jersey's selling. The kids are biting. The stadiums are filled. The media (though thinning) is still everywhere. And whether it's for his trademark kicks or his about-as-equal trademark smile (never underestimate the spending power of the sexually repressed mothers-of-many; an attractive man with an accent like this can work wonders, much less one with this much fanfare, legacy, power, and wealth)...people are caring.
They are falling asleep waiting or hopping mad that he's not out there playing--since he's not playing, how can he be out there netting 10 goals a game by himself, hmm? But they are paying attention, because no one wants to miss the big moment when Beckham makes a physical impact on soccer in America. (He's already making a general impact, through interest, merch sales, tv opportunities, and just more league money in general.)
And when he does play, slowly but surely, he's going to earn his spot among the MJ's and Willie Mays' of US sports immortality. Not overnight, but in due time.
Currently he's in a cycle of "play too soon, have to rest, repeat." If Yallop thinks he's ready I expect Becks to make an appearence early in the second half of the SuperLiga game against D.C. United. Around the 54th, 55th minute, if he's healthy enough. He might even start the second half, though I doubt it. I'm not entirely convinced he will play Wednesday, however, but we'll wait and see how the million-dollar ankle holds up. He set his sights on Giants Stadium and the New York Red Bulls for his first start, but I'd say hold up on that call. We'll see how he does with United before we make any rash decisions like that.
Worth noting:
How about Edwin Jackson's complete-game shutout on Saturday, giving the Rays their first shutout of the year, 3-0 at the Rangers? A man who improved to 3-11 bringing 99-mph heat in the 9th...in 96-degree Dallas-suburb heat? It's why the games are played and watched, my friends.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Baseball
As I was posting that about Tex I had a feeling he'd make me eat my words. I was already fighting the urge to get on his bandwagon, but stubbornness and all kept me from it. Well...stubbornness over. Just one game in August without a hit, scored in 5 of his last 9, 11 RBIs and 4 homers in that span...just solid. Gives us someone to nail down that 1B spot, some leadership (and depth), and some sweet pop in the bat.
I could get used to this former Jacket.
Can you say RICK ANKIEL? Three-hit 2 homer day today, with a phenomenal catch for any outfielder, much less a revamped once-tanked pitcher. Those curtain calls are well deserved, bud. Frenchy & McCann have some competition for the fave player spots of this baseball fan. (I don't see it being a problem for the kids, though; I'm still a fan of Rob Mac, Dioner Navarro, Furky, Paul Byrd...)
Next blog? Initial thoughts on the Titans, commentary on new NHL threads, and BeckhamMania.
I could get used to this former Jacket.
Can you say RICK ANKIEL? Three-hit 2 homer day today, with a phenomenal catch for any outfielder, much less a revamped once-tanked pitcher. Those curtain calls are well deserved, bud. Frenchy & McCann have some competition for the fave player spots of this baseball fan. (I don't see it being a problem for the kids, though; I'm still a fan of Rob Mac, Dioner Navarro, Furky, Paul Byrd...)
Next blog? Initial thoughts on the Titans, commentary on new NHL threads, and BeckhamMania.
Results 8/7
MLB
TB +165 Loss
LAD -120 Loss
WNBA Lines Not Up Yet
SA (Money Line) Loss
IND (Money Line) Win
SEA Over (156.8) Win
There's a reason I'm not a handicapper...
TB +165 Loss
LAD -120 Loss
WNBA Lines Not Up Yet
SA (Money Line) Loss
IND (Money Line) Win
SEA Over (156.8) Win
There's a reason I'm not a handicapper...
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Results of 8/5 Picks
Pirates -125......PPD. +0.00
Brewers -130......L, -1.30
MLS
New England -120, L, -1.20
WNBA
Chicago +3.5 -110 L, -1.10
Total..................-3.60 units
Brewers -130......L, -1.30
MLS
New England -120, L, -1.20
WNBA
Chicago +3.5 -110 L, -1.10
Total..................-3.60 units
Update on "The Quarter"
Already contacted initially:
Memphis Redbirds
Visalia Oaks My contact, their former broadcaster, was arrested for allegedly fatally hitting someone with his car...and fleeing the police on foot. Ick. My only other contact, for what it's worth, is the Tennessee-native receptionist. Good luck. Didn't really want this gig anyway...middle of nowhere, as a sort-of suburb of Fresno.
Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino
Staten Island Yankees
West Tenn Diamond Jaxx
Lehigh Valley IronPigs
To contact soon (doing games):
Tennessee Smokies
Appy League Teams in Knoxville Area (K-Mets, JC Cards, Elizabethton Twins,
Greeneville Astros, Bristol [White] Sox)
Huntsville Stars
Louisville Bats
Lexington Legends
Chattanooga Lookouts
Rome Braves
To contact:
Stockton
San Jose
Jacksonville
Rome
Colorado Springs
Brooklyn
Bakersfield
Lansing
Las Vegas
Tulsa
Quad Cities
West Michigan
Rochester
Corpus Christi
Memphis Redbirds
Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino
Staten Island Yankees
West Tenn Diamond Jaxx
Lehigh Valley IronPigs
To contact soon (doing games):
Tennessee Smokies
Appy League Teams in Knoxville Area (K-Mets, JC Cards, Elizabethton Twins,
Greeneville Astros, Bristol [White] Sox)
Huntsville Stars
Louisville Bats
Lexington Legends
Chattanooga Lookouts
Rome Braves
To contact:
Stockton
San Jose
Jacksonville
Rome
Colorado Springs
Brooklyn
Bakersfield
Lansing
Las Vegas
Tulsa
Quad Cities
West Michigan
Rochester
Corpus Christi
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