A much needed break

I am leaving for Kansas City, MO this morning.

I will be headed down to catch a Royals game and get some much needed R& R away from the "exciting" Iowa.

Until then, look for some stuff from Owen and maybe even Alec.

As always, have a safe weekend (when it rolls around) and don't let fantasy football give you a brain hemmorage...as it will do to me soon as the proud owner of Steven Jackson, Peyton Manning, Hines Ward, Cavin Johnson and a 1-2 record.

(and yes, that is Frankie goes to Hollywood in the picture)

Embarassment in Kansas City...and no...I don't mean the Royals

Don't be fooled by the fact that this is a fictional cartoon character...

Homer Simpson was on the sidelines during the Vikings 13-10 loss to the lowly Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday afternoon.

If you remember, in season 9 of the Simpsons, Bart joins a pee-wee football team coached by Ned Flanders (often times confused to be coach Childress, except Flanders coached his team to wins). Homer's taunting of Ned eventually leads to him quitting and giving Homer the coaching job.

Homer is too dumb to keep Nelson in at QB, plays favorites and puts Bart in as QB. The team loses several games and eventually Bart has to sacrifice himself (posing as Nelson when the police show up to arrest Nelson for a crime he committed) in order to save the team's season.

Lesson learned? Sometimes it really isn't the players...it's the coaches.

Brad Childress called about as good of a game as a indigenous tribe member from the Arctic could. First drive? Amazing, Adrian Peterson blows past Ty Law and puts the Vikings up 7-0. After that, the Chiefs somewhat figured out AP and now it was up to journeyman Kelly "I couldn't make it with the Browns or Eagles OR Bills" Holcomb. Even our 3rd string RB had a better arm (see touchdown pass to Shiancoe). It was deemed an incomplete pass by the referees and they were defended by the announcers as saying that maybe they didn't have that angle that we all saw. CAN SOMEONE GET THOSE GUYS A LITTLE TV SO THEY CAN GET THAT DAWGGONE ANGLE?!

Holcomb would later overthrow a wide open Robert Ferguson in the endzone which would have put the Vikes up 17-6. The guy hasn't played in a couple months and was thrown into a game against the Chiefs. Not the greatest team in the world, but it was an away game at a very intimidating stadium and the guy doesn't have the greatest track record. First bad coaching move by Childress.

Second bad move was running on first and second down and then relying on Timmy Twizzler Arm to get a first down. Sure AP had another solid game, but relying on a rookie RB won't really get you W's.

Third bad coaching move? The entire 4th quarter. Run, run, Incomplete pass, punt....Run, run, incomplete pass, punt. Referring back to our Simpsons episode, I can already see Childress with his electric football game saying "Alright Matt, hike the ball to Kelly and Kelly....you run around in a circle and then fall down".

I don't like to think that because I play Madden way too much that I can coach better than Childress...but I think that had he just pressed square (for PS2 users) for the 'Ask Madden' option, Madden would have let him know "Show them that you aren't afraid...run the ball up the middle"....oh wait...maybe he did use the 'Ask Madden'...

Either way, with the way the Green Bay Packers (leading candidates for the "Ringers of the Year" award) are playing right now...the Packers will most likely be 4-0 by 3:15 pm next Sunday and the Vikings will be thinking "who do we take with the number 3 pick?"

As always, leave your feedback and have a great Monday.

Long time, No See...

Good morning!


(I started writing this at 11:40 pm and since it was before midnight, the post says Wednesday...it really is meant for Thursday...but let's get on with it)

It has been a while since our last post here at Court's Sports. Due to unforseen events, mainly me deciding to be a real college student and actually go to class and do homework all the time, it's been pretty busy around these parts.

I would love to spend time catching up on everything that has been happening since last week, but if you read this blog I am going to trust that you haven't been under a rock for a week and know what's going on.

So I would like to focus on the one thing that has been plastered all over ESPN, and every other news outlet during the last few days, and that is OJ Simpson's recent arrest.

This whole situation stinks with confusion. The jist of the story is that someone told OJ that someone else was selling some personal effects and OJ wasn't having it. So he took some people that he met at a wedding reception and Pulp Fictioned his way into jail. One of OJ's new friends apparently had a gun, some say OJ did but it isn't known at this point. 11 felony counts later, OJ is back in jail and has the Goldman family giddy with joy.

With bail set at $125,000, OJ seems to be back in the same situation he was when he was being tried for murder. Is it really a case of "wrong place, wrong time"? Or is OJ really the guy that most of America thinks he is?

I was 8 years old when '85 white Ford Broncos were no longer known as "trucks" but "getaway vehicles". I remember the glove and sitting in front of the TV when he was being acquitted. Was I excited? Sure, but for what reason?

I had heard that he was guilty as all guilty can be. And then he somehow moonwalks his way out of murder charges?! First thought at age 8? "He is the man!"

Forgive me, I was 8, but that's what it looked like to a lot of people. Until this point in American history, if a black man went to trial...there was a good chance that his plans were going to change for the next 15-20 years. And now "Juice" was getting acquitted of murder when it seemed to be a very clear cut trial? Unbeleivable.

You could play the celebrity card of course, but that card was a 2 of a kind to the royal flush that was the race card.

I've never been one to cry race at anything. Sure, I may use it in the comical sense, but people need to deal with their lives regardless of skin color. I've been a part of many situations that dealt with racism, so I know what it's like. But not everything in life is black and white.

Unfortunately, this situation also stinks with the dreaded "P" word..."profiled"

I feel that OJ was very un-intelligent about this situation. First off, who were the guys with him. If I'm at a party with OJ, not only am I nowhere near him, but if I am and I hear about a plan to run into a hotel room with a gun to get his stuff back...I make my way over to my date and do not join in such activities. Second, well knowing his past with the police, why would he go with a gun and a bunch of guys. Like Whoopi Goldberg said on the View the other day, (my mother told me, I'm in class at the time) "Involve the police!"

Now, OJ was quoted as saying that he no longer has faith in the police and that his dealings with them have been less than satisfactory since the '95 trial. Really OJ? The police have been "less than satisfactory"? Surprise. Either way, if he calls them and they refuse to go to the hotel it falls on them for not doing their job to serve and protect.

Unfortunately, when you have the past experiences that OJ has had, then yes, authorities may deal with you differently. To me, this is where the profiling ends.

You, in the next few weeks, may hear "Well if Tom Brady had been in this situation, then he wouldn't have such harsh charges. Maybe, maybe not...we'll never know. Want to know why we'll never know? BECAUSE TOM BRADY WILL NEVER BE IN THIS SITUATION.

I don't often deal in absolutes, but come on. Unless something goes terribly wrong, I don't see the distant Kennedy (check out his pictures online, creepy) doing this ever. Some people just find themselves in stupid situations and OJ is the current league leader in stupid situations.

I would like to leave you with these links though : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O._J._Simpson_murder_case

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=hill/070918 (ESPN's Jemele Hill has a great article that goes into great detail about the situation)

Scroll down to the "Jason Simpson Theory" section (on Wikipedia) and read it. Not many have talked about this theory, but something tells me that it makes more sense than OJ actually committing the murders.

This situation is a loaded gun. It screams confusion, racism, profiling and mainly stupidity on OJ Simpsons part.

We here at Court's Sports in no way support OJ Simpson in anything he does unless it involves him in a USC or Buffalo Bills uniform. Nor do we support Wikipedia as a source of great information, just a great way to pass time in class.

Have a great Thursday!

Terry Ryan & Greg Oden...friends?

I ask this question mainly because as of today, neither of these gentlemen will have much to do.

According to ESPN's Buster Olney, and about 70 other sources, Twins GM Terry Ryan has stepped down from his position in the Twins organization.

This comes as a great surprise to many since Ryan has been with the organization for 12 years now and the Twins will be at possibly the most important crossroads in their storied history as they try and find the funds to re-sign their most important players.

Ryan will be replaced by Assistant GM Bill Smith, who according to sources, is a very motivated and competent replacement.

Ryan has been lauded by owners across the league for being able to put competitive teams on the field year in and year out with a very limited budget. He was able to trade AJ Pierzsynski for Boof Bonser, Joe Nathan and Francisco Liriano. That trade is considered by many, one of the most lopsided trades in recent MLB history. Ryan had a great eye for talent and it showed.

As for the other part...

Greg Oden, who elected to have microfracture knee surgery a couple weeks ago, will apparently be out until March and maybe even the entire season.

This is a blow to the TrailBlazers organization who was banking on Oden helping them to the playoffs this year.

The best thing is that since Oden, age wise, is young he could return quicker than thought.

And yes, he still will have to shave every 6 hours.

Peyton's still here...and he's brought friends

The New Orleans Saints really thought that they had a chance to beat the Colts in Indy last night....I'm sure of it.


Well, any of you who watched last night would know that wishes sometimes just don't happen. Sounds sad, but nothing is more sad than coming in with high expectations for your team and having every single person on your team underacheive. Even the water boy spilled Deuce McAllister's Gatorade during the 3rd quarter.


Reggie Bush, considered by many to be one of the most explosive players in the NFL, gained a grand total of 47 yards last night...47 YARDS!? For a player with high expectations, that better be the last time that happens or else Fantasy owners across America will revolt.


Drew Brees threw for about 180 yards and 2 INT's. They weren't tipped INT's, they were the "what were you thinking when you threw that?!" INT's. He looked sharp on the first drive but past that he looked like me in Intramural football last year, erratic and blaming everyone else for my bad passes.


The consolation, as said by Sean Salisbury, is that they are in the NFC. Barring anymore games against the Colts, the Saints could go 15-1 this year. Most likely they won't, but that's what wishes are all about.


Peyton & CO. looked rough on their first drive. 3 and out on the first drive makes it hard to gain momentum for the rest of the game but on the next drive, Peyton found Marvin Harrison on the left side of the field for the first time in 10 years and they continue to build on their NFL record of QB to WR Td's (now sitting at 683).


Reggie Wayne and Joe Addai stole the show last night though. Addai, after getting torn apart by Mike McKenzie (who else was surprised that he actually made a tackle?), went on to rush for over 100 yards and a TD while Wayne had 7 - 125-2 for the night.


The Colts look like nothing has changed and that spells trouble for the rest of the AFC.

Christmas Come Early

Today is the day…


The day that men all across America have been waiting a year for…


Football…


Season…


Is…


HERE!


At 7:30 pm Central Standard time, The Colts and Saints will kick off the 2007-08 NFL season from the hidden gem of the Upper East-Midwest, also known as Indianapolis, IN.

Some interesting storylines surround this game:


Can Peyton Manning repeat his past seasons of QB dominance? As well as, Can the Colts repeat as Super Bowl champs or will they fall prey to the dismal seasons the Buccaneers and Ravens had after they won Super Bowls?


Will Reggie Bush repeat his 1,300 all purpose yardage again for the Saints this year?


Can Joe Addai be the feature back that everyone thinks he can be?


Can Drew Brees, Marques Colston and Devery Henderson have a season like they did last year?



My answers to all of these questions?


Peyton Manning is about as consistent as the sun rising and setting. He not only will have a great year, but he will also be the AFC Offensive player of the year barely beating out LaDanian Tomlinson. The Colts will also be the team to beat in the AFC. Even though Tom Brady got some huge help this offseason, the Colts are still the team to beat. Plus, compare the three teams involved in that question. Colts, Bucs and Ravens? Come on, when was the last time you heard Brad Johnson, Trent Dilfer and Peyton Manning in the same sentence when it didn’t end with, “Are you kidding?”



Not only will Reggie Bush repeat his season numbers from last year, he’ll do better. I imagine Reggie getting near 1,000 yards rushing and 700 receiving. He will be HUGE this year for the Saints. He is my early leader for NFC Offensive player of the year. If that doesn’t sell it for you, remember this : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwS5x920i8A


Joseph Addai will be good for the Colts this year. One of the most ridiculous things that I ever heard this offseason was, “Hey, the Colts are going to be a running team this year, you watch!” There are a lot of reasons why that is stupid but the main reason is that if anyone remembers that the Colts have one of the best QB’s since…well…ever, WHY WOULD THEY TURN INTO A RUNNING TEAM?! Addai is simply a nice distraction for any defense that faces the Colts. Look for 1,100 yards maybe.


Drew Brees and Marques Colston will have great years. When you have a running game that includes Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush, you can’t help but think, “hey, my job is pretty easy” (Brees and Colston speaking). Devery Henderson was very streaky last year and I wouldn’t expect much from him this year.


Like the “experts” at ESPN and every other media outlet around the world, here are my “expert” picks.


NFC North : Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers

NFC South: Saints, Panthers, Falcons and Bucs. (Falcons and Panthers in second place is a wash in my mind)

NFC East: Giants, Cowboys, Eagles and Redskins (you watch, Eli will come up big this year. If not, well then so be it.)

NFC West : Rams, Seahawks, 49ers and Cardinals (this, for the first time since the Korean War, was incredibly tough. The Rams and Seahawks are very similar in their styles and skill and so are the 49ers and Cards. I can see this going any which way. Now that Denny Green is gone, the Cards have an honest shot at winning more than 6 games.


AFC North : Bengals, Steelers, Ravens, Browns.


AFC South : Colts, Jags, Texans, Titans (this is the “Mid-90’s NL East” of the NFL. One dominant team surrounded by other teams that just fight each other to not look that bad)

AFC East : Patriots, Bills, Dolphins, Jets


AFC West : Chargers, Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders



Superbowl prediction : Bears vs. Colts (Yes, again. I see this turning into the new “Cowboys/Steelers” superbowls of the 90’s. )


A disclaimer on predictions like this should ALWAYS go on websites that put up their predictions. The only thing that separates me from Sean Salisbury right now is a college education and a steady job (your pick on that one). So please, as always, leave your comments on what you think of my predictions and enjoy the game tonight!

NFL Problems

Well...I knew that this was too good to be true. As soon as I showed an interest in the NFL again, things got pretty heavy again.

Rodney Harrison has been suspended by the NFL for 4 games for admitting that he purchased and consumed Human Growth Hormones. Am I the only one that isn't that surprised about this? Anyone that has watched Rodney Harrison the last couple of years can testify that he is absolutely nuts on the field. Not Ray Lewis' "I need to get my team hyped and I'm stoked to be here" kind of nuts but "Hey, I'm going to kill you if you come over the middle and then date your sister after" sort of nuts. He admitted to taking them the past 2 years to recover from his injuries faster but this comment confused me :

"I want to make it clear," Harrison said, "that never once did I take steroids. I did admit to the commissioner that I took a banned substance."

Isn't HGH a form of steriods!? Maybe instead of Sex Education we need to be teaching our kids about sterioids so that when they get older and maybe get in a situation like this, they don't look like an idiot.

The NFL needs to crack down on this and Roger Goodell has a lot of work to do.

Luckily, College football gets into full swing tomorrow. Go Trojans...Go Gophers...and LSU sucks.

Have a great weekend.

Placing Johan Santana into History

Man its a hot one.

Like seven inches from the midday sun

I hear you whisper and the words melt everyone

But you stay so cool

My mu equita my spanish harlem mona lisa

Your my reason for reason

The step in my groove...

-Smooth (Santana featuring Rob Thomas)



Every superhero has their theme music...Every professional wrestler has their entrance song…and Every baseball player has their song when they bat, pitch or come in from the bullpen.





So why does a collaboration by Rob Thomas and super guitarist Santana have a special meaning to me?





Two reasons…a left arm and charisma that could bring peace to the Middle-East.




Johan Santana.




The Metrodome is a teflon covered toilet. Since 1982, it has brought nightmares to players as well as fans. Balls get lost in the off-white ceiling, hit speakers and ricochet 20 feet away from where it was going to land. None of the seats really face home plate (watch or go to a game sometime and notice how the section by the left field foul pole is ALWAYS empty).



All is forgotten on the special days when Santana pitches…



There is a different feeling when you walk into the dome. A confidence, because Johan won’t let the other team sniff home plate. The song “Smooth” is played during Santana’s warm up pitches before the game starts. It’s like associating a pro-wrestler or superhero with their theme music. You hear it and automatically think of that person before you think of who actually wrote the song.


Now, I may be biased on my thoughts on Johan Santana (being from Minnesota myself) but I feel that he may be one of the most dominant left-handed pitchers in Major League history. This is a big statement when considering other lefties that have graced the dirt mounds across America. These players range from Sandy Koufax to Steve Carlton to Tom Glavine to Randy Johnson and to the man who has the award for “Best Left-Handed pitcher”, Warren Spahn. There is no doubt that Santana is the best lefty pitcher currently but why not go a little further and compare him as one of the best lefties ever to play the game.


Let’s look at three categories : Strikeouts, Wins and ERA as well as comparing where each pitcher was with each category at Santana’s age (28) and years in the league (8). Future projections are based on whether Santana stays healthy and pitches at the same rate continually.


Strikeouts :

Spahn – 2,583 strikeouts

Koufax – 2,936 strikeouts

Carlton – 4,136 strikeouts

Glavine – 2,556 strikeouts (and counting)

Johnson – 4,616 strikeouts (and counting?)

Santana – 1,344 strikeouts (and counting)


Johnson has the most strikeouts for lefty pitchers in MLB history. If we base greatness on strikeouts alone, then Randy Johnson wins. He’s been pitching since 1988 and is getting close to the end of his career. His size alone puts fear into opposing batters, plus his 96 MPH fastball helps as well. Right now, Johnson could arguably be the best lefty pitcher in MLB history. Johnson needs 16 more wins to reach 300 and 484 strikeouts to reach 5,000. Neither of which are within much reach for Johnson unfortunately because of injuries. But let’s compare where Santana is at this point in his career.


By the age of 28, Randy Johnson had 948 career strikeouts after 5 years in the league. If you use age as a comparison, Santana leads Johnson by 396 strike outs. On the other hand, if you use the years in the league as a comparison, Johnson leads by 285 strike outs. If Santana keeps on pace with his strike outs and plays the same length as Johnson (assuming this is his last year) he will accumulate 3,360 strike outs. This, of course, is hypothetical. Injuries, among many other things, can change these numbers. Assuming that Santana stays healthy, he could make a run at Johnson’s numbers, especially with Johnson’s career coming to an end soon.



Wins:


To many, wins probably make the most difference between pitchers. A pitcher could strike out 2,500 batters in his career but what does it say if he only had 96 wins? The true sign of a dominating pitcher comes with how many wins he had in his career.

Spahn – 363 wins, 65 by age 28, 122 by 8 years in the league (gaps in years played due to World War 2)

Koufax – 165 wins, 112 by age 28 and 68 by 8 years. (began at age 19 in the league and didn’t put up big numbers until after age 28)

Carlton – 326 wins, 117 by age 28 and 104 by 8 years in the league

Glavine – 301 wins (and counting), 108 by age 28 and 108 by 8th year in the league (most correlative to Santana by age and numbers at this point)

Johnson – 284 wins (and counting?), 56 by age 28, 106 by 8th year in the league.

Santana – 92 wins (and counting), 92 by age 28 and 92 by 8th year in the league.


Even with World War 2, Spahn destroys the win record for lefties. He won games at such amazing rates that it will be hard for any lefty to ever catch him. Glavine is the closest for active players with his 301 wins but he is also 41 years old. He still is behind Carlton who finished with 326 wins. Who knows how many wins Sandy Koufax would have accumulated had Tommy John surgery been around when he was a player. Johnson is close but his degenerative back problems will most likely keep him from ever reaching that goal. Assuming that Santana pitches at the same rate of wins for the next 12 years, Santana would finish with 273 wins. This would put him in good standing in terms of career wins.


Era:


A pitcher’s Earned Run Average is something that many look at when comparing stats. Typically, a career ERA under 3.50 is considered pretty special. There are few players in MLB history that have been in the league for more than ten minutes that have a career ERA under maybe 3.05. Let’s look at our lefties again :


Spahn : 3.09 for a 21 year career

Koufax : 2.76 for a 12 year career

Carlton : 3.22 for a 24 year career

Glavine : 3.49 (active statistic)

Johnson : 3.22 (active statistic)

Santana : 3.15 (active statistic)


Koufax’s ERA stands out in this group of pitchers. He only pitched for 12 years, but had he not had elbow problems he may have had many more years of low ERA’s. Over the last 5 years of his career, his ERA averaged 2.38. For a pitcher in any era, those numbers are staggering. Santana at this rate would finish 3rd and possibly 2nd in this list of lefties for career ERA. Santana’s ERA has fluctuated the last 4 years but has been under 2.88 each year.


So let’s get a final look at Santana’s career stats as far as Strikeouts, Wins and ERA:


K’s – 3,360 W’s – 273 ERA – 3.10



With stats like that and not being a concrete starter until 2004, Johan Santana has a great shot at not only Cooperstown but a shot at being considered the most dominant lefty to ever play the game.

Fantasy Football 2007-08

It’s that time of year again…


No no no...not the State Fair…Not August & September pennant races…


It’s THAT time of year again…


Fantasy Football is here!


This past weekend, 11 of us got together in the Kinsky basement for the annual Woodbury Fantasy Football league draft.


This is the first year that we are all college students. Previously, only 4 of us were college students but the other guys have graduated and will be attending college. Upon coming home this summer, I found out that about 86% of their graduating class was going to the same university (University of Minnesota-Duluth). Does that even count for college? I mean, when you leave high-school to grow up on your own and meet new people, and then 200 kids from your graduating class join you on that exact same journey?


Anyway, each year that goes by, our draft starts to look more and more like the Academy Awards. On paper, it seems like it should take about 2.5 hours and somehow when 11:30 rolls around you start to think, “When and where did this go wrong?” Maybe we need an orchestra to start playing music when things start getting a little long to hurry things up.


It’s an auction style draft where we go around in a circle and throw out player’s names to bid on. If you are confused, just think of what the Jets have been doing for the past 5 years and that’s what we do.


This year, I believe that we finished somewhere around 3.5 hours. I could be wrong, but when you have 5 guys to pick and only $5 left…it starts to get a little long.


Here is my team and some information about each player. Give some feedback on what you think of my team and anything else interesting pertaining to fantasy football/NFL.


QB’s : Peyton Manning & Philip Rivers. Manning has been Mr. Fantasy for the last couple years. He has endless receivers and a solid running back this year. He sees the field very well and rarely makes mistakes. He was my QB last year and only two weeks did he not do so hot. In a 16 week season, that’s pretty good. Rivers was my back-up last year and did well. He broke out last year by throwing for 3,388 yards, 22 TD’s and 9 INT’s. It killed me some weeks because both Manning and Rivers had good match-ups. But as usual, the smarter side of me went with Manning. Both will have a great year.


RB’s : Steven Jackson, Marshawn Lynch & Lorenzo Booker. Jackson is my bread & butter. This guy is ranked #2 behind LT in just about every fantasy magazine across America. He rushed for 1,528 yards and 13 TD’s and had 806 yards REC with 3 TD’s. In Scott Linehan’s great offensive scheme, Jackson will get a lot of carries again this year. The O-line has improved and with the usual targets of Holt and Bruce, I’m looking for Jackson to have another great year. My prediction is that he will be better than LT this year, maybe even MVP. Yeah…I said it.

Lynch is another great back. He is getting some big praise around the NFL before his rookie season officially starts. He runs hard and fast and can hit the holes hard. He may only be a rookie, but he’ll have solid fantasy value as Buffalo’s feature back. Booker…well…let’s just hope that Ronnie Brown needs a breather here and there because I could really go for Booker coming up big this year.


WR’s: Calvin Johnson, Bernard Berrian, Jerricho Cotchery, Brandon Marshall, Kevin Walter, Michael Jenkins. At this point, if you haven’t figured out the gaping hole in this team….HERE IT IS! Other than Johnson and…well Johnson…I don’t have much confidence in my WR corps. Cotchery and Berrian could have solid seasons but they both have to catch balls from iffy QB’s. Marshall will be catching passes from Jay Cutler and could have a surprise season. He learned from Rod Smith all of last year and Mike Shanahan is looking for big things from him this year. Kevin Walter was a filler pick. I’m going to be frank…I had no idea who he was before I picked him. But you better believe that if he has a good year that I’m going to act like I knew what I was doing.


Fantasy Football Golden Rule # 1 : ALWAYS ACT LIKE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING…even if it was crystal clear that you did not and it was just pure luck.


TE’s: Vernon Davis & Greg Olsen. Davis should have a break out year. He was hurt last year and Alex Smith has grown by leaps and bounds as a QB. Other than Antonio Gates, Davis is my pick for best TE of the year. Olsen still has to prove himself as a rook. But according to my buddy’s brother…”Urlacher says that he’s the best TE he’s EVER seen…”


DEF/K: Matt Stover, Miami & Green Bay. Stover kicks about 5 FG’s a game and his leg has yet to fall off. Accurate kicker with a questionable red-zone offense (this = good for kickers). Miami D was solid last year. Jason Taylor returns and is the cornerstone of this D. The pass D needs to come up big this year in order to take Miami to the top of the D standings. Green Bay added defense in their draft this year and the improvements are there. This is clearly my back-up pick but watch for Nick Barnett and AJ Hawk to get 300 tackles a piece this year.


So that’s my team for the 2007-08 Fantasy Football season. From time to time, I will be giving updates on how the team is performing this year. Again, please leave your comments, musings or “what an idiot” comments about my team.

A Bleak Outlook

A quick comparison-

Starter #1
Career stats:
111 wins, 1196 strikeouts, 3.67 ERA, and .234 batting average against (BAA), 1 Cy Young
2007 stats - record 9-11, 100 strikeouts, 4.88 ERA, and a .252 BAA
Current contract - 7 years, $126 million or $18 million per year

Starter #2
Career stats:
78 wins, 1004 strikeouts, 3.37 ERA, and a .225 BAA
2007 stats - record 14-9, 139 strikeouts, 3.86 ERA, and a .231 BAA
Current contract - 5 years, $91.5 million or $18.3 million per year

Starter #3
Career stats:
90 wins, 1320 strikeouts, 3.17 ERA, and .220 BAA, 2 Cy Youngs
2007 season - record 12-9, 174 strikeouts, 3.02 ERA, and .220 BAA


As you may have guessed, that 3rd starter is Johan Santana. He has better career stats than both starter 1 and 2. Way more career strikeouts, and fewer wins that Starter 1 due to less seasons to his record. His ERA is a full half run better than starter 1 over his career, and has a lower BAA and ERA than both starters 1 and 2. All I'm trying to show here is that the Twins are going to have to give out a HUGE amount of money to Johan in order to retain him in the future. Considering his stats will be even better by the time his contract is up after next season, Johan could command easily over 20 million a year, and possibly closer to 25 million dollars a year than 20. Starters 1 and 2, better known as Barry Zito and Carlos Zambrano, are currently the highest paid starting pitchers in the league over the length of their contracts. Each is due over 18 million a year for at least 5 years.

Unless 93 year old Carl Pohlad decides to open up his wallet for Johan, to the tune of at least 20 million a year, and most likely much, much more, Johan will be pitching elsewhere when the Twins debut in their new stadium. My guess - the Boston Red Sox, since it seems that every good former Minnesota player is being delegated to the New England area.

Friday Frenzy

Well, I am officially back from California.

It's struggle-fest 2007 right now since I have slept in until about noon every day now. Initially, this wouldn't be a problem at all but seeing as how I need to be at school by Monday and I still have to pack...it's a problem.

The flight was pretty good minus the part of it being a red-eye. Interestingly enough, I saw Red-Eye earlier this year and couldn't help but wonder if I would have to go through the same thing.

I am convinced that there aren't many more personally embarassing things than airport security. Led by people who may or may not have graduated high school the first time around, it doesn't give me much hope.

Here is why President Bush should be wary of airport security:

As I got through MSP security, I hear "bag check!" In my mind I was screaming, "Come on! What am I going to have in my bag!?" Then the top flight security guard looks at me and says with waaaay too serious of a tone, "Is this your bag sir?" I sheepishly said yes and he brought me over to THE table. I had already been berated for not taking my laptop out of my computer bag by a lady who rivaled a similarityof a cross between Roseanne and Krusty the Clown. So I took this as an opportunity to not crack any jokes. The security guard asked if I had anything sharp in my bag. I had immediately remembered that I had my toiletries in that carry on. I told him that I had my razor (bad idea) and my shave gel in there. He pulls them both out and hold them in his hand and goes..."Sir....this shave gel is too big to not be checked through security. I can check it back through for you or throw it away." I told him to toss it and was hoping that he wouldn't toss my razor since they are about $15 for a new one. HE PUT THE RAZOR BACK IN THE BAG and told me to have a good day!

Needless to say, due to him throwing out my shave gel, he may have averted a security crisis and someone on my 757 to LAX may have gotten out of me threatening to give someone the closest and smoothest shave of their life. Thank you MSP security...thank you.

Now, it's not something that I ever want to think about or ever want to happen again...but if good ol' Bin Laden decides that planes are not passe, then we know who to blame. Don't blame the President, blame the guy who let me take my razor on the plane.

Normally on Friday's we have "Land O' Links" but tomorrow is our 3rd annual Fantasy Football Draft and I am pretty far behind on not caring who I draft. I've got my ESPN the Mag fantasy football edition and that's all that I need. I will leave you with this one story that I laughed at and then got a little worried that it could have been me...thank God for Northwest.

Look for the Marathon FF Draft 2007 recap on Monday morning.

Have a great weekend and be safe!

Twins finally make a move

Earlier today I read this rumor on Yahoo! Sports. I dismissed it as just that, since, I mean honestly, who wants Ramon Ortiz.

Terry Ryan, that crazy old man, actually pulled off getting another team to take on Ramon Ortiz and his ridiculous contract (one which he didn't deserve in the first place).

The Twins shipped off Ramon Ortiz to Colorado for AAA-infielder Matt Macri. This gives the Twins now 2 open spots on their 40-man roster, with the other one coming from departed infielder Jeff Cirillo. Brian Buscher was added to the 40-man roster when Luis Castillo was traded. With the roster openings and the now available money, one would hope Terry Ryan could pull the trigger on a deal to bring a bat over.

The fact that Terry Ryan was able to unload Ramon Ortiz on some poor team renews my trust in the Twins G.M. While I was disappointed after the trade deadline with no moves other than the Castillo trade, the man shows he knows what he is doing by unloading a terrible pitcher for yet another young bat.

Also, this is yet another sign that P Glen Perkins is almost ready to come off the disabled list, since Ortiz has held his long relief role since he became injured. Getting rid of Ortiz, with no viable long relievers in Rochester indicates Perkins is probably only a week away from returning.

Macri, a 25 year old currently playing 3B, began the season on Colorado's Double-A affiliate, and hit .298 with 11 home runs. He also can play SS and 2B, which makes him quite valuable to the Twins right now, since their current utility infielders should be in Triple-A. While it seems as if Macri won't be major league ready for a little while, seeing as he was only recently promoted to Triple-A, this may free up the Twins to bring up Matt Tolbert from Rochester to replace Ortiz on the major league roster.

Friends with the NFL again?....

NFL football has been ruined for me.



To some, this may be a bold statement. For those of you who live in Minnesota, or are Vikings fans from other parts of the nation, know what I’m talking about.


Since the great playoff choke of 1998, football in Minnesota hasn’t been the same. That year, the NFL saw the most explosive and proficient offense in its history. Randall Cunningham was re-born, Chris Carter found a second life and even Jake Reed got some press time. Randy Moss proved to the 18 teams that passed on him that they were truly missing out on one of the best receivers to play the game.


A tiny Irishman named Gary Anderson refused to miss a field goal and all was good in the frozen tundra.


Until the Falcons came to town.



They were lead by a bruising running-back and a 73 year old quarterback who was thisssclose to having his arm fall off. They won the game in overtime and the Vikings dream was over. Since then, professional football in Minnesota has never been the same.


Randy Moss got more bitter about being there, Denny Green just stopped caring and the curse of the Madden Cover hit Daunte Culpepper pretty hard. Coaches have come and gone and who can forget the infamous boat scandal?


Even with all of this in the past, things are looking up for the Vikings.


We’ve almost made it through an entire training camp without an embarrassing arrest or conviction. Let’s hear it for acting like responsible adults (insert clapping here).


Although the team is very young and is surrounded by question marks, I am excited to say that my enjoyment of NFL football is slowly coming back. Since 1998, I have been a Fantasy Football owner and not a NFL fan. I’ve watched the Super Bowl for the commercials and like 98% of other NFL fans, I never watched the Pro-Bowl. But in celebration of my near NFL recovery, I want to look at some of the questions that surround the 2007 Minnesota Vikings.



Offense :


This is the Vikings biggest question mark. Starting with the most important part of the Offense, which is the Quarterback…Tarvaris Jackson. He is a very raw talent who has great potential to be a star in the NFL. His two problems are his lack of experience and lack of help. Although he has two of the better running backs in the league, Chester Taylor and Adrian Peterson, he has un-proven wide receivers. The veteran is Bobby Wade and after that is the slippery fingers of Troy Williamson and rookie Sidney Rice. The young group has some promise to impress but will have a lot of work to do.


The Vikings potentially have the best offensive line in the NFL. Behind mammoth men Bryant McKinnie, Steve Hutchinson and Harvard grad Matt Birk, Taylor and Peterson are waiting to run through pretty large holes. This has been the Vikings strong point over the last couple years.


This is obviously the Vikings biggest question. If this can be answered, they should have a strong showing in the NFL.



Coaching :


This is a question surrounding this team for two reasons. One, can Brad Childress help instill his west coast offense into the young quarterbacks on his team? Two, will the loss of Mike Timlin to the Steelers hurt the Defense?


As anyone may have seen last year against the Packers, Tarvaris Jackson has a cannon for a right arm. He can throw the ball. Can he do it without making mistakes? That will be the key to Childress’ west coast offense. He helped bring along another quarterback by the name of Donovan McNabb in Philadelphia and has shown that he knows his quarterbacks. If Childress can get Jackson, or any of his other quarterbacks, to understand this incredibly complicated system then the Vikings may surprise some people in the NFL.


Losing Mike Timlin was a huge loss to this team. In reading some stories in ESPN Magazine as well as stories from last year in the newspapers, Tomlin was a very motivating coach and was definitely the brains behind the Vikings defense that ranked 7th overall last year.


My favorite story came from ESPN Magazine. It chronicled some stories of how Tomlin motivated his players. During the week, he would recognize players who worked hard and did things the right way but he would also call out those players who didn’t do things the right way. In Minnesota, the biggest “fan” of this was Fred Smoot. Vikings fans may know him as “that guy who used to be good and who was paid a lot of money to have fun on a boat and be replaced by a rookie last year.” Smoot openly complained about Tomlin’s coaching style, which may tell you why Smoot didn’t have a good year last year. Any 8 year old is taught to listen to his coach no matter what and apparently Fred Smoot forgot that somewhere between Starkville and Minneapolis.


Losing Tomlin could hurt the Vikings defense immensely. Let’s hope that the guys can still tackle without their coach.

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There are many question marks that surround this team. They have the 23rd hardest schedule in the NFL, so with this, I feel that the Vikings will finish 9-7. I want to say 12-4 (4 losses coming at Chicago, at Dallas, at San Fran and at Denver) but I think that 9-7 will have less people thinking that I’m crazy. Notice that none of those losses were at home. I am speaking to you Vikings fans. That dome is a mud hole but it is OUR mud hole. Dome-field advantage needs to play a big part this year if we ever want to see the Vikings do well at home.


So there you have it. For those of you who read this, you are a part of history. For the first time in 9 years, I am actually starting to care about NFL football. Will I go out and pay $75 for a Tarvaris Jackson jersey? Nah, not yet. But I will maybe tone down the “Love Boat” jokes and cheer more for the team from the land of 10,000 lakes.

Struggling

Is there a word that is beyond struggling? Dying maybe? I'm not sure.

Whatever that word is....the Twins are it right now.

With the amount of talent this team has, I'm going to go ahead and say that they might be the worst of the best teams. In fact...by "might" I mean "they are".

They have the best pitcher in the majors, last year's MVP, last years batting champ, the best center fielder in the game and a bullpen that has been an absolutely shut down operation. Not to mention being in a division that has struggled mightily lately. If the Twins had scored at least 5 runs in their last 10 games, we'd actually be very close to first right now. But instead, we're scoring runs like it's a 7 year old girls softball game at 8 am (that translates into not scoring many runs, tired 7 year olds are not very productive that early...no one is actually).

It's frustrating to see a team that is better than most other teams in the league struggle this bad. Baseball is a very mental sport and none of these guys seem like they are mentally tough right now. Part of this is falling on Gardy's shoulders. It's hard to motivate grown men to play but if they want to stop embarassing themselves then they need to suck it up.

After the game last night, Justin Morneau admitted that he is the most exhausted that he's been as a professional. Really? Exhausted? I mean, I can understand the grind of playing 162 games, but let's talk with the single parents who work 3 jobs just to provide for their kids. Or the McDonalds workers who have to work minimum wage just to stay above the poverty line. Not to say that Morneau is complaining, but come on man...you're playing the sport you love, get over the tiredness and start hitting the ball.

Also, when the Twins hold clinics...are they open for players to participate? Because if they ever hold a bunting clinic, Nick Punto better be the first one to sign up. I haven't seen worse angles when bunting since my freshman year of baseball. At what age and pay range do you learn how to bunt consistently. This guy, for the amount of AB's (351) and his batting average, is actually the worst hitter in the majors right now. Worse than any of the Kansas City Royals or Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Congratulations Gardy, you've given 351 at bats to the definition of "career minor leaguer". This gives me hope that someday I can get 351 at-bats that I don't deserve. By the way, if you haven't figured out who's in the picture...it's actually Nick Punto at Twins Fest 2027. By then he'll be batting clean-up with a .214 average and 3 home-runs. (It's actually Fidel Castro)

Anyway, that's it for my daily Twins rant. Maybe one of these days the Twins can score more runs than Nick Punto has hits in the last 2 months.

Have a great Tuesday!

Weekend Sports Wrap-Up

Happy Monday to all!



Today is my last full day in the sun and sand of LA/Malibu and I must say that I really enjoyed it out here.


The weather, although the same everyday, is awesome. Who can complain to waking up to 70 degrees and sunny every single day? I also really enjoy being able to go to bed and not having to worry about whether I will be awaken by a tornado siren or not. Granted, they still have earthquakes out here...but they come as a surprise and are 3,000 days late sometimes.


I will be attending football practice here at USC either today or tomorrow. From what I hear, they are going to be unreal this year. I'll have a small little recap of how the practice goes as well as hopefully a picture with "Big Balls" Pete Carroll.


We attended the Twins/Angels game yesterday afternoon in Anaheim...and here are my thoughts on the stadium/game :


The Anaheim area is a pretty nice area. Palm trees everywhere and some nice apartment complexes within walking distance of the stadium. I don't know if it holds a candle to Minneapolis though. I didn't see any bums and as any of you know, that always adds to the fun of the night!


The outside of the stadium is quite nice as well. Nothing that I've been to has surpassed the "take your breath away" factor that Miller Park has. The big "A" is pretty cool as well as the huge parking lot that surrounds the stadium.

Inside is gorgeous though. The rock pile was just as cool as I had imagined and fire works in the middle of the day were nice as well. We sat 3rd level along the 3rd base line and had a great view of the Twins getting a mudhole stomped in their behinds.

It was also 345 degrees in the sun there. During the 5th inning, a man started on fire and we cheered thinking that it was part of the game until they hosed him down. It wasn't a big deal, apparently that happens at least twice every day game.


The Twins are in dire need of a miracle right now. The game started out quite well for them actually. Boof came out strong and only had 11 pitches in the first inning. We gave up a run early but got the hitter out on a nice game of pickle. My only argument, other than the fact that we have less offense than the Raiders had last year, was that Gardy really botched his mangerial duties yesterday. He left Bonser in about 10 pitches too late and then gave up a homerun to Chone Figgins. CHONE FIGGINS!? You can blame Boof all you want, but it's the manager's job to know when his pitcher is fried.


Tommy Watkins almost got his first major league hit...twice! His first at bat was a bunt that Jered Weaver bobbled and they gave Weaver the error. Then he connected on a Weaver fastball that Garrett Anderson caught right at the wall. Here was the ensuing conversation...


Me: Holy crap! Get out of here! Go!...Go!...Go!...

(caught by Garrett Anderson)


Guy next to us : Ahh, almost got his first hit.


Me: Cmon...couldn't Garrett have just let it hit the wall? That woulda been the nice thing to do.


Guy: Haha, yeah right! That woulda been a terrible move!


Me: Well it's not like they woulda scored him anyway, so what does it matter?!


Anyway, our day at the park was nice. Anaheim, you have a very nice set up and a great stadium and some pretty nice fans. Although one kid had a rally monkey hat with the monkey sewn into the hat. Needless to say, that kid has moved just behind Roger Clemens as my least favorite people in the world.


Hope that you all have a great day and I look forward to joining you all back in the midwest soon!

Stick a fork in 'em

They're done.

The Twins were swept by the Angels, and are now 1-5 on their roadtrip. The Twins are now back to 7 games behind the division leading Tigers, 6.5 behind the Indians, and 8 games back in the Wild Card race. There are 4 teams currently in front of them. Basically what I'm trying to say is that the Twins are officially cooked.

The Twins have shown not even a semblance of an offense so far on this road trip. In the 5 of the 6 games, not counting their 11 run outburst, the Twins have managed only 7 runs.

And with Kubel hurt, and our only 3 bench players hitting under .225, the Twins will continue to fail on offense.

Football starts in a few weeks! Go Vikings!

Twins/Angels Rubber game

Today is the 3rd and, thankfully, final game of the Angels series. I call it that because they are the only team that has shown up to play this weekend.


The Twins, who lead the league in "wasting their starting pitcher's great starts", did it again last night. Carlos Silva retired 18 of his first 19 batters and still didn't get the win. If any of the Twins pitchers went on a rampage, who could blame them!?


Anyway, today will be Boof Bonser vs. Jered Weaver. We saw Weaver pitch against the Dodgers a couple weeks ago and weren't that impressed. Because I just said that, he'll most likely throw a perfect game coupled with Torii Hunter snapping a hammy or something...that's just the Twins luck right now.


My buddy and I are headed down to Anaheim here in a little bit. Last time I saw Boof, he pitched an 11 K, 3 hit gem against the Brewers. So let's hope I'm good luck!


Game starts at 2:35 pm CST. Enjoy!

Land O' Links

Happy Saturday to all!



I have finally finished all 7 weeks at the Malibu Summer Tennis Camp and am releived that I either did or did not do these 3 things :


1. DID meet celebrities of all walks of life.


2. DID NOT strike any child with a tennis ball voluntarily


3. DID NOT get stuck in an elevator at 12:45 am in Hollywood more than once (a whole article in itself)


I will be headed back to the Central timezone late Tuesday night and we'll be able to all be on the same page again! Although I've been a big fan of the time change out here. I could get used to it.


Because of this time change, I was able to post this while you most surely were sleeping or some of you may just be getting in. In either case, enjoy today's links!


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This story is very intriguing. At first, I was sure that the "UW" meant "University of Wisconsin" but apparently other parts of the nation drink this as well. Halfway through this article, the thought that popped into my mind was, "It's so hot out!....Milk was a BAD choice!" Show me some stats and we'll start talking about doing this.



David Beckham + ESPN = nice filler time for ESPN after the Bonds HR chase is over. Does anyone else find it completely and utterly disturbing that the face of American soccer....isn't American? Oh well...either way, America will never accept soccer. It's like replacing a buddy in a group of friends who moved away with a new guy. He could be a great guy, but he'll just never be fully accepted by everyone.


Tiger Woods has stormed back and is about 2 days and 3 fairways away from winning his first major of the year. I'm praying that John Daly can make a comeback and challenge Tiger for the win. Any guy who can make this kind of commercial deserves to be paired with a class act like Tiger. My favorite part is at 1:01...I can hear it now, "I am THE man...BULLSEYE!"



A great interview of Kevin McHale by Pioneer Press columnist Bob Sansevere. One of two guys who I would trust to not fluff anything for McHale to come away sounding like a genious. Although a lot of what he says makes sense. I am convinced that we needed to part with KG in order to have any kind of future for the franchise. Give these guys a chance. Look at the Bulls, they never traded for a big veteran and now the guys have gotten experience and they are easily in the top 3 or 4 in the East...which with the Western Conference exchange rate...it'd probably be about a 7 seed in the West.



Here at Court's Sports, we like to recognize those who have given us inspiration and the drive to keep on going with our site. Our first, and foremost, guy is Aaron Gleeman. We decided, after at least 8 hours of conferring, that we were going to follow in his footsteps and much like his "AG.com girl", we have picked our very own "Court's Sports cutie"


We decided to show some Minnesota love and our "CSC" is....Jessica Biel. Anyone who wants to argue can leave a comment and maybe throw us some other ideas. Cliche choice maybe, but come on...a good cliche at least. Ely knows what their doing!



Finally, I love this. This is the pure difference between big markets and small markets. When I go to the Pioneer Press page, I feel like it's someone tapping on my shoulder saying "Hey, here's today's news...and some coffee...I like your coat...it looks nice" But when I read these headlines, it's like "Hey! Scumbag...read this...here's some coffee that was spit in...nice coat...do they make those for men?" Maybe that's just how New York comes off.


As always, thanks for stopping by and have a safe and great weekend!

Apologies

Due to some unforseen events, (11 year olds playing tennis in 1 hour matches), Land O' Links will run tomorrow morning.


Sorry for any inconvenience that this may have caused!



Enjoy your Friday Night!

Delayed

Happy Friday to all!



Due to some technical difficulties, caused by Microsoft's inability to create something that works for longer than 10 minutes, Land O' Links will be delayed today.


I have to be a line judge for our last tennis tournament here in Malibu until 11 (or 1 central time). So check back here around 2 pm.


Thanks!