It's Just a Rumor, Right?

Short post today, but could be big. Now this is as rumorish as rumors get, and I can't stress how much it is just a rumor right now, but word has it, that Red Sox pitcher and yours truly's hero, Tim Wakefield might be retiring before the start of the upcoming season. Folks, this is almost Brett Favre level. No one, I repeat no one, has done as much for the Sox in the last 15 years as Wake has. He's the definition of a team player, never griping and giving countless hours and dollars to charity. Not to mention of course he's inspired countless New England kids to throw a knuckleball. I hope that like Favre, Wake plays forever. With the knuckleball, he could come close, but we might have to deal with the realization that the Wake era is coming to a close.

-MC

Without Further Ado...The NL East

Alright, I said it was coming, but I didn't think it was going to take this long. But here is the first installment of MLB previews, starting with the NL East. It's team-by-team, as you'll see in like two seconds, or you can just jump to the bottom and see how I think they'll finish. Big surprises too perhaps at the bottom.

ATLANTA BRAVES - (79-83, third place)
Strengths: Bullpen - The Braves had a pretty good bullpen going into the offseason and as they report to spring training they're even better. Lefty relief guy Mike Gonzalez, a guy the Sox tried to pry from the Pirates, could prove to be a big acquisition when he and Bob Wickman give the Braves a righty/lefty closer combo if they so choose.
Weaknesses: Starting Pitching - Trust me people, this will be a frequently occuring weakness among major league teams. The Braves do not have much though at all. John Smoltz is old, Tim Hudson is quietly getting old too, and Kyle Davie's ERA was over 8 last year. We'll have to see if Chuck James (11-4, 3.78 ERA) is the real deal, but I'm not counting on it.
Player to Watch: Brian McCann - McCann put up great numbers last year and should anchor a fairly decent line up.

FLORIDA MARLINS (78-84, fourth place)
Strengths: Starting pitching - If starting pitching is as important as people say (myself being one of them), then look out for the Marlins. From top to bottom they have the best rotation in the division. Dontrelle Willis is a stud and guys like Josh Johnson and Annibel Sanchez would be top-of-the-rotation guys for most teams. Young arms with good stuff...very dangerous.
Weaknesses: Bullpen - The Marlins have a few "nice names", guys who always seem to be cliche potential breakouts but haven't show much yet. Taylor Tankersley has been touted as one of the next big closers for a few years, but after a couple of stops, he still isn't what he's expected to be. Not much talent briding the starters and him either.
Player to Watch: Miguel Cabrera - An early candidate for NL MVP. Puts up unreal numbers with relative ease, and he's like 17 years old or something.

NEW YORK METS (97-65, Division champs, lost in NLCS)
Strengths: Explosive Offense - From 1-8 in the lineup the Mets are probably the best line up in the East and one of the best in the NL. Reyes, Beltran, Wright, and Delgado would be offensive centerpieces in any lineup. They'll score a lot of runs, which is good because...
Weaknesses: Starting pitching - Pedro Martinez might not pitch until August. Tom Glavine isn't Tom Glavine anymore. Oliver Perez was 3-13 last year, and the Mets went out of their way to trade for him at the deadline. John Maine is the most promising name for the Mets' staff. Am I making my point yet? If they can somehow get it to Billy Wagner with the lead, the game's over though. He's still that good.
Player to Watch: John Maine - Maine showed flashes of brilliance late in the year and into the playoffs. If he can hold that rotation together and they can get something - anything, out of the other guys, they could win the division.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (85-77, second place)
Strengths: Solid lineup/Ryan Howard - .358, 58, 149, .425. Just feast on those for a bit. They're the numbers of first baseman Ryan Howard last year. If you get that production from two guys combined, it's a good start. Ryan Howard is quickly becoming the next big slugger of our time, maybe the best. He's already better than David Ortiz. Add names like Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, and the real Pat Burrell around that, you've got a solid lineup.
Weaknesses: Bullpen - The Phils have one of the thinnest bullpens in the league and it showed down the stretch last year. Their closer Tom Gordon is solid, but Father Time is starting to spend more time around him. There's also not much leading up to Flash. Check back this time next year, if a certain Mr. Rivera walks out of the Bronx. That's right, Mo Rivera to Philly in '08. You heard it here first.
Player to Watch: Cole Hamels - Hamels was 9-8 last year with a 4.08, but certainly looked better than that at times. If he is right, he'll be key to a rotation that is certainly getting overlooked early. (Brett Myers, Freddy Garcia, Jamie Moyer, Hamels, and Adam Eaton)

WASHINGTON NATIONALS (71-91, fifth in division)
Strengths: ... - They have a cool logo, and nice uniforms...But in all seriousness, the Nats can pick it. Some strong defensive prowess at the corners in Ryan Zimmerman and Nick Johnson. Both also happen to be their biggest offensive weapons.
Weaknesses: Lack of offense - You could choose a few things for the main weakness, but I'll go with offense as being the biggest hole. Although Zimmerman, Johnson, and new pick-up Austin Kearns each homered more than 20 times last year for what it's worth.
Player to Watch: Nick Johnson - Every year away from New York, he gets better. Hmmm...

Projected Standings (For what it's worth):
1. Philadelphia - Really wanted to put the Marlins here, but the difference is, if Philly needs someone at the end of July, it will be easier for them to get him than the Fish.
2. Florida - I think this is my wild card pick. They were too young last year, but it's practically the same team this year, and I'm buying. Make fun of me in May. Thanks.
3. New York - This could be my worst pick all year, but hey I'm new at this. Pitching is the name of the game though, and the Mets don't have much.
4. Atlanta - A year or so for being back at the top of the NL East again.
5. Washington - I miss the Expos.

-MC

Singin them Carolina Blues

As you all are well aware of, my BC boys played UNC and Duke this week. I went, they lost, we cried. I didn’t come here, thought, to talk about how bad BC is at shooting freethrows, or how the refs blew the game against Duke. I came to talk about North Carolina. That’s because I bet Mike ( a diehard UNC fan for those who don’t know) BC would win, and if they did he would have to write an article on why BC is awesome (Mike hates BC) and if they lost I would have to give it up for UNC.
So, without further ado, here are the reasons why Carolina is great.

1. They are really good at basketball, obviously. Three national championships, Dean Smith, Michael Jordan, James Worthy, and now Roy Willams. The Dean Dome is sweet, I’ve been there. UNC basketball, despite its high winning percentage, is always looked on as favorable over Duke to the majority of the people. UNC has always been good, but not too good, and graduates guys with class, so that the majority of Americans don’t have extreme prejudices against them (see Duke and Notre Dame). BC only has Troy Bell and a few Elite 8’s, that’s about it (and a good hockey and football team).
2. I just checked the 10 day forecast for UNC: 60’s all week. It hasn’t been above 20 in Boston for weeks.
3. Peter Gammons went to UNC, and I like Peter Gammons. BC does have Bob Ryan and Mike Lupica (the youngest columnist ever at a New York paper).
4. Signature color: Carolina Blue. Seriously what other institution of higher education has their own color? Or is Carolina Blue really just baby blue with a different name? I don’t know you be the judge.
5. Mia Hamm went there, and won four national titles. The much more memorable Brandy Chastain (at least to a 12 year old boy); however, went to Santa Clara.
6. I did mention the weather right? It’s always tepid there.
7. Southern hospitality. Have a nice day y’all


Dave

At New Heights Atop the ACC

Well, as this guy expected, the University of North Carolina came up north and took out Boston College. The Heels got a big effort from Tyler Hansbrough (better than Jared Dudley) and the Heels got out with a win and the lead in the ACC. Big win for Carolina, makes me happy, and saves me some embarassment. I'm happy and impressed with my Heels, and as you may find soon enough, so is Dave...Anyhoo, NL East preview coming up late Monday or early Tuesday, so look for that.
-MC

This week is Heights week here at BC, should be fun, 7 games in 7 days, ending with the ESPN and College Gameday crew on Saturday when UNC rolls into town. Of course I can’t make it to all the games, because of the whole school work thing, but I’m looking forward to in nonetheless.
Last night the men’s hockey team had the Beanpot finals at the Boston Garden v.2.0. It was a great game, with BU winning 2-1 in overtime. It was certainly a game which most of the BC faithful felt cheated afterwards. BU out shot BC 12-9 in the first period and went up 1-0, but BC was just physically dominating their Commonwealth Ave. rivals. The Terriers slowed down considerably in the second, and BC played an impressive period out shooting BU 13-6, but couldn’t slip one past John Curry. Really, though, we knew that it was only a matter of time. BC was pounding BU mercilessly into the boards and Curry was the only thing keeping them from dominating the scoreboard too.
Nathan Gerbe tied it up and the crowd was going nuts, BU looked like they wanted to be curled up on the couch with some chicken soup in hand instead of taking another hit from Brian Boyle (he’s 6’7” 250). BC is just dominating at this point, physically beating BU and peppering Curry, who wont let another one by. But BC is hungry, and is creating opportunity after opportunity.
Everything was going in BC’s favor as overtime started…and then… after 5 minutes of BC dominating the OT, BU snakes a pass out of a faceoff and puts one right past the unsuspecting Cory Schneider glove side. Game over. BU wins. Shock and disgust ensues.
I can still barely bring myself to write about it today.
The sporting equivalent I could think of was Ali using the rope-a-dope tactic on Foreman or Frazier (I’m only I read about this in books) and BC was playing Foreman in this case, just trying to kill BU, tiring itself out, and having that one lax moment that BU/Ali pounces upon (this could be a terrible analogy but work with me). BC took something like 39 shots to BU’s 23, and in the final two periods and overtime the margin stretches 30-11. Curry won the MVP, a very deserving honor. Just incredible, unbelievable really.
That’s all for today, Duke basketball tomorrow, hopefully a good one.


Dave

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

First of all, we, more specifically I, suck. I'm hearing some grumbles from like 2 or 3 of the 13(?) readers of this godforsaken blog. But still, 2 or 3 is too much. Expect big things out of this guy in the coming week or two. If you're anything like me, winter depression is starting to sink in. To cure what ails ya, this winter, I'm about to kick being partial out the door and devote my next few posts to baseball. Expect, hopefully, a division-by-divison, team-by-team preview. It's going to take a lot, so expect me to probably give up on it two divisions in, but oh well. Get excited, folks. My sources tell me the Red Sox equipment truck is headed to Fort Myers Monday morning along with some Matsuzaka guy. Maybe you've heard of him. This should be received as good news, as the days slowly, but surely get longer, temperatures rise ever so slightly, and the crisp contrast of baseball uniforms and immaculate green grass. It's about to get better in these here parts. Baseball is coming back and I will be happy. In the meantime though, keep your eyes pealed for "extensive" baseball coverage.
Take it easy, kids.
-MC
5 days 'til pitchers and catchers report...

$uperbowl

Well folks, the 6 foot 5, 230 pound quarterback with a lazer rocket arm got his ring. Offsetting my extreme disappointment in the big game was the fact that the missed extra point in the first quarter aided SB square players who had weird numbers such as 9 or 2 for the Colts. Also cashing in big was Colts 6 Bears 4, which won both the first quarter and the half (CHA-CHING!!!). If you have no idea what I am talking about, you probably didn’t even watch the Superbowl, because the only non-fan viewers were those that had some money (Monopoly money of course) riding upon the outcome.

Dave

As the commercial says, today we are all undefeated. PATS ‘08

One More One Last Time

Life is good this morning. Super Bowl Sunday is almost upon us, and I am excited about the recent news in regards to the best quarterback in NFL history. And no, I'm not talking about Peyton Manning. I'm talking about the guy with the original "lazer-rocket arm". Brett Favre announced yesterday that he's coming back to play in his 17th NFL season. And if you know anything about me at all, you should've known that a post like this was bound to pop up within the coming days.

I first found about Brett's decision via espn.com. I headed over to the site, and saw the "breaking news alert", which usually excites me no matter the circumstance. When I read that my boy was coming back this year, I jumped out of my chair and let out my patened "Yes!" usually reserved for Red Sox home runs, Bruins goals, and of course Brett Favre touchdowns. I even scared me roommate. The point is, is that I'm really excited. And to be honest, if you're a fan of football, you should be excited too. The guy is a true gamer, and is poised to break just about every major passing record this year (Sorry Marino fans). I swear though, this is the last I talk about Favre for awhile. But I might not be able to help it, at this rate, Favre will be playing well into his 80s. Dave joked yesterday that Aaron Rodgers, Favre's backup will retire before Favre does. And then I made the point that I'll probably retire before Favre does. And I'd have no problem with that at all. Alright, now I'm done with that.

I found some rather interesting and even more humorous bits of journalism this morning. I recently read that former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf is now the quarterbacks coach and get this, head golf coach at West Texas A&M. This got me thinking about the remarkable contrast between Leaf and Peyton Manning. There was strong debate over which one would be drafted first in the 1998 NFL Draft. So, I did some research. This is what I pulled from some New York Times articles from that year.
"Quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf are can't-miss players. Leaf is a lot more sophisticated than people think, and Manning's arm is deceptively strong." (April 18, 1998 New York Times)...Yeah, anyone remember Leaf's "Stupid idiot!! Don't talk to me!!" outburst? And isn't "deceptively strong" code for "lazer-rocket arm"?
"We don't have to announce a decision until early Saturday, and we won't." - Bill Polian, Colts GM (same article)
"The owner Jim Irsay wants Leaf. The general manager Bill Polian wants Leaf. But coach Jim Mora wants Manning." - The Forecast for Saturday. Mike Freeman, NY Times (4/12/98)...Ryan Leaf? Ryan Leaf?!?! Don't talk about Ryan Leaf?!?!
From the same article/mock draft about Ryan Leaf: "He is Drew Bledsoe with an attitude." Sounds about right.
I'm done kids, enjoy the game tomorrow, I'm sticking with the Colts. 34-30.
-MC

Whole Latta Love

Normally, I steer clear of BC women’s basketball. It is not an issue of my manliness, (or lack there of) but rather of the quality of play. While I know that division 1 women’s basketball players are better basketball players than I am, I find it hard to get jacked up about a women’s bball game when I know I have 12 men’s games, plus numerous men’s and women’s (yes women’s) ice hockey games on my slate for the winter. I follow the women through the newspaper, but they have been having a mediocre season so I have had no real reason to go, and I was content with just reading about in the paper. I knew it would take some extraordinary circumstances to attend a women’s Eagles game. Well, those extraordinary circumstances just happen to present themselves tonight.
It started on Monday at The Heights meeting, with Jeff (my editor) wanting somebody to do a story on the big weekend the women’s bball team had ahead of them, with UNC and Maryland on the slate. Naturally I declined, but I couldn’t help but being drawn in; “all the girls HATE (North Carolina PG) Ivory Latta,” Jeff said, “I was on the plane with them (in the NCAA Tournament) and all they talked about was how much they hated her.” I knew then that I had to see her play in person.
I had seen her once on ESPN last year, but she hadn’t captured my imagination. The announcers referred to her as “Lady Iverson,” so naturally I was inclined to hate her. But since BC rarely plays the #2 team in the country, and since Ivory Latta, the object of so much hate and so much passion was playing, I just had to go.

I arrived about 2 minutes into the game (thanks Newton Bus) to see that Latta had yet to score. I took a seat in the endzone with my back pack and pizzeria uno cheese pizza and began to chow down while focusing the rest of my attention on Latta. She didn’t score for the first 12 minutes of the game, and needless to say I was furious at the sports loving side of myself for roping the rational, I-need-to-write-a-paper-for-geology side of myself into watching a collegiate women’s basketball game.
She was probably dazed by the beauty of the campus, it was the first time UNC had ever traveled to BC, and it took her a while to remember that she was the female recreation of the man who boasts the filthiest crossover in the game.
It started with the shot clock winding down near the 7 minute mark. Latta squared up and drove to the middle of the paint, lofting a floater to the bottom of the net. Then she stole the ball at half court and got an assist robbed from her when her teammate was called for traveling. Then she hit a trey. Then another trey. And another for good measure. Every time she shot a three, she would end up on the ground falling backwards and asking the ref for a foul. She also would chat with them during freethrows if she wasn’t being rubbed down with a towel by one of her teammates. She ended the half with 11 points, probably 3 assists and 4 would be assists on missed wide open shots. She was good there was no denying it.
I decided I would stop paying attention to her for a while, she had proven legitimate to me. Plus, Jared Dudley and his girlfriend had decided to sit two rows in front of me, and then Shamari Spears showed up and they were having a grande ‘ol time. I couldn’t quite understand what Jared was saying, except that he kept joking about how he could never get a hold of Daye Kaba (a backup swingman on BC). Good times all around.
The second half was all UNC, they stretched the lead to 30, and with 4 minutes remaining I decided to leave, feeling righteous. Latta had 20 points off a couple more teardrops and steals, enough to convince me that I would never, under any circumstances, challenge her to one on one.
That’s all I got, if I could take 400 of those 700 words I just wrote and tack them on to the end of my geology paper, then I would really be in business, but I can’t, so I better get cracking.


Until we meet again,

Dave

P.S. Another reason I cant go to women’s bball games, because the take time away from when I could watch men’s bball, like tonight when I missed the thriller at Virginia, oh well, its hard to win them all.