Memory Lane?

The clock is ticking for the Oakland Raider's head coach Lane Kiffin, according to news reports. Rumors circulating for the past two weeks have had him being fired at any time. I thought he would have been fired after the Raider's loss to the Buffalo Bills this past Sunday, given the way he mismanaged the clock at the end of the game. So far, it looks as if he's keeping his job. While no one knows the inner workings of Al Davis' brain (probably a good thing), my guess is Davis will fire Kiffin after this Sunday's game, win or lose. This is the final game before the Raider's bye week, and the new coach will have 2 weeks to prepare and get his system in place.

Perhaps Kiffin should check out this blog about upselling at the US Postal Service before he starts sending out his resumes.

R.I.P. Gene Upshaw

Gene Upshaw, the head of the NLFPA and former Oakland Raiders guard, died last night. His 15 year playing career included palying in 3 Super Bowls, 2 of which were won by the Raiders, 7 AFL/AFC Championship Games and numerous playoff games. His on field career culminated in election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Off the field he headed the NFLPA until his death.

He was a great player and leader and will be remembered as such.

Whats Wrong With Barry?

The buzz during the All-Star break had been that the Yankees were considering Barry Bonds, in the event Hideki Matsui needs season ending knee surgery.

Today, per this article on Fox Sports on MSN the Yankees and Richie Sexson have reached a deal. Sexson had a bad year last year and wasn't doing much better this year. Barry Bonds was one of the game's top hitters last year.

Is there really a conspiracy against Barry? If you had asked me that last week, I'd have laughed in your face and told you "No, there's just no one that feels he's worth a roster spot right now." But seeing the Yankees sign Sexson and ignore Bonds makes me really wonder. Maybe Jeff Boras (Bond's Agent) is correct, and there is a conspiracy to keep him out of baseball.

They Almost Did It Again

Baseball played it's annual All-Star Game last night. If you recall, the 2002 game ended in an extra-inning tie when the sides ran out of pitchers. So began much wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Last night, the game was tied after 9 innings. And after 10. After 11. And so on until the 15th inning. At that point, all the pitchers had been used. Had the AL not won the game in the bottom of the 15th, would there have been a 16th inning? Both pitchers were pitching on 2 days rest. Both had strict pitch count limits. What then?

It's time to do away with this "make it count" idea. The All-Star Game is supposed to be an EXHIBITION. It doesn't count in the standings, the players stats don't count. So quit trying to pretend it's anything more important than an enjoyable game for the fans.

Bad News For The Home Team

From SFGATE.com

Bad news for the home team. One of them anyways. Kevin Frandsen ruptured his Achilles' tendon in a minor league game today and will likely miss the season. Frandsen had been counted on to be a utility infielder. The Giants were already thin at infield position before Frandsen's injury.

More here

Who Is She?

Talking in the office this morning about hoops & our beloved Golden State Warriors, we were joking about the Ws recent accquisition of Chris Webber. He hadn't played all year and definately isn't in "game shape." The joke was that we should have Tonya Harding smack the knees of opposing forwards. That got us to thinking of who it was she allegedly had smacked on the knee during her figure skating career. None of us could remember. It is pretty sad when you are one of the best in your sport, competing at a championship level, and your career is sidetracked by a knucklehead with a stick who injures your knee. The ultimate insult must be when people can remember your competitor who is thought to be the brains behind the attack, but how many can remember your name?

For those who don't want to do a web search on their own, she is Nancy Kerrigan.

Maybe It'll Stop

The Super Bowl is over. The Pats proved they weren't invincable. Brady turned out to be human, after all. Maybe now, for a year anyways, we can quit reading about "Is Brady better than Montana?". I dont think you can take two different quaterback from different times and definatively say one is better than the other. What I will say is that all of the Super Bowls that Tom Brady quaterbacked were close games. Three times his team won, once they lost. If he is supposedly "The Greatest Quarterback Of All Time", why didn't he lead his team to blowout victories? Just my 2 cents.

Maybe Next Year, Mark

The Baseball Hall Of Fame balloting results were announced today. Mark McGwire missed again, getting the exact same number of votes he got last year, 128.

McGwire has been pilloried over the steroid issue. For some reason people seem to think it is unfair that a hitter like McGwire or Bonds used steriods, that it caused an uneven playing field. Maybe he was juiced, maybe Bonds was too. But as the Mitchell report indicated, so were many pitchers. How is it unfair for hitters, but ok for pitchers?

We'll never know exactly who and how many players "juiced" during the 90s and early 2000s. Do we blot that whole era out? I think not. It is time to go forward, recognize the accomplishments of the players who did play then and work to make the game better in the future.

Busy Life, Busy at Stuff

It's that time of year when everything seems to come together to rob folks of their time. The holiday season is approaching (what's with the Christmas displays going up before Halloween is even over and done with?), baseball is winding down as the Red Sox (boo...hiss) teach the Rockies a thing or two about postseason play and football is in full gear with the Niners and Raiders failing to live up to expectations.

Things are going to be a little different on my blog, too. I spend a lot of my time in either the San Francisco Bay Area or the Branson, MO area. Or traveling back & forth. Here in CA we try and be ready for the next "big one" (earthquake). In Branson folks try and be ready for whatever the weather throws at them, be it tornados, an ice storm or what have you. The fires in Southern CA have shown that there is more than earthquakes that can cause problems. Lately my son who works in emergency services has said a lot of their talk and planning has been towards disaster preparation. That is some of what I will be dealing with in this blog in the near future. Until those posts start, remember one thing:

Go Rockies!!!

And They're Off

The Oakland Raiders, sometimes known as the Chokeland Faders, jumped out to the lead in the race for the #1 draft pick in the 2008 NFL Draft. After tonight, they will be tied for first with 15 other teams reaching for that prize. The only problem is, they still haven't signed the #1 pick from the 2007 NFL Draft.

I'm not sure this is all the Raiders fault. Jamarcus Russell, the QB from LSU whom Oakland selected #1 overall is seeking around $31,000,000.00 (per published news reports) in GUARANTEED money in his first pro contract. That's right, THIRTY ONE MILLION DOLLARS. The Raiders want guarantees he's worth it.

You can't fault either one under the current system. Jamarcus wants all he can get, Oakland wants to get what they pay for. The end result is the longest holdout since Bo Jackson, back in the day when he didn't want to play football for Tampa Bay and so refused to sign and played baseball instead. Until the following year when the Raiders drafted him in the 4th round and he became the first modern 2 sport player.

So what is there to do? I think the time has come for the NFL to adopt a rookie salary scale. Let's face it, draft picks are paid for the promise they show, not for any performance on the NFL paying fields. So my plan would incorporate both paying for promise in the form of a bonus based upon draft pick number, and performance based upon how much they play. First off all, the draft pick bonus would be paid by the NFL, and would not count against a tam's salary cap number. These bonuses would be guaranteed. After that, the salary for the first 4 years would be set and equal for all players. These would not be guaranteed and would count against a team's salary cap. Lastly, a bonus structure based upon playing time would be implemented. Since this would not be paid until after the season is complete, a tream with room under the cap could elect to take it in the current year, or defer it to the following year. A system such as this would end holdouts, end wasting millions on players who do not live up to their potential (Hello Ryan Leaf) and free up teams to spend their salary cap money on players who have proven themselves.

That's just my 2 cents.

Are you ready?

It's hard to believe, but Football Season has arrived! The Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints kick off the 2007 NFL Season in about an hour. I know where I'll be, how about you?

Barry & A-Rod

As I noted in my previous post, Barry Bonds hit his 755th home run last night. What I didn't comment on was Alex Rodriguez hitting his 500th home run earlier in the day. I find that interesting in that A-Rod is picked by many to be the one who surpasses Bonds for the career home run title. I expect that will happen. A-Rod was the youngest to ever reach 500 home runs. Assuming he hits another 25 this year (about his current pace), and plays 8 more years averaging 35 per year, that would give him 795 home runs. Would that be enough? I think so. Barry Bonds has hit 21 this year, or roughly 1 every 5 games. With 57 games left, that projects out to 11 more, or 766 for his career. I may be a little higher once the pressure of chasing the record is gone, but I don't think it would be much higher. Will Barry reach 800? I doubt it. He would have to suddenly get on a home run hot streak. Pitchers have to pitch to him, not around him. Finally, he would most likely have to play another year, something I don't see happening. Not that Barry may not want to play another year and pad his record (and seek 3000 hits), but I don't see any team willing to take him, and his baggage, on.

One More To Go

Barry Bonds hit his 755th home run tonight, to tie Babe Ruth as baseball's home run leader. One more and the home run record will be his. Maybe then the hoopla will end and we can all get back to just enjoying the game.

San Francisco Chronicle article

Roger's Back (YAWN)

Roger Clemens made a successful debut in his return to the New York Yankees today, earning the win by pitching 6 innings in the Yankees 9-3 win over the Pittsburd Pirates. Read More.

Personally, my thoughts are more in line with those expressed in this opinion article by Nancy Armour. I thought it was nice when he unretired the first time to pitch for his hometown Houston Astros. Last year, when he dithered before finally returning to the Astros, I was pretty much an uninterested observer. This year, I can honestly say I was tired of seeing his name in the paper and on online sports reports.

Maybe this year will finally be it, and we'll be spared any more "Clemens Drama" until he is elected to the Hall of Fame.

Cheating in Sports

I wish I could take credit for this, but it is from my Representative at Merril Lynch.

"In most sports today you have to ask who’s running the asylum. Baseball and football players keep saying they want to rid their game of drugs, but it’s hard to believe them when they keep fighting every effort to find the cheaters. Why are the players even in the mix when it comes to drugs in sports? The folks who run the game should be the onlty ones making the decisions or rules concerning banning the taking of illegal drugs in sports.
The latest battle is over human growth hormone. The World Anti-Doping Agency expects to have a blood test ready later this year for the previously undetectable drug. Athletes in Olympic sports will be subject to it. But the players in America’s two biggest sports don’t want any part of it. Again why are we even asking the ones who will be tested for cheating?
We’ve heard this before. Baseball has undergone a steroids scandal whose effects will continue to be felt as long as Barry Bonds is still swinging a bat and guys like Mark McGwire are on the Hall of Fame ballot because the players wouldn’t agree to be tested. They finally gave in on steroids, then fought like the devil against testing for amphetamines, finally agreeing to be tested for the drug that fueled the game for generations – as long as the penalties weren’t too severe.
This is very simple: If the players don’t like the rules against taking illegal drugs, don’t let them play the game. The reality is that players want to protect what they see as their right to cheat. There’s no other way to explain their unflinching resistance to every effort to root out the cheaters among them. They might say they don’t want cheaters, but if they meant that, they’d be the ones demanding the strictest testing possible. It’s just my thoughts!"

Thought provoking, isn't it?