By Rick Morris
One of the biggest collapses of the 2008 Major League Baseball season has belonged to the defending American League Central champions, a team up 3-1 in the 2007 American League Championship Series. Yes, the Cleveland Indians are absolutely El Stinko this year, and although I as a lifelong fan am frustrated by the fact, I am equally amused by the "This is Absolutely Unthinkable" refrain from the team's slavish Enabler Caucus.
Dumbos like Diatribe are hilariously posing the question right now: who knew this could happen? Well, if they'd pull their nostrils from the tuckess of Mark Shapiro and turn their attention to this here FDH Lounge, they'd be aware of this: WE KNEW!
Actually, now's not the time for me to start being unduly modest. Not only did we know, but we called it way ahead of time and we chastised the ownership-enabling homers for taking their 30 pieces of silver from Larry Dolan and trying to brainwash the populace into thinking that this was a legitimate World Series team. And for any misguided souls looking to label me a basher, consider this: even I was way too optimistic! I put this team down for 88 wins and a second-place finish in the division this year!
When everyone else was caught up in the heat of the moment about the ALCS meltdown last year, I correctly pointed out that the team had not choked away a 3-1 lead; the law of averages had merely caught up to them in a harsh and decisive manner as an infinitely superior team blew past them (if you don't believe me, check the records for Boston and Cleveland this year). Even going into the playoffs last year, when even sober media figures were losing their heads in the rush to proclaim Mark Shapiro (by the way, the true pronunciation is Sha-PIR-o -- folks don't realize that Sha-PIE-ro is his kayfabe name) the greatest GM in sports history, I exposed the truth about the fact that the organization hadn't proven anything of note yet.
Oh, and because those who shilled for the front office and proclaimed them above public accountability aren't going to be accountable for their own complicity in this season's disaster, I'll provide this compendium of their heinous apple-polishing before their masters in the organization. The doofus who repeats the lies about how Jim Thome snubbed the Indians is particularly laughable.
Now, before any remaining Kool-Aid drinkers get their unmentionables in a wad, I'll concede that the team isn't as bad as they presently look. Injuries have played a part in the team's demise, although the brass can certainly be held accountable for wheeling out a half-dead Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner for months at a time, hoping that somehow playing would be therapeutic in the healing process! So no, the team is not really this bad. But I was right about the fact that they weren't really that good last year when they caught fire, won most of their games against a horrific division and fooled the world into thinking they were really a 96-win caliber team. And ultimately, if they're not really as great as they convinced people they were last year, who really cares if they're a 75-win team or an 85-win team? Since when are Indians fans supposed to be satisfied with willful mediocrity?
My FDH Lounge and SportsTalkNetwork.com colleague Tony Mazur and I stood up repeatedly to the disinformation campaign of Diatribe and the other Shapiro coddlers and pointed to the vast amount of work to be done if this organization was to change its approach and get serious instead of just talking that way. For that, we were labeled haters by our STN colleague James Bridges (who is actually a friend of mine and a great guy, although I'm going to give him a hard time here), who bought the spin every step of the way. Tony and I each love this team and both of us have so many fond memories of watching Tribe games with our families when we were growing up in the area. Nobody ever has the right to tell us that we shouldn't expect a team's front office to reward our fan loyalty with the utmost possible efforts to put a winning team on the field. The consequences of enabling a front office that will only do as much as the public pushes it to do are now painfully obvious.
Who knew? We freaking did!
Showing posts with label sportstalkNETWORK. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sportstalkNETWORK. Show all posts
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Farewell Will Leitch Deadspin era
By Rick Morris
Anyone participating in New Media, especially any projects that are sports-oriented (or partially sports-oriented, as this one is) has to take notice of something that happened Friday. It was something that would inaccurately be called the end of an era -- because it was just the end of the beginning.
Will Leitch, who piloted the biggest sports blog of all time (by a wide margin, I might add), Deadspin.com, moved on this past week to pursue other opportunities at New York Magazine and The Sporting News. Over the past three years, Deadspin has been a revolutionary force in sports media and also in New Media as a whole. It operated from a very basic premise, one that was sadly a revolutionary one in this pre-packaged fake world we live in: that sports coverage should be packaged in a way that entertains the average fan.
Under Leitch's leadership, Deadspin hammered away at the pomposities that flow from blowhard institutions like "The Worldwide Leader" and delivered material on a daily basis that made you laugh and, at the same time, did enlighten about different parts of the sporting universe. And they also helped change the rules of engagement for athletes and sports-oriented celebrities once and for all -- get hammered in a bar and make a fool of yourself, and you WILL end up with your pictures on Deadspin, courtesy of a dude with a camera phone who then shoots the goods to Leitch's inbox. Jock enablers in the media are especially incensed about this development.
But Deadspin is about more than goofy pictures of this sort or salacious posts about hoops players and their baby mamas or anything like that -- it is about helping fans to be able to laugh at (and thus enjoy) the absurdities of the sports world in this crazy new millennium. It helps us be able to deal with the big-money circus that our sports have devolved into and for that we owe all the contributors to the site many thanks. I'm not ashamed to count Deadspin as an influence for what we do at FDH, much as I have previously cited Tony Bruno. Life is too short to look at sports without a healthy amount of laughter and for that reason, Deadspin will live on. As I stated above, Leitch's departure (as he himself noted) will not be the end of the site by any stretch of the imagination. Having said that, I hope that he is granted a "Tom Brokaw role" which would entitle him to pop back in as a contributor as circumstances warrant.
I should add on a personal note that, for one of the most accomplished writers anywhere on the Internet, Leitch is also one heck of a nice guy. I had the pleasure of interviewing him once on The SportsTalk Network and I found him to be such a nice and respectful guy. With everything that he has done already and everything that he has left in front of him, I would sure love the opportunity to interview him in The FDH Lounge. I wish him all the best in his future endeavors and I look forward to the opportunity to read him in other venues.
Anyone participating in New Media, especially any projects that are sports-oriented (or partially sports-oriented, as this one is) has to take notice of something that happened Friday. It was something that would inaccurately be called the end of an era -- because it was just the end of the beginning.
Will Leitch, who piloted the biggest sports blog of all time (by a wide margin, I might add), Deadspin.com, moved on this past week to pursue other opportunities at New York Magazine and The Sporting News. Over the past three years, Deadspin has been a revolutionary force in sports media and also in New Media as a whole. It operated from a very basic premise, one that was sadly a revolutionary one in this pre-packaged fake world we live in: that sports coverage should be packaged in a way that entertains the average fan.
Under Leitch's leadership, Deadspin hammered away at the pomposities that flow from blowhard institutions like "The Worldwide Leader" and delivered material on a daily basis that made you laugh and, at the same time, did enlighten about different parts of the sporting universe. And they also helped change the rules of engagement for athletes and sports-oriented celebrities once and for all -- get hammered in a bar and make a fool of yourself, and you WILL end up with your pictures on Deadspin, courtesy of a dude with a camera phone who then shoots the goods to Leitch's inbox. Jock enablers in the media are especially incensed about this development.
But Deadspin is about more than goofy pictures of this sort or salacious posts about hoops players and their baby mamas or anything like that -- it is about helping fans to be able to laugh at (and thus enjoy) the absurdities of the sports world in this crazy new millennium. It helps us be able to deal with the big-money circus that our sports have devolved into and for that we owe all the contributors to the site many thanks. I'm not ashamed to count Deadspin as an influence for what we do at FDH, much as I have previously cited Tony Bruno. Life is too short to look at sports without a healthy amount of laughter and for that reason, Deadspin will live on. As I stated above, Leitch's departure (as he himself noted) will not be the end of the site by any stretch of the imagination. Having said that, I hope that he is granted a "Tom Brokaw role" which would entitle him to pop back in as a contributor as circumstances warrant.
I should add on a personal note that, for one of the most accomplished writers anywhere on the Internet, Leitch is also one heck of a nice guy. I had the pleasure of interviewing him once on The SportsTalk Network and I found him to be such a nice and respectful guy. With everything that he has done already and everything that he has left in front of him, I would sure love the opportunity to interview him in The FDH Lounge. I wish him all the best in his future endeavors and I look forward to the opportunity to read him in other venues.
Monday, April 28, 2008
I May Be Biased, But...
By Paul Belfi
I have to say (a few tech glitches aside) that I was very proud of our coverage of the 2008 NFL Draft on the mothership, sportstalkNETWORK.com.
I said it on my blog on STN but it certainly merits repeating here - Jason Jones was outstanding. I will put his knowledge on players, talent evaluation, etc. up against ANYONE in the industry - and when I say 'anyone' I mean ANYONE.
And if that wasn't enough, another outstanding edition of the FDH LOUNGE capped off a very long (but fun) weekend. I encourage anyone who may have missed the show to hit it on the archive. You won't be disappointed.
STN has deployed several new market sites in Detroit, Seattle and Canada with more on the way in the next few weeks - and all too happy to feature content from the staff of FANTASY DRAFT HELP.com
I have to say (a few tech glitches aside) that I was very proud of our coverage of the 2008 NFL Draft on the mothership, sportstalkNETWORK.com.
I said it on my blog on STN but it certainly merits repeating here - Jason Jones was outstanding. I will put his knowledge on players, talent evaluation, etc. up against ANYONE in the industry - and when I say 'anyone' I mean ANYONE.
And if that wasn't enough, another outstanding edition of the FDH LOUNGE capped off a very long (but fun) weekend. I encourage anyone who may have missed the show to hit it on the archive. You won't be disappointed.
STN has deployed several new market sites in Detroit, Seattle and Canada with more on the way in the next few weeks - and all too happy to feature content from the staff of FANTASY DRAFT HELP.com
Sunday, March 30, 2008
WrestleMania 24 preview
By Rick Morris
Earlier plans to live-blog this momentous event were shelved when the joint SportsTalkNetwork/FDH viewing party was scrapped by STN President Paul Belfi in favor of viewing the event at Harpo's Sports Cafe. Now, Harpo's is one of the greatest sports-themed restaurants in the world and it's within about two miles of my home, so my disappointment at not being able to live-blog is tempered by the anticipation of enjoying some great Harpo's wings and taking in the specter of the mark fans who invariably overrun Harpo's for every PPV.
On to the predictions ...
^ Battle Royal to determine #1 contender to ECW Title: This three-brand battle royal, which was moved from the broadcast to an online-only venue, demonstrates precisely what an afterthought the ECW (World???) Title has become. My guess, for the record, is that Kane emerges and gets the title shot on the PPV against Chavo Guerrero.
^ ECW Title Match: Chavo Guerrero vs. ???: Again, I think Kane will be facing Chavo and my guess is that Chavo walks out with the title by some nefarious means, setting up a spring feud between these two that will continue. Regardless of who Chavo faces, I don't believe WWE is giving away a title change with no buildup tonight.
^ BunnyMania Lumberjack Match: Ashley & Maria vs. WWE Women's Champion Glamazon Beth Phoenix and Melina: There's a certain percentage of the card that is going to have to contain heel wins just to even out the emotional high-spots, and the women's match has often been a place to do just that. In a match that means very little, and is almost certainly meant to do nothing but highlight celebrity participation, Melina and The Glam get their hands raised.
^ Brand vs. Brand, Umaga vs. Batista: Both of these guys are fringe main-eventers at this point, but You-Mang-a is probably fated (due to not getting to show any interview skills in his role as a "savage from the islands") to remain in the upper-upper midcard while Batista is on his way back to the main events at some point. Umaga is bulletproof in his role, having jobbed repeatedly to John Cena, HHH and Jeff Hardy, so a loss won't hurt him here. Batista wins.
^ Belfast Brawl, Finlay vs. JBL: This is a tough one to pick. JBL has gotten almost all of the heat on Finlay throughout this feud, from the abrupt (and botched) transition from a looming Finlay/Hornswaggle vs. McMahons clash to this battle. JBL seems to need a win more, since he's likely to get some WWE Title shots on PPV this summer due to the scarcity of top-level heels on RAW, but I think Finlay gets the win that the storyline has been pointing to, likely with Hornswaggle making a surprise return to help him in the end.
^ Money In the Bank Ladder Match to claim match at WWE Title, World Title or ECW Title, John Morrison vs. Kennedy vs. Chris Jericho vs. MVP vs. Sheldon Benjamin vs. C.M. Punk vs. Carlito: In the fourth annual MidcardMania match, one of these contestants will be crowned a future main event player -- which is sad for Jericho, who had alternated between the mid-card (mostly) and main event (occasionally) for more than a half-decade, before coming back last winter as a heavily-pushed main-eventer and then sliding quickly back into the midcard. Kennedy won last year and would have become a main-eventer already had he not gotten injured. His year was fairly star-crossed overall, in some ways because of his own stupidity, but I think he's a good candidate to win -- not as good as MVP, though, who is showing signs of living up to the hype of his character and becoming a legitimate player. I see MVP winning and ascending to either the World Title or ECW Title in the next year.
^ The Biggest vs. The Best, The Big Show vs. Floyd "Money" Mayweather: This heavily -hyped match will produce some memorable moments, largely because of a style clash that is actually being embraced by the promotion as some kind of surreal theater of the absurd. Mayweather will clearly have to take some big bumps here, and the guessing is that Show will be poised for victory when a member of his "posse" cheats him out of victory. Remember, the only stipulation is that there must be a winner. Mayweather will "dip into his $20 million" to get a WWE wrestler to turn on Show, setting up a subsequent feud for TBS. The only relevant point when trying to guess the outcome of this match is that Floyd Mayweather didn't sign this contract to end up losing.
^ World Title Match, Edge vs. The Undertaker: "The Streak vs. The Title" is the centerpiece of the "Smackdown Main Event," as Edge (who is also undefeated at WrestleMania in singles matches) takes on the 15-0 Dead Man. I disagree strongly with my friend Belfi, who on his PRO WRESTLING INSIDER show on STN (Tuesday nights, 7-9 PM EDT) expressed the markish (yes, I said it!) sentiment that 'Taker should keep the streak going and that Edge "didn't need the win." The very point of building up equity like The Undertaker has been able to do is to transfer the cache of it to another star at some point. Edge is the best main-event heel the company has had in years, probably since "Fac-Gime Era HHH," and his character can benefit immensely from the rub here. As you can tell, this is the outcome I am the most likely to disagree with, as all signs are that 'Taker will go 16-0. I have no problem with them giving The Undertaker another decently-long title reign, I just disagree with starting it here as opposed to a month or two down the road.
^ WWE Title Match, Randy Orton vs. HHH vs. John Cena: Three years after it was initially envisioned, we're seeing Orton vs. HHH for the title at 'Mania. One year after it was initially envisioned, we're seeing HHH vs. Cena for the title in a WrestleMania 22 rematch. We're getting both of these scenarios in one match, plus the hottest part of the match in terms of feud qualities in Cena vs. Orton. This should be a fantastic match, with all participants motivated to live up to the atmosphere and deliver a 3 1/2 or 4-star match. In the end, I think HHH "gets his wins back," after having finished the main event of the last three 'Manias he participated in looking up at the lights. He may be taking a lighter schedule later in the year when his "second McMahon heir" is born, so this is a way to strike while the iron is hot with him before he has another hiatus or semi-hiatus. Cena will still be waiting in the wings as the heir apparent to the title and I expect him to be protected here with Orton doing the job. For the record, although I'm a huge critic of HHH's positioning of himself during large stretches earlier this decade, I think this is the right move to make as he is having the best solo face run of his career (thanks to no storylines this time involving "his dog").
^ Career Threatening Match, Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels: I'm listing this match last in the vain hope that the company will do the right thing and put it on last. Good luck following this emotional moment! I don't believe it's a 100% lock that this will be Flair's last match, as a fairly elaborate swerve could be underway, but I do think it's probable that they will go in the anticipated direction and that Michaels will lead one heck of a great match. My biggest problem with Flair having this match on this card was the notion that his retirement match should headline a card and I thought it was improbable at WrestleMania, but this storyline has been such a huge part of the overall event that some of my objections have faded. Michaels probably wins after "The Dirtiest Player In the Game" fights and claws for his life.
In the interest of helping people to remember the greatness of Ric Flair, who was probably the greatest wrestler of all time, here's the excellent tribute to him that the company aired this past week:
And here's some of his great mic work from back in the day:
If this is the end, thanks for the memories, Ric.
Earlier plans to live-blog this momentous event were shelved when the joint SportsTalkNetwork/FDH viewing party was scrapped by STN President Paul Belfi in favor of viewing the event at Harpo's Sports Cafe. Now, Harpo's is one of the greatest sports-themed restaurants in the world and it's within about two miles of my home, so my disappointment at not being able to live-blog is tempered by the anticipation of enjoying some great Harpo's wings and taking in the specter of the mark fans who invariably overrun Harpo's for every PPV.
On to the predictions ...
^ Battle Royal to determine #1 contender to ECW Title: This three-brand battle royal, which was moved from the broadcast to an online-only venue, demonstrates precisely what an afterthought the ECW (World???) Title has become. My guess, for the record, is that Kane emerges and gets the title shot on the PPV against Chavo Guerrero.
^ ECW Title Match: Chavo Guerrero vs. ???: Again, I think Kane will be facing Chavo and my guess is that Chavo walks out with the title by some nefarious means, setting up a spring feud between these two that will continue. Regardless of who Chavo faces, I don't believe WWE is giving away a title change with no buildup tonight.
^ BunnyMania Lumberjack Match: Ashley & Maria vs. WWE Women's Champion Glamazon Beth Phoenix and Melina: There's a certain percentage of the card that is going to have to contain heel wins just to even out the emotional high-spots, and the women's match has often been a place to do just that. In a match that means very little, and is almost certainly meant to do nothing but highlight celebrity participation, Melina and The Glam get their hands raised.
^ Brand vs. Brand, Umaga vs. Batista: Both of these guys are fringe main-eventers at this point, but You-Mang-a is probably fated (due to not getting to show any interview skills in his role as a "savage from the islands") to remain in the upper-upper midcard while Batista is on his way back to the main events at some point. Umaga is bulletproof in his role, having jobbed repeatedly to John Cena, HHH and Jeff Hardy, so a loss won't hurt him here. Batista wins.
^ Belfast Brawl, Finlay vs. JBL: This is a tough one to pick. JBL has gotten almost all of the heat on Finlay throughout this feud, from the abrupt (and botched) transition from a looming Finlay/Hornswaggle vs. McMahons clash to this battle. JBL seems to need a win more, since he's likely to get some WWE Title shots on PPV this summer due to the scarcity of top-level heels on RAW, but I think Finlay gets the win that the storyline has been pointing to, likely with Hornswaggle making a surprise return to help him in the end.
^ Money In the Bank Ladder Match to claim match at WWE Title, World Title or ECW Title, John Morrison vs. Kennedy vs. Chris Jericho vs. MVP vs. Sheldon Benjamin vs. C.M. Punk vs. Carlito: In the fourth annual MidcardMania match, one of these contestants will be crowned a future main event player -- which is sad for Jericho, who had alternated between the mid-card (mostly) and main event (occasionally) for more than a half-decade, before coming back last winter as a heavily-pushed main-eventer and then sliding quickly back into the midcard. Kennedy won last year and would have become a main-eventer already had he not gotten injured. His year was fairly star-crossed overall, in some ways because of his own stupidity, but I think he's a good candidate to win -- not as good as MVP, though, who is showing signs of living up to the hype of his character and becoming a legitimate player. I see MVP winning and ascending to either the World Title or ECW Title in the next year.
^ The Biggest vs. The Best, The Big Show vs. Floyd "Money" Mayweather: This heavily -hyped match will produce some memorable moments, largely because of a style clash that is actually being embraced by the promotion as some kind of surreal theater of the absurd. Mayweather will clearly have to take some big bumps here, and the guessing is that Show will be poised for victory when a member of his "posse" cheats him out of victory. Remember, the only stipulation is that there must be a winner. Mayweather will "dip into his $20 million" to get a WWE wrestler to turn on Show, setting up a subsequent feud for TBS. The only relevant point when trying to guess the outcome of this match is that Floyd Mayweather didn't sign this contract to end up losing.
^ World Title Match, Edge vs. The Undertaker: "The Streak vs. The Title" is the centerpiece of the "Smackdown Main Event," as Edge (who is also undefeated at WrestleMania in singles matches) takes on the 15-0 Dead Man. I disagree strongly with my friend Belfi, who on his PRO WRESTLING INSIDER show on STN (Tuesday nights, 7-9 PM EDT) expressed the markish (yes, I said it!) sentiment that 'Taker should keep the streak going and that Edge "didn't need the win." The very point of building up equity like The Undertaker has been able to do is to transfer the cache of it to another star at some point. Edge is the best main-event heel the company has had in years, probably since "Fac-Gime Era HHH," and his character can benefit immensely from the rub here. As you can tell, this is the outcome I am the most likely to disagree with, as all signs are that 'Taker will go 16-0. I have no problem with them giving The Undertaker another decently-long title reign, I just disagree with starting it here as opposed to a month or two down the road.
^ WWE Title Match, Randy Orton vs. HHH vs. John Cena: Three years after it was initially envisioned, we're seeing Orton vs. HHH for the title at 'Mania. One year after it was initially envisioned, we're seeing HHH vs. Cena for the title in a WrestleMania 22 rematch. We're getting both of these scenarios in one match, plus the hottest part of the match in terms of feud qualities in Cena vs. Orton. This should be a fantastic match, with all participants motivated to live up to the atmosphere and deliver a 3 1/2 or 4-star match. In the end, I think HHH "gets his wins back," after having finished the main event of the last three 'Manias he participated in looking up at the lights. He may be taking a lighter schedule later in the year when his "second McMahon heir" is born, so this is a way to strike while the iron is hot with him before he has another hiatus or semi-hiatus. Cena will still be waiting in the wings as the heir apparent to the title and I expect him to be protected here with Orton doing the job. For the record, although I'm a huge critic of HHH's positioning of himself during large stretches earlier this decade, I think this is the right move to make as he is having the best solo face run of his career (thanks to no storylines this time involving "his dog").
^ Career Threatening Match, Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels: I'm listing this match last in the vain hope that the company will do the right thing and put it on last. Good luck following this emotional moment! I don't believe it's a 100% lock that this will be Flair's last match, as a fairly elaborate swerve could be underway, but I do think it's probable that they will go in the anticipated direction and that Michaels will lead one heck of a great match. My biggest problem with Flair having this match on this card was the notion that his retirement match should headline a card and I thought it was improbable at WrestleMania, but this storyline has been such a huge part of the overall event that some of my objections have faded. Michaels probably wins after "The Dirtiest Player In the Game" fights and claws for his life.
In the interest of helping people to remember the greatness of Ric Flair, who was probably the greatest wrestler of all time, here's the excellent tribute to him that the company aired this past week:
And here's some of his great mic work from back in the day:
If this is the end, thanks for the memories, Ric.
Monday, March 17, 2008
2008 FDH College Hoops Bracket Draft
By Rick Morris
While FDH did not end up having the NCAA hoops bracket draft program on SportsTalkCleveland.com* tonight (as the great Kevin Malone from The Office might say "Because of reasons ..."), we did still conduct our draft off-line so that we could share the results with you here.
First, let's examine our recommended scoring system:
^ 2 points for an opening-round win
^ 4 points for a second-round win
^ 6 points for a third-round win
^ 8 points for a regional championship win
^ 10 points for winning a national semifinal game
^ 12 points for winning the national championship
Also, there are bonus points for having lower seeds win:
^ 2 points for each win by a team seeded 5th through 9th in a region
^ 5 points for each win by a team seeded 10th through 16th in a region
FDH Lounge Dignitaries participating in this event, which utilized our recommended scoring system, were Jason Jones, Nate Noy, Samantha Jones and Rick Morris (drafting in that order in a standard 12-round serpentine process).
Here's how each round materialized:
ROUND ONE
1. Jason: Memphis
2. Nate: UNC
3. Samantha: UCLA
4. Rick: Texas
ROUND TWO
1. Rick: Georgetown
2. Samantha: Kansas
3. Nate: Duke
4. Jason: Tennessee
ROUND THREE
1. Jason: Stanford
2. Nate: Louisville
3. Samantha: Wisconsin
4. Rick: Xavier
ROUND FOUR
1. Rick: Vanderbilt
2. Samantha: UConn
3. Nate: Washington State
4. Jason: Michigan State
ROUND FIVE
1. Jason: Clemson
2. Nate: USC
3. Samantha: Oklahoma
4. Rick: Pittsburgh
ROUND SIX
1. Rick: Notre Dame
2. Samantha: Purdue
3. Nate: Kentucky
4. Jason: Indiana
ROUND SEVEN
1. Jason: Gonzaga
2. Nate: Texas A&M
3. Samantha: UNLV
4. Rick: Butler
ROUND EIGHT
1. Rick: St. Mary's
2. Samantha: Arkansas
3. Nate: Arizona
4. Jason: Kansas State
ROUND NINE
1. Jason: St. Joseph's
2. Nate: Marquette
3. Samantha: BYU
4. Rick: Davidson
ROUND TEN
1. Rick: Oregon
2. Samantha: Temple
3. Nate: Mississippi State
4. Jason: Georgia
ROUND ELEVEN
1. Jason: Villanova
2. Nate: Miami
3. Samantha: George Mason
4. Rick: Drake
ROUND TWELVE
1. Rick: Kent State
2. Samantha: Oral Roberts
3. Nate: Western Kentucky
4. Jason UMBC
We will track the results of this event and announce the winner on STC. While actual brackets are fun, and we will certainly be participating in them ourselves, bracket drafts with the element of fantasy sports interjected in are also great fun and we encourage you strongly to partake of our recommended format.
* We are heeding a request to start utilizing the SportsTalkCleveland identity because it is the lead one the station for marketing purposes right now. At the same time, we wish to remind everyone of the reason that the SportsTalkNetwork identity has also been in play: the wide variety of programs on the station appealing to a national constituency, from nationally-based general sports programming to mixed martial arts to pro wrestling to the NHL, Major League Baseball, motorsports, extreme sports and fantasy sports. Whether you cheer forCleveland
While FDH did not end up having the NCAA hoops bracket draft program on SportsTalkCleveland.com* tonight (as the great Kevin Malone from The Office might say "Because of reasons ..."), we did still conduct our draft off-line so that we could share the results with you here.
First, let's examine our recommended scoring system:
^ 2 points for an opening-round win
^ 4 points for a second-round win
^ 6 points for a third-round win
^ 8 points for a regional championship win
^ 10 points for winning a national semifinal game
^ 12 points for winning the national championship
Also, there are bonus points for having lower seeds win:
^ 2 points for each win by a team seeded 5th through 9th in a region
^ 5 points for each win by a team seeded 10th through 16th in a region
FDH Lounge Dignitaries participating in this event, which utilized our recommended scoring system, were Jason Jones, Nate Noy, Samantha Jones and Rick Morris (drafting in that order in a standard 12-round serpentine process).
Here's how each round materialized:
ROUND ONE
1. Jason: Memphis
2. Nate: UNC
3. Samantha: UCLA
4. Rick: Texas
ROUND TWO
1. Rick: Georgetown
2. Samantha: Kansas
3. Nate: Duke
4. Jason: Tennessee
ROUND THREE
1. Jason: Stanford
2. Nate: Louisville
3. Samantha: Wisconsin
4. Rick: Xavier
ROUND FOUR
1. Rick: Vanderbilt
2. Samantha: UConn
3. Nate: Washington State
4. Jason: Michigan State
ROUND FIVE
1. Jason: Clemson
2. Nate: USC
3. Samantha: Oklahoma
4. Rick: Pittsburgh
ROUND SIX
1. Rick: Notre Dame
2. Samantha: Purdue
3. Nate: Kentucky
4. Jason: Indiana
ROUND SEVEN
1. Jason: Gonzaga
2. Nate: Texas A&M
3. Samantha: UNLV
4. Rick: Butler
ROUND EIGHT
1. Rick: St. Mary's
2. Samantha: Arkansas
3. Nate: Arizona
4. Jason: Kansas State
ROUND NINE
1. Jason: St. Joseph's
2. Nate: Marquette
3. Samantha: BYU
4. Rick: Davidson
ROUND TEN
1. Rick: Oregon
2. Samantha: Temple
3. Nate: Mississippi State
4. Jason: Georgia
ROUND ELEVEN
1. Jason: Villanova
2. Nate: Miami
3. Samantha: George Mason
4. Rick: Drake
ROUND TWELVE
1. Rick: Kent State
2. Samantha: Oral Roberts
3. Nate: Western Kentucky
4. Jason UMBC
We will track the results of this event and announce the winner on STC. While actual brackets are fun, and we will certainly be participating in them ourselves, bracket drafts with the element of fantasy sports interjected in are also great fun and we encourage you strongly to partake of our recommended format.
* We are heeding a request to start utilizing the SportsTalkCleveland identity because it is the lead one the station for marketing purposes right now. At the same time, we wish to remind everyone of the reason that the SportsTalkNetwork identity has also been in play: the wide variety of programs on the station appealing to a national constituency, from nationally-based general sports programming to mixed martial arts to pro wrestling to the NHL, Major League Baseball, motorsports, extreme sports and fantasy sports. Whether you cheer for
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Please support a great cause this weekend
By Rick Morris
EDIT: As of 10:45 PM EST Saturday night, we are up to $250 in pledges, mostly from the Rick Springfield fans listening now to Uncle Paul Belfi's DJing. Thank you very much. I'm updating at the bottom to provide notes for our wrestling segment from 2-4 PM EST with a capsule look at what has transpired of note at every one of the first 23 WrestleManias and one man's opinion about the top 10 stars of the WrestleMania era never to appear on the card. Also, I'm attaching an approximate guide to which baseball brackets (read below!) will be discussed when.
I'm writing this mere hours before we go on the air at SportsTalkCleveland.com/SportsTalkNetwork.com for our 4th annual Up All Night/Up All Day Marathon to Benefit the Carol Morris Scholarship Fund at Bowling Green State University. THE FDH LOUNGE program will be just one part of an extended broadcast to benefit an excellent cause. Go to STC or STN at the above links to listen and/or watch the proceedings.
This scholarship program is a memorial fund in honor of my mother, Carol Morris, who worked in special education. I urge all of you to visit the home page for the fund and also for our benefit show at www.fantasydrafthelp.com/carol_morris.html , but I'm going to bring all of the relevant info over here also. I also want to profusely thank our event sponsor, TAHJ Capital. This is corporate philanthropy at its finest, and I cannot express my personal appreciation enough.
Here is everything straight off of the aforementioned fund/program home page:
EDIT: As of 10:45 PM EST Saturday night, we are up to $250 in pledges, mostly from the Rick Springfield fans listening now to Uncle Paul Belfi's DJing. Thank you very much. I'm updating at the bottom to provide notes for our wrestling segment from 2-4 PM EST with a capsule look at what has transpired of note at every one of the first 23 WrestleManias and one man's opinion about the top 10 stars of the WrestleMania era never to appear on the card. Also, I'm attaching an approximate guide to which baseball brackets (read below!) will be discussed when.
I'm writing this mere hours before we go on the air at SportsTalkCleveland.com/SportsTalkNetwork.com for our 4th annual Up All Night/Up All Day Marathon to Benefit the Carol Morris Scholarship Fund at Bowling Green State University. THE FDH LOUNGE program will be just one part of an extended broadcast to benefit an excellent cause. Go to STC or STN at the above links to listen and/or watch the proceedings.
This scholarship program is a memorial fund in honor of my mother, Carol Morris, who worked in special education. I urge all of you to visit the home page for the fund and also for our benefit show at www.fantasydrafthelp.com/carol_morris.html , but I'm going to bring all of the relevant info over here also. I also want to profusely thank our event sponsor, TAHJ Capital. This is corporate philanthropy at its finest, and I cannot express my personal appreciation enough.
Here is everything straight off of the aforementioned fund/program home page:
NEW INFORMATION: FOURTH ANNUAL SPORTSTALK CLEVELAND.COM MARATHON FUNDRAISER TO BENEFIT THE CAROL MORRIS SCHOLARSHIP FUND IS THIS WEEKEND, MARCH 1-2! DETAILS BELOW ...
The Carol Morris Scholarship Fund at Bowling Green State University is the official charitable cause of FantasyDrafthelp.com. Named for Managing Partner Rick Morris’ mother, a longtime teacher and tutor, the memorial fund is directed towards students striving for a career in special education.
The fund has been the chosen cause of three annual “Up All Night Marathons.” These broadcasts, which have aired on SportsTalkNetwork.com, have helped bring the fund closer to its goal of vesting at $25,000. When fully vested, the fund will exist in perpetuity and help bring committed individuals into the vital field of special education.
To donate to the fund, make checks payable to: BGSU Foundation, Inc.
On the memo line of the check, please write: Carol Morris Scholarship Fund 30-000812
Mail checks to:
Office of Development
Attn: Erin Keller
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, OH 43403
Donations can also be made online at the following web address: http://giving.bgsu.edu/development/fundingopps/onlinegiving.jsp
FOURTH ANNUAL FUNDRAISING MARATHON PROGRAM ANNOUNCED!
The 4th Annual SportsTalkNetwork.com Up All Day Marathon to benefit the Carol Morris Scholarship Fund at Bowling Green State University will run for 27 hours, from Saturday, March 1 at 9 PM to Sunday, March 2 at Midnight EST. This year's program will bring you special extra editions of your favorite STN programs for a very special cause. The following shows are involved.
^ THE FDH LOUNGE (the program where nothing is off-topic)
^ THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER (fantasy sports)
^ THE GOON SQUAD (hockey)
^ SEVENTH INNING SLOUCH (baseball)
^ PRO WRESTLING INSIDER (professional wrestling)
^ NAAFS RADIO (mixed martial arts)
^ THE RICK SPRINGFIELD MARATHON (Rick Springfield music and fan interaction)
Here is the tentative lineup as of Friday, February 28 (all times EST):
9 PM to 10 AM: 13 hours of THE RICK SPRINGFIELD MARATHON as the world's foremost Springfield DJ, Paul Belfi, spins tunes from the entire catalog.
10 AM to 2 PM: SEVENTH INNING SLOUCH presents bracket-style voting with a roundtable panel to determine the best players in baseball at each position. This segment features Round One of the brackets at every position (there are 8 players in the bracket at each position except right-handed pitcher, which has 16 players). We will be joined at about Noon by SportsNetwork.com baseball analyst Eric Gold. Position battles are listed below the show information.
2 PM to 4 PM: PRO WRESTLING INSIDER features the WrestleMania roundtable: a past, present and future look at the biggest rasslin' event of the year. For the first part of our discussion, we will be joined by Wrestleology analyst Russ Cohen.
4 PM to 4:30 PM: SEVENTH INNING SLOUCH presents the baseball brackets, with part of Round Two.
4:30 PM to 5 PM: THE FDH LOUNGE welcomes Zach Landres-Schnur, proprietor of THE BIG PICTURE sports blog.
5 PM to 5:30 PM: THE FDH LOUNGE interviews William Gheen, President and Spokesman for Americans for Legal Immigration, the group trying to draft CNN news anchor Lou Dobbs to run for President of the United States.
5:30 PM to 6:30 PM: SEVENTH INNING SLOUCH presents the rest of Round Two of the baseball brackets.
6:30 PM to 7:00 PM: SEVENTH INNING SLOUCH interviews Joe Aiello, founder of THE VIEW FROM THE BLEACHERS Chicago Cubs blog.
7:00 PM to 8:00 PM: SEVENTH INNING SLOUCH presents the final round of the baseball brackets.
8:00 PM to 8:30 PM: THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER presents a 2008 NFL Draft Preview with FantasyDrafthelp.com Senior Editor and Chief NFL Draft Analyst Jason Jones.
8:30 PM to 9:00 PM: THE FDH LOUNGE takes its first look ahead to an Obama/McCain presidential race with a roundtable preview.
9:00 PM to 9:30 PM: THE FDH LOUNGE speaks to Lounge Dignitary Nathan Noy about the most entertaining congressional race in the country in 2008.
9:30 PM to 10:00 PM: NAAFS RADIO presents a look inside the MMA world's greatest combined amateur/professional circuit with North American Allied Fight Series executive producer Jake Digman.
10:00 PM to 10:30 PM: THE FDH LOUNGE interviews the IRL correpondant for Most Valuable Network, Christopher Estrada about the big open-wheel racing merger just announced this week.
10:30 PM to 11:00 PM: THE FDH LOUNGE prepares you to fill out your NCAA hoops brackets in a few weeks with a look ahead to Championship Week and the field of 65.
11:00 PM to 11:30 PM: THE GOON SQUAD interviews hockey journalist John Kreiser of NHL.com.
11:30 PM to Midnight: THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER interviews Fanball.com Managing Editor Ray Flowers for an early look at fantasy baseball Draft Day.
Baseball brackets
Catcher
Martinez vs. Molina
Mauer vs. Posada
McCann vs. Pudge
Martin vs. Johjima
First Base
Pujols vs. Konerko
Morneau vs. Pena
Howard vs. Berkman
Fielder vs. Lee
Second Base
Utley vs. Polanco
Uggla vs. Kent
Cano vs. Roberts
Phillips vs. Ellis
Shortstop
Rollins vs. Hardy
Jeter vs. Tulowitzki
Ramirez vs. Tejada
Reyes vs. Greene
Third Base
Rodriguez vs. Lowell
Ramirez vs. Atkins
Cabrera vs. C. Jones
Wright vs. Glaus
Left Field
Ramirez vs. Byrnes
Crawford vs. Lee
Soriano vs. Braun
Holliday vs. Matsui
Center Field
B.J. Upton vs. Wells
Hunter vs. A. Jones
Beltran vs. Ichiro
Sizemore vs. Granderson
Right Field
Guerrero vs. Hawpe
Francouer vs. Markakis
Rios vs. Dye
Ordonez vs. C. Hart
Designated Hitters
Ortiz vs. Thomas
Thome vs. Bonds
Hafner vs. Cust
Sheffield vs. Sosa
Left-Handed Pitchers
Santana vs. Buehrle
Kazmir vs. Ol. Perez
Liriano vs. Hamels
Sabathia vs. Francis
Right-Handed Pitchers
Beckett vs. Hudson
Oswalt vs. Halladay
C. Young vs. Penny
Lackey vs. Smoltz
Peavy vs. F. Hernandez
Haren vs. Bedard
Verlander vs. Carmona
Webb vs. Zambrano
Closers
Papelbon vs. Rivera
Putz vs. F. Cordero
Nathan vs. Hoffman
F. Rodriguez vs. Wagner
Here are the half-hour segments when we will discuss the position battles (all times EST and approximate, keeping in mind that the first round is in two parts for the RHP position since there are twice as many players involved):
FIRST ROUND
10:00 AM: 7 RHP
10:30 AM: 1 RHP, 4C, 2 1B
11:00 AM: 2 1B, 4 2B, 1 SS
11:30 AM: 3 SS, 4 3B
12:00 Noon: 4 LF, 3 CF
12:30 PM: 1 CF, 4 RF, 2 DH
1:00 PM: 2 DH, 4 LHP, 1 CL
1:30 PM: 3 CL, 4 RHP
SECOND ROUND
4:00 PM: 2 C, 2 1B, 2 2B, 2 SS
5:30 PM: 2 3B, 2 LF, 2 CF, 2 RF
6:00 PM: 2 DH, 2 LHP, 2 CL, 2 RHP
FINAL ROUND
7:00 PM: 1 C, 1 1B, 1 2B, 1 SS, 1 3B, 1 LF
7:30 PM: 1 CF, 1 RF, 1 DH, 1 LHP, 1 CL, 1 RHP
Notes on past WrestleManias
I: Important because it started it all, Andre beat Studd in bodyslam challenge, Hogan/T vs. Piper/Orndorf set the template for WrestleMania, Sheik/Volkoff tag title win kept them hot as foreign heels.
II: Hugely important because it solidified Mania as a big-time event, only one to take place in 3 cities, Refrigerator Perry in Chicago main event (battle royal), Piper/T boxing match was Roddy’s swan song as a heel, Hogan/Bundy in a cage may have been Hulk’s least memorable Mania match, but set the template for every title defense vs. a big man he had in that era.
III: 93,000 at the Silverdome set a new standard for crowds, Hogan/Andre was some of the greatest buildup ever and the match was great for not having any workrate, Steamboat/Savage was the first undercard show-stealer at a Mania, Roddy Piper’s “retirement match,” Duggan’s run-in vs. Sheik/Volkoff pioneered the concept of having a wrestler debut at Mania.
IV: 4-hour tournament rates as one of the most boring Manias, Hogan/Andre double-DQ rated as the most shocking Mania moment to that point, Hogan saving Savage in the main event was the first pass-the-torch moment at Mania, Bret’s face turn at end of battle royal.
V: Hogan/Savage main event was as emotion-filled as Hogan/Piper tag match at I and Hogan/Andre at III, Piper/Brother Love/Morton Downey Jr. segment foreshadowed the dawn of “sports entertainment segments” at Mania.
VI: Hogan/Warrior main event was completely unique for its time with face vs. face dynamic, first & only Mania for Dusty Rhodes, Andre’s swan song.
VII: Originally supposed to be 1st outdoor Mania at L.A. Coliseum, later moved to L.A. Sports Arena, Hogan/Slaughter set a new standard for exploiting tragic world events, Kerry Von Erich & Undertaker Mania debuts, Warrior/Savage “retirement match” was the closest thing to a double main-event that had been seen yet.
VIII: Actual double main-event at HosierDome with Savage/Flair for the title and Hogan/Sid in Hogan’s “retirement match” and Warrior returning for the run-in at the end, Roberts & Piper also left after this show, Piper/Hart was show-stealing undercard match that helped establish Hart, Paul Ellering & Lex Luger showed up on camera for the first time.
IX: First outdoor show, double main-event with Hart/Yoko and Hogan/Beefcake/Money Inc. tag title match and Hogan making the “impromptu” challenge to take the belt from Yoko in the end, Steiner Brothers’ only Mania match, Jim Ross debuts infamously in a toga.
X: Bret & Luger both get title shots as Bret wins but loses earlier to Owen, Michaels/Razor ladder match sets a new standard for midcard showstealing matches.
XI: Double main-event with Diesel/Shawn for the title but LT/Bigelow actually goes on last.
XII: Michaels/Hart Ironman match,
XIII: Double main-event with Undertaker’s first title match at Mania vs. Sid and Hart/Austin “I Quit” with famous double-turn, Vader/Mankind tag match vs. Owen/Bulldog, The Rock’s Mania debut in infamous debacle match vs. Sultan.
XIV: Austin’s first title win ever in Michaels’ last match for 4 ½ years, The Rock gets first serious “cool heel” heat in interview with Gennifer Flowers, Terry Funk’s return to Mania after 12 years in match with Cactus Jack/New Age Outlaws, Sunny debuts with “LOD 2000,” Kane’s first Mania match vs. Undertaker with Pete Rose altercation with Kane beforehand, Gorilla Monsoon’s last on-screen appearance.
XV: 1st Austin/Rock Mania match, Butterbean/Gunn boxing massacre, 2nd Kane/Pete Rose altercation, HHH/Kane double-turn.
2000: 1st multi-person main event with Rock/HHH/Mankind/Big Show and a McMahon in each corner, HHH notches 1st heel win ever in a Mania title match, Edge/Christian/Hardys/Dudleys ladder match, 3rd Kane/Pete Rose altercation, 1st Mania for Benoit/Jericho/Angle as they all faced each other for the I-C & European titles.
XVII: 1st dome Mania in 9 years, 2nd Austin/Rock title match at Mania with ill-fated Austin turn at end, first Vinny Mac Mania match vs. Shane, WCW wrestlers in skybox watching right after “Shane’s” acquisition, Paul Heyman’s only Mania on commentary, Edge/Christian/Dudleys/Hardys TLC 2 match, Benoit/Angle match featuring much amateur wrestling early on, HHH loses to Undertaker.
XVIII: HHH/Jericho only Mania match for “Undisputed” Title, Rock/Hogan match with strange crowd reaction, Austin/Hall disappointing match, Undertaker/Flair match with Arn Anderson run-in.
XIX: Another dome show at Safeco Field in Seattle, 1st Mania of split-brand era with 2 brand title matches, HHH gets 2nd heel win ever in Mania title match by pinning Booker T, Lesnar/Angle title match is the last one before Angle’s 1st injury hiatus in WWE, Hogan/McMahon match gets surprise run-in from Piper, 3rd Austin/Rock Mania match is Austin’s last as full-time competitor and is Rock’s last singles match at Mania.
XX: Benoit/Eddy celebrate unlikely title wins together at end of show, Rock’s last Mania match comes in tag match with Foley/Orton/Batista/Flair in Foley’s big return match, infamous Goldberg/Lesnar “farewell match,” Paul Bearer’s surprise return for second Undertaker/Kane match at Mania.
XXI: Cena’s first title win comes in the midcard as Batista’s title win against HHH ends the show, Angle/Michaels “dream match,” Edge wins first “Money In the Bank” match, Austin/Piper/Carlito segment, Hogan run-in vs. Hassan.
XXII: Cena/HHH title match with “bizarro crowd,” Rey wins title in 3-way with Angle/Orton, Edge/Foley “hardcore match,” RVD wins “Money In the Bank,” Michaels/McMahon no-holds-barred match.
XXIV: Return to domed stadium in Detroit area 20 years later, Cena/Michaels helps cement Cena on top tier, Undertaker beats Batista for title, Lashley/Umaga match forces McMahon’s head to be shaved by Trump, Sabu & Sandman make only Mania appearances.
Ten greatest North American stars of the WrestleMania era never to wrestle at WrestleMania:
1. Sting
2. Bruiser Brody
3. Nick Bockwinkel
4. Superstar Billy Graham
5. Steve Williams
6. The Freebirds
7. Kevin Von Erich
8. Abdullah the Butcher
9.
10. Kevin Sullivan
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Super Bowl Liveblogging Part VIII
By Rick Morris
The Pats won their challenge and continued to drive, but a big sack on Brady set up 4th and 13 from the 31 yard line and a bomb to Gaffney in the end zone that wasn't even close to completion leads to the turnover on downs.
I just had a question posed to me by my friend, former SportsTalkNetwork.com host Nick Despones about whether this turnover could be a turning point (because I had exclaimed aloud that New England winning the challenge would be a turning point before I pleaded, "Prove me wrong, God!"). I answered that the Giants could get a big boost right here, but only if aliens abduct Kevin Gilbride and someone else, anyone, even somebody from the stands, replaces him.
The Pats won their challenge and continued to drive, but a big sack on Brady set up 4th and 13 from the 31 yard line and a bomb to Gaffney in the end zone that wasn't even close to completion leads to the turnover on downs.
I just had a question posed to me by my friend, former SportsTalkNetwork.com host Nick Despones about whether this turnover could be a turning point (because I had exclaimed aloud that New England winning the challenge would be a turning point before I pleaded, "Prove me wrong, God!"). I answered that the Giants could get a big boost right here, but only if aliens abduct Kevin Gilbride and someone else, anyone, even somebody from the stands, replaces him.
PKW proves again they know MMA the best
By Rick Morris
During my stint as substitute co-host on Pro Wrestling Insider this past Tuesday night on SportsTalkNetwork.com, it was my pleasure to be part of a crossover segment with NAAFS Radio, the premier mixed martial arts authorities anywhere in the media. Head honcho Greg Kalikas and executive producer Jake Digman, who are also collectively the brains behind the unmatched MMA news/analysis site Pro Karate Weekly, appeared at the end of PWI for a discussion of former WWE Undisputed World Champion Brock Lesnar's first big UFC fight (not counting his squashing of a tomato can) against Frank Mir in Las Vegas last night.
While Jake and I were fairly measured in our assessment of Lesnar's chances (forget his "sports entertainment" background completely; he was a dominant NCAA wrestling champion), Greg went out on a big limb and said that he didn't think Lesnar has much of a chance. I asked Greg if Brock would be hurt by being almost completely a grappler and being devoid of any type of martial arts background with the exception of what he had been able to pick up in his recent training; Greg replied that he didn't see that as such a big factor in that wrestling is the important and indispensable foundation of MMA -- but that Brock was probably far too inexperienced at a high level to have a decent chance of victory.
Last night proved what I already knew, never bet against a Greg Kalikas prediction.
Now, Lesnar did look impressive in defeat, dominating the action with quick strikes and agile moves, but ended up submitting to a kneebar only 90 seconds into the action. In so doing, he accomplished what few thought he could: failing to win the fight against an on-the-downside-of-his-career Mir, but winning over skeptical UFC fans as the real deal and somebody poised to make noise in the future. The breakdown of the fight from Greg and Jake on Tuesday night at 9 PM EST on SportsTalkNetwork.com will be fascinating as always.
Oh, and one last note. If I were Bobby Lashley, aiming to follow in Brock's footsteps, I'd be thinking very carefully about how hard that road is going to be after what we saw last night.
During my stint as substitute co-host on Pro Wrestling Insider this past Tuesday night on SportsTalkNetwork.com, it was my pleasure to be part of a crossover segment with NAAFS Radio, the premier mixed martial arts authorities anywhere in the media. Head honcho Greg Kalikas and executive producer Jake Digman, who are also collectively the brains behind the unmatched MMA news/analysis site Pro Karate Weekly, appeared at the end of PWI for a discussion of former WWE Undisputed World Champion Brock Lesnar's first big UFC fight (not counting his squashing of a tomato can) against Frank Mir in Las Vegas last night.
While Jake and I were fairly measured in our assessment of Lesnar's chances (forget his "sports entertainment" background completely; he was a dominant NCAA wrestling champion), Greg went out on a big limb and said that he didn't think Lesnar has much of a chance. I asked Greg if Brock would be hurt by being almost completely a grappler and being devoid of any type of martial arts background with the exception of what he had been able to pick up in his recent training; Greg replied that he didn't see that as such a big factor in that wrestling is the important and indispensable foundation of MMA -- but that Brock was probably far too inexperienced at a high level to have a decent chance of victory.
Last night proved what I already knew, never bet against a Greg Kalikas prediction.
Now, Lesnar did look impressive in defeat, dominating the action with quick strikes and agile moves, but ended up submitting to a kneebar only 90 seconds into the action. In so doing, he accomplished what few thought he could: failing to win the fight against an on-the-downside-of-his-career Mir, but winning over skeptical UFC fans as the real deal and somebody poised to make noise in the future. The breakdown of the fight from Greg and Jake on Tuesday night at 9 PM EST on SportsTalkNetwork.com will be fascinating as always.
Oh, and one last note. If I were Bobby Lashley, aiming to follow in Brock's footsteps, I'd be thinking very carefully about how hard that road is going to be after what we saw last night.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Wrestling heels who should have turned
By Rick Morris
My post from the last week addressing Vince McMahon spitting in the face of his fans by not elevating Jeff Hardy to become a legitimate main-event player at the Royal Rumble, combined with my stint as a guest co-host on Pro Wrestling Insider on SportsTalkNetwork.com this past Tuesday night where we elaborated on the Superstar Billy Graham precedent and others in company history, led me to wonder about other times promoters dropped the ball.
This column does not delve much into situations like that of Jeff Hardy, because Hardy was a red-hot babyface who could have taken the final step into superstardom. Rather, I will examine situations involving Graham and other insanely over heels who could have parlayed their status into main-event face runs. I rank them in order of the impact I feel that they could have had on the business had they been given a chance to convert the cache of their bad guy personas into dramatic face turns.
1. Superstar Billy Graham (circa 1978). I covered his situation a bit in the aforementioned previous column, but the mind still reels at the alternate universe possibilities if the WWWF had decided to make him "Hulk Hogan before there was Hulk Hogan" back in '78. As the man who basically invented the colorful, arrogant musclehead persona in the business, he was attracting unbelievable crowd heat before dropping the strap in very anticlimactic fashion to the charisma-challenged Bob Backlund in February of 1978. Had Graham instead been attacked by former tag team partner Ivan Koloff, how wild would the New York territory have been for his before-his-time character as a sanctioned crowd favorite instead of cult antihero face? We'll never know.
2. Ric Flair (circa 1987 or 1988). We saw in late 1989 and early 1990 how popular Flair could be even with the Four Horsemen by his side. He was only turned heel again in February 1990 to make way for Sting as the #1 face in the NWA at the time. Now, Dusty Rhodes as the me-first booker would have never shared the fan favorite spotlight with Flair and the Horsemen in the '80s, so this is another pipe dream. But "what if's" are very fun to imagine, and few more so than this one. Imagine a conglomerate formed by mid-level heel managers like Jim Cornette and Paul Jones tiring of the Horsemen dominating the title picture and launching a vicious attack on Flair and his cohorts (the Blanchard/Anderson vs. Midnight Express feud of 1988 was a miniature version of what might have been, but it was cut short by Tully and Arn splitting for the WWF in September). Imagine the ultimate "strange bedfellows" situation, Dusty having to tag up with the Horsemen for War Games matches back in the mid-'80s. The Four Horsemen retrospective DVD put out in the last few years by WWE makes clear just how much the fans seemed to be dying to have a reason to outright root for Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen. What if they were turned face during the phase when they were drawing their strongest collective crowd reactions? Ric Flair could have had great main event matches against strong heels (they could have accomplished this merely by never turning Luger face in '87, keeping Sting heel after the UFW merger, etc.).
3. Nick Bockwinkel (circa 1980-84). I admit it, I'm going through a huge Nick Bockwinkel markout phase, hence the videos you will now see for the time being on the right-hand column of this page. He gave perhaps the most articulate interviews of all time and could generate outstanding crowd heat -- plus he had a good moveset and could execute excellent matches all the time. Imagine him breaking away from Bobby Heenan and feuding with the Heenan Family. Imagine if such a feud started in 1980 after Bock lost the AWA World Title back to Verne Gagne for the last time and if Gagne/Bock had joined forces for tag matches prior to Gagne dropping the title to his "new friend" in his retirement match, "a respect match" (as with Dusty's ego being the impediment to Scenario #2, Gagne's selfish desire to "retire as World Champion" drained credibility from the belt and would have easily precluded this smart business decision). The fans would have really gotten behind the cocky, tanned, smooth-talking Hollywood champ battling the bad guys. If the AWA could turn such hated bad guys as Crusher, Bruiser and Mad Dog Vachon face to great success, there's no question this would have worked. Why wasn't it tried? In all likelihood, it's because Bockwinkel's vast credibility, as a great-drawing titleholder from 1975 to 1980, would have been the foundation for a face run that could have even eclipsed the popularity of Verne Gagne himself. And nobody is ever allowed to surpass the booker -- that's the first lesson of pro wrestling. Even if Bock's turn had been saved for the end of the AWA Heenan era in 1984, he still would have been way more over than Rick Martel, the white-bread babyface who inexplicably got a face title run with the belt for a year and a half when Gagne was doubling down on pure scientific wrestling in the face of Vince's looming "sports entertainment" empire.
4. Arn Anderson (circa 1991-1992). Another admission -- I am a tremendous Double A mark. But I think that if you look back at Gene and Ole Anderson in the 1970s or Ole and Arn in the 1980s, they almost fell into that cult face classification in that there were a lot of fans who cheered because of their toughness and greatness. Picture Arn as a "lone wolf" tweener-type face battling the Dangerous Alliance and holding them off for the World Title. Picture Arn doing battle with Big Van Vader during the behemoth's heyday. WCW probably could not have gained on WWF at that time no matter what they tried, but Arn Anderson riding the cheers of the crowd all the way to the top certainly would have been outside the box -- and there was no more public acclaim for a Ron Simmons title run then than there was for an Arn championship opportunity.
5. Finlay (circa 2007). The crowds are reacting well to Finlay in his role as a newly-turned face as part of the "Littlest McMahon" storyline. But I have long maintained that his tough-guy style, which has faint elements of a 1996-97 Steve Austin flair to it, would be massively over if he were going against the bad guys. When Smackdown was suffering the period of countless main event injuries last year, could they really have done worse than to try Finlay on top as a babyface? The question answers itself -- this is a company that wasted several months on The Great Khali as a monster heel champion when they didn't even trust him to wrestle an important pay-per-view match the previous year.
My post from the last week addressing Vince McMahon spitting in the face of his fans by not elevating Jeff Hardy to become a legitimate main-event player at the Royal Rumble, combined with my stint as a guest co-host on Pro Wrestling Insider on SportsTalkNetwork.com this past Tuesday night where we elaborated on the Superstar Billy Graham precedent and others in company history, led me to wonder about other times promoters dropped the ball.
This column does not delve much into situations like that of Jeff Hardy, because Hardy was a red-hot babyface who could have taken the final step into superstardom. Rather, I will examine situations involving Graham and other insanely over heels who could have parlayed their status into main-event face runs. I rank them in order of the impact I feel that they could have had on the business had they been given a chance to convert the cache of their bad guy personas into dramatic face turns.
1. Superstar Billy Graham (circa 1978). I covered his situation a bit in the aforementioned previous column, but the mind still reels at the alternate universe possibilities if the WWWF had decided to make him "Hulk Hogan before there was Hulk Hogan" back in '78. As the man who basically invented the colorful, arrogant musclehead persona in the business, he was attracting unbelievable crowd heat before dropping the strap in very anticlimactic fashion to the charisma-challenged Bob Backlund in February of 1978. Had Graham instead been attacked by former tag team partner Ivan Koloff, how wild would the New York territory have been for his before-his-time character as a sanctioned crowd favorite instead of cult antihero face? We'll never know.
2. Ric Flair (circa 1987 or 1988). We saw in late 1989 and early 1990 how popular Flair could be even with the Four Horsemen by his side. He was only turned heel again in February 1990 to make way for Sting as the #1 face in the NWA at the time. Now, Dusty Rhodes as the me-first booker would have never shared the fan favorite spotlight with Flair and the Horsemen in the '80s, so this is another pipe dream. But "what if's" are very fun to imagine, and few more so than this one. Imagine a conglomerate formed by mid-level heel managers like Jim Cornette and Paul Jones tiring of the Horsemen dominating the title picture and launching a vicious attack on Flair and his cohorts (the Blanchard/Anderson vs. Midnight Express feud of 1988 was a miniature version of what might have been, but it was cut short by Tully and Arn splitting for the WWF in September). Imagine the ultimate "strange bedfellows" situation, Dusty having to tag up with the Horsemen for War Games matches back in the mid-'80s. The Four Horsemen retrospective DVD put out in the last few years by WWE makes clear just how much the fans seemed to be dying to have a reason to outright root for Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen. What if they were turned face during the phase when they were drawing their strongest collective crowd reactions? Ric Flair could have had great main event matches against strong heels (they could have accomplished this merely by never turning Luger face in '87, keeping Sting heel after the UFW merger, etc.).
3. Nick Bockwinkel (circa 1980-84). I admit it, I'm going through a huge Nick Bockwinkel markout phase, hence the videos you will now see for the time being on the right-hand column of this page. He gave perhaps the most articulate interviews of all time and could generate outstanding crowd heat -- plus he had a good moveset and could execute excellent matches all the time. Imagine him breaking away from Bobby Heenan and feuding with the Heenan Family. Imagine if such a feud started in 1980 after Bock lost the AWA World Title back to Verne Gagne for the last time and if Gagne/Bock had joined forces for tag matches prior to Gagne dropping the title to his "new friend" in his retirement match, "a respect match" (as with Dusty's ego being the impediment to Scenario #2, Gagne's selfish desire to "retire as World Champion" drained credibility from the belt and would have easily precluded this smart business decision). The fans would have really gotten behind the cocky, tanned, smooth-talking Hollywood champ battling the bad guys. If the AWA could turn such hated bad guys as Crusher, Bruiser and Mad Dog Vachon face to great success, there's no question this would have worked. Why wasn't it tried? In all likelihood, it's because Bockwinkel's vast credibility, as a great-drawing titleholder from 1975 to 1980, would have been the foundation for a face run that could have even eclipsed the popularity of Verne Gagne himself. And nobody is ever allowed to surpass the booker -- that's the first lesson of pro wrestling. Even if Bock's turn had been saved for the end of the AWA Heenan era in 1984, he still would have been way more over than Rick Martel, the white-bread babyface who inexplicably got a face title run with the belt for a year and a half when Gagne was doubling down on pure scientific wrestling in the face of Vince's looming "sports entertainment" empire.
4. Arn Anderson (circa 1991-1992). Another admission -- I am a tremendous Double A mark. But I think that if you look back at Gene and Ole Anderson in the 1970s or Ole and Arn in the 1980s, they almost fell into that cult face classification in that there were a lot of fans who cheered because of their toughness and greatness. Picture Arn as a "lone wolf" tweener-type face battling the Dangerous Alliance and holding them off for the World Title. Picture Arn doing battle with Big Van Vader during the behemoth's heyday. WCW probably could not have gained on WWF at that time no matter what they tried, but Arn Anderson riding the cheers of the crowd all the way to the top certainly would have been outside the box -- and there was no more public acclaim for a Ron Simmons title run then than there was for an Arn championship opportunity.
5. Finlay (circa 2007). The crowds are reacting well to Finlay in his role as a newly-turned face as part of the "Littlest McMahon" storyline. But I have long maintained that his tough-guy style, which has faint elements of a 1996-97 Steve Austin flair to it, would be massively over if he were going against the bad guys. When Smackdown was suffering the period of countless main event injuries last year, could they really have done worse than to try Finlay on top as a babyface? The question answers itself -- this is a company that wasted several months on The Great Khali as a monster heel champion when they didn't even trust him to wrestle an important pay-per-view match the previous year.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Free Tony Bruno!
By Rick Morris
Tony Bruno is no longer performing his daily talk show on Sporting News Radio. He will be under contract for a few more months, but has been pulled from the air pending expiration of his contract.
As somebody who's been with SportsTalkNetwork.com for almost five years (well, four years and ten months), I can legitimately say that he's been the biggest influence on my work. I don't consciously imitate anyone, I'm too much of an individualist for that, but you can definitely tell that I'm a fan by some of the traits he has that I try to incorporate in my own way. Specifically, he's not afraid to try to inject humor and goofiness into sports discussions (and unlike most hosts, he understands that some of the best comedic material can come from making yourself the butt of some jokes), but also, he will show you his deep level of knowledge from time to time and not adhere to any radio "norms" about dumbing topics down for the audience.
I heard Bruno for the first time in the early '90s when he and Chuck Wilson were doing their awesome nightly show during the early days of ESPN radio. Wilson had a straight-laced, wholesome persona that meshed so well with Bruno, the smartass from Philly. So many shows try too hard to come up with an "Odd Couple" pairing and few ever work because it's hard not to sound contrived. Bruno and Wilson worked because, like truly great entertainers, they didn't try to force anything. They were simply themselves and they let their stylistic differences speak for themselves without trying too hard to call attention to them. In so doing, in a strange kind of way, they blended perfectly and just had incredible chemistry. To this day, when I talk radio with people, I always mention the pairing of Tony Bruno and Chuck Wilson and anyone who remembers them always agrees with me about how great they were together. Bruno's subsequent solo shows over the years have been outstanding as well, as he has worked well with anyone assigned to him.
I've done many shows during my time with STN, but one of my fondest programs was the first one I was on, Reality Check. Proving what a small world it really is, my old high school friend Dave Adams was one-third of the crew, along with our friend Ron Glasenapp and myself. Ron was the lead host and performed more of a neutral bus-steering type role on the show. As it happened, Dave has somewhat of a Chuck Wilson-type personality and as I mentioned, I have some tendencies toward a Bruno-type style. Our chemistry was really great together, and I felt it was a fitting tribute to that old ESPN radio program, when the hosts just clicked together so effortlessly just being themselves.
In a business increasingly hard to succeed in without being a corporate guy who fits a certain mold, Bruno is again going to be looking for a national platform for his great skills. You can keep up with his efforts in the meantime at his personal website and on his message board. He's not bashing Sporting News Radio at either place, so despite my frustration with the fact that I am deprived from listening to his program, I won't either. I will, however, in the spirit of the headline to this column, appeal to the Powers That Be at Sporting News Radio to reach a settlement with Mr. Bruno that will allow him to get on with his professional career as soon as possible. Like most of his fans, I feel it's the least they can do for him.
Tony Bruno is no longer performing his daily talk show on Sporting News Radio. He will be under contract for a few more months, but has been pulled from the air pending expiration of his contract.
As somebody who's been with SportsTalkNetwork.com for almost five years (well, four years and ten months), I can legitimately say that he's been the biggest influence on my work. I don't consciously imitate anyone, I'm too much of an individualist for that, but you can definitely tell that I'm a fan by some of the traits he has that I try to incorporate in my own way. Specifically, he's not afraid to try to inject humor and goofiness into sports discussions (and unlike most hosts, he understands that some of the best comedic material can come from making yourself the butt of some jokes), but also, he will show you his deep level of knowledge from time to time and not adhere to any radio "norms" about dumbing topics down for the audience.
I heard Bruno for the first time in the early '90s when he and Chuck Wilson were doing their awesome nightly show during the early days of ESPN radio. Wilson had a straight-laced, wholesome persona that meshed so well with Bruno, the smartass from Philly. So many shows try too hard to come up with an "Odd Couple" pairing and few ever work because it's hard not to sound contrived. Bruno and Wilson worked because, like truly great entertainers, they didn't try to force anything. They were simply themselves and they let their stylistic differences speak for themselves without trying too hard to call attention to them. In so doing, in a strange kind of way, they blended perfectly and just had incredible chemistry. To this day, when I talk radio with people, I always mention the pairing of Tony Bruno and Chuck Wilson and anyone who remembers them always agrees with me about how great they were together. Bruno's subsequent solo shows over the years have been outstanding as well, as he has worked well with anyone assigned to him.
I've done many shows during my time with STN, but one of my fondest programs was the first one I was on, Reality Check. Proving what a small world it really is, my old high school friend Dave Adams was one-third of the crew, along with our friend Ron Glasenapp and myself. Ron was the lead host and performed more of a neutral bus-steering type role on the show. As it happened, Dave has somewhat of a Chuck Wilson-type personality and as I mentioned, I have some tendencies toward a Bruno-type style. Our chemistry was really great together, and I felt it was a fitting tribute to that old ESPN radio program, when the hosts just clicked together so effortlessly just being themselves.
In a business increasingly hard to succeed in without being a corporate guy who fits a certain mold, Bruno is again going to be looking for a national platform for his great skills. You can keep up with his efforts in the meantime at his personal website and on his message board. He's not bashing Sporting News Radio at either place, so despite my frustration with the fact that I am deprived from listening to his program, I won't either. I will, however, in the spirit of the headline to this column, appeal to the Powers That Be at Sporting News Radio to reach a settlement with Mr. Bruno that will allow him to get on with his professional career as soon as possible. Like most of his fans, I feel it's the least they can do for him.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Evaluating coaches fairly
By Rick Morris
The contract extension given to Mike Brown and the proposed extension on the table for Romeo Crennel have caused a great deal of heartburn among Cleveland sports fans. My amusement at the reaction of the general public led me to reexamine how fans tend to evaluate coaches purely on the surface.
To me, Cleveland is unique on the sports landscape right now in that it has three coach/manager figures who are so much alike. Brown, Crennel and Eric Wedge all have very low-key public personas. All are in their first go-round in leadership positions at the highest level and all are very interesting in having one common element: their weaknesses are much more evident than their strengths.
Spend five minutes listening to any Cleveland terrestrial radio show (often a painful experience on the ears) and you'll hear a multitude of complaints: "Wedge's teams don't bunt enough -- and don't grasp the fundamentals!" "What poor excuse for a rotation is Brown using these days -- and why doesn't he have a semblance of an offensive system?" "Crennel can't manage a replay situation or clock management to save his life!"
All are valid points.
But all have had a nice measure of success in town, much more than any of their immediate predecessors. All are clearly doing a great amount right.
But, as much as I watch all of their teams, even I can't point to much that is evident.
None are flashy X's and O's tacticians like Tony LaRussa or Mike Martz. None are wild disciplinarians like Tom Coughlin or Larry Bowa. When things are going well with each of the Cleveland franchises, you rarely if ever hear about what the manager or coach is doing.
Does that mean that we should discount the positive side of the ledger for these men? Hardly.
All have the respect of their teams and have demonstrated the ability to manage conflicts and keep the difficulties that all franchises face in-house. All of them must manage rosters that are not as talented top-to-bottom as the rosy-glass fanbase wants to believe. They excel in the quiet areas of their jobs, which do not come close in the public mind (which values only the obvious and surface-level traits) to balancing out their deficiencies.
I do not mind criticism of these men and have been known on SportsTalkNetwork.com programs to make specific points to that effect. But I am always mindful of the big picture and the respect that these men deserve on balance for leading these teams out of the muck and the mire that they were bogged down in just a few years ago. There is absolutely nothing wrong with informed criticism of sports figures, but let's try to keep it a bit more fair and balanced as Rupert Murdoch might say.
The contract extension given to Mike Brown and the proposed extension on the table for Romeo Crennel have caused a great deal of heartburn among Cleveland sports fans. My amusement at the reaction of the general public led me to reexamine how fans tend to evaluate coaches purely on the surface.
To me, Cleveland is unique on the sports landscape right now in that it has three coach/manager figures who are so much alike. Brown, Crennel and Eric Wedge all have very low-key public personas. All are in their first go-round in leadership positions at the highest level and all are very interesting in having one common element: their weaknesses are much more evident than their strengths.
Spend five minutes listening to any Cleveland terrestrial radio show (often a painful experience on the ears) and you'll hear a multitude of complaints: "Wedge's teams don't bunt enough -- and don't grasp the fundamentals!" "What poor excuse for a rotation is Brown using these days -- and why doesn't he have a semblance of an offensive system?" "Crennel can't manage a replay situation or clock management to save his life!"
All are valid points.
But all have had a nice measure of success in town, much more than any of their immediate predecessors. All are clearly doing a great amount right.
But, as much as I watch all of their teams, even I can't point to much that is evident.
None are flashy X's and O's tacticians like Tony LaRussa or Mike Martz. None are wild disciplinarians like Tom Coughlin or Larry Bowa. When things are going well with each of the Cleveland franchises, you rarely if ever hear about what the manager or coach is doing.
Does that mean that we should discount the positive side of the ledger for these men? Hardly.
All have the respect of their teams and have demonstrated the ability to manage conflicts and keep the difficulties that all franchises face in-house. All of them must manage rosters that are not as talented top-to-bottom as the rosy-glass fanbase wants to believe. They excel in the quiet areas of their jobs, which do not come close in the public mind (which values only the obvious and surface-level traits) to balancing out their deficiencies.
I do not mind criticism of these men and have been known on SportsTalkNetwork.com programs to make specific points to that effect. But I am always mindful of the big picture and the respect that these men deserve on balance for leading these teams out of the muck and the mire that they were bogged down in just a few years ago. There is absolutely nothing wrong with informed criticism of sports figures, but let's try to keep it a bit more fair and balanced as Rupert Murdoch might say.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Do you have bad sports takes?
By Rick Morris
EDIT: The poster from the SportsTalkNetwork.com referred to in this post for poor sports takes has withdrawn from the message board and has requested that the critique of his takes come down. That's only fair, since nobody's being subjected to said takes anymore. Never let it be said I don't have a heart of gold.
EDIT: The poster from the SportsTalkNetwork.com referred to in this post for poor sports takes has withdrawn from the message board and has requested that the critique of his takes come down. That's only fair, since nobody's being subjected to said takes anymore. Never let it be said I don't have a heart of gold.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
I'm flattered, but really ...
By Rick Morris
What a surreal experience -- logging on to the blog of my friends and SportsTalkNetwork.com associates and finding this headline.
My good friend Tony Mazur apparently credits me for getting him to see the light on just what a fraud Mitt Romney really is and he praised me in extravagant, albeit tongue-in-cheek fashion. But, no I am not actually God, thank you very much! My detractors, and I think I've picked up a few more this week, are probably doing a spit-take at their computers at the very thought of it. The Real God is actually doing a great job, although you'd never know it to hear some of my ingratitude from time to time. I hope He sees fit to spare our country a Romney administration, but He knows what He is doing much better than I do and if that's our country's cross to bear, so to speak, we'll bear it. The one thing I do know about God is that He does not care much for false prophets and cults, if you're picking up what I'm putting down. But I'm not making that comment in relation to the presidential race. Nope. That was apropos of nothing. Just a random observation ...
What a surreal experience -- logging on to the blog of my friends and SportsTalkNetwork.com associates and finding this headline.
My good friend Tony Mazur apparently credits me for getting him to see the light on just what a fraud Mitt Romney really is and he praised me in extravagant, albeit tongue-in-cheek fashion. But, no I am not actually God, thank you very much! My detractors, and I think I've picked up a few more this week, are probably doing a spit-take at their computers at the very thought of it. The Real God is actually doing a great job, although you'd never know it to hear some of my ingratitude from time to time. I hope He sees fit to spare our country a Romney administration, but He knows what He is doing much better than I do and if that's our country's cross to bear, so to speak, we'll bear it. The one thing I do know about God is that He does not care much for false prophets and cults, if you're picking up what I'm putting down. But I'm not making that comment in relation to the presidential race. Nope. That was apropos of nothing. Just a random observation ...
Thursday, November 15, 2007
The myth of CC Sabathia
By Rick Morris
Since the Cy Young Award is based purely on the regular season, it's defensible for the baseball writers to have given the American League honors to CC Sabathia. While I probably would have voted for Josh Beckett, it seems to me a very close call that could have gone either way.
But for the Sabathia homers who claim that he has grown up into an automatic shut-down ace and that the postseason represented an aberration from the level he has reached -- think again.
In response to the inane talking points about CC not winning 20 games SOLELY because of the admittedly poor run support he received, recently on SportsTalkNetwork.com, I cited from memory numerous examples of Sabathia having coughed up leads and costing the team games. Because I don't like to go purely on anecdotal evidence, I went to the trouble of substantiating these examples, courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.
^ July 29: He gives up a 1-0 lead to Minnesota, team loses 4-1.
^ August 8: He gives up a 1-0 lead to Chicago, team loses 6-4.
^ August 14: He gives up a 2-0 first-inning lead to Detroit, team loses 6-2.
^ August 19: He gives up a 2-1 lead to Tampa Bay, team loses 4-3.
And all of these examples were within a month! It should be noted that none of the opposing lineups bore any resemblance to the '27 Yankees, either.
Now, not every ace wins every game. But pitchers with the assassin mentality win these games more often than not. Look no further than the same pitching staff. You'd have to manually disembowel Fausto Carmona to affect him mentally, and even then he'd keep coming back at you!
Just keep this in mind when CC's record gets whitewashed by the usual apologists in Cleveland.
Since the Cy Young Award is based purely on the regular season, it's defensible for the baseball writers to have given the American League honors to CC Sabathia. While I probably would have voted for Josh Beckett, it seems to me a very close call that could have gone either way.
But for the Sabathia homers who claim that he has grown up into an automatic shut-down ace and that the postseason represented an aberration from the level he has reached -- think again.
In response to the inane talking points about CC not winning 20 games SOLELY because of the admittedly poor run support he received, recently on SportsTalkNetwork.com, I cited from memory numerous examples of Sabathia having coughed up leads and costing the team games. Because I don't like to go purely on anecdotal evidence, I went to the trouble of substantiating these examples, courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.
^ July 29: He gives up a 1-0 lead to Minnesota, team loses 4-1.
^ August 8: He gives up a 1-0 lead to Chicago, team loses 6-4.
^ August 14: He gives up a 2-0 first-inning lead to Detroit, team loses 6-2.
^ August 19: He gives up a 2-1 lead to Tampa Bay, team loses 4-3.
And all of these examples were within a month! It should be noted that none of the opposing lineups bore any resemblance to the '27 Yankees, either.
Now, not every ace wins every game. But pitchers with the assassin mentality win these games more often than not. Look no further than the same pitching staff. You'd have to manually disembowel Fausto Carmona to affect him mentally, and even then he'd keep coming back at you!
Just keep this in mind when CC's record gets whitewashed by the usual apologists in Cleveland.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Ankiel revelations heartbreaking
By Rick Morris
Last month, I wrote a tribute to Rick Ankiel, the outfielder from the St. Louis Cardinals with one of this year's most inspirational stories. A phenom pitcher who fell apart suddenly and shockingly in 2000, he reinvented himself as a slugging outfielder and burst on the major league scene this summer with a second act the likes of which few of us ever see.
Now, sadly, we may know how this story materialized, and it's not the feel-good story we all perceived.
The New York Daily News reported today that Ankiel received HGH from a Florida pharmacy under federal investigation. If he committed the actions revealed in the report, and it appears strongly that he did, then he traded his soul and his integrity for a quick fix on his way back to the bigs.
To give credit where it is due, I must admit that my former SportsTalkNetwork.com colleague Nick Despones told me he was convinced Ankiel was on something illicit to help in his comeback. I laughed him off, so needless to say he texted me and called me today to rub it in that he was right.
It pains me that he probably was right, and as such, I'm not going to defend Ankiel in the same manner that hateful, race-obsessed idiots went to the mat for Michael Vick. I denounced Vick, so I denounce Ankiel if indeed what appears true is indeed true. I hope that everyone else who advocated penalties for Vick does so for Ankiel so that we can put an end to the vile lie of "You wouldn't be saying this if it was a white boy that did it."
Last month, I wrote a tribute to Rick Ankiel, the outfielder from the St. Louis Cardinals with one of this year's most inspirational stories. A phenom pitcher who fell apart suddenly and shockingly in 2000, he reinvented himself as a slugging outfielder and burst on the major league scene this summer with a second act the likes of which few of us ever see.
Now, sadly, we may know how this story materialized, and it's not the feel-good story we all perceived.
The New York Daily News reported today that Ankiel received HGH from a Florida pharmacy under federal investigation. If he committed the actions revealed in the report, and it appears strongly that he did, then he traded his soul and his integrity for a quick fix on his way back to the bigs.
To give credit where it is due, I must admit that my former SportsTalkNetwork.com colleague Nick Despones told me he was convinced Ankiel was on something illicit to help in his comeback. I laughed him off, so needless to say he texted me and called me today to rub it in that he was right.
It pains me that he probably was right, and as such, I'm not going to defend Ankiel in the same manner that hateful, race-obsessed idiots went to the mat for Michael Vick. I denounced Vick, so I denounce Ankiel if indeed what appears true is indeed true. I hope that everyone else who advocated penalties for Vick does so for Ankiel so that we can put an end to the vile lie of "You wouldn't be saying this if it was a white boy that did it."
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Summerslam liveblogging tonight
By Rick Morris
As mentioned previously on the Lounge blog, we are not producing our 15th live program tonight -- rather, that will be held September 9 at the usual time with this week's show being made up on September 16 before resuming the live every-other-week format. However, in the interest of throwing a bone to regular listeners of the show on Sunday nights and an extra bone to the substantial percentage of wrestling fans in our audience, we will be liveblogging Summerslam here on the Lounge blog tonight. SportsTalkNetwork.com President and FDH Lounge Dignitary Paul Belfi is ordering the pay-per-view at his humble abode and has recently added wireless service there, so we'll be suffering through what looks to be a horrible show to bring our takes to you live. As our Senior Editor Jason Jones, currently vacationing out of town, texted me yesterday when apprised of our plans: "Better you than me!"
As mentioned previously on the Lounge blog, we are not producing our 15th live program tonight -- rather, that will be held September 9 at the usual time with this week's show being made up on September 16 before resuming the live every-other-week format. However, in the interest of throwing a bone to regular listeners of the show on Sunday nights and an extra bone to the substantial percentage of wrestling fans in our audience, we will be liveblogging Summerslam here on the Lounge blog tonight. SportsTalkNetwork.com President and FDH Lounge Dignitary Paul Belfi is ordering the pay-per-view at his humble abode and has recently added wireless service there, so we'll be suffering through what looks to be a horrible show to bring our takes to you live. As our Senior Editor Jason Jones, currently vacationing out of town, texted me yesterday when apprised of our plans: "Better you than me!"
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Next FDH Lounge program postponed
By Rick Morris
We've got a quick programming note for you here. Due to the vagaries of summer vacation schedules, we will have key Dignitaries unavailable this Sunday night when we were to bring you the 15th live edition of The FDH Lounge on SportsTalkNetwork.com. As such, we'll be back with the 15th show on our regularly scheduled date of Sunday, September 9, then we'll bring you a bonus show on September 16 before resuming the live every-other-week format.
We've got a quick programming note for you here. Due to the vagaries of summer vacation schedules, we will have key Dignitaries unavailable this Sunday night when we were to bring you the 15th live edition of The FDH Lounge on SportsTalkNetwork.com. As such, we'll be back with the 15th show on our regularly scheduled date of Sunday, September 9, then we'll bring you a bonus show on September 16 before resuming the live every-other-week format.
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