ItsTheBlog™

Yi Jianlian finally surrendered to the Milwaukee Bucks this week by signing a multi-year, likely multi-million dollar contract this week with the team that drafted him 6th overall in June's NBA draft. Surrendered. Yeah, you poor thing. That word was actually used in a headline referring to the situation.

How sad is it that this guy feels that way? I'm sorry you are going to be playing in the NBA next year, Yi. I'm sorry that you moved from China to play with some of the greatest players in the world, making millions of dollars, but you aren't in a market that is "Asian enough" for you. Are you kidding me? If you wanted an Asian market, you should have stayed in China. You can't just come to the NBA, and say, I will only play for the Lakers, Celtics, or Knicks. Who are you anyway?

So you averaged good numbers in China. So did Wang Zhizhi. Remember him? I didn't think so. Why don't you earn your keep first, play a couple seasons in Milwaukee and show the world (and by world, I mean USA) what you can do, and then sign a free agent contract wherever you wanna go? I don't see what there is to complain about.

Labels: Bucks, Kevdog, Milwaukee, NBA, Yi Jianlian

Many things have been going right for the Yankees in the past month. After an abysmal start in which many questioned whether the Yankees would finish over .500 or whether they'd even have a shot at the wild card, the Bronx Bombers have pretty much turned it around. While they still trail the AL East leading Red Sox by 7 games, they find themselves just 1 back of the Mariners in the Wild Card race and in position to make a final-month push. Alex Rodriguez keeps on swinging with his major league leading 43 home runs and 123 RBIs. But, there's still one veteran Yankee who isn't pulling his weight.


Mike Mussina appears to have lost his starting job after his third awful outing in a row Monday night. The righty gave up 9 hits and 6 runs, all earned, in just 3 innings pitched against the Tigers. The Yankees lost the game 16-0. This comes on the heels of a worse performance against the Angels last week, in which Mussina suffered through just an inning and two-thirds before exiting with 7 earned runs under his belt. I watched as the Yankees lost that game 18-9. Mussina moved to 8-10 on the year with a 5.53 ERA.

In his last 3 starts alone, he's given up 19 earned runs in 9.2 innings pitched. Pretty awful for a guy who has won 247 career games and appeared in nearly 500. Manager Joe Torre says that Mussina is being replaced by prospect Ian Kennedy in his next start. How permanent the move will be is unknown. I get the feeling that the veteran Yankee won't be gone too long, as Torre and the Yankee organization tend to prefer the Mussina types over the Kennedy types. I can tell you one thing, though. I'm dropping him from my fantasy team.

Labels: A-Rod, Baseball, Kevdog, Mussina, Yankees

Sunday Night baseball is becoming quite the treat for me lately, in a terribly disgusting, disturbing, what the fuck is this guy doing with a job, sort of way.

I'm just going to start going one by one. *Note* I stopped watching this game in the 4th inning, so just imagine what kind of damage could have been done had I continued. Have at it, Joe...

(On David Wells) "That's always been his forte, throwing strikes with his fastball, curveball and change up."

DING! DING! DING! Joe's hit another one on the head. You're absolutely right, Joe. The key to the success of EVERY MOTHER HUMPING (when you guys think of a better substitution for Mother F******, let me know) BIG LEAGUE PITCHER! Being able to throw 3 pitches for strikes! That's Emmy award winning analysis. I give up.

"Fundamentals are always in play in baseball."

Any takers on this one? I'm stumped...

Lastings Milledge gets caught in rundown between 3rd and home: "He probably would have been better off stopping at 3rd."

Why yes, Joe. Yes he would have. You are on fire tonight. And even when you state the obvious, you still manage to bewilder me. He not probably would have been better off. He would have been better off, because the clear alternative: he's out.

"Shawn Hillenbrand...(Joe stumbles for words)...Shawn Hillenbrand (makes a comment about something)... Shawn Hillenbrand..."

(man taps Joe on shoulder)... Joe continueS: "Excuse me... Shea Hillenbrand."

Ok so this really happened... Joe said "Shawn" instead of "Shea" a good 4-5 times in a matter of about two minutes before he was notified that his name was in fact, Shea. Sheepishly, he clears his throat and says "Shea", as to somehow play it off like a simple bug in his throat created the "awn" at the end of his name. By the way, Shea's been in the league since 2001, and I think Joe just now heard of him.

"I really hope Ricky stays retired, because if he plays that will put his HOF induction off another 5 years. Right now he's eligible in 2009 but if he plays at the end of this year it will start over."

Ok, for once in all the times I've attacked your stupidity, this is going to be the first shot I take at your character. Joe, for some guys, its not about bragging about being in the HOF or pretending they know shit (cough insert Joe Morgan's face here cough). Some guys just really love to play the game, and want to play it as long as possible. If 74 year old Ricky Henderson wants to go out and try to steal a few more bases, more power to him. You really are an ignorant arrogant ass son of a bitch.

Also, thanks to BoSox34 who wrote in with this taste of heaven:

"Pierre and Furcal have had no trouble getting on base, its the Dodger's driving them in thats been the problem."

Granted, the Dodgers aren't the best hitting team in the league but...

Juan Pierre-.323 OBP
Rafeal Furcal-.345 OBP

I'd say they're having at least a little trouble getting on base.

Keep the Morganomics coming guys. Together, we can change the... errr... survive this shit together.

Labels: HOF, Joe Morgan, Sunday Night Baseball

ESPN's been showing off the bronze on BBTN.

The question: Which 1st/2nd place match up this week catches your attention the most? The options are clear: Angels vs. Mariners, Indians vs. Tigers, Red Sox vs. Yankees, D-Backs vs. Padres, Cubs vs. Brewers, Mets vs. Braves.

John Kruk: Cubs vs. Brewers. Good call Kruky, the 2 teams that wouldn't be sniffing a bleacher seat in the AL Playoff race. The 2 teams that, if they don't win the division, ARE NOT going to the playoffs. The 2 teams that are a combined 3, Three, Tres, 3... games over .500. This series intrigues you the most. Whatever, let's see if it gets better...

Eduardo Perez: Padres vs. Diamondbacks. OK, this seems somewhat promising. Damnit, spoke to soon... "This series is going to come down to the closers." Closers people. Closers. Those are the guys who get saves right? So let me get this straight, Wes Littleton was the most important part of the Rangers beating the living shit out of the Orioles 30-3 because he got the save? Which is an entirely different reason why saves are the most overrated statistic in baseball, but that's for another post when I'm really mad at Joe. He makes a good point though, I can definitely see Hoffman being the star of the show when Peavy throws 8 shutout innings with 17 bagillion K's. Definitely more important. This series is definitely coming down to the closers. And more of a reason this series gets your attention more then others. Other good closers on the 6 teams mentioned above? K-Rod, Putz, Jones, Borowski, Rivera, Papelbon, Wagner.

Steve Phillips: Angels vs. Mariners. Okay, I have no complaints with this.

Enough of this, Sunday Night Baseball is already 6 pitches in... Morgan talking, Juan Pierre playing, and David Wells playing. This is bound to be good, especially if its the night Wells has one of those one in three starts.

Labels: BBTN, ESPN

The lastest entry in Morganomics:

"When you're David wells age, you have one good game in you every 3 starts."

Seriously guys, Joe's not making this up. At first I thought, "No, this can't be true. How would you prove that???" But nay, true stat. In fact, I looked it up. If you go to www.baseballprospectus.com, you'll find it under career stats. It's right between "ERA" and "HMTAPWOIBSOTRIJ"... I know, that's a bitch of an acronym... "How Many Times A Pitcher Whacks Off In Between Starts On The Road In July."

Sorry for the confusion, I didn't mean anything by it, and I know Joe sure didn't. Start factoring it in though guys, it's the new OPS.

Labels: David Wells, Joe Morgan

What good would this site be if we didn't post videos like this? This is as close as it's gonna get for a while guys...



I thought the sound track was fitting.

Labels: Mike Vick, top 10

I really want to get into some illegal underground Cock Fights. As long as we don't bet on it, we won't get into too much trouble. Thats about all I have to say as far as the whole Vick thing goes. So I will talk about Soccer.
A quick read through the Yahoo Sports page will point out that they have a list of players who they feel should join Beckham in the United States. Granted, I love this country, but in no way shape or form should any respected Futbol player ever, and I do repeat ever, join the MLS. Let me indulge you, the reader, with my own top 10 list of why they should stay over-seas.

10. In the rest of the world soccer is worshiped and respected as a sport of the gods. Over here in America, its just another sport to keep you occupied. We don't have the response or the admiration they could ever see over in Europe.

9. Air Fare, Its so freakin cheap over in Europe to fly anywhere else that it makes no sense in spending a few hundred dollars flying around the states.

8. The Pound. It's about 2 for 1 American dollars here folks. To be making 100 million over in England, is about half over here. So lets say you decide to go live back in your home country of England after a brief stint in the MLS, well, youll have to do a currency exchange, and lets just say your giant pocketbook might be a little lest giant.

7. The Euro. Its not 2 for 1 but its still worth more than the dollar. Take the above scenario and replace England with anywhere in Europe.

6. Hicks. Honestly, we have some uncultured, foreign hating, people over here that really just would turn me off to playing anywhere but New York or L.A. Sorry Kansas City, but realistically how many people in the city even know what a foreigner looks like. Probably alot, but that would hurt my point.

5. The National Debt. I have a hard enough time living in this country whose debt is in the Trillions.

4. Health Care. I'm going to get a little Michael Moore here and just say, whose going to be paying for your bruised tibia Beckham, when you don't have the right Insurance. Sure won't be Uncle Sam.

3. Education Reform. When your kids say to you: "Daddy, I would like to learn." Your first thought should be: "This is America and our current education system is entirely lacking as far as Primary through Secondary Schools go. I shall not be sending my child to one of those 'Public Institutions.' And then send them back to bording school in London.

2. Obesity. Ronaldo is fat enough, we don't need to send him over here and just help induce obesity on the guy.

1. Electoral College. It's just ridiculous. Don't try to argue, it just is.




On a serious note, support Amnesty International, Oxfam, or Free trade coffee. its good for the soul and the wallet.


www.myspace.com/oxfam

Labels: Awesome, Michael Vick, Soccer, Top Ten

Okay, did anyone see Roy Jones Jr. on ESPN in response to Vick's problems???

Wow...mother humping wow.

I need a mute button. Not just to turn it off for myself, but to turn him off for everyone else in the world.

Let's run down a short list of topics he touched on: Jesus Christ (as in yes, a comparison to Vick), cock-fighting, dog fighting (of course), his own soft-heartedness, fighting fish, and much much more bullshit. By far the most rambling I've EVER EVER EVER heard.

Search Roy Jones Jr. on ESPN to watch the full video in 360 mode.

Labels: Michael Vick, Roy Jones Jr.

Earlier this week the news broke that Michael Vick was deciding to plead guilty rather than go through a jury trial. Right away sports analysts all began to question whether this was the "correct" decision. The correct decision here would have been for Vick to take responsibility for his actions when this first happened. Instead, what we see if a person who is only pleading guilty to avoid additional charges being filed against Vick.

The NAACP today came out and supported Vick saying that his NFL career should not be over and that he should be given a chance to prove that he learned from his mistake.

The problem with that logic is that Vick didn't just make one mistake. This was not a one time incident. There were a whole series of mistakes that Vick made to end up where he is today--not just one. People tend to forget that. Let's think. First off, Vick gets it in his head, way back in 2001, to enter into a dog fighting ring. Second, Vick, whose nickname is Bad Newz, decided to name the venture after himself and call it "Bad Newz Kennels." Vick then decided to take steps to construct dog kennels on his property. Vick then decided to bring dogs in and begin making contacts to begin operating this ring. Vick then operates the ring for six years!

This is supposed to be one mistake? At least OJ could have claimed temporary insanity. This doesn't work for Vick because his criminal conduct lasted six years!

Additionally, Vick personally financing the operation, participating personally in dog fights AND executions. In addition Vick personally handled thousands of dollars related to gambling.

Backing the train up. Let's rewind to January of this year when Vick was found with a bottle of water that had a hidden compartment for marijuana. Nice work Vick. Another mistake you want us to turn our back on?

Vick's plea bargain will be that he pleas guilty to a federal conspiracy charge. But how about those other jurisdictions? That's right. Animal cruelty charges, amongst others, are in the works at the state and local level. Double jeopardy? No way jose (or no way ron if any of you remember the Ron Mexico fiasco).

Anything else to say in defense of Vick? R. L. White, the president of the Atlanta chapter of the NAACP says, "Michael Vick has received more negative press than if he had killed a human being."

Hmmm....I'll go with no on that one. But at the rate Vick's going, we may see that and can then compare. Any more thoughts Mr. White?

White "says" he doesn't support dog fighting and that he considers it as bad as hunting. "His crime is, it was a dog."

Wow. I don't even know what this means. It could mean that if it were people fighting it would be okay. The problem with that is that you're still not allowed to kill people at the end of fights. And if you mean that it's a crime because it's a dog than any other animal? Well Mr. White, you see hunting involves guns. It's a sport. Soaking a dog in water and then electrocuting it. See, that's not hunting. That's textbook animal cruelty. And each and every time Vick did something like that, that's one more count. So let's see--one count electrocution, one count with a noose (he hung a dog), and one count with a gun (which is sadly probably the most humane way the dogs were killed).

One mistake? I think not. If the NFL has any smarts, it will ban Vick for life. His name is not one they should be associated with. There's a time and a place for this kind of behavior--the NBA.

Labels: legal, Michael Vick, NAACP, NFL

News broke today that former NBA player Eddie Griffin was killed in a fiery collision between his SUV and a train last week. Apparently, his body was so damaged that it took 4 days and a dental records check to determine who the driver of the vehicle was. Griffin was just 25.

Drafted 7th overall in 2001 by the New Jersey Nets, Griffin never quite lived up to his potential. His FT% was abysmal, and his stats were erratic, but the man could block shots and grab rebounds when he wanted to. I know that I used him as a fantasy basketball waiver wire pickup on many occasions. He never stayed on my roster very long, but he had his moments.

Unfortunately, what he'll likely be remembered by is his incident last summer in which he crashed his car while watching a pornographic film and masturbating. The man had some issues, many of which were alcohol and drug related.

Reports were that he planned to get back in shape and attempt to play basketball in Europe this year, and possibly again the NBA, after being waived in March by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Who knows what could have happened to him?

RIP: Eddie Griffin (1982-2007)

Labels: drugs, Eddie Griffin, Kevdog, NBA

One of our readers, VMU13, has made a decent argument in response to Jose Mota's comments... Here's what he said, verbatim:

"well, believe it or not, its actually not that absurd at all. in his career, he's posted a fielding percentage thats downright sick compared to the rest of the league, .975 to .955 (!!!), better than 3rd basemen scott rolen, mike schmidt, AND brooks robinson. in fact, lowell has a higher fielding percentage than any 3rd baseman who has ever won a gold glove. better yet, none of those 3rd baseman even posted a career fielding pct higher than .971 (besides robinson). also, his range factor and zone rating have always been well above the rest of the league.. admittingly, it may seem like a bit of a stretch to call him one of the best because of his uncharacteristically dismal defense this year. but if you look over his entire career, its not unreasonable at all to claim that he's right up there with the likes of rolen, schmidt, robinson and many others.

Here's where my disagreement is:

Fielding percentage, even more so comparing his fielding to other notable third basemen by way of gold glove count, is ridiculous. A Gold Glove is quite possibly the WORST way to evaluate a fielder's performance. In fact, there really is no way to tell how valuable of an asset a player's defense can be to his team. Often, fielding percentages are skewed based on throwing/fielding errors, who was given what error on what play, and so on. A third baseman with more range is more likely to make more errors, because what may be routine to him, is not to others. More opportunities also lead to more errors, as well as playing conditions, etc...

While I do think Mike Lowell is a more then capable third baseman, the corner positions of the diamond are primarily labeled as offensive positions. In this sense, to utter Mike Lowell's name in the same sentence as some of the all time great's at third base, IS in fact absurd. Let's see what the numbers (Yes, thats all that matter in this game) say:

Mike Lowell: .277 BA, .342 OBP, .467 SLG, .809 OPS, 180 HR's, 609 runs. ... Now those aren't bad numbers by any stretch, but really, VMU13, up there with the greatest of all time? Oh... here's what the greatest of all time did:

Mike Schmidt: .267 BA, .380 OBP, .527 SLG, .907 OPS, 548 HR's, 1506 runs.... Those numbers are "Best of all mother humping time" numbers.

Wade Boggs: .328 BA, .415 OBP, .443 SLG, .854 OPS, 1513 runs, and Boggs was by no means a power hitter. His .415 OBP is possibly his most impressive statistic.

Eddie Matthews: .271 BA, .376 OBP, .509 SLG, .886 OPS, 512 HR's, 1509 runs.

George Brett: .305 BA, .369 OBP, .487 SLG, .856 OPS, 317 HR's, 1583 runs, 3154 hits.

So to say that Mike Lowell belongs in the same sentence as these greats is, in fact, a joke. Not to mention the fact that he's played 10 season already, and the numbers put up by these Hall of Famers were compiled in <20 seasons. I'd say Mike Lowell has a lot of work to do to catch these studs of the hot corner, but it's not likely he'll get there. No hard feelings, Mike, you're starting on my fantasy team tonight.

Labels: Best all time, Boggs, Brett, Matthews, Mike Lowell, Scmidt

Jose Mota: "Mike Lowell is one of the best all time at third base..."

Abuhh....

Labels: Mike Lowell

Our journey began on Saturday with a 6 hour drive from Arlington, VA to Cleveland, OH. A little traffic, a stop for lunch, and a stop in Pittsburgh to pick up tickets for our Monday night Pirates vs. Giants doubleheader, and we arrived in Cleveland about 4:30 for the 7:05 game. Blasting "Cleveland Rocks" (of "The Drew Carey Show" fame) on the iPod, we drove through downtown, by Lake Erie and past the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

We parked and headed towards Jacobs Field. On the way was Quicken Loans Arena, where LeBron and the Cavs just surrendered their chance at the NBA Championship to the San Antonio Spurs. After a stop in the Cavs team store, we headed to the baseball game.

We arrived at Jacobs Field to pick up our seats from Will Call in the left field bleachers. The instant we walked into the stadium, I was a fan. We went through the gate in the "Toyota Home Run Terrace" to watch batting practice. After a few chances at grabbing a home run ball during BP, we walked around the stadium before heading to our seats.


It felt a lot like PetCo Park in San Diego. Very clean and new looking, despite opening in 1994. There's a big bar area in Centerfield, which was packed throughout the game, as well as a "Marketplace" food court area out there. There was also a gaming area with a radar gun to try out your pitch speed in right field. If I remember right, Michael threw 63.

We headed up to the nosebleeds (see picture below) to our seats to watch the game. The Yankees were in town, which was pretty entertaining to see. One look around the stands, and it was easy to see that there were more Yankees fans in the world Cleveland than there were Indians fans. Chants of "Let's Go Yankees" were prevalent, while only about 3 people even put forth an effort of a "Let's Go Tribe" chant.


A Victor Martinez sacrifice fly gave the Indians' fans something to cheer about in the first inning, but a 7-run second inning for the Yankees shut them up quickly. Yankees fans were loving it, and it was pretty entertaining to see. Paul Byrd got ripped on, as A-Rod hit 2 homeruns in the Yankees 11-2 victory. The first 2 innings had that sort of playoff atmosphere at fans jeered back and forth at each other. Then, the Indians fans were forced to simply shut up.

As for the ballpark itself, it probably ended up being my favorite of the trip. It didn't quite have the location as Pittsburgh and Cincinnati did (right on the water, more on that later), but the stadium itself was the best. A restaurant with big glass windows in left field was a nice touch, as well as the bar area in center so Indians fans could drink away their sorrows and have fun after the game still in the park was pretty sweet too. Also, the Indians Hall of Fame in center was fun to see.

All in all, a cool city and a great ballpark.

Labels: A-Rod, Byrd, Cleveland, Indians, Jacobs Field, Kevdog, Road trip, Yankees

In today’s news Basketball Jones has been seen placing underground bets on local YMCA youth league basketball matches. We asked Basketball for a comment and all he replied was "I ain’t done nothing, no not nothing, I swears it, those kids be straight up lying, word to my posse, Andre and Bernard, juckey mookey, ya'll juckey mookey."

This comment has left this reporter wondering when in Gods name humanity did became so stupid. In other news, Batter Mcshortstop has been under allegations that he has, in fact, "juiced up" on human growth hormone. Mcshortstop has been accused of this thanks to his former wife’s tell all book claiming, "All you have to do is look through our trash and you'll find about 40 needles." This has been a shocking revelation to the sport of baseball since no one has ever been accused of using steroids in a sport that moves so slow.

In other new, Lion Forest was seen doing "fatty lines of Coke" and I'm not talking about the tasty beverage folks. Old professionals commented on his drug use by saying "Personally I thought doing something to make you speed up would make the sport more interesting to watch, but ya know what, it didn’t."

Finally folks, a tragic story from the Savannah Golden Eagles, as the teams quarterback, Pig Skinson, was finally put behind bars for underground cat boxing. For those viewers who do not now what cat boxing is, it’s kind of like watching two infants fight over a rattle, not really all that interesting, but when there’s money involved, well, it gets ugly. 14 calico cats have been taken from his home and placed in foster care. However, the cats, even after being freed, are still acting, as one new foster parent said, "bitchy." Just like my ex wife, No folks I kid, she’s a saint. Alright well that raps up our sports segment, stay tuned for "Holy Hell Someone in Hollywood Just Took a Piss and We Got Footage."

Have a good night folks.






DISCLAIMER: None of the stories mentioned above are actually true, they are loosely based off of what I'm sure is going on in the news today, I in fact did not even watch anything sports related, I kind of just assumed this is what’s going on. Thank you and Good night.

Labels: Awesome, Baseball, basketball, football, Funny, news, Scandals, Stories

The two co-defendants in Michael Vick's case are expected to appear at the end of the week and accept plea agreements offered by the prosecution.

To the right, is Vick's residence. Animal enclosures can be seen at the top left of the pho

A spokesman for Michael Vick said that the legal defense team was taken by surprise at the news but that it wouldn't change the path they are taking.

This is pure stupidity. If Michael Vick wants to play football in the NFL again, he needs to plea out pronto. The deals entered into by another co-defendant include the provision that the co-defendant testify against Vick and the others.

Federal prosecutors have given Vick till the end of the week to accept the plea bargain. If he doesn't, another indictment will be filed with at least two additional federal dogfighting charges.

Vick's problems don't end in the courtroom. Rumor has it Commissioner Goodell will be announcing a season-long suspension of Vick in the coming week or two.

My advice to Vick: plea out now unless you want to play out the rest of your career in the Canadian Football League.

Feel bad for Vick? Don't. The gruesome details of the indictment stated that dogs who did not perform as well as they had hoped were executed by drowning, hanging, electrocution, or being shot.

In other, related news, Nike has a warehouse of Air Zoom Vick V. I say they rename them 756 Juice and resell them as baseball cleats.

Labels: law, legal, Michael Vick

"Every game, every team, should have grass – without a doubt," Beckham said. "You can't ask any soccer athlete to perform at a high level on FieldTurf."
-David Beckham

I'm going to completely ignore the fact that he is commenting on the argument many MLS players have about fake turf and just take notice that he now refers to futbol as soccer. You know I'm honestly against imperialism and I'm against American Imperialism as much as I am against British but man is it ever prevalent now. We have taken a word this man must have said on a daily basis and totally turned around its meaning to him. Football is now the sport where the star player has dog fights in his backyard. Cricket has become nothing more than that annoying sound he keeps hearing before he goes to sleep. And don't get me started on how "Dumb and Dumber" ruined his interpretation of "tea and scrumpets." What can I say about our bastardization of anything cultural? Well I really don’t have to say anything about it, just walk into any Olive Garden of your choice and you can witness years of Italian Culinary art being punched in the crotch repeatedly then being paraded on a catwalk.

But back to Beckham. Seriously, this guy has gone soft on his upbringing, I'm beginning to speculate that he doesn’t drink as much tea as he used to. And that’s just a sad thought. Oh well, lets take an inventory of all the things America has now claimed:
Beckham’s Vocabulary,
British Music,
Lacoste,
Homosexuals,
Incompetent Leadership

At this rate there will be no stopping us, next thing ya know we'll all be praising Allah, or screaming Harry Krishna, or doing something else that America deems fit to Bastardize. So with all of that said, Beckhams got to go.

p.s. If your wondering how that applies to sports, then you need to get less free time. Hippy.

Labels: America, Awesome, Beckham, Brit, British, hippies

In today's day and age of 24 hour music (everyone walks around with an ipod and now you can even have your illegally downloaded music on your cellphone), baseball has hopped on the bandwagon. Granted, organs have been used for years at baseball stadiums across the country, however music was generally limited to in between innings.

Now at baseball stadiums, walk-up music will be played while a batter for the home team approaches the batter's box or when a relief pitcher for the home team walks (or runs) in from the bullpen.

Perhaps it was the baseball classic movie Major League that started the trend. Rick Vaughn's "Wild Thing" was the song that was played as he took the mound. The choice of music usually reflects a player's heritage, birthplace, name, or a characteristic of the player.

My favorite walk-up music and the players who use the songs are:

• Eric Byrnes--Jump by Van Halen and Disco Inferno by the Trammps
• Pat Burrell--Holy Diver by Dio
• Armando Benitex--Big Pimpin' by Jay-z
• Ryan Church--Crazy Train by Ozzie Osbourne
• Chris Coste--Love Rollercoastr by Red Hot Chili Peppers
• J.J. Putz and John Smoltz and Daniel Thomson--Thunderstruck by AC/DC

Basically, I'm a fan of any loud sound that has an uptempo beat. Let's also discuss what players clearly need help when picking songs. I present the top three worst walk-up music for baseball players.

3. Chase Utley (Philadelphia Phillies) -- We Like To Party by the Vengaboys

While I love your work on the baseball field, I hardly feel that this is a fair representation of what you do. In the Southern California market (and any other Six Flags market), this song is forever associated with that old man with a ridiculous amount of energy (perhaps he overdosed on those little blue pills?). But is that really the image you want in fans minds when you step up to the plate? Hardly.

2. Chad Bradford (Baltimore Orioles) -- Over My Head (Cable Car) by the Fray

Really Chad? As a relief pitcher you want the other team to here that you're in over your head as you take the mound? Bases loaded and they go to you. What does the team here? Oh that's right--that you're in over your head. I'm not saying that the Fray is a bad band. I enjoy their music. There is a time and a place for them however. And at a baseball stadium as you take the mound is neither the time, nor the place. At least it's not coldplay then we'd know something about you (obligatory 40 year old virgin reference).

1. Matt Holliday (Colorado Rockies) -- Holiday by Madonna

Wow. Gee Matt, why'd you pick this song? Oh that's right. You've probably grown up praying for the day that you can use this song because your last name is repeatedly endlessly throughout the song. But please please change it. You think your tough cause you listen to Madonna? Keep in mind she also sang Like a Virgin and Dress You Up With My Love. This is ridiculous. Sigh. High-pitched falsetto singing and tight revealing outfits is what you want us to think of when we see you walk to the plate? Nice work...really.

And I can't leave these next few ones alone because they are funny and puzzling. More of the former then the latter.

• Mike Myers (New York Yankees) -- Halloween Theme

Matt Holliday, take notes. This is how you use your name in a hilarious way.

• Sparky Lyle (New York Yankees) -- Pomp and Circumstance (yes the graduation song...no not the one by Vitamin-C that gets way overplayed every May-June)

This Yankees old-timer would enter games as the relief pitcher while the organist played this tune on the organ.

Interestingly enough, John Rocker used to use I Wanna Rock by Twisted Sister. However, after John Rocker's wonderful comments regarding different ethnicities, Twisted Sister requested Rocker and the Braves stop playing the song. They complied.

Some stupid players have decided to let silence do the talking. Garret Anderson, Jose Molina, and Moises Alou (along with other lesser players) all have specifically asked not to have music played.

What would be your pool baseball walk-up music? Comment. Mine is probably You're the Best (from Karate Kid) or Simply the Best by Tina Turner.

Labels: Baseball, music

Eric Young on BBTN: "The Mariner's are going to slug their way to the American League title."

Ok let me get this straight...

The Seattle Mariners (4.9 runs per game) are going to "slug" their way past the New York Yankees (5.9 runs per game), the Boston Red Sox (5.1 runs per game), the Los Angeles Angels (5.2 runs per game), and the Cleveland Indians (5.0 runs per game).

The Seattle Mariners (109 homeruns) are going to "slug" their way past the New York Yankees (145 homeruns), the Boston Red Sox (114 homeruns), the Detroit Tigers (137 homeruns), and the Cleveland Indians (134 homeruns).

My prediction: The Seattle Mariners (starting pitcher W/L record of 42-43), won't pitch themselves out of 2nd place, let alone get into the playoffs. Hell, maybe EY's basing their whole future off Sexon's 18th homerun today (he's hitting .206, .300 OBP, .399 SLG, .699 OPS [very very bad in all 4 cats]). Or maybe he's banking on Jeff "Dream" Weaver (4-10, 5.64 ERA and a WHIP of 1.5+) throwing CG Shutouts everytime he goes out there.

Keep on sluggin', M's.

*Note: Eric Young attended Rutgers University and graduated with High Honors in the are of bullshit baseball analysis and predictions.

*Note: The above note is false. Eric Young did attend Rutgers but I'm sure he didn't really "attend", since he was an athlete and all.

Labels: Eric Young, Mariners, Rutgers, slug

Verbatim...

On Eckstein: "Smallest guy on the field, biggest heart."

You gotta be shitting me. How do you figure that? Better yet, how do you prove it? Let's cut open Eck and see how big his heart actually is. I'm guessing normal size.

Labels: biggest heart, Eckstein, Steve Lyons

Great clip here... completely related to sports...

Labels: Lost

Barry just hit #758. Now he's the Greater Greatest hitter of all time. Sorry Guys.

New category. Love the team, hate the analyst.

Bases loaded, 2 outs, Bottom of the 3rd. Michael Cuddyer at bat, Escobar on the hill.

Wonder Dog [Rex Hudler]: "If you're Minnesota, you've really gotta take a chance getting a hit here."

Wait... What the... I dunno...

Can anyone explain this to me?

Labels: chance, Rexisms

There are a few different ways to look at the career of Barry, and I'm going to try to take an entirely objective point of view throughout... lets do this. At the end of the article I will reveal which category I fall into. Hold onto your seats, bee-yotches.

Viewpoint #1: The Giants fan slash I support Barry until the end of time fan: This approach is simple. Most of these fans are San Francisco residents, attend Giants games on a regular basis, and cheer for Barry because (a) he helps them win and (b) he's an amazing talent. They push the mere steroid issue aside and stick to the American way (kinda) of innocent until proven guilty.

Viewpoint #2: The Baseball Purist: This fan, most likely not a San Franciscan, despises everything that is Barry Bonds. He is a juice monkey, cheater, jerk, media-hater, lousy hitter (still confused on this one), horrible teammate. This fan is also very likely a Jeff Kent lover. The belief here is that not only should the title of HR King be stripped from Bond's grip, but also that he no business in the HOF/game of baseball. He should go to prison for a number of different heinous crimes. Generally, this fan has done their research and can hold an intelligent conversation about Barry Bonds and baseball.

Viewpoint #3: The non-Baseball fan slash I argue because it pisses people off fan: Generally the most despised of the views, this fan wavers on his take on Bonds an a weekly, if not daily basis. If he's talking to a Purist, he loves Barry. If he's taking to a San Franciscan, Barry's a douche bag. Most people with an "opinion" fall somewhere in this category.

Viewpoint #4: The Objective/Non-Purist/Non-San Franciscan/Student of the game fan: This fan generally tries to form an opinion of Barry based on more then his staggering increase in power, HR production, and bulging neck. (with or without "The Juice", no timeline can tell when it did or didn't start) This fan does not cast the Steroid Scandal by the wayside but does not give it credit for 100% of Barry's performance.


Now that that's settled, go ahead, take a few minutes and try to figure out (honest reflection time) what category you fall into. In the mean time (cue Jeopardy theme song), allow me to stat you to death, I just hope Skip isn't reading, he hates that kind of thing.

16, 25, 24, 19, 33, 25, 34, 46, 37, 33, 42, 40, 37, 34, 49, 73, 46, 45, 45, 5, 26, 23.

Mumbo Jumbo you say... Nay I say. Those are Barry's HR numbers, by year, starting in 86, ending in present. One. One season, Barry hit above 50 Homeruns. The infamous 73. The first 4 seasons Barry was under the age of 25. When he hit 25 years old, the age many players come into their "prime" and get their "man strength", he only hit fewer then 33 HR's in a year one time. He did that in 1991. He hit 40+ HR's three times in the 90's, five time's this decade. Not so staggering. So to say that Barry's HR production has completely taken off is absolutely wrong. I am not dismissing the thought of Barry using 'roids, I think he did, but it's not like they magically made him hit 80 bagillion homeruns for like 20 years. He hit 73 HR's one year. That year, Barry was 36, a polished big league hitter with an eye like no other. I remember watching the chase for 70, and I have never seen a hitter square up [in Lamen's terms, hit a ball directly in the center, in turn the ball being hit harder and farther then If you miss by a centimeter] as many balls as he did in so few of swings. Steroids cannot do this. What can, you ask? The best hitter to walk the face of the earth.

In case you're wondering, I would put myself in group #4. Is Barry a model citizen? No. Did he use steroids? We don't (and probably will never) know for sure, I'm guessing yes. The man has a career OBP of .445 and SLG of .608, equalling a mind blowing 1.053 OPS. That's really damn good guys. The only time he struck out 100 times in a year was his rookie year. Again, absoltely phenomenal for a power hitter (greatest all time). Last I checked, steroids don't improve contact percentage. He has 514 career SB's, of which 89.5% came before Y2K, so don't blame his speed on Juice. 2,541 BB's = 121 BB/year. Wow. Oh and he has 2916 career hits, so even if you take away all 757 HR's, he's still over 2000 hits for his career. Again, very mother humping good.

Call him a cheater. Call him a liar. Call his records tainted. In fact, call him anything you want.

I'll call him the greatest [hitter] of all time.

Labels: Barry Bonds, best of all time, juice

So I don't have an exact quote here for ya kids but I got to comment on Barry Bonds brilliant statement made about his new record. This isn't a direct quote but he said something along the lines of:
"It's not tainted, my records not tainted, go ahead and write whatever you want, it's not tainted."

Wow, seriously, it’s not tainted? Because all people have been able to say about this record usually sounds something like this:

"Did you hear about Bonds getting the new home run record Bill?"
"Yeah, Hank I sure did. Say did you hear that he was taking that there steroids?"
"Yeah, I think his records tainted."

There ya go, infallible proof that this guy’s record can’t be all that "taint" free. Feel free to chuckle at the words "taint-free."

In all seriousness, the guy’s record and career are always going to be in question. Whether or not he did really isn't the question, people are just going to say what makes this more controversial, that being, of course, that he juiced himself up. So say what you will and refer all hate mail towards itstheleague.com. Thank you and God bless Barry Bonds tiny testicles, because without them we wouldn’t have a whole new record on our hands. Just kidding. Once again refer all hate mail to itstheleague.com

Labels: Barry Bonds, Baseball, Home run, record, taint

This fantastic doggie chew toy is modeled after the King of dog fighting--Michael Vick. While initially making his name by throwing passes on the football field, Vick's career took off after he tore a page from Don King's book and began fight promotion.

It's just unfortunate that the police weren't fans of his selection of fighters. Perhaps with so many athletes having trouble with the law (Barry Bonds, OJ Simpson, Michael Vick), the sequel to Jerry McGuire will be with a lawyer instead of a sports agent?

And yes. In the remixed version of the song the lyrics should be changed to the above to keep up with the times.

Labels: law, Michael Vick

He hit 755 and then 756. Now he'll leave and the controversy will die down. But this calm is merely the eye of the storm. Because a man like Barry Bonds will bring lots of questions and controversy when his name comes up for consideration 5 years after he retires for entry into Baseball's holy elite--Cooperstown.

But before Cooperstown, there will be a Riverside. Riverside? What's that about you say? Riverside, CA is home to the Bonds clan. Bobby Bonds, Barry's father was born and raised here in Riverside, CA (before the smog moved in of course). Bobby is a graduate of Poly high school in Riverside and also an inductee in Riverside's Hall of Fame before he died.

In fact, there is a park named after Bobby Bonds--the Bobby Bonds Sports Complex.

The question is, will his son's name come to adorn this tribute to athletic prowess in Riverside, CA? But if not Riverside, then where? Surely there must be some local community that is willing to champion the cause of this controversial athlete? And there will be. The question is where? And to what result?

Where?
How about Riverside? The setback will be the lack of a strong local connection to this community. True he does have relatives in this area, but will it be enough? Probably not. Barry Bonds has shown little affinity for the community that raised his father. If not Riverside, there will surely be a community in Northern California, perhaps San Francisco, that will take up his cause.

To what end?
The next question is the question on everyone's mind. Granted, if it is San Francisco which chooses to place him in its sports hall of fame, they will simply look the other direction when it comes to his scandalous past.

Why the controversy?
The main issue for Barry Bonds is that he has not apologized. In Bonds' eyes he has done nothing to warrant an apology. His stance is that he never knowingly took steroids. His statement may indeed be true. But the problem with that statement is that the general public simply does not look kindly at the "stick your head in the sand like an ostrich and ignore the obvious" defense. Even the law would refuse a defendant to argue this position to a jury.

No doubt, there will be lots of controversy surrounding Bonds entry into Cooperstown. His entry into any Hall of Fame prior to Cooperstown will probably garner substanial attention. But based on recent voting, it is still not likely that Bonds will see his name in Cooperstown--(outside of course the record for most career HRs).

Mark McGwire, a player with a steroid tainted past, garnered only 1/3 of the votes necessary for entry. Jose Canseco, a player who has come out and admitted his use of steroids and also fingered others, had a mere 5% of the votes on the ballots. Both these players tout incredible records (perhaps not as impressive as Bonds) but have failed to garner the votes necessary to enter the Hall.

If Barry Bonds does make it into Cooperstown, he won't be the first player to have used illegal drugs to reach baseball's holiest of places. At least one other player fits the profile of Barry Bonds. Despite heavy usage of illegal drugs, this player still had no problems when it came time to etch his name in history.

This player too was a heavy hitter. Home run after home run. Babe Ruth was a heavy user of alcohol which was illegal during the Prohibition Era (1920-1933). But Babe has no stint attached to this name. Why? Well, most likely because acts making alcohol consumption illegal ultimately were repealed.

Babe Ruth is in the Hall of Fame. His place in history is already etched in stone as one of the greatest to ever play the game.

It is Barry Bonds who is yet to see what how the history books will discuss his accomplishments. But this is quite sad. The problem with this is that it is Major League Baseball that dropped the ball on steroid use. It failed to come out with prescribed rules regarding the use of performance enhancing drugs.

An athlete will assume that he is allowed to act in any way that is not prohibited by the rules of baseball. For example, if an athlete felt hitting with a metal bat would be more advantageous for him, then he would be perfectly entitled to use a metal bat--assuming the rules of baseball did not prohibit this.

Regardless of whether or not Barry used steroids in the past, he is not using them now. He has never failed a steroids drug test. The general public is punishing Bonds because he used steroids in the past--before they were illegal. Because the use of steroids has now been deemed illegal, the public looks at Bonds with a leary eye.

And Bonds? Bonds suffers because he had no idea that using steroids would be illegal. Regardless of whether or not he used, because of the highly negative stigma associated with the use of steroids, Barry Bonds name will forever be tainted.

Jose Canseco...Rafael Palmeiro...Floyd Landis...Barry Bonds.

Regardless of whether they used or not, their names have already been associated--permanently--with intentionally giving themselves a leg or "syringe" up on the competition.

Any athlete wants a leg up and will take it no questions asked. It is only when the sport rules--often retroaactively--that a certain behavior, substance, or equipment is illegal that athletes suffer.

This is why Barry Bonds is MLB's #1 Victim. (Please note: I'm not a Bonds fan. I don't like the guy at all. I just think he's gotten a "bum" rap)

Labels: 756, Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds, Cooperstown, Floyd Landis, Hall of Fame, Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro

Did anyone else here about the good news coming from Iraq? That’s right kids, good news, from, and I'm not lying here, Iraq. You must be thinking at this point, I thought this was going to be an article about soccer. Well let me inform you that it is. It is in so many ways, but I'd like to top this sports sundae off with a little class; that class being political and social satire.

So the Iraq National Soccer team won the Asia Cup this last week. You must be wondering why someone from the Middle East would be entered into the Asia cup. Well let's diagram this. First and foremost, what country would the Middle East be in if not Asia? Second, they are about the only continent a Middle Eastern country could win in. So with that said, they actually won the whole thing which, in the soccer world, is a big honor and title.

This is a big honor and title for America as well. Wait a minute, what do you mean for America? Well kids, we liberated them and frankly to the victor goes the spoils. But come on, we didn’t really liberate them; we really just made more problems. Well what you may call problems, I call a soccer match title. What do you left wing-cut and run-hippies have to say now. Nothing, know why? Because we have a trophy.

Only problem is the Iraq national team isn’t even from Iraq, they don't even play in Iraq. They haven’t even had a home game in years. So Yeah it’s kind of ironic that they play for Iraq, but in reality, would you play in a country that has a ref calling the game an hour early because your team took mortar fire. No, I wouldn’t want to either.

Red Sox vs. Angels- Bottom of the 1st, 1 out. Figgins on first, Vlad up.

Rex: "I don't think Figgins has any intention of going anywhere with Big Daddy up."

Figgins steals second the next pitch.

Almost got em Wonder Dog.

Labels: Figgins, Rex, Vlad

Just flipped on ESPN in hopes of seeing Glavy's 300th win and I find myself delighted to see the Mets up 6-3, hitting in the top of the 8th with the sacks juiced and nobody out. Idiotically, I forget that as I turn on ESPN, I hear the voice that sends chills down my spine... that is, Joe Morgan running his mouth. Let's see if I can catch something in the last 2 innings worth posting about. If not, then I have just told you the line for the game up to this point, and I will have wasted my time and yours. Green just K'd... commercial break, Morganomics to follow, or so I can only hope...

LoDuca singles... run scores... one out.

"He wanted to make sure he didn't hit a ground ball, so he tried to get under the ball. Although he hit a line drive, he did get under the ball."

Wait, Although???... so you would have rather had a sac-fly instead of a run scoring single that moves everyone up 90 feet and saves you an out? Oh that makese sense, Joey. WE'll just pretend this was a simple error in speech.

Score: Joe 1, Me 0.

Just for the record, Joe's crapping his pants right now he's so excited, talking about Wins, one of the least effective ways to tell how good a pitcher is.

"Well I think in one season Bob Gibson had 34 complete games..."

Ok I'm looking that shit up as we speak guys, don't worry. DING DING DING... We have a winner...

Correct answer: 28 CG's... and he did it in 68 and 69. Seriously Joe, take 15 seconds like I did and look it up. Better yet, since you're ESPN's #1 gun, yell at some bum in the back, tell him to look it up, and then get the right answer before you speak. You're such an ignorant ass bleepity bleep.

On Willie Randolph...

"He's going to bring Wagner in even though it's probably not a save situation, He just wants to get this thing over with."

No Joe, it's NOT!!! Not at all. It's the top of the 9th and the Mets are up 7-3. Three runs or fewer constitutes a save. There's no way for the lead to shrink before the bottom of the 9th. Good one though, almost caught me not listening.

There's 1 out and 1 one in the top of the 9th and Joe has yet to speak. Maybe he's catching on... Damn, J-Mill talked to him. Oh don't worry, it's just Joe talking about all the guys he's played against that are awesome. This really has nothing to do with him analyzing baseball in any way, but whatever, atleast he's talking (is that even a good thing?) Well, he hasn't said anything since, but the game is almost over, this is TGTBT.

End. Let's keep it going for Joe here guys. No, screw that, congrats to Glavine on #300.

Labels: 300, Mets, Tom Glavine

Allow me, if you will, to take you back in time; back to the 2006 World Cup. We all remember how much we wanted Ronaldinho to make it to the finals and how much people kept praising Brazils amazing talent. Well we all remember how they lost and how everyone was a tad shocked. People remember how much Renaldo was criticized for being overweight and of course that had something to do with them losing I'm sure, but it was just reported that the Brazilian soccer team was drunk between matches. Holy Crap, drunk. Your at the freaking world cup games here, you wouldn’t drink if you had work the next day, but oh all they had to do was play in the worlds most watched and loved sporting event that basically gives a country the ultimate bragging rights. That makes me quite upset considering everyone was curious as to how they could have done so badly. Well now we all know, they were drunk or hung over. But in reality, considering the way they were playing, finding out that they were drunk helps them out. It would even be nice to find out that England was taking bong hits in-between matches as well. It really goes to show you that any country can think so highly of themselves that they play like they’ve already won. But that’s what separates the men from the boys. France came eager to play and they worked hard at making the finals, I would say the same for Italy but when your team motto is “fall in sight of the referee” well frankly, I have no respect for you. Overall, it’s a matter of dedication and how much you are taking this whole thing seriously. It’s the game of a lifetime not just a match ever four years.


p.s. Italy’s motto is not what I claim it to be. It really sounds more like grown men on scooters saying Ciao.

Labels: Brazil, France, Italy, Renaldo, Ronaldinho, Soccer

Yup, it's true fellas. I wish I could say this is photoshop magic, but its not.

Labels: gay, Will Smith