49ers, Montana, Walsh

I don't know why I feel compelled to write this... but a couple days ago, we were trying to figure out greatest NFL quarterbacks, and of course, Joe Montana came up. I don't know if everyone remembers this, but when Montana led the 49ers to their improbable Super Bowl victory in 1981, no one had ever heard of the West Coast offense before. We've certainly heard a lot about it since.... I mean those things just didn't happen in those days. Throughout the '70s, the NFL was basically controlled by a handful of teams, the Steelers, Dolphins, Cowboys, Rams, Vikings, Raiders, and Rams. The Broncos and Redskins I think each snuck into the Super Bowl once, but they were always solid, good playoff contending teams. The 49ers and Montana, well, they came out of nowhere. They went from back-to-back 2-14 seasons (one of which they didn't even have a first-round pick after because they traded it to the Bills for O.J.) to 6-10, to Super Bowl champions. After that, they were pretty much a power for the next 20 years. When you come from such humble beginnings to achieve such great heights, people take notice, which is what they did of 49ers coach Bill Walsh and his West Coast offense. Some form of this offense is now probably used by at least half the teams in the league. But at that time...

Well, at that time, it was all about establishing the run, then throwing deep off the play action. All the aforementioned power teams of the '70s had great power running games. The West Coast offense turned the accepted offensive theory of the day on its head. It established the short passing game first and used that to open up the run. And, Montana, who was a third-round pick because he didn't have the classic big arm needed to throw the long ball, acceled in the accuracy-driven West Coast system.

In three years, he went from rookie back-up, to being a starter halfway through his second year, to a Super Bowl champion. And the 'Niners never looked back. In fact, it was the rest of the league that was looking ahead and them and saw the future.

Obviously, Montana excelled in the West Coast offense, but he was also kind of the right guy, in the right place, at the right time. Suppose Tampa Bay had taken him two picks earlier, instead of the erstwhile Rick Berns, a halfback from Nebraska, who I don't remember if he ever played a single down in the NFL? Would San Francisco have taken hometown kid Steve Dils from Stanford, who ended up going to the Vikes in the 4th round, and tried to run the West Coast offense through him? And as Montana settled into the kind of mediocrity that plagued Archie Manning with the Saints, would Dils have emerged as a superstar? These are the kind of questions that kill me.

Anyways, suffice to say that Walsh and Montana were certainly a breath of fresh air in 1981 and that the NFL has not been the same since. The only thing I can compare it to is when the Bears unveiled the Wing-T in the 1940 NFL Championship game and whupped the Redskins, a team they had lost to only a couple weeks earlier, 73-0. Reportedly, soon after that, everyone else in the league had their own version of the Wing-T.

That's about it. Long live the 49ers and the glorious days of Joe Montana.

Ralph

Ricky Williams

Part of me is hoping that Ricky Williams can make a comeback in the NFL. At the same time, he seems to like the ganja too much to gain reinstatement.

It makes me wonder---is he the only guy in the NFL that smokes weed? That seems absurd. Why isn't anyone else in trouble over marijuana?

And don't some of these guys take steroids? What's the deal with that? Suspend a guy for smoking joints, but injection with a needle is okay? How does that work?

Then there is the NBA. From what I've heard, NBA players are notorious for smoking pot. I believe my hero, Robert Parish, sampled it once or twice (among many others).

Does the NBA look away from this problem? I don't know, but it seems like the NFL is singling out Ricky Williams for some reason. Maybe he's too public about it.

Pundits think he might go to Tampa Bay, if reinstated.

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

Bill-Cowboys

Opening line is Cowboys by 10. This seems like an awful lot for a Monday home game and the Bills have covered both their previous home dates. Granted, it is Wade Philip's chance to gain some revenge on a team that fired him - very unjustly it appears in retrospect, seven years ago. Heck, he made the playoffs two out of three years, and the Bills haven't made the playoff since! Anyhow, I think 10 is a bit much, and I expect the Bills to give the Cowboys a battle before collapsing in the fourth quarter and losing by 7-8.


Ralph

"Editor"

I read recently that the sponsors of Roman gladiators were called "editors." I'm not sure I buy that, but it might be true. I haven't been able to confirm it through a second source.

This is from Oxford English Dictionary:

Editor
1 a person who is in charge of a newspaper, magazine, or multi-author book.
2 a person who commissions written texts for publication.
3 a person who prepares texts or recorded material for publication or broadcasting.
— DERIVATIVES editorship noun.
— ORIGIN Latin, from "edere" meaning to ‘put out’.

Then, I found this NY Times Article from 1915 that discusses the use of the term in various publications. Interesting.

I want to learn where this word originally comes from.

DDDDD

Great Plays (and Players) in the NFL

I didn't watch a lot of football yesterday, but--based on the plays that I did see--I am happy to report that the quality of the game seems to be sky-high. There were some amazing plays!

First, to Ralph's obvious pleasure, Terrence McGee continues to amaze. I watched him knock down a pass that appeared to be 15 feet in the air; his timing was perfect. Then he picked a pass to win the game. Good work.

I didn't see the Vikings loss to the Packers, but I did see a highlight of a Vikes receiver catching a ball over a defender...it was all hands. Really nice.

Then there were some amazing passes: Big Ben threw a couple of nice TD passes yesterday; one was a bomb and the other was a dart. Both very strong. Too bad Whisenhunt has the Steelers' number...

And Brett Favre, what can you say? I love that guy. Even though he slices and dices my Vikings, I still root for him. He is definitely in my top five QBs of all time.

Speaking of top QBs, Caesar Contraras has posted a useful Top Ten List. Check it out and see if you agree.

My top five would be:

1. Montana
2. Favre
3. Marino
4. Manning
5. Elway

Sorry, Fran Tarkenton...

I'm sure there were other great plays on Sunday, I can't account for all of them. I'm just happy to see the athletes excelling at this point in the season.

It's only going to get better.

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

French Creek State Park

We went camping this weekend at French Creek State Park. Nice place: 7,500 overall acres, 30 miles of hiking trails, and two lakes.

We slept, hiked, ate sloppy joes, meditated, and watched the faces in the fire. The park is only 42 miles from our apartment, so it is easy for us.

We plan to visit Philly and NYC in the near future. We are also supposed to visit Shimmons in DC sometime soon.

That's the big benefit of living here on the East Coast: everything it relatively close. Philly is less than an hour, NYC is about an hour and a half, DC is about three hours, the ocean is 80 miles, and the Poconos are an hour away. Now we just need the time to check it all out.

I'll keep you posted.

DDDDDD

More Yankees

Rick Sayers, the executive editor over at the Times-News has an interesting perspective on what it's like to be a Yankees fan, especially in an office full of Indians' lovers. Sayers does come off a bit high-handed with comments like "Yankees fans are a special breed." "Winning isn't the first thing, it's the only thing for the Yankees." "When they win, we celebrate their greatness." There's nothing better than being a Yankees fan."

In fact, the first time I read through this column, I almost felt like cheering for the Indians in the upcoming playoff series. Then, I rationalized that I might be being a bit hard on Mr. Sayers. I assume at least part of this is tongue-in-cheek, just to get the goat of the Tribe fans down at the paper. Isn't it?

After all, it's kind of a beautiful metaphor if you think about it: all these proletariat Tribe fans being forced to cowtow to their boss, this monstrously arrogant Yankee fan. And even if the Indians should knock off the Yankees this year in the playoffs, in the long-run they don't stand a chance, because George Steinbrenner will stop at nothing then to get 6-foot-seven lefty C.C. Sabathia in pinstripes. And when the Indians return to the bottom of the heap, due to having fewer resources than a monstrousity like the corporate Yankees, C.C. will be parading down Wall Street after the Yankees win their 40th World Series.... or something like that.

Anyhow, it appears the playoff series will actually start on Thursday, not Wed. as I originally stated in my blog. They implemented a new rule this year than enables the team with the best record in the league to pick the playoff schedule they want to follow. Instead of picking the Thursday start, like most people thought they would, the Red Sox went with the Wed. start. Starting times are not determined yet, however, as the N.L. still has to complete its Wild Card playoff.

Two other stories from today's GoErie site that really sucked:
This woman dying becuase she was late for a plane and US Air wouldn't let her on. I've been there before, but forutnately, my temper didn't escalate far enough to get be arrested, although I can easily see how that could happen.
This hit and run driver really messed two people up at 26th and Hazel last night around 10 p.m.

That's about it for now.

Ralph

Bill-Jets

Well, it's early (and we're playing the Jets), but the Bills are at least moving the ball against the Jets, making first downs, and keeping the defense off the field a little bit. The sustained drive is something we have failed miserably at through the first three games. Maybe Trent Edwards is going to be the Man in Buffalo at QB.

Midway through the 3Q, Bills just scored on a run by rookie Marshawn Lynch, the tough kid from Cal (funny, Edwards is a rookie from Stanford, and our coach is from Yale, and GM from Harvard). Bills up 7-0 and actually have more first downs than the Jets, after running up a 35-74 deficit in this categorey over the past three weeks.

Jets came down and scored to tie it up, Pennington (Jets QB from Marshall) is clutch like that. (He's no Morelli.) But Bills answered with a solid drive and a field goal 10-7. Plus, we're still leading in first downs. Whoopie. We might have a chance hear without having to rely totally on luck, as we were hoping for in the opener vs. the Broncos.

Halfway through the fourth quarter, Bills get stuffed on the one on third down, after an interception and facemask call on the Jets give the Bills the ball deep in New York territory. Bills are going for the field goal. As a fan, I was going to say I was agains this, but the Bills changed up, as I'm typing this (following a timeout)- and end up going for it, and scored on a play action fake - Edwards to Gaines, this new tight-end we picked up who has made a few plays. Bills lead 17-7. I guess fans can be right sometimes!

Jets, of course, march right down in score in about three minutes. Even with the time-of-possession and first d0wn advantage (which has now disappeared) our defense is gassed in the fourth quarter - again! Now we've got to see if we can get a couple more first downs to close it out. Should be interesting.

Well, that sucks, Bills went three-and-out. Had a third-and-three after two decent runs, and then threw it. Pass was broken up. No first down, clock stops. Double-sucky-whammy. We have a great punter who got it down field to the 25. Jets have to go like 50 yards to kick and tie it.
-Jets completion for 11 yards
- Jets completion for 4 yards (clock running)
-Jets completion for 2 yards (clock running :52 seconds, tick, tick)
-Third-and-five, swing pass, for gain of one (27 seconds left, Jets call final TO)
-Fourth and three at Jets 44-yard-line. First down near mid-field (21 second left, clock stops top move the chains... must have gone out of bounds)
- Incomplete pass on first down (17 seconds left)
- Second and 10 at the 50, caought and out-of-bounds at Bills 40. That sucks. We let them complete the out. Jets do have a big leg kicker (11 seconds left)
- from shotgun, INTERCEPTION - Terrance Magee - he's a player.

BILLS FINALLY WIN ONE!

Wade Philips and Cowboys coming in next Monday.

Yankees-Indians

Let the Yankee-hating begin. The Bronx Bombers will be opening their 2007 playoffs against none other than the Cleveland Indians, down the road at Jacobs Field. First game match-up looks like a good one, with Yankees 19-game winner Chien-Ming Wang (yeah, he last name is Wang, but pronounced Waung) going against Indians Cy Young-candidate C.C. Sabathia. Interestingly enough, Sabathia, a 6-foot-seven, hefty left-hander, has barely pitched against the Yankees in his career. Obviously, he's a helluva pitcher, having thrown 241 innings this year, striking out 209 and walking only 37. A two-to-one strikeout-to-walk ratio is usually considered good. The Indians have also won his last six starts, with C.C. picking up wins in five of them.

The Yankees hitters are famously patient, but it doesn't appear that will do them much good vs. C.C. And, of course, having a heavily left-handed team designed to accel at Yankee Stadium won't help much either. Lefties have hit only .203 vs. Sabathia this year. In the Yankees favor, however, is the fact that A-Rod is right-handed.

Other Yankee positives, I think, are that Jacobs field is a power hitters' park and the Yankees led the league in home runs. Also, Wang is a sinker-baller, and if he keeps it down, the Tribe will be pressed to generate offense.

The weather report looks promising with temperatures in the '70s all week, so this should enable the teams to play mid-season-form ball, instead of the much colder, pitching-heavy version of the game that I call Fall Ball. Anyhow, I look for the Yanks and Wang to pull an upset in game one and come away with a 4-3 win.

Check back with me on Thursday.

Ralph

Koehler Landmark

I've pretty much held off saying anything about this Koehler site development stuff because I have a friend that's involved with it. The the letter to the editor that appeared in today's Erie-Times regarding it was kind of amusing. I guess the thing that gets me is the bemoaning of that fact that an "Erie landmark" was destroyed. If old, crumbling, deserted buildings pass for landmarks in this town (and remember the developers reportedly tried to save the building until is was found to be structureally unsound), well let's just say, we are desparetely in need of some re-development. Does anyone realize that the Niagra has been rebuilt like three times and that the current version doesn't contain any of the original materials. Yeah, it's kind of cool to be nostalgic, but stuff gets old and broken down, and sometimes we need to move on.

Speaking of which, the Yankees 20-year-old pitcher Philip Hughes threw six strong innings last night, albiet against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Torre has already announced that Wang and Pettite will start the first two games of the playoffs, and Clemens, assuming he's healthy will likely go the third game. The fourth game will then likely fall to either Hughes or Mussina, who starts tonight. Should be fun.

Ralph

Foust Plan

I think City leaders have to be crapping their pants over this recent proposal by Erie County Councilman Kyle Foust to give the city some $23 million basically for control of the aiport, EMTA, the Zoo, and Erie Golf Course. Clearly, Erie needs the money, but they would be asked to give up control of some of their biggest assets. It would quite a transition of power, but one, in my opinion that needs to get done.

We've been discussing the benefits of a regional government for some years now, and I don't see anything bad about pooling more resources, the region, toward one common goal of a healhy economic community. More people and more resources simply get more things done when working together, than several splinter groups.

Yeah, the city has held a position of power for many years, but (as Dylan says) "Times, they are achangin'." The tax base is moving out to the County, so the County needs to seize control. I know it will be painful for people on City Council (and probably the mayor's office too) to deal with, giving up some of the power they've worked so hard to obtain (you can see some of this in Jenkins' quote in the artcle), but like Nietzsche says, the most honorable thing you can do is give yourself up for the Overman and the greater good, and it's time for the City to capitulate to the County.

I'm not saying Foust is offering the perfect deal, as with all deals there is probably some negotiating that needs to be done to get the City a bigger piece of the pie than what is now on the table. But Foust's concept is sound. Didn't I say yesterday we need to focus on the Airport and Golf Course is we want to attract tourists? EMTA and the Zoo also follow under the same categorey (I think EMTA does at least).

I say we need to move forward with Foust's plan as a step toward a regional government. Let's see what happens.

Cheers.

Ralph

Yankees apologist

I always feel I am defending the Yankees, maybe because I have a guilty consious, or maybe just because people around here seem to hate them. At least the Indians have a better record than the New York-based Evil Empire this year, so that has kept their fans mostly quiet. Although with a New York-Cleveland first-round playoff series looming, it could get ugly if the Yankees win. (I might want to take down that flag I put up last week.) Anyhow, I still here it from Pirate fans how the Yankees are ruining baseball by buying their way into the playoffs every year.

However, this theory would seem to be in contrast with this article that appeared in today's paper, saying that the game is healthier than ever, and in fact, there is more parity than ever.

My basic Yankees aplogogist tenent has been that the Yankees have always bought their way to the top, so they're not ruining anything, rather they are just continuing the tradition of how the professional version of the National Pastime has always been played out. Granted, making the playoffs 13 years in a row is a team records, but it's not that far of a cry from the period of 1949-1964 when the Yankees made the playoffs 14 out of 16 years, and finished second and third the other two years... mearning under today's expanded playoff structure, they likely would have made the playoffs 16 years in a row, and maybe 18 or 19 if you go back to 1947 and/or 1946, because they finished third in 1948, first in '47 and third in '46. If you're really liberal and let a fourth place finish in 1945 slide in, you could say, that if the top four teams in each league always make the playoffs (as conceivably they could today), the Yankees could have conceivably made the playoffs everty year from 1926 to 1964, which is almost 40 straight years.

Just something to think about.

Regards,

Ralph

Yankees clinch?

Sounds like the Yanks area about to clinch a playoff spot tonight for I think the 11th straight year, does that sound right? Since 1995, the year before Torre started, which was also Don Mattingly's last year. The Big Unit, an old nemisis (unfortunately, he remained a nemisis even after we signed him) and his Mariners knocked us out of the playoffs that year. Been in every year since. I guess that's a pretty incredible string, even if you have the highest payroll this side of the Itatian Premier League. However, I might add that the Cowboys, Raiders, Vikings, and Rams all seemed like they had similar streaks in the NFL back when I was a kid. Sooner or later that Yankees will falter won't they. I mean the Bills made four straight Super Bowls and look at them now.

Anyhow, I'm trying to catch the game on WCBS, but because of the rain, the reception blows. I heard the end of a Cano home run that "broke it open." I think their up like 12-1.

Read an intersting column today, don't remember where, the suggested a wild-card play-in round be added to give teams some incentive for winning the division. However, I really don't think we need an extra round of playoffs, seeing how the World Series is already bumping up near the beginning of November. I love baseball and all, but as I said before, we're really starting to get into football season.

Cheers.

Ralph

Airport runway

Slow night in sports, so I'll turn to some local news. You know, you read stories about millions of dollars in government funding being spent on projects that don't make any sense. For example, there is this piece about $2 million being spent to beef up marketing and research associated with PA wines. I don't know about you, but I've tried many and really haven't been able to cultivate a tatse for PA wines. So, maybe the money will be well spent, but I don't know, can't we just leave the wine industry to Napa Valley, where they already know what they're doing?

Anyhow, I just wanted to point out that of all the government funded projects, the expansion of the runway at the Erie Airport seems to make the most sense, yet we seem to having a helluva time getting it done. My most basic logic goes like this: If you are going to invest 100s of millions of dollars in maknig this place a tourism center - and there is still lots of work to be done in that area - you could at least make sure you're airport is capable of getting people here.

It looks like the plans for this runway expansion continue, but that fact that there is still questions about whether or not this gets done really irks me. In my opinion, this should be like priority number one (that and re-opening Erie Golf Course) is we really want to execute on our vaunted tourism strategy.

I'm not sure who this R. Kingen is, but he put together a great letter to the editor that appears in today's paper, asking for an investigation into some of the delays associated with the runway expansion. He seems to blame the failed German cargo airfield deal as acting as a roadblock because it called for a longer runway than would have been otherwise needed and through some extra kinks in the planning. Anyhow, we need to continue to push to get thing done, no matter what the cost, unless someone has a better vision than the tourism thing....

Cheers.

Ralph

Hound of Heaven

The Blood, Sweat and Tears song reminded me of the Francis Thompson poem "Hound of Heaven." You might want to check it out.

I have also written a poem about being relentlessly pursued (I was in grad school at the time, so it fits). I'll dig it out and post it. You'll get a kick out of it. I modeled it after Poe's "The Raven."

In other news, it's good to see the Steelers go to 3-0 (although rooting for the Vikings is a lot like rooting for the Bills these days, I imagine; seems like they find a way to lose more often than not).

DDDDD

Dyin' and such

Been dealin with some issues lately that have tested my courage. At one point last week, somebody asked me if I wasn't afraid I would get shot. Since then, I've had this ole' Blood, Sweat & Tears tune runnin' through my head. Here's the lyrics:

I'm not scared of dying,
And I don't really care.
If it's peace you find in dying,
Well then let the time be near.
If it's peace you find in dying,
And if dying time is here,
Just bundle up my coffin
'Cause it's cold way down there.
I hear that its cold way down their.
Yeah, crazy cold way down their.

Chorus: And when I die, and when I'm gone,
There'll be one child born
In this world to carry on, to carry on.

Now troubles are many,
they're as deep as a well.
I can swear there ain't no heaven
but I pray there ain't no hell.
Swear there ain't no heaven
and I pray there ain't no hell,
But I'll never know by living,
only my dying will tell.
Yes only my dying will tell.
Yeah, only my dying will tell.

Chorus Give me my freedom for as long as I be.
All I ask of living is to have no chains on me.
All I ask of living is to have no chains on me,
And all I ask of dying is to go naturally.
Oh I want to go naturally.

Here I go,
Hey Hey!
Here comes the devil,
Right Behind.
Look out children,
Here he comes!
Here he comes!
Hey...

Don't want to go by the devil.
Don't want to go by demon.
Don't want to go by Satan,
Don't want to die uneasy.
Just let me go naturally.
and when I die,
When I'm dead, dead and gone,
There'll be one child born in our world to carry on,
To carry on. Yeah, yeah...
(End)

Yeah, I kinda guezz I got three chitlens in this world to carry on for me. But, my ole' friend Beane, that one goes out to you. We used to listen to Blood, Sweat, and Tears Greatest Hits on the 8-track player in his parents ole' Impala back in the mid-'80s. And we sure the hell weren't scared of dyin then either.

Anyhow, carry on.

Ralph

Steelers' coach

Dr. Dee: Thought you'd get a kick out of this quote from new Steelers' coach Mike Tomlin:

"Wednesday's a big day for us. Thursday's a big day for us. It's not just Sunday,'' he said after a 37-16 win over the 49ers made the Steelers (and Tomlin) 3-0. "The journey's what's important, not the destination.'' (lifted it from Peter's King's column on cnnsi.com)

Tomlin was the Vikings D-coordinator before taking the Stillers job.

X

Football weekend

Just on a quick, cursory glance, looks like I'm 14-5 heading into tonight and Joey is 11-8, so that's a good start for dear ole' Dad... Maybe it has something to due with the official arrival of fall, but it sure started to feel like football this weekend up here in Western PA. Despite the fact the, as Dr.D said, baseball is heading down the stretch run (and the Yanks maintained their 1.5 game deficit behind Bosox and 5.5 game lead over Tiggers for wild card), it's hard to resist the strong call of the pigskin in these parts. I missed both Yankees wins this weekend because of football commitments.

On Friday, at least I was able to resist heading over the Gus Anderson field for the annual Prep-McDowell spat, but that was mainly because Gus is a "field" and not a stadium, and it's pretty hard to get a decent seat unless you show up really early. I just don't have that much invested in that game.

But, for some reason, the Penn State-Michigan game was really calling me Saturday afternoon. I tuned in a few minutes after kickoff and saw some solid, hard-hitting Big 10 football for about an hour and a half. Finally, though, I had to turn it off right at halftime, because both quarterbacks were bad. At least the Michigan kid, a 6 foot-seven, 250-pound freshman, has some potential. This Morelli kid from Penn State, despite JoePa's constant defense of him, looked bad. He is pretty innacurate and missed a sure touchdown by throwing a ball three-feet over a kid's head on a third-down crossing route. You can forgive a lot of things in a quarterback if he's clutch....

Our neighbor had us over yesterday. He, like I, is a Bills' fan, which is rapidly turning into some sort of disease I'd like to get rid of. The Bills got squashed again, but Matt had a great setup with the TV in the backyard, and BBQ going, and the kids all running around playing football and other games around us.

Of course, we were hooting and hollering when the Bills rookie back-up QB came off the bench and led the Bills on a marvelous TD drive to take a 7-3 lead. However, Tom Brady, and our old friend Mr. Moss, as well some other familiar faces like Sammy Morris (another ex-Bill come back to haunt us) and Wes Welker, the former Dolphin scrapper, did us in.

Next week, Bills are at home vs. the Jets, so it could mean a win. That's also the last day of the MLB regular season... On a somewhat related note, we are continuing to enjoy wonderful weather up here. Next two days, they're calling for highs in the mid-'80s, but with this breeze blowing through and the cool nights, as I said last week, you really couldn't ask for more.

Anyhow, hope everyone else had a good weekend, as well.

Cheers.

X

Football picks

My son Joey, 8, and I did our football picks for this week's Money Mania contest (no point spread, just pick winners).

Joey's picks: College: Mercyhurst, Edinboro, Penn State, Uconn, PRO: Baltimore, Jets, San Diego, Kansas City, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Tampa, Indy, New England, Detroit, Cincy, Denver, Cleveland, Carolina, Washington, New Orleans (42 points)

My picks: College: Mercyhurst, 'Boro, Michigan, Pitt, Arizona, Jets, San Diego, KC, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Tampa, Indy, New England, Philly, Cincy, Jacksonville, Oakland, Carolina, Washington, New Orleans (also, 42 points)

We'll check back on this next week.

The Yankees All-Star Team

I watched a few innings of the Yankees/Blue Jays game yesterday. The Yankees tied the game 4-4 in the bottom of the ninth but went on to lose in 14 innings.

I only watch baseball in the fall, which means, more or less, after September 21, so I don't know a lot about the game. But the point I want to make is that watching the Yankees, for me, is like watching an all-star team. Alex Rodriguez is a giant man who has 143 RBI and a shitload of home runs. In fact, the entire lineup is filled with great names: Damon, Jeter, Giambi, Rodriguez, Abreu, Matsui, Posada.

Wow. I wonder how they ever lose. Then I watch the Blue Jays, and the lineup is filled with players I've never heard of. I don't know how other teams manage to beat the Yankees at all, because, as they showed last night in the ninth inning, when the game is on the line, they can send up batter after batter who will make you tremble in your cleats.

Funny thing is, they probably won't win the World Series this year. I say this because they typically have the best team on paper and yet they don't win the World Series year after year. In fact, if I were a betting man, I would bet against them, despite what I've said in this column.

Maybe it's the magic of baseball that keeps one team from winning every year. The bounces are funny and the coaching is crucial. And maybe there is so much talent in the league that the Yankees can't dominate like they once did, even if I haven't heard of the players from the other teams.

DDDDDDDDDDDDD

Belichick genius?

For all this talk about what a genius Bill Belichick is, let's remember, his record with the Patriots before Tom Brady took over as the starting quarterback was 5-13. And is record with the Browns in five years prior to getting fired was 36-44. So, his cumlative record without Tom Brady is 41-57, for a winning percentage of 42%. His record with Brady at the helm, including playoffs, is 85-25, for a winning percentage of 77%. So, who's the genious here?

Also, remember, if Bledsoe never got hurt, who's to say Brady is starting even today? Yes, Belichick had enough wisdom to elevate Brady in his second year to second string, past two incumbent back-ups, but still if Bledsoe doesn't get hurt vs, the Jets in 2001, is Belichick even still coaching the Pats today? So, you wonder why he is insecure and has to cheat.

THE Yaaankeeeeees Win!

Well, if you haven't noticed the Yankees have won 12 out of 14 and pulled within 1 1/2 of the Red Sox, who are apparently waiting to turn Manny loose until they really have to. I suspect that Sox may be a better team than the Yanks with Manny in the line-up, but if he's not there, they are definitely not. Plus, for the second year in a row, their bullpen seems to be coming undone at the end of the season. I'm not saying Papelbon isn't a great pitcher, but he sat out the last month last year with arm trouble, and he seems to be struggling a bit now. Gagne, of course, has been a total disaster, and the Japanese set-up man has apparently "hit a wall," after pitching shorter seasons in Japan. Dice-K may be hitting this same wall. Of course, come the playoffs, if these guys bounce back, the Sox potentialy have a very deep bullpen. Add that with two and a half great clutch hitters (Lowell, Ortiz, and Ramirez - I've only giving Lowell half credit, which may come back to haunt me), and some potentially strong starting pitching and you've got a potentially dangerous playoff team.

The Yankees are a little more ragged. They've been winning lately, but I'm not sure their players have the postseason pedigree to succeed. Joba Chamberlain has really been the key to this final resurgence, but I know the Yankees don't want to push him too far. So, we'll see. If he leads us to the World Series, great, but you have to remember he is a true rookie who appeared in 14 games for Nebraska last year and 18 the year before that. This year, he had 15 starts before he even came to the Yankees, and now he has appeared in over a dozen games in the bigs as a reliever. The rest of the staff is fairly uninspiring as far as I'm concerned-either over the hell or too young. We do have some bats, but pitching is paramount when it comes to the playoffs.

Last night, the Yanks apparently got a great performance out of Andy Pettite, who's been pretty hot lately, excepting a disastrous start vs. the Bosox last Friday. I was busy with some work, and didn't turn the game on until about 9:30, when there were two outs, and two on in the top of the ninth at Yankee Stadium, will the Rivera on the hill. He loaded the bases with a walk before striking out a batter to close things out. I was struggling with the position of my radio to get a signal from 880 AM WCBS in New York. After losing it a couple times, I was rewarded by John Sterling's signature call at the end of the game. This is not from last night's game, but here's a taste of Mr. Sterling, which should give you an idea of what you're missing if you're not tuning in.

Over the top, yeah. But at least he's got his thing. Not to mention a female color commentator. These are just some of the things that make the Yankees great.

X

King George Inn in Allentown

I found a great pub in Allentown last Friday. It's called the King George Inn. It's been located at an important local crossroads since 1756. Lots of beautiful wood inside, particularly the bar itself. I had a pint of Guinness and oysters on the half shell. Really good.

They had the Yankees/Red Sox game on the TV, and nobody in the whole joint was smoking.

They have fine dining as well, inside or outside. Apparently their head chef has been named Chef of the Year in Allentown.

Definitely my kind of place.

DDDDD

The Prophet

We've had some pretty insightful posts here over the past week. First, I'd like to offer some kudos to Dr.D for his setiments on Mike Mussina. It indeed appears as if it was too early to give up on the Moose as he threw seven innings of three-hit shutout ball tonight in what looks like will be an easy win for the Yanks. Their up 12-0 after eight. Meanwhile, the Manny-less Bosox lost. Gagne blew the game in the bottom of the eighth, giving up three runs, after two were out and none were on. Wow, has he been a bust for the Bosox so far. Lester, the kid who came back from cancer pitched almost seven strong innings, giving up only one run, before giving way to the suddently ineffective Boston pen. Their lead is down to 2.5 over the Yanks, who are now 4.5 ahead of Detroit. Anyways, looks like the Bombers might get their chance this fall after all. I want to say they're like 15-3 over the past couple weeks.

Back to the prophet stuff, I ran a post about O.J.'s great 1973 season first thing Friday morning last week. This kicked off a dialogue between myself and Dr.D about whether or not he was insane and if this insanity helped him achieve greatness on the gridiron. Little did we know that the night before this post, O.J. had invaded a hotel room in an armed robbery that would by Friday afternoon catapult him back into the center of the media storm. I'd like to say we had it hear first, and in some respects we did. We actually broke the discussion of O.J.'s insanity several hours before any other media outlets began discussing basically the same thing. See, you are smarter if you stop by Ralph's Place.

Cheers.

X

Yanks win again

Not the prettiest of wins. Farnsworth blew up in the ninth, which is a bad sign, but we pulled it out. We're within 3.5 of the Bosox, and now an equal number in front of the Tiggers-who blew one against the Tribe last night. Mussina on the hill tonight vs. his old team-the O's. Bosox have to deal with A.J. Burnett. I wonder when Manny is coming back.

Cheers.

Ralph

Ricky Henderson

One of my all-time favorites. Jeff Passan, who does a solid column for Yahoo!, interviews him here and discusses (what else?) base stealing. The column points out that as home run numbers have dropped (more juice testing) base stealing numbers are picking back up. And what's interesting, is that stealers are succeeding at a higher percentage than in the past. I find it fascinating, for example, that A-Rod, in additional to his 50 HRs and 150 RBIs, is approaching 30 steals, and almost never gets caught. The stolen base as a weapon is very much back in vogue, but managers/players are being more cautious about when they go.

Hendeson, for example, stole 130 bases (a record) one year, but he also get caught 40 times. Tim Raines stole a zillion bases at the same time, and there were guys like Vince Coleman and Willie Wilson running around as well. In fact, the stolen base really characterized early '80s baseball very well. That was at the height of articial turf, cocaine use (instead of steroids, which characterized the power days of the late 1990s), and everything was fast, even the junk bond trading and Miami Vice. Then, of course, it all collapsed, and we've only began to rebuild that art of the stolen base. Artificial turf is also making a comeback on football fields as least. Can concaine and junk bonds be far behind? I think they already tried to bring back Miami Vice, but mercifully failed. Then again, with YouTube arguably becoming new version of MTV, who knows what could appear next.

Carry on.

Ralph

Great Sports Weekend

Well, we made it down to the Bills-'Stillers game in the 'Burg yesterday. It was a beautiful day for football, but as I heard someone in the crowd on the way out say, "What day isn't?" Anyhow, it about the low '60s and sunny and at about 10:30 a.m. I was standing by the grill, with a freshly charcoaled Bratworst in my hand, laid on top of a pepper stuffed with priscuto and parmesan, drinking a cold Labbat's -and well, I've been to some really nice restaurants in my time, but in my book, it just doesn't get much better than that.

Anyhow, it was a great day for football, but not for the Bills, as they got shellacked 23-3. Really, couldn't move the ball in the first half, couldn't really stop the Steelers from moving up and down the field all game, and then couldn't punch it in the end zone when they did move it in the second half. Things ended badly when our best player, Lee Evans, got two unsportsmanlike penalty calls on our last drive.

Dick Jauron, a Yale man, is our coach, and I've seen one of stars on his teams, a defensive lineman on Lions a couple years ago, have a similar meltdown. As an educated guy, I think Jauron is giving his players a bit too much credit and may be a bit lax with them, which is why you have these outbursts. Hopefully, it doesn't lead to the team losing respect for the coach, because we have a enough problems already. Jauron seemed to have some sort of conservative game plan, in which the Bills didn't take too many chances yesterday. You hope this is designed to build confidence, which will manifest itself later in the season, as the squad gradually improves and finally starts to win ballgames. But, if the team quits on the coach before this master plan can come to fruition, (as they say in New York) Forget about it!

What do I know about football, now that Tom Brady-to-Randy Moss looks like the hottest combo in the league?

At least the baseball was good yesterday, with Jeter hitting a game-winning home run on Curt Schilling in the eighth, and then Mariano Rivera holding on for dear life in the ninth and getting David Ortiz to pop out with the bases loaded and the Yankees up 4-3. Yankees are really making a push for the postseason, with the Tigers and Red Sox hangin' tough, however.

Cheers.

Ralph

More OJ

An audio tape of the recent OJ incident has now been released. You can hear OJ yelling and calling the guys in the hotel room "motherfuckers." OJ's a scary guy. You can hear it in his voice. I wouldn't want him to come busting into my hotel room, calling me a motherfucker. I'd be scared shitless.

Anyway, back to our OJ insanity discussion. He is either organically insane, which means he has some problems with his hard-wiring, or he's been conditioned by the people and circumstances around him to be anti-social. It's probably both. I know that he has faced adversity in his life, but so have lots of other people, and they don't make the terrible decisions that OJ makes.

Plus, despite his rough early years, OJ was treated like royalty for much of his professional life. Certainly at USC, with the Buffalo Bills, and then into into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, OJ has been treated like a god. He was also a movie star. But gods, if you look to Greek mythology, often behave in ways that are petulant and antisocial---because they can get away with it. Not a good situation for someone with latent schizoid or antisocial tendencies.

So, anyway, OJ would never even think of calling the local police and telling them, "I have reason to believe that there are men in a local hotel who are attempting to sell stolen merchandise that belongs to me. I want it back. Can you help?"

Instead, he takes matters into his own hands. He gets a few of his thug buddies and crashes the party. I mean, is that stupid or insane? I can't tell. If it can be proven that there were guns involved, OJ is in big trouble. Armed robbery is a felony. It doesn't matter if some of the memorabilia once belonged to OJ. That's for the courts to sort out. Any way you slice it, it is a serious crime to walk into a hotel room with an armed posse.

But OJ thinks he's above the law and he has good reason for that opinion. He got away with double homicide once, so he problably doesn't consider this latest escapade as any kind of offense at all, after all, nobody was killed. This makes him all the more dangerous.

He is in jail right now without bond (because, of course, he is a flight risk). I won't be surprised if local law enforcement doesn't use this recent incident as an excuse to lock him up for as long as they can. And Johnny Cochran is dead, isn't he?

OJ should have stayed out of Vegas and kept playing golf in Florida. That's what any sane person would do.

Any sane person would say, "Thank you, God, for letting me beat that double-murder rap. I'm going to lay low for the rest of my life, get laid, play golf and eat good food."

Instead, he felt the need to write a book called If I Did It (insane or stupid?) and go venturing for his sports memorabilia.

I wonder what his family history is like. That would tell us a lot about why he makes such terrible choices on such a regular basis.

DDDD

Giambi (tries to) Throws Game

Mark my words. I have no proof of this, but Jason Giambi is quite possibly throwing the game tonight for the Yanks vs. the Sox. He has two critical errors, and after walking the first two times up, his third time up, with the bases loaded, the normally patient Giambi swings at three pitches and goes down on strikes. I know he just had some sort of secret meeting with George Mitchell a couple weeks go about his steroids use. I wonder if that has anything to do with it....

No shit, right after I wrote that last paragraph, the strangest turn of events ocurred. The Yankees are down 7-2 going into the top of the eighth, with, who else, but Giambi leading off. The announcer starts to say what a nice guy he is and how bad he must feel, and I'm thinking this is all B.S. and Giambi hits a home run. (Okay, so maybe he figured the game was out of reach and was trying to save face.) But then Cano hits a titanic home run. And then Cabrera walks, and Damon doubles... and so on, until the Yankees are suddenly winning 8-7. With A-Rod on second, the Yankees having a chance to extend their lead, Giambi comes up again and this time reverts to form and strikes out. He then gets pulled for a defensive replacement. All in all, still a curious turn of events. Still the Yankees might win, which means perhaps Mr. Giambi will turn up missing tomorrow.

Just some thoughts.

Cheers.

Ralph

Kutztown University's New Professional Writing Blog

Ralph,

Next week, I'm going to make the announcement that the KU Professional Writing program has a new blog. It's at: http://kutztownprowriting.blogspot.com/ I am the moderator. Feel free to stop by and comment. I'm trying to get the Professional Writing students to dial-in. As a professional writer yourself, you might enjoy the discussion.

Independent Study student Brian Robinson is also making revisions to the Kutztown University Professional Writing Group Website. The blog will actually link directly into the website, once Brian is finished with the changes. Pretty cool.

One last point: I'm officially literate in HTML. I'm not a wizard by any means; however, I can edit a document and clean up junk in HTML. It's pretty cool to get that "coded" look into the world of software. Helps you understand how it really works.

DDDDD

Justice Wears Many Clothes

The remainder of the article bout OJ was well-written. More AP:

"On Thursday, the Goldman family published a book about the killings that Simpson had written under the title, "If I Did It," about how he would have committed the crime had he actually done it. After a deal for Simpson to publish it fell through, a federal bankruptcy judge awarded the book's rights to the Goldman family, who retitled it "If I Did It: The Confessions of a Killer.""

I'm glad the Goldman Family are gaining some justice in all of this. They actually got to take over OJ's perspective on the matter, and tell it through his experience. Amazing. I'll bet the book does well. Maybe I should write a paper on this. It would all depend on whether or not I could see early drafts and compare them against final drafts. I guess it would all depend on what the family tells the publisher: confidential or not.

It would be a compelling comparison.

DDDD

OJ in Trouble Again

From the Associated Press on Friday, September 14, 2007:

"LAS VEGAS - Investigators questioned O.J. Simpson and named him a suspect Friday in a confrontation at a casino hotel room involving sports memorabilia, but the actor and former football star denied breaking into the room. "

Full Story

Yanks, Juice

Well, the Yanks lost last night, after winning seven in a row. Got beat by A.J. Burnett, who at least the couple times I've paid attention has pitched pretty well against the Yanks. He throwing like 98 MPH to the corners of the plate last night. Ian Kennedy, the rookie who the Yankees called upon to replace Mussina in the rotation, actually pitched brilliantly, giving up one hit over eight innings. Unfortunately, the Jays rallied for a run in the ninth off a reliever to pull the game out. Two-out-of-three at Toronto is not bad. Now come the Red Sox, with some great pitching match-ups:
1. Tonight: Dice K vs. Pettitie
2. Saturday: Wang vs. Beckett (in what could be a battle for top dawg in the A.L.)
3. Sunday: Clemens vs. Schilling (old-timers day).

Anyhow, getting back to that great year 1973, when I was in kindergarten and apparently learend everything I needed to know. That was the year O.J. gained 2,000 yards (in 14 games), averaged six yards per carry, and played on a team where the quarterback, I'm not kidding, threw like five TD passes all year. That has to be one of the greatest years by an individual in any sport. However, for some reason, on YouTube, for instance, you can barely find a clip of O.J. running the ball that year. Finally, yesterday, I found this 12-second clip, which shows how incredible he was. Now, I realize O.J. joins Michael Vick in the all-NFL criminal backfield, but man, in the day, that fucker was a hell of a running back. I'm guessing as time goes by less and less people will remember him for this. The same will probably hold true for Vick, who also made some unbelievable, eye-popping runs in his career. I guess, like the Boss says, "Glory Days, well they'll pass you by...."

Cheers.

Ralph

Need to post a photo

Yankees win again

Another big win for the Yanks. I think it's seven in a row now, including two over Toronto. Good stuff, especially because Mussina pitched last night and went almost six scoreless innings. He was not great, he gave up like five hits, while the Yankees only had three of their own, but left the game with a 4-0 lead. How does that happen? Good fielding and clutch hitting mainly.

I love the Yanks' current line-up from top-to-bottom. The weakest hitter is probably Giambi at number seven, and even he has some pop. After him, you ramp it back up with Cano and Melky, and then the deadly top of the order.

A-Rod, of course, has been having a great season, but last night didn't really have a big hit and had a potentially costly error that enabled the Jays' only run to score. However, in true team fashion, the Yanks picked him up and made a couple plays to get out of a potentially dangerous inning. Yeah, I think, these Yankees are finally coming together as a team.

Teamwork is definitely a big plus in the pressure-filled playoffs and is some of what the Yankees have been lacking in recent years. However, if the Bosox don't start losing a few games, the Yanks are still going to be stuck with the Angels and the first round, and they kill us. I know I said the Bosox were punchless a couple nights ago after losing 1-0 to Tampa Bay. But, since then, they've had two come back wins vs. the Devil Rays, including a 5-4 win last night on a two-run Ortiz blast in the 9th. No, they're definintely not as strong without Manny, but they can still be formidable at home-which is where the Yankees have to go this weekend. We'll see. If Ramirez is still out, and I need to check on this, it could be very interesting. The Yanks could have a real shot at closing the gap. (Unfortunately, it looks like Ramirez will play.)

I'll get to something on the Yankees pitching later. Pennant races can be fun.

Cheers.

Ralph

Larry Bird

The Tiny Archibald highlights got me thinking about Larry Bird. Tiny may have great moves, but when it comes to winning and heart, it's Larry Bird. Check out the video.

That particular video is a little blurry, so if you want more Bird, just search YouTube for Larry Bird Highlights.

Out,

DDDDDD

Tiny Archibald

One more note, following up on my obsession with 1973, the year I was in kindergarten, and apparently learned everything I needed to know. I remember at the time seeing some sort of NBA pre-game/halftime special on Tiny Archibald, then of the Kansas City Kings. In 1972-73, Tiny Nate, who is listed at 6-1, 150, (and hails from the Bronx), averaged a league-high 34 points and 11.4 assists per game, leading the league in both categories-and no one else was even close. (Jabbar averaged 30 per game, and Lenny Wilkins dished out 8.4 assists per game.) Oh yeah, there was no three-point shots either to help the little man. Bob Cousy was the Kings coach and they somehow finished 36-46. Tiny never had another year like that.

Check out this video compilation of Tiny Nate highlights. How about those moves? Especially when he was with the Kings.

Cheers.

Ralph

Godless Yankees

Sometimes I really do feel like I'm rooting for the Evil Empire - it's a good thing I have memories of Thurman Munson to keep me going. (By the way, the Bronx is Burning version of Thurm is exactly how I imagined him to be when I was a kid. )Anyhow, tonight the souless one, Jason Giambi, hits a grand slam to put the Yankees up 8-2 against the hapless Blue Jays. The Blue Jays absolutely outplayed the Yankees and should have been up like 5-0 (well maybe not that bad) after two innings, but for a great diving catch by Johnny Damon, a stupid baserunning mistake, and some poor fielding on their part. Instead, the Yankees were up 3-2. Not only are they good, they're catching breaks, and then Giambi of course goes yard, and I assume it's over. In Boston, Red Sox were down 8-4 but rallying. Nonetheless, without Manny, the Red Sox are a hell of a whole lot less scary, and almost punchless, dare I say. Next weekend is showdown time in Fenway.

Yankees update

Not that anyone case, but the (hated) Yankees have a three-game series at Toronto, starting on Tuesday, and the pitchers scheduled to go are Philip Hughes, Mike Mussina, and Ian Kennedy, in that order. Two rookies sandwiching a struggling veteran who has been pulled from the regular rotation, but gets a start because of an injury to a guy (Clemens) even older than he is. Anyhow, with a four-game lead with 20 to play, you'd think the Yankees would have this wild-card thing locked up-with the way A-Rod is hitting and all. But, at Toronto, with three pitchers who are by no means locks to give you strong games, could set us back a little. This series bears close watching - by and for those who care, of course.

That's all.

Ralph

NFL Week 1

Okay, so it appears I may be wrong about this whole Brady-Moss thing. I can only hold out hope that it is a 16-game season, and that week 1 was a fluke....

The Bills loss, however, appears to have been no fluke. Very typical. The Bills get outgained like three-to-one, but manage to hold the opposition out of the end zone for the most part and get a special teams touchdown. But, because they are so badly overmatched, they just can't stop the opposition down the stretch and end up losing a close game. Saw this a half-dozen times last year and already now in Week 1 this year.

Funny thing, watching ex-Bills coach Wade Philips make his debut with the Cowboys, who won. When Wade was with the Bills, they were the polar opposite of the team now - great defense, ball control offense, and terrible special teams. Now, our special teams are our only bright spot, although it seems that Marshawn Lynch, our new RB had a good game yesterday. Anyhow, Wade is wearing a headset now, one thing he was criticized for not doing in Buffalo. I hope he wins the Super Bowl...

That's about it for now. Hope everyone had a good weekend.

Cheers.

Ralph

Yankees-Norse Mythology

I'll credit my buddy Soup for sending me this article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/sports/baseball/30squirrel.html?ref=nyregion

Soup lives in the Bronx, and formerly resided in the Dominican Republic, but, sadly, is not yet a baseball fan. However, it seems some of my work to steer him this way is paying off...

Cheers.

Ralph

Dogfighting colunmist

This editorial appeared in the Erie Times this morning. It covers some of the backlash the Vick case is starting to generate. In other words, the pendulum is starting to swing back the other way, as it should. I hate to come out in favor of dog-fighting, but, has I've said, it's really a ghetto culture thing and that's the culture Vick comes from. It's kind of hypocritical to come down so hard on Vick, when white, upper-middle-class people are allowed to legally go out and hunt and kill deer. That's not the mention the animal abuse and cruelty that goes on in dog racing, horse racing, and slaughterhouses that provide us with food. I'm sure there are other cases as well. No, I'm not big on harming animals. Heck, I'd rather not even exterminate ants of they are not bothering me. But I eat meat because I need something to sustain me, and you can always go back to the argument that these cows and chickens would not even come into the world if they not used for meat... but based on their lives, it's maybe better if they didn't. But nonetheless, the mass slaughter of these beings is legal, while Vick kills a handful of dogs, nothing apparently in comparison to the number that are slaughtered legally in dog racing circles, and people are ready to crucify the guy. Yeah, maybe suspend him from the NFL for a year for gambling, but could we leave it at that? As I've always said, if people are going to promote keeping pit bulls as pets, there's going to be dog fighting, because that's what these dogs were originally bred for. They're fightin' dogs, so if we're going to have them around, let them do what they do best. We don't keep thoroughbred horses around and not race them. Nobody keeps cows around without planning to slaughter them for meat, or at least use them for milk. Everything has a purpose, let it fulfill that purpose.

I've probably said enough.

Cheers.

Ralph

More on Mussina

Geez, it looks like after all these years, I'm finally in tune with the Yankees braintrust. Per my speculation, and others as well, the Yankees appear to be dropping Mussina from the rotation in favor of Ian Kennedy, a rookie, who pitched in college last year and has successfully moved up the minor league chain this year. This gives the Yankees three such pitchers on their roster, although Philip Hughes, who didn't go to college, has actually been in the minors a bit longer.

Anyhow, as I've said before, the old pitchers weren't getting it done, so it's time to call on the kids. This is a great sign, and the Yankees have talent similar to the early 1990s Braves when the developed Gavine, Smoltz, and a kid named Avery. Avery burned out, but the other two were solid, and still are in fact, for a long time. Let's hope the Yankees continue to be cautious with the young arms, as winning now would be nice, but having a solid core of your staff in place for the next 10 years would be even nicer.

Oh yeah, 45-year-old Roger Clemens goes against the Bosox tonight. At least we're at home.

Mussina Toast

In his last two starts, the Yankees have given up something like 30 runs. That sucks. They have to get him out of the rotation, but as this article questions, in favor of whom? Mussina represents very well the core of the Yankees' problems for the past 3-4 years, their starting pitching is just too old. Starting pitching is tough, it takes endurance, you need some young arms to trot out there. Sure, you can get away with one or two old guys, that don't necessarily throw hard, but when you have three or four guys approaching, or past, 40 years old (Clemens, Mussina, and Petite), it's tough to expect those guys to hurl a complete season and go deep into games. One result is that it burns out your bullpen.

Young arms are on the way in the form of Hughes, Chamberlain, and Kennedy, but they won't be ready for prime time for another 2-3 years. This sucks, because by then our line-up might be getting old. Oh well, such is the game. Maybe we can get it together and sneak into the playoffs this year, and maybe the arms will be healthy, and maybe, etc.

Cheers.

Ralph

Traverse City

Just returned from a wonderful week of vacation in Traverse City, MI. We stayed in this place, which was really nice (the picture is a sunrise taken from the back porch). We found through some creative Web searching for "last minute vacation deals. Traverse City is a cool place. Michael Moore has a home up there. It's about four hourse northwest of Ann Arbor, right on the western side of the state, on Lake Michigan. It has been developed rather nicely as a vacation spot. It kind of kicks Erie's ass unfortunately, because of the tremendous amount of waterfront accessibility. Plus the people are really friendly, and downtown is set up to be accessible to tourists, with cars yielding for pedestrians and all that. Plus, the waterfron has tons of resorts built up around it. We stayed in a cottage just outside of town. Moore has a film festival there, and there is a culteral bent to the downtown, but there is still plenty of family and more touristy things to do also.

One of best things we did was visit this place called the Sleeping Bear Dunes:

Basically, it's miles of these several hundred-foot high sand dunes that you climb, look at some great views (photo on left), play around on (photo 2) and then run down (that's me and my daughter in the middle of the third photo). The sand is really soft
with no big stones to worry about. It's hard work getting to the top, but very soothing on your feet. You can roll around or lay down and relax on the sand. Then you can fly down the hills, which are pretty steep, but if you fall, it's a very soft landing. The place has almost a holy feel to it-as these giant dunes, left behind by the glaciers, are quite remarkable.

That's about it for now.

Cheers.

Ralph

Moving on up...

Greetings from eastern Pennsylvania.

I think I saw Ed Rendell drinking a Pina Colada at Trader Vic's, and his hair was perfect. I miss Warren Zevon...and Frank Zappa.

Anyway, I watched the celebrity roast of Flavor Flav the other night. Wow. Jokes about gaping vaginas and gang murders.

I liked the comic who said, "This is impossible. How do you embarass a crack head who wears a viking helmet?" Good point.

I also liked when Snoop Dogg said to Ice Tea, "I tried to listen to some of your music on the way over, but the car didn't have a cassette player..." Boiiiieeeee!!!!

Anyway, there's a lot going on over here. MusikFest in Bethlehem, the annual Kutztown Fair...we even took a ride up to the Poconos. School starts on the 27th, so it's coming up fast.

That's it for now; must work on syllabi.

DokTorDee

Shoeless Joe Quote

One more quote from W. P. Kinsella's masterpiece:

"But mostly the arrivals will be couples who have withered and sickened of the contrived urgency of their lives."

That's the J.D. Salinger character finishing his spiel about why people will come to an Iowa farm to watch ghosts play baseball.

Cheers.

Sports Notes

Couple quick note here.

First of all, I just watched the first episode of "The Bronx is Burning" on the Abc.com Web site. I guess it's an ESPN series that started right after the All-Star game. But it certainly rocks. At least for me personally. It's about the 1977 Yankees, which is one of my favorite teams of all time. It was the first Yankees team in my lifetime to win the World Series. And I even remember staying up late to watch Reggie Jackson hit three home runs in the sixth and final game of the series to clinch it, and then sprinting through the crowd, which was pouring onto the field after the game. You certainly don't see that anymore. The first episode had the whole "Straw that stirs the drink" quote thing in it, which was a dig by Jackson at my favorite player at the time, Thurman Munson. I'm like 10 when all this is going on, so to me these guys were larger than life.

Can't wait to watch the second episode. And the video quality online is outstanding.

In addition, I just ran across this great perspectivce on the whole Mike Vick thing. I don't have the streed cred to have said it even close to as well as Mr. Granderson does.

That's about all for now.

Cheers.

Ralph

Oh yeah, and what the fuck is up with the Tour de France? Can that even be considered a sporting event anymore?

Starbucks

This is just plain silly.
I actually went to Starbucks today and grabbed a latte. As I've said before, the shit really works, especially when you haven't had it in awhile.
I find myself wondering, however, if Google is not the next Starbucks. (Because I've written "Google" in this blog, will it be passed by someone at Google for perusa? "Google for purusal." I like that.) You know, something that started out pretty cool, and still has some good product, but just got so big that it's Quality (as in the Zen in the Art of Motorcycle sense-I mean to reread that book again this summer) control could just not be maintained, and it got kind of bland and diluted, in a least-common-denominator sort of way. But the stuff still works, if you can channel in.

Coffee talk, hah, hah...

X

Shoeless Joe

I'm currently reading the book Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella, which the movie Field of Dreams is based on. Field of Dreams is a great movie, and the book is equally great so far, but different. One major difference is that the kidnapped writer is not some fictional '60s radical, but instead is J.D. Salinger, the very real (albeit in a fictcional account) author of Catcher in the Rye, which is a great high school read. (Enough with the "greats;" they're getting grating.)

Anyhow, I'm talking to Dr. Dee last night about my last post on Randy Moss (incidentally, which has been published on this Web site, where you get the most insightful, unbiased Bills coverage in the world), and he comments that I have always had good insight into Randy Moss. Intersting. Then, I'm reading Shoeless Joe and on page 84 (Moss' old number with the Vikes, who are Dr. Dee's favorite team), I came across this passage, which made me think of Dr. Dee:

(The narrator and Salinger are at Fenway Park watching a Red Sox game, and the narrator is trying to encourage Salinger's passion for baseball). "Look around at the fans, count their warts just as they count ours; look at them waddle and stuff their faces and cheer with their mouths full. We're not just ordinary people, we're a congregation. Baseball is a ceremony, a ritual, as surely as sacrificing a goat beneath a full moon is a ritual. The only difference is that most of us realize that it is a game. Good writing is a ritual, I've been told, so many words or so many pages a day. You must know that..."

The funny thing is this whole number, interconnected universe, tumblers coming together and opening up a peak into what could be --- well, this all plays in with the theme of Shoeless Joe.

Cheers.

Ralph

Brady-Moss

I know that summer has barely reached its midpoint, and we haven't even played the baseball All-Star game yet, but with the Yankees sucking (playing mostly lackluster ball), and I having attended a cookout where a couple of grade school football coaches were already getting excited about starting pratice in a couple weeks, I guess I'm kind of in a football state of mind this morning. For some reason, I got up thinking once again that this Randy Moss to the New England Patriots thing is not going to work out.

Why is this important? Well, it's probably the most talked about trade of the offseason, plus the Patriots are somewhat of rivals with my beloved Buffalo Bills (who might be skipping town in a couple years, but that's another story.) Patriots play the Bills twice a year and have forever, so, I'm somewhat familiar with the franchise and also interested in what sort of team they will have.

A lot of the focus on this trade has been on how Moss' personality is going to fit in with the Patriots. This is mostly bullshit of course. Patriots coach Bill Belichick doesn't fool around, and if Moss is a malingerer (a term my father-in-law used to love to use), he will be gone. His contract is structured in such a way that the Pats can do this.

The more intriguing issue, from my view, is whether or not Moss will fit in with the Patriots offense. If you remember, Moss was famous for telling the Vikings to find someone who can overthrow him, so he had time to run under the ball-or something along those lines. With the Vikings, he played with strong-armed QBs like Cunningham, Jeff George, and Culpepper, an incredible run, and of course, Denny Green liked to air it out. It's my contention that Brady is not that type of quarterback.

I started trying to prove this theory by going to the numbers. I thought that stats like yards per attempt (YPA) and yards per completion (which is actually much harder to find and I had to figure it out myself) would bear out my contention. But the fact is they did not. Drew Bledsoe, for instanace, who I always consider a great long-ball thrower from personal observation, never ranked higher than eighth in YPA, and was only in the top 10 three times in more than 10 years as a starter.

Yes, in Moss' years with the Vikings, his quarterbacks averaged something like eight yards per attempt, and were in the top five in the NFL in YPA five out of seven years. In contrast, Tom Brady, who has been a starter for six years, has never ranked in the top five in YPA, but he has ranked between eight and 10 four times. This is really not that huge of a difference, and perhaps, we can attribute what difference there is direclty to Moss. After all, Vikings quarterback Duante Culpepper dropped from second in the league in yards per attempt at 8.6 in 2004 (his last year with Moss) to out of the top 10, with a 7.2 YPA average in 2005, his first year without Moss. (It also should be noted that Culpepper's career also went south when Moss left the Vikings, and he has not, as of yet recovered.) In fact, Brady, at 7.8 YPA, actually ranked ahead of Culpepper in 2005. (I thought perhaps that Culpepper's yards per completion might be higher because he might be getting more distance on the passes he completed vs. Brady's having a higher completion percentage, but that wasn't the case. Interestingly, when I ran YPA numbers vs. yards per completion, the ratios and rankings pretty much remained the same. Now, maybe if you go back to old school bombers like Lamonica, Bradshaw, and Namath, who generally had lower completion percentages than today's quarterbacks, the YPA vs. yards per completion ratio changes when comparing them to modern quarterbacks...)

So, I guess my first conclusion is that Moss should elevate Brady into the top five in YPA numbers in 2007. If he doesn't, he probably isn't doing his job.

Okay, so let's move onto more subjective material. Mainly, is Tom Brady a deep ball thrower that will be able to use Moss to his fullest and enable the Moss acquisition to benefit his team? There seems to be mixed opinions on Brady's arm strength, but my contention, after years of watching him, is, no, he is not a great deep ball thrower. Here's a write-up on Brady from before the 2000 draft when he was taken in like the fifth or sixth round:
"Pocket passer who has the arm strength to split zones...Very effective on quick slants...Can torch defenses once he gets into rhythm...Has a good feel for spotting his alternate receivers... Puts good zip behind his short tosses and can drill the long sideline throws..."

That concurs pretty much with my observations of him. Brady throws a great mid-range ball, very accurate, with good zip. And he can go over-the-top after defenses start cheating on his mid-range and shorter throws. This is what makes him an effective long-ball thrower-not the pure over-the-top arm strength of a George, a Culpepper or a Cunningham. Brady's like a pitcher whose location and ability to throw a change-up now and then makes his fastball that much more effective. It's my opinion that Moss doesn't fit into this type of offense, as he lacks the discipline to effectively run the mid-range routes that set up Brady's home run balls.

As a result, Moss is not due for a big year numberswise, because the Pats' offense is not set up to feature the type of receiver he is. Brady is not attuned to throwing numerous deep balls and letting Moss go up and get them-which is basically what they seemed to do in Minnesota. It's my prediction that unless Moss evolves into a Paul Warfield-type personality (which I'm not saying couldn't happen), he's going to be unhappy in New England, and it will show up in his play on the field.

If you remember, Warfield was an All-Pro with the Dolphins because he was such a deadly deep threat. However, in five years on the Dolphins, Warfield only caught more than 30 balls in a season once, although he did average more than 20 yards per catch. Warfield, who was a consummate pro, I'm assuming was a good blocker and ran out all his patterns (Shula would accept no less I think), even when he wasn't involved in the play, which contribtued to the Dolphins pair of Super Bowl titles. Moss' history hasn't shown he has the discipline to do this kind of stuff. Of course, maybe the Patriots' coaching staff will get Moss to change his attitute, but it's going to take a lot of work, and it's my opinion that he's not worth the effort the Patriots will need to put in. (I ran this piece in January, as to why I don't think the Patriots have won a Super Bowl in the past couple years, after winning three in four years, and I think the Moss' signing is indicative of the reasons why and will help prevent the Pats from winning this year's Big Prize as well. Of course, the Pats also miss Charlie Weiss, who is a great coach and would perhaps be able to figure out how to best utilize Moss in their offense.)

I'll just conclude by saying that although the Patriots don't run a true West Coast offense (I think they run something closer to the Mike Martz mid-range-based passing game), the West Coast offense has really changed the game. When I was trying to come up with teams that Moss would be a good fit for, I came up with the Colts and Bengals, two teams with strong-armed quarterbacks who consistently can get the ball deep. I think J.P. Losman may fall into this categorey as well, but he's a bit raw and the Bills already have Evans to run the deep routes. Ironically, the Raiders, for whom Moss famously failed, supposedly like to throw the ball deep, but unfortunately haven't had a quarterback (or an offense, I guess) who could do that effectively since Jeff George in the mid-199os. Funny thing is, this JaMarcus Russell, who they just drafted number one is rumored to have a gun, and it would have been interesting to see if he could have developed a Culpepper-type relationship with Moss. Alas, these things are why the Raiders suck anymore...

But, suffice to say that Montana and Walsh have changed the game to such a significant extent that a player like Moss is now a dinasour. Same as Drew Bledsoe became. Funny, I would have loved to have seen Moss work with Bledsoe, instead of Owens last year, but, hell, why do I know all this stuff that NFL execs can't figure out?

Best regards,

X

History Detectives

This is a great show on PBS. It's only on during the summer, and it appears it wil be on this year at 10 p.m. on Monday. It starts out kind of like Antiques Road Show, but, the detectives only pick out three items per show that people have found around their house and think are valuable. The detectives (which include a socialogist and a couple appraisers) then investigate the validity of these items. Last night, this guy had a English pound note that was used in a drinking game and signed by WWII leaders like Roosevelt, Churchill, Patten, etc. Another great feature is the use of Elvis Costello "Watching the Detectives" as the theme song.

Cheers.

Ralph

Everyone's Hero

Saw that flick Everyone's Hero last night. Surprisingly good movie. Can't believe I'd never heard of it before. It was either that or Bad News Bears, as I had promised my eight-year-old, whose in the middle of Little League season. I'm quite glad we chose Everyone's Hero as a last minute replacement. My neighbor had recommended it, and I had forgotten about it until we saw it on the shelf at Blockbuster.

It's an animated flick that Christopher Reeve's directed. It's got some great actors doing voices like William Macy and Rob Reiner, and Joe Torre even makes a cameo. Fairly entertaining story about a 10-year-old that helps recover Babe Ruth's stolen bat. It's got some good family value stuff as well as baseball stuff in it. So, it made it a perfect movie to watch with my son, who loved it. I've been putting off letting him watch Bad News Bears for awhile, as that's really an adult movie about kids, and it looks like I've succeeded for one more week at least. Of course, personally, I love Bad News Bears, and I even think I saw it in the theatres when it first came out, and I was about nine or 10.

One more note: We finallycaught the vole that has been haunting us for the past few nights. Since last week, he has been sneaking into our bedroom and burrowing down into a plant pot there to get at some roots. Last week, we discovered dirt from the plant had mysteriously been spilled on the floor and none of us could recall bumping the plant. Then, a few nights ago, we heard footsteps that sounded like a ghost near the plant. We flipped on the light and saw the little guy scurrying out of the room. That night, we began setting mouse traps. But this vole was tricky. He was able to clean the peanut butter, which had historically been so effective on mice, right off of the trap without triggering it. The war was clearly on. My wife began comparing me to Bill Murray in Caddyshack. Finally, last night, I laid like five traps. I felt like one of those old French trappers setting his lines. I used an apple in one and strategically placed the peanut butter on a couple others. About 12:30 a.m., the vole's usual feeding time, we heard the snap and found him lying in a trap with his back broken. A sad end for Mr. Vole, who has been like a playmate for me this past week, as we've matched wits in a game of cat and mouse. Well, the cat has prevailed and I uncerimoniously dumped Mr. Vole into the garbage last night. What will I do to keep myself entertained now?

This may explain some of my difficulty in catching the vole. It appears they are not your average rodent...

Cheers.

Ralph

Nickel Back-Rock Star

This song continues to kill me every time I hear it:

I'm through with standing in line to the clubs i'll never get in
It's like the bottom of the ninth and I'm never gonna win
This life hasn't turned out quite the way I want it to be
(tell me what you want)

I want a brand new house on an episode of Cribs
And a bathroom I can play baseball in
And a king size tub big enough for ten plus me

(yeah,so what you need)

I'll need a, a credit card that's got no limit
And a big black jet with a bedroom in it
Gonna join the mile high club
At thirty-seven thousand feet

(Been there done that)

I want a new tour bus full of old guitars
And my own star on Hollywood Boulevard
Somewhere between cher and James Dean is fine for me

(So how ya gonna do it?)

I'm gonna trade this life for fortune and fame
I'd even cut my hair and change my name
[CHORUS]'Cause we all just wanna be big rockstars
Live in hilltop houses driving fifteen cars
The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap
We'll all stay skinny cause we just won't eat
And we'll hang out in the coolest bars
In the VIP with the movie stars
Every good gold digger's
Gonna wind up there
Every Playboy bunny with her bleach blond hairand well..

Hey hey I wanna be a rockstar
Hey hey I wanna be a rockstar

I wanna be great like Elvis without the tassels
Hire eight body guards that love to beat up assholes
Sign a couple autographs
So I can eat my meals for free

(I have a quesadilla, ha ha)

I'm gonna dress my ass with the latest fashion
Get a front door key to the Playboy mansion
Gonna date a centerfold that loves to blow my money for me

(So how ya gonna do it?)
I'm gonna trade this life
For fortune and fame
I'd even cut my hair
And change my name
'Cause we all just wanna be big rockstars
Live in hilltop houses driving fifteen cars
The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap
We'll all stay skinny cause we just won't eat
And we'll hang out in the coolest bars
In the VIP with the movie stars
Every good gold digger's Gonna wind up there
Every Playboy bunny with her bleach blond hair

And we'll hide out in the private rooms
With the latest dictionary in today's who's who
We'll get you anythingwith that evil smile
Everybody's got a drug dealer on speed dial well..
Hey hey I wanna be a rockstar

I'm gonna sing those songs that offend the censors
Gonna pop my pills from a pez dispenser
Get washed-up singers writing all my songs
Lip sync 'em every night so I don't get 'em wrong
Well we all just wanna be big rockstars
Live in hilltop houses driving fifteen cars
The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap
We'll all stay skinny cause we just won't eat
And we'll hang out in the coolest bars
In the VIP with the movie stars
Every good gold digger's Gonna wind up there
Every Playboy bunny with her bleach blond hair
And we'll hide out in the private rooms
With the latest dictionary in today's who's who
We'll get you anything with that evil smile
Everybody's got a drug dealer on speed dial well..
Hey hey I wanna be a rockstar
Hey hey I wanna be a rockstar

When worlds collide

This is the best.

Beer

My wife just went out the door and is heading to the beer distributor to re-load. Before leaving, she shouted to me through my office door, "Ralph, do you like Molson?" Well, the answer to that is a resounding "yes, I do," especially as the summer breeze caresses my neck through the open window behind me.

God Bless Erie in the summertime.

Cheers.

Daughters and Sons

My son and daughter came into my office earlier this morning. My son had a question about the golf program I brought back from the U. S. Open. Mistaking the total par for the side as the par for a hole, he asked if there was a par 35 at Oakmont. My daughter immediately followed by showing the braid her mom had put in her hair.

Cheers.

Kutztown and Mineo

Wow. I've been really busy preparing for my move to Kutztown.

Moving sucks, let me tell you, but I keep telling myself: "Short term pain; long term gain."

I'll be out of the house on July 31...moving into an apartment in Allentown. If anyone has any hot tips for food or things to do in Allentown, please let me know.

Also: My house is on the market. It's a big, beautiful house in Millcreek. Four bedrooms, central air, French doors, and a gym in the basement. The outside is beautifully landscaped. I'm asking $149,900. It's guaranteed to gain value over the years. If you know of any house-hunters out there, please steer them to me. I can be reached at 868-9719.

One of the biggest selling points of the house is the fact that so many aspects are up to date. I moved in five years ago, and during that time, I've painted almost the entire interior, hung the French doors, installed sliding glass doors, insulated the den, built the gym, replaced nearly all of the electrical outlets, installed ceiling fans, and planted all kinds of trees and shrubs.

I hate to leave it, but it's time for me to go to that tenured teaching position at a state university.

I've also been making progress on my August Wilson book. I have 165 pages completed. I'm now in the process of editing and tightening. I hope to shop the manuscript with a publisher by the end of August.

That's it for now.

DDDDDDDDDD

Some words

This is from a recent flight back from Miami:

Disconnect
Discoteque
Good Guy
Die
Cobaine
Coltraine
In the rain
pain

Biting, taking
chunks of my skin
blood mixes with rain
the train races
buy this
you consumer man.

The buzzing of a fly
nearby
puzzles the yogi
sitting on the ground

RasX

'Nawlins

New Orleans still rocks.
Interesting, though, it apparently is not as busy as it was before the 2005 Hurricane.
Had a conversation with the guy who drove me back to the airport.
He said his business is about 40% of what it used to be.
“Just the weekends now are busy, you know what I’m saying,” he talked in kind of a rhythmic sing-song thing that a lot of Nawlins people seem to have going. He had worked in the French Quarter for like 40 years, so who knows how that has affected him.
I was down there on a Monday, so it was pretty dead.
But it’s a beautiful city. You can still see that, even amongst some of the ruins.
And I think its nickname, the Big Easy, is pretty well deserved.
Everybody certainly seemed pretty laid back, you know.

On Monday afternoon, it was raining and even though it was like 70 degrees and not raining that hard, you could see people just didn’t want to get wet. Being from the snow belt, I ploughed right through it. But again, I was hungry as Hades (I’ve starting using Hades in lieu of “hell” for some unknown reason, except that I think it sounds slightly better) after flying all morning and was looking for a Po’ Boy, which is what they call their version of a sub down there. The doorman recommended Johnny’s, which was about three blocks away from the hotel, but by the time I got there, it was five after three, and they were closing—at 3 p.m. So I wandered a bit more, I was on Royal Street, a block down from Bourbon I guess, which I never made it to for some reason, I just kept turning the wrong way. But I finally found a suitable with a Po’ Boy menu and ordered blackened/Cajun catfish Po’ Boy, which I munched down with a couple local brews. The whole bill was about $18, which seemed reasonable, and the waitress was friendly and laid back, and I heard her telling the recently married middle-aged couple a few tables down that she got so depressed after Katrina, she went to live in California for a few months with friends. She also said it had been a slow day for her, but didn’t seem overly upset—as it is the Big Easy. I sat there and watched the rain come down through an open archway and made some phone calls.

Back to my driver who somehow recognized me as Italian-American and recommended a try and meatball Po’ Boy with red gravy – does that mean sauce?

There seems to be some opportunity down there in Nawlins, as the city’s drawing potential still seems to be there. At least, it was compelling enough that I’d love to go back down there again with a few days to hang out and party. But business seems to be off for some reason, at least according to my driver. Maybe it’s just a matter of time before it returns, which would be where the opportunity comes in.

The guy who manages the Superdome talked at the conference I was at, and the Superdome seems to have really bounced back – I think the Saints sold out every game last year. Granted, it sounds like the Superdome was like priority one when rebuilding the city, but the rest of the city has to follow, right? Well, that is unless it runs out of funding—which the Superdome seems to have had plenty of. But, once again, maybe that’s where the opportunity lies, in the potential to invest in something down there at a reduced rate, and if enough of these types of private investments are made, they could potentially help speed up the city’s recovery and bring it back to its former vibrant self, instead of just a weekend party town. Then again, maybe it’s a city whose time and culture have past—but then again, sometimes it’s not so bad living in the past.

RasX

Foreman drugged

How much seedier can boxing get? Even its golden era is now being tarnished, or perhaps it's always been tarnished, I mean Don King has been involved with this "sport" for a long time now. Professional boxing, cycling, or baseball, take your pick on which is the seediest. Oh yeah, then there's that whole criminal element to the NFL.... No wonder poker is doing so well these days. Professional, televised poker is actually much cleaner than the amateur game that has been played for years in dark corners across the America. Based on that theory, I wonder what the next big "sports" craze will be? (Help me out here, I can't think of one, but is there some other sport where amateurs cheat like hell, but if you were to clean it up and put it on TV, you could reduce the cheating? Thanks.)

Ralph

Greg Lemond

Has anyone been reading about this Greg Lemond thing? "I'm your uncle, and I'll be there tomorrow." Landis is hangin' out with people like this? I guess that tells you something about how competitive the cycling world is. These guys are sick. Landis, of course, is the former Amish guy who was apparently shunned for purusing a career in professional cycling, and then came back from a huge deficit to pull out the Tour a couple years ago (maybe it was last year) Anyhow, testing found this huge comeback was fueled by unusually high levels of testosterone, which makes sense, but, he's denying it.


Lemond is one of my favorite athletes of all-time; he also had an incredible cycling comeback. After becoming the first American to win the Tour, he was shot in a hunting accident, and came back and was so sucky, it seemed like his career was over and no top flight team would give him a job. He ends up with some rag-tag bunch, and proceeds to shock everyone by winning the Tour, capping it off with a record-setting time trial on the race's last day. His French rival at the time described him as "playing the chicken, when he is really a lion," as Lemond kept playing like he was shocked to be near the leaders and was just waiting for an inevitable falter, which never happened. Then, he came back and won the thing the following year as well, in a little more conventional fashion.

Anyhow, that was back when cycling wasn't quite as fucked up as it is now, or at least we didn't know as much. Now, it seems half the top riders are in trouble for doping and Lemond is being blackmailed regarding being sexually molested as a child. I would have to say cycling has now passed baseball as the most "fucked-up sport." Or, it's the European version of baseball -neither of which is a sport of course, as baseball is officially our national "pastime" and cycling's top race is actually known as a "Tour." That's what happens I guess when you get too deep into these things....

Cheers.



Ralph

Doral

This place is kind of nuts. They seem to play reggae 24/7 in the lobby. It's actually kind of nice. Right now, they're playing some version of Bob Marley's "Chase Those Crazy Baldheads out of Town." It's hot as hell down here, so it's probably appropriate I guess. Doral is located a few miles inland and you don't get that fresh breeze off the ocean that you typically get nearer to the coast in Miami. But the palm trees are nice, and as long as you don't move too fast, just kind of sway with the reggae, it's kind of relaxing.

Cheers.

Ralph

1973 continued

In 1973,

The A's won the World Series
Secretariat won the Triple Crown
The Dolphins beat the Redskins 14-7 in the Super Bowl in January....

Did anything else happen?
Yes, I was in kintergarten, Richard Nixon was president...hmmmm

George Will on China

Another great George Will column, this one on the economic awakening in China and its evolving interest in free trade. Will makes some great points, but as is typical of his columns, kind of leaves you hanging with a vague ending. Maybe that's part of his charm...

Bill-Ravens MaGahee

Haven't posted in awhile because I've been busy with other things and whatnot... a lot of whatnot, of course. Anyhow, I came across this paragraph in scholar Greg Easterbook's Tuesday Morning Quarterback column this week. As a Bills fan, it is both funny and sad, which to me makes it some kind of literature:

"Discounting to Present Value the McGahee Trade: TMQ is underwhelmed by Willis McGahee, who's a legend-in-his-own-mind type. Football pundits speak of him as a star; McGahee speaks of himself as if he were Franco Harris, but McGahee's career stats are run-of-the-mill and defenses don't fear him. Still, he's a decent back, which makes me wonder why the same sorts of pundits who praise McGahee also said Baltimore gave up too much for him. The price was the Nevermores' third-round picks in 2007 and 2008, plus a seventh-round choice this week. Because Baltimore's seventh-rounder is choice No. 239, whoever is chosen there will be a long shot to make an NFL roster. If I were the Bills, I'd offer the pick to Denver for $3 million. Because this year's third-rounder is near the end of the round, it is only slightly better than a fourth-round choice; meanwhile, the 2008 third-rounder discounts to a fourth-rounder. (Future choices discount by one round per year: That is, you'd need to trade your first-round selection in 2008 to get someone's second-round selection in 2007.) In effect, Baltimore gave two fourth-round draft picks for a starting-quality tailback; the Ravens got McGahee for significantly less than the Patriots surrendered for Wes Welker. Anyway, whose front office has done a better job on player decisions in this decade, Buffalo's or Baltimore's?"

I could read absolutely no more after that touche at the end.

Regards,

Ralph

1973

Does anyone remember 1973?