10/31/07

Yesterday, on the same day that the Boston Red Sox were havingthe parade celebrating their World Series win, Sox pitcher Curt Schilling filed for free agency. He also posted the news on his personal blog and speculated on it about the different teams he might be going to.

Even though I can kinda see why he wanted to become a free agent immediatley and not waste any time, he could have waited one day. It seems to me that the dayhe was on the parade float holding up the World Series Trophy he should have still been a member of the team. But that aside, talking online about the different teams he has in mind is just low class. I know for most of these guys baseball is just a job, to the fans it is so much more. They take things like this personally and Red Sox fans are understandably upset about Schillings actions.

Unfortunately this kind of behavior among athletes is becoming the norm rather than the exception (look at A-Rod announcing his quitting during a World Seriesgame - trying to make himself the day's story). Come on guys, would waiting one day have killed ya?

Oya, and Happy Halloween!

10/29/07

The Colts and the Patriots both won on Sunday. That sets up the game of the year: The battle of the unbeaten teams Colts vs Pats.This game should be awesome! Incredible offence and good defense on both sides. The sub stories of the rivalry between the two teams, the NFLs two best QBs, the Pats cheating story from early in the year and the factthat as good as these teams are one of them has gotta lose - what more couldyou ask for? My prediction is Colts win but not by much. Can't wait forthis one!

10/26/07

MLB
As much as I hate to say it, it definately looks like the HATED (at leastby Yankee Fans) Red Sox will win the World Series. Boston is currently up 2-0 and at this rate they might even sweep the series. C'mon Colorado at leastmake it intersting. I'll be rooting for the Rockies again tonight but I'm not expecting much.

The Yankees have said they are done interviewing for manager. It's pretty much a given that it will either be Joe Girardi or Don Mattingly. Rumors of Girardi to the Dodgers have been floating around though.

College FB

Great game Thursday night between Boston College and Va Tech! BC came back from 10-0 in the 4th and won 14-10.

#1 Ohio State plays at Penn State Saturdat night. Should be an awesome game.Go Lions!!!

NFL

The winless Rams play Cleveland this weekend. One of the Rams players "guaranteed"a win. Yawn.

The Giants play the Dolphins in London on Sunday 1 pm Eastern. Interesting conceptand it counts as a Dolphins home game so that blows for them. Giants should win this one handily but with the trip over and different atmosphere it might make for an oddgame.

Patriots play the Redskins. I expect them to continue being amazing and win handily.The Colts play the Panthers and I expect Indy to win and keep their unbeatenstreak as well. If this happens it will set up the matchup of the year: The unbeaten Colts against the Unbeaten Patriots. Add to that the recent history between these two teams and it should be an awesome game!

10/24/07

In one of the Red Sox vs Indians ALCS games Kevin Millar, currently playing forBaltimore and a former Boston player, threw out the first pitch and introduced the Boston starting lineup at a Red Sox home game. Many Baltimore fans andsome in the media have made a big deal about this. The fact that he is currently a player not only on a MLB team, but a team within the division and he is acting like he is still on the Red sox, doing the lineup, hanging out in the clubhouse, yelling "Lets go Red Sox" is totally unacceptable behavior according to some. Others say "What's the big deal? It's not like he is going to play less hard for Baltimore next year."

My take is that it is a big deal. While it's true that it won't affect his play next yearand probably isn't even a big deal to the players on his current team, it matters to the fans. Can you imagine if Johhny Damon had done that? The NY media firestorm and Yankee fan reaction wouldnever end. I know Yankees Redsox rivalry is way bigger that Baltimore Boston but still, 2 teams in the division. It's also just unprofessional. I get that he is friends with the guys on his former teambut he's not on the team anymore. Any media appearences should be to support the Orioles.

In the end, it really dosn't matter but if a Yankee player would have done a similar thing for any former team, Boston or not, I would not be happy. I understand how Orioles fans feel.

10/23/07

I really don't know how to feel about the Joe Torre situation. So many different angles to consider. I think the Yankees offered Torre the reduced contract to get him to quit on his own. That way the headlines would say "Torre rejects Yanks offer" instead of "Torre fired by the Yankees". They decided they were going to go in a different direction and this was their way to save face. Also, with the talent the Yankees have and the money they spend, to get bounced in the first round is not a good track record. And after the statement by Steinbrenner during the playoffs that if Torre failed to advance he was out, they were left with little choice.

On the other hand even the reduced contract they offered him was still the highest of any manager in MLB. So to call it an insult is pretty far fetched. But in Joe's defense, he managed the Yankees for 12 years and got to the playoffs 12 times. He also had a stretch where they won 3 out of 4 world series. Not too shabby. I also think he was just tired of having the axe held over his head every year. He was tired of having Steinbrenner release statements every few months threatening his job. He was worn out dealing with the rabid NY sports media every single day.

In the end I think Joe was just worn out. I think he will manage again though, he loves the sport too much (and I'm sure he loves the paycheck too). And all good things must come to an end. Maybe a new manager will do the Yankees good. Rumor has it they are pushing for Don Mattingly but he has said he's not up for it. I'm hoping for Joe Girardi, he did a great job with the Marlins a few years ago and is a former Yankee himself. It will be interesting to see what happens.