Don't Tell My Wife But I Have a Mancrush....

It has been a while since I last posted, but as we get closer to football season you will get a steadier dose of my snarky comments and football observations. The NBA Finals and the Lebron James circus, basically put me to sleep. Luckily, this weeks British Open at St. Andrews has provided me with the cold splash of water I needed to arise from my slumber.

I now have a new Sports Centre anchor, and no I did not misspell that. Jay Onrait is the lead anchor on Canada's version of SportsCenter. While he doesn't have to turn his head to stare you down (Boo Yah), or set up camp on Brett Farve's front lawn, he still gets the job done. Onrait has a dry, and cold blooded sense of humor that I just discovered and am suddenly all aflutter over.

Onrait is author to possibly the funniest sports highlight clip I have ever seen. I am not able to embed the clip since MLB is constantly taking it down from Youtube due to copyright infringement, however I strongly urge you watch.

Also, if you have 15 minutes to kill this weekend, Put Jay's name into Youtube and enjoy. Here's a little sampler for you.

Coffee is for "closers," and Lane Kiffen has been pounding the java

You may not like it, but Lane Kiffin is going to pull big time recruit after big time recruit to USC. Last week severed as another example that USC is the top recruiting powerhouse on the west coast, as Kiffin added Bakersfield quarterback Cody Kessler to an already impressive list of verbal commitments.

Two weeks ago Kessler was literally minutes away from committing to the University of Washington and Steve Sarkisian, but the Trojans came calling and eventually won out. What made this commitment intriguing was that Kessler was the 2nd quarterback commit in this class for USC. Max Whittek of Mater Dei has been aboard for a couple of months. There are maybe four or five schools in the country that could get two All American signal callers in the same class and despite the ever present NCAA storm clouds, these two studs have jumped aboard. This is not a tremendously deep year at QB on the West Coast and now the top tier guys are mostly spoken for. Cal has their guy in Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) product, Kyle Boehm, and USC is now certainly done. Oregon has a commit from a nice looking player out of St. Louis high school in Hawaii , plus they could take another national level prospect but appear done on the left coast.

UCLA and UW are next up to the plate, and both would love to nab the West Coast top rated QB in Arizona’s Brett Hundley. However, Hundley has nearly 20 offers and most indications are he will take his time. As high schools across the country let out, it will soon become summer camp season in college football. These are part NFL combine and part recruiting visit. It gives coaching staffs a chance to not only get a prospect on their campus but also watch and measure them. Expect the Husky and Bruin summer camps to be littered with quarterbacks fighting to earn the vauled scholarships.

If Rick Neuheisel strikes out on Hundley, it could have pretty big implications. As you can see by the numbers below, the Bruins are already behind in locking down this years class. While, Neuheisel was able to close in impressive fashion this past February, he faces a make a break year in Los Angeles.

Here's the number of early commitments for each Pac-10 school:
Arizona 3
Arizona State 1

California 3
Oregon 2

Oregon State 0

Stanford 15

UCLA 0

USC 7

Washington State 5

Washington 12

Cavs vs Celts Game 6 Has Big Implications

I have definitely caught playoff fever, NHL Playoff Fever that is. After the Olympic break, I fully climbed aboard the San Jose Sharks Bandwagon and have thoroughly enjoyed the ebb and flow from the first two rounds. However, I have probably watched less than an hour combined of NBA Playoff basketball this year. That being said, I do know that tonight's game between the Cleveland Cavaliers vs Boston Celtics has huge ramifications throughout the world of basketball.

Let's try and connect the dots from Beantown to Cleveland, through Lexington and all the way to the Pacific Northwest and figure out what the game means to us on the West Coast. If "The King", Lebron James, fails to capture an NBA title after once again leading his team to the NBA's best record, he will be blamed almost single handedly. Mike Brown has shown himself to be nothing more than a glorified water boy in this series, getting obviously out coached by Doc Rivers. If LBJ elects to stay in Cleveland, it will almost undoubtedly be with a new coach (of his choosing) on the sidelines. Kentucky coach John Calipari, has been telling most in NBA circles that he can deliver "The King," to whichever city will hire him. Previously, Chicago was speculated, but now that the Cav's are having their issues, it seems like Cleveland could be the landing spot for Calipari.

If Calipari leaves, it will be a free-for-all at Kentucky. His current class of recruits will go elsewhere and thrive while Ashley Judd could be sitting on her hands this year. They may seriously have 5 scholarship players for next year. When you make a deal with the devil, be prepared to get burnt.

Now what does this have to do with the Pac-10, the much maligned league from this years 2009-2010 basketball season? Well, it could push us left coasters into the forefront of the spotlight. The West Coasts #1 player this year, 6'9 Terrance Jones of Portland, has still not signed his letter of intent yet.



He has been verbally committed to the University of Washington for over a week, but is still torn between UW and UK. If "Coach Cal" were to head to Cleveland, expect Terrance Jones in Seattle. With T Jones in Seattle, the Huskies would lose only one starter from last years Sweet 16 team, and add a Top 10 national recruit and likely one and done NBA prospect. UW would vault into many pre-season Top 10 lists, while Arizona, UCLA, and Stanford all return the meat of their line-ups. The Cal Bears would have to rebuild, but would do so with a fantastic coach and even USC looks like they are finally on the right path.

After a year of constant bashing by ESPN, the Pac-10 could be back to their rightful spot on the college basketball pecking order. While the ACC and Big East have the pedigree and will forever get the headlines, there may not be a better top to bottom league than the "versus conference."

Tremendous Broadcaster Tirade

With the Cleveland Indians (10-17) mired in last place in the American League Central, fans are starting to get fed up, which is expected. However, Indians post game host Bruce Drennan had a true remarkable meltdown on-air yesterday. The pained expressions, screaming, and best of all, his imitation of Russell Branyan's swing at the 1:00 mark is classic.

West Coast Quarterback Dominoes Begin to Fall

The NFL draft certainly received the majority of the pigskin related headlines over the weekend. As has been the case in recent years, most of the chatter centered on the quarterback position. With Sam Bradford being selected #1, it only reinforces the consensus that unless you have a solid quarterback, your team is going to struggle. What slipped up the headlines, unless you are a college football or recruiting junkie (which I am) the next generation of quarterbacks are beginning to pick their school. Quarterback recruiting is unlike any other position in college football. Schools traditionally sign only one QB, once one player commits, teams usually offer the next in line that day. This creates a domino effect that goes from the top to the bottom rung of the conference. Much like the New York Yankees pluck the choice free agents. The upper echelon of the college football world hand picks their quarterbacks. For the 3rd time in a decade, the USC Trojans have garnered a commitment from a Mater Dei (Anaheim) signal caller. Class of 2011 quarterback, Max Wittek will follow in the footsteps of Matt Leinhart and Matt Barkley and has pledged to be the next leader for the Men of Troy. Recruiting rankings don’t come out in full until after summer camps and combines, but USC traditionally takes the top QB in So Cal and then the rest of the Pac-10 takes their place at the table. What will be very interesting to watch this year, who gets to eat 2nd behind USC? Oregon and Chip Kelly, UCLA and Rick Neuheisel, or Jeff Tedford and Cal? Coaching staffs and offensive systems matter big time to top prep quarterbacks. Wittek has surged to the front of the list of So Cal signal callers, however the big time recruits this recruiting cycle are geographically spread. The next rung of QB’s on the West Coast includes three players. A dual threat stud from here in San Jose, Archbishop Mitty’s Kyle Boehm, as well as big time players from Bakersfield, Cody Kessler and Phoenix area pheonom Brett Hundley, the #5 rated QB in the country.



The wild card in all of this will be the “Armenian Assassin”, Steve Sarkisian (not his actual nickname, however I think it is pretty cool). In sports, “scoreboard” is the ultimate taunt and comeback. Sark has coached two Heisman trophy winners, beat out Nick Saban to land Joe Montana’s son, and is in the process of molding Jake Locker into the #1 pick in the 2011 draft. The top QB on the West Coast, Brett Hundley and his coach, have already visited Seattle for a spring practice and Cody Kessler will be in the Northwest next weekend.

Who will step up and stop Sark? Jeff Tedford was once thought of as “the top qb coach” in the nation, as Akili Smith, Joey Harrington, and Aaron Rodgers were all drafted in the 1^st round. What has happened since has been surprising. Nate Longshore and Kevin Reily have both failed to live up to expectations, keeping Cal in Poinsettia Bowl territory. With Reily entering his senior year, Tedford needs to hit a home run with his next Quarterback recruit. Chip Kelly and the Oregon Ducks now recruit nationally, and even though it is reported that Kyle Boehm favors the Ducks, no one knows if he will get offered. Rick Neuheisel and Norm Chow were highly thought of…..two years ago and have been largely a disappointment during their tenure. With Kevin Prince entrenched in the starting spot for the next 2-3 years, it will take a lot of skill and a little luck for the Bruins to nab a big time recruit.

The next month should tell us a lot about the next 5 years of Pac-10 football. IOne player will not make or break a football program. However, the pecking order for recruits on the West Coast has never been more competitive. Oregon State, Arizona, Stanford, Utah and even Boise State are flexing their muscle like never before. Thirty days from now we will know who truly has the “juice” in the Pac-10 and on the Left Coast.

Tim Tebow Wears Joe Pavelski Pajamas

What an epic game the San Jose Sharks played and won last night in Denver, 2-1 in OT. Joe Pavelski is quickly turning into my favorite player. The gritty, gutty, and feisty player from Wisconsin has willed his way to the upper echelon of NHL talent. He will never make an "all airport team," standing just 5'11 and registering 194 pounds. That did not stop him from making big plays in the Olympics and so far against Colorado he has notched 4 points, including two clutch goals. Pavelski has dramatically improved his game when it counts the most.



In a contest that previous Sharks teams would have crumbled and the weight of expectations, San Jose “survived and advanced.” While the series is tied 2-2, the Avalanche are getting a standing 8 count. The Sharks have worn them down, and 4 games of diving in front of pucks is starting to take it's toal. If the Sharks can come out early in game 5, take control, and let the emotion from the home crowd take over this series will be in the bag.

It was also great to see Dan Boyle, with the ultimate redemption goal. Boyle was able to quickly erase the stigma from his OT blunder, and move on. It could not have been a more fitting way for the Sharks to exorcise their playoff demons.

Speaking of playoff demons, critics and fans need to lay off Joe Thorton. While “jumbo” will never be the alpha dog scoring machine like Kobe, Jordan, or Gretzky, he is an amazing team player. Thorton is more of the point-forward, deft passing star that needs to be surrounded by other great players. One question, why have they not matched him up with a big, physical, (park himself in front of the net and cause mayhem), forward? Patrick Marleau is not that player and now that it is April, he has once again enter the witness protection program. I would love to see a line of Thorton, Heatley, and Pavelski. Jumbo would be like a point guard passing to two fearless slashers.

Greatest Post Game Interview Ever...

Yankees pitcher Chan Ho Park explains to the New York media why he struggled on opening night versus the Red Sox.



I have two questions after view this: 1.) Who is the one laughing in the background? 2.) Is Chan Ho Park still pitching in the majors?

Is Pablo Sandoval Working For KFC Now?

With opening day for the SF Giants up the road at 24 Willie Mays Plaza, Fred Couples killing it at the Masters, and the Sharks bid for the top seed in the west, there are plenty of sports related items that I could discuss. However, those will be put on the back-burner so that I can speak about my current man-crush.

The topic dujour for this beautiful TGIF......The new KFC Double Down. Somewhere the creator of the Atkins diet is weeping in a meat locker. I don't know where to start with this, except to say, "Really?" Part of me wants to hate this idea, but the other part of me wants to indulge in a Double Down after a few pitchers of beer at Rookies Sports Bar.

Hey I love fried chicken, and I LOVE bacon. Plus, cheese and I go way back, but just when did this become necessary. When will Krispy Kreme create a sandwich, with a cookie between two

freshly made glazed doughnuts.

With all of that being said, when will my local KFC start serving these little slices of heaven? While I am sure that many in the Bay Area are appalled by this creation, I am equally as sure that in the deep fried loving South, there are currently 20 person lines at the KFC inside Wal-Marts.

In researching this topic, I came across a fantastic quote from a KFC spokesperson.... “The product is going to appeal to people who are looking for an indulgent sandwich like some of the other sandwiches served at fast-food restaurants,” said KFC spokesman Rick Maynard.

I wish company spokespersons would just be honest, "We are capitalizing on the the fact that America is the most obese country in the world. We believe the key demographic for the Double Down will be 18-24 year old males, under the influence of something, especially between the hours of 10PM and 2AM."

First name Greatest....Last name Ever....

While he is not quite to Drake's standards.... nor has he yet been dubbed "Lil Loggy", Cal Bears wide receiver, Alex Lagemann (from nearby Saratoga High School) is a talented rapper. With dynamic lyrics, cool beats, and a laid back Cali style he calls "chill-hop", I must say I enjoyed nearly every song off his album.

While looking through college football news stories, I came across a link to "Loggys" mix-tape. Admittedly I was skeptical. The list of athletes who have made rap albums is long and illustrious (if you are a Top Gun fan, finish this quote). However, the list of decent records by athletes can probably counted up on one hand. The best part in my opinion, he did all this with his Mac book and an old computer microphone. With today's technology, talent can not be stopped by the need for studio time, or a big break.
What started off as a dare, has now flourished into a possible post-football career. While Lagemann did have 12 catches for 150 yards last year, he is not exactly what Todd McShay would call a blue-chipper. The reviews by fellow MC's and music lovers are far more flattering. Give his mix-tape a listen and let me know what you think.

The Sports Dads Conquer Harding Park..Sort Of....

Our day at Harding Park has come and gone. Together we took over 200 strokes to complete the 18 holes from the blue tee's (but the white yardage - more on that in a bit). I hate to sound like a boxer, but now that I have had a week to digest the days event, I want a REMATCH!

Last Saturday could not have been a more picturesque day in San Francisco. 75 degrees without a could in the sky and a 10:15AM tee time, is a recipe for heaven and Harding Park was almost that. Instead of a rehearsed, well composed essay, I will just list the thoughts Steve-O and I had as we made our way around the hollowed grounds.

- What a terrible driving range. Where did the players in the Presidents Cup warm up? Not that astroturf covered goat pasture they were passing off as a driving range. That's fine, we came to play 18, not hammer balls on the range, but still the range was embarrassing for a course of this stature.

- Was the starter drunk? The guy has one job and didn't do that well. He couldn't keep the groups straight. There were probably 15 of us chomping at the bit ready to tee off. We got cut after the group in front of us passed the starter a couple of "double sawskies" as my father in law would say or ($20) to the lay person. Then, he yanked the group that was supposed to be in front of us off the tee and let us tee off. Easy come easy go.

- I love the wide fairways, the picture above is from the 1st tee box. Since both Steve-O and myself have small to moderate slices, this worked out well for us. I only lost 2 balls all day. Losing 2 balls at Pruneridge or Deep Cliff would make me happy, but 2 at Harding Park meant I was putting the ball in play off the tee.

- They moved the tee boxes up, probably due to high percentage of amateurs on the course. We played from the Blue Tee's, however they were at the white distances. The course was probably flooded with hackers after the Presidents Cup and they wanted to keep the speed of play at a brisk pace.

- The greens feature poana grass, something I have never played on. In the morning, while the dew was still drying out, it made putting extremely slow. As the day warmed up and the greens dried out, the greens sped up tremendously. Since I don't get a ton of height on my iron shots, it was nearly impossible to keep a shot on the green without rolling it off.

- Who came up with the idea of locating a skeet shooting facility right next to a golf course? Really? Incredibly odd to say the least. Plus the fact the course and the shooting range were separated by a lake made it even louder.

- Cart path only for the golf carts actually slows down play and probably cost me two to three shots. I didn't feel like running across the fairway to grab a different club if I had a weird lie. Not a huge deal, but if I play this course again I am going to walk it.

- The view from the tee boxes on some of the back 9 holes were amazing. Especially 13, next to Lake Merced with a view of the Olympic Club. You won't be able to see it on TV in 2012 (Home of the US Open), but what dramatic elevation changes across the lake at OC.

- Like most storied courses, Harding Park has a tremendous finishing hole. This is the picture I took from the Tee Box. (PS, I laced the drive about 235 in perfect position but couldn't seal the deal with the awkward diagonal green)

Summary: I notched a 103, narrowly missing my previously stated goal of breaking 100. However, my boy Steve-O did hit 100 right on the nose. We were nothing if not consistent. I had a 51 on the front and a 52 on the back. Steve-O had two 50's.

I would encourage all golf enthusiasts to make the trip to Harding Park, only $66 bucks for SF residents and $99 for Santa Clara County residents. However, it is very much a public course and everything that entails. Five to six hour rounds, good but not great course conditions, a few holes right next to major roadways and hackers galore. However, the scenic views, and signature holes more than make up for the few negatives. Overall, I would give my experience an A-. Next up for the "Sports Dads", the links style Pacific Grove Municipal lighthouse course.

We Love You Gus Johnson

Just in case anyone out there didn't catch last nights Xavier-Kansas St. double overtime thriller, here are the highlights:



I happened to be at a bar (Willow Glen's very own Rookies Sports Lodge, highly recommended by the Sports Dads) during last night's game. While the game was exciting to watch with a big group (included in that group was San Jose's own Joey Chestnut, sadly no one challenged him to an eating contest), I was a little sad I didn't get to hear the sweet sounds of GuJo. Thank you Youtube and thank you internets. Enjoy.

-Stevo

The Sports Dads Take On Harding Park

While I really only started playing golf 6 years ago, I have grown to love the sport. It has been a perfect channel for my competitive juices, that playing basketball or running used to fulfill. This upcoming weekend "The Sports Dads", (Steve and myself), will take on a Presidential Challenge, and play Harding Park golf course.

This whole endevour began in the spring of 2008. My day job is that of a publishing sales rep, and during our main selling season two years ago, I made a deal with my wife. If I hit my sales goal, she would get a pair of earrings, and I would get to play Harding Park. Well, I smashed my sales goal that year, and the only thing that has delayed my adventure was the Presidents Cup that was held their last Fall. In preparation for the event, the course significantly cut down on the number of tee times, rasised the rates, and lenghtned the rough.

Now that the Presidents Cup is in the rearview mirror, Saturday March 27th has been on our calendar since December. While I have improved each year I have played, my goal for this weekend is to break 100 from the white tee's. Wish me luck and we will keep you posted.

Soundtrack for the Madness

The Madness! What an unbelievably enthralling weekend of college baskerball. While I certainly enjoyed Bill Raftery calling the St. Mary's victories over Richmond and Villanova, and there are many voices of the NCAA tournament. The Soundtrack to "The Madness", is composed by a lyrical savant, Gus Johnson, or "GuJo" as he is known on Lincoln Avenue.

Here is the link to the Gus Johnson Soundboard!!! Relive your favorite GuJo moments, however nothing beats.....

Golf Finally Matters Again

Today, just after 8:30AM, the sport of golf got a shot of adrenaline to the heart just like a Mrs. Mia Wallace, in the film Pulp Fiction. Most of us serious golf fans had overdosed on Tiger Woods news that did not invovle him actually playing and today the clouds parted.

I do not own a Buick, nor did I want to when Woods was endorsing the product. I do not own any piece of Nike golf equipment or clothing. And really, unless you are riped like Tiger, the tight red shirt is not a good look for 90% of us dads. While many out there pointed to the fact that Tiger sold us a false image, I would argue that point. The image that was sold to us was that of excellence, determination, and mental toughness.

I have debated the Tiger Woods situation at many a dinner table over the last 5 months. My bottom line has always been, as soon as he is back out there on the course and winning tournaments, the TMZ'esque pursuit of skeletons in his closet with decease, and we will go back to charishing his immense skills. Aside from possibly taking a 9-iron to the temple, what illegal activity did Woods particiapate in? Sure his behavior was illict and immoral, but it was not illegal. Heck, 20 mistresses is like a road trip for NBA players.

When Tiger is teeing it up on the famed Par 3, 16th at Augusta National, we won't be thinkin of mistress #8 or #18. We will be wondering what he will do next, that every other golfer in the field is not physically capable of.


I am a HUGE golf fan, and Camillo Vigellas, Adam Scott, and Hunter Mahan just are not doing it for me. Phil Mickelson is 40 years old and will probably never consitantly win as much as we would like him to. Vijay, Ernie, Ratief, and Fred Couples are all on the downside of their career. The PGA tour needs Tiger more than Tiger needs golf. It's this point that has me most excited about his return. Not only seeing him play in the Masters, but his return to golf will legitimize every other tournament out there. We will understand that Tiger is choosing not to play in an event that the B squad has a chance to rack oversized checks and Fed-Ex Cup points (no offense Paul Gydos or Ryan Moore).


Will Tiger win #15? Probably not, but the Masters and golf are back in the spotlight for the right reasons.

Give him a bottle of GlenLivet and send him to Maui

It only took 3 games for the Golden State Warriors attach the words "adject failure" to the 2009-2010 season. Despite the fact that Don Nelson is only 7 games away from becoming the all-time winningest NBA coach, he will not reach that milestone this year. Injuries have ravaged the roster to the point that the media guide now lists 5 players that began the year in the D-League. As the losses continue to mount and it becomes more and more apparent Nelly will not get the record, the question has been asked, "Should they bring him back for next year, just to notch the mark?" ABSOLUTELY NOT.

Nelson is now 70 years old, and is rivaling Jamarcus Russell for least amount of effort while collecting a paycheck in the East Bay. Up until today, I have looked at him as a "crazy grandfather" figure, who let his players run-n-gun. However, after today, he has totally lost me. The funny thing is, the final straw has nothing to do with the Golden State Warriors.

Like I do most commute's, I was listening to "The Razor and Mr.T" show when they had their weekly chat with Don Nelson. Since the W's have the 3rd worst record in the NBA, they don't have much to talk about these days. They pointed the conversation to the NBA draft, when Don Nelson uttered, the absolute stupidest thing I have ever heard from a front office individual.

Nelson was asked about his worst draft pick, and he brought up his time as Coach/General Manager of the Milwaukee Bucks. Nelson had this to say, " Kenny Fields was my worst, I never saw him play, never talked to him, and never watched film on him, but he was suppose to go in the top 10 and there we were at #24 and our scouts said take the guy, so I did."

The General Manager selected a player he had never seen play, or watched film on. They couldn't find a clip of him in the 20 minutes before the Bucks were on the clock. While this may have nothing to do with the current state of the Warriors, it has everything to do with the state of the Warriors. This is the man running the franchise, and he couldn't watch video tape of a 1st round draft pick. Oh, and he was 23 years younger at the time, and undoubtably had much more energy and enthusiasm than he has now. It's time to take the keys from grandpa.

Go Gaels

Gotta give props tonight to the Omar Samhan and the rest of his Moraga Madmen. St. Mary's needed to play well against Gonzaga tonight to sew up a berth into the NCAA tournament. They did better than that as they dominate the 2nd half and blew out the 14th ranked Zags, 81-62. Gonzaga has long ruled the West Coast Conference, winning 9 of the last 12 WCC tournaments and nine in a row to the Zags.

It is great to see that all of the hard work Randy Bennett has put in, is paying off. Especially after last years near NCAA miss due to Patty Mills injured wrist.

Enjoy it St. Mary's fans, you definitely deserve it. And while you will get to bask in this victory through the selection show on Sunday, one word of warning. This win will shine an even larger spotlight, not only on the program, but the man running the show.

Bigger schools will come calling, possibly a Pac-10 university about 8 hours north on I-5. Bennett has turned down other offers in the past, but will he if Phil Knight, "makes him an offer he couldn't refuse?"

Which Prank Call On Sportscenter Is Best?

For only the 2nd time in nearly 30 years, ESPN has been pranked live on the air during Sportscenter. Neither is the fault of the anchors, but both will live on in infamy. The blame goes to the producer for not confirming their live guests on the phone, but both delight me to no end. My favorite part, after he gets embarrassed, he says "Hi Youtube."



Here is the original and an all-time classic.

With the 6th pick in the NFL draft, the Seattle Seahawks select....

I wanted to get this out for Seahawks fans before the NFL world descends on the combine in Indianapolis. While I do enjoy the combine and believe it does have importance in the draft process, the testing results are intensely overblown. The most important part of the combine these days are the face to face interviews. Gathering the top prospects in the country, having them parade around in their underwear, and then running them through a series of physical tests is outdated. With the athletic performance clinics most of today's top players attend, prospects are excelling at the 40-yard dash, broad jump, and three cone drill like never before.

Here are the important parts of the combine, in order of relevance:
1. The chance for your team Doctor to exam a players past injuries
2. The chance to sit across the table from a prospect and gauge whether they truly love football or not (Ask the Raiders and Jamarcus Russell if this is important)
3. The chance to go Indy's best steakhouses

As you can see, that is not a very big list. If you want to find out if a player has got the game to play on Sunday's, I have a novel idea. WATCH HIS COLLEGE GAME TAP. If Derious Heyward-Bey ran a 4.5 instead of a 4.3, he would have been a 3rd rounder.

With that said, I have made up my mind on who I would like the Seattle Seahawks to select with the #6 pick (granted this player is available). Two Words: Boomer Sooner

While the Offensive Line is the Hawks most pressing need for next year, the upgrading of the quarterback position is the most pressing need for the franchise. Matt Hasselback is certainly not getting any younger, and where are the Hawks going to get their next franchise signal caller. Free agency, trade, or a late round pick? Look at the Super Bowl, you are not winning big in the current NFL unless you have a big time quarterback.

What makes me like Sam Bradford? Its not his physical ability or 40 time, or wonderlic score. Sam Bradford has the completely unmeasurable "IT" factor. I have heard him in interviews on the radio 3 times in the last couple of weeks, and he just has it. The same way, Matt Ryan did two years ago and Mark Sanchez last year. Heck, Bradford is a scratch golfer and averaged 20 points a game in high school basketball. He has got the physical tools, the accuracy and the poise, but it wasn't until I heard him speak that I wanted him to be a Seahawk. What is "it?"

You can't describe it, you either have it or you don't.

Minding My Own Business....

The other day I was out in the front yard doing yard work when, what appeared to be, a dad and his daughter rode by. Now most of you might think they were just riding bikes but actually only the dad was riding a bike his 10-13 year old daughter was riding a Segway. This tells you a little bit about the area of Willow Glen. Not only do people have the $5K+ to drop on a Segway they ride em around the neighborhood for "exercise".

Anyway, in their honor I thought I'd post this video:



This was one of my favorites but there are a ton on Youtube. This ought to kill about 30 minutes of your day. You're welcome.

Not exactly a Wally Pip Situation

While this may be akin to a snake charmer laughing when he see's someone else get bitten, there are few things I love more than watching on-air mishaps on Local TV news. Considering I used to be a part time sports anchor and have over 400, live play-by-play broadcasts under my belt, I should have sympathy and understanding for these fellow journalists. Instead, I am find myself with a sore stomach from all of the laughing.

Which of these two classic Sports Reports is Worse???
Matt Lorch

Brian Collins


My answer might surprise you. I am going to go with Matt Lorch, since he seems to be trying way to hard and his wardrobe is just a tad to nice to Quincy, IL. Plus, I find he has a striking resemblance to Dan Cortez of MTV Sports fame. Brian Collins was a last minute fill-in and fully aware of the train wreck unfolding before him.

One final side note, I just googled KHQA, the station Matt Lorch is is performing on. I actually applied for a job at this station in 2005, and NEVER heard back. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Oregon Spring Football Practice to be held in Prison

There are few teams in all of sports I dislike more than the University of Nike in Eugene. The Oregon Ducks quite simply have the best owner in all of sports. Better than George Steinbrenner, Mark Cuban, Robert Craft, and Paul Allen. The difference between Phil Knight and the others, is that Phil Knight owns a state funded university. Simply put, Knight has donated close to a billion dollars to the University of Oregon since the mid-90's. The last three athletic directors have been hand picked by Knight personally, including current AD, Mike Belloti.

While I believe the Nike connection is incredibly unfair, especially when promising football recruits are promised sports marketing jobs at Nike after graduation, most of my ill-will, is directed at the obnoxious fan base. As a fan of other Pac-10 schools, I have personally attended two games at Autzen stadium, one time when I was about 10 years old. Because I was wearing the wrong colored shirt, I was cursed at, berated, and physically threatened...AS A 6th GRADER.

Oregon's recent spat of legal trouble however slows their rise Pac-10 supremacy, at least temporarily. While LaMichael James is an amazing running back, he can be replaced by another of their stable of blazing fast ball carriers. As long as Jeramiah Masoli stays out of jail, the Ducks will be heavily favored to make a 2nd straight Rose Bowl appearance.

The most ironic part of the Masoli story (that he allegadely stole two laptops from a fraternity), is that athletes are given free Mac Books, that are laser engraved with that annoying O.

I have wanted to post for a few days now, but then life got in the way

I have been delayed a bit in recent days. I have wanted to share my thoughts on Pac-10 expansion, Larry Ellison possibly buying the Warriors, and Dan Dibley, however being a dad got in the way.

To make a long story short, the best part of being a dad:
And the worst part of being a dad, every time my little man gets sick, I inevitably become sick two days later. I got knocked out Sunday night and all day Monday.

I will leave you with this tremendous interview of Chris Farely on the Tonight Show.

Steve Nash Loves Denim

While this does not have much to offer sportswise, it is a great commerical featuring Steve Nash.

I am not a huge NBA fan, but I am a huge Jim Rome fan and the last couple of days have featured a great many "clone skirmish's", betweeen American listeners, and our round bacon loving friends to the north. The funniest thing I heard today, "Why do Canadians wear so much denim, beacause they own so much denim." Honestly, if you google "Canadian Tuxedo" you will get a ton of images of people dressed in denim head to toe.

Who Dat....

It has taken me a couple of days to completely digest what transpired on Sunday evening. While I respected and admired Drew Brees and Sean Peyton beforehand, they have both entered a different stratosphere now that they are Super Bowl Champs.

While there is no doubt that the Saints were the best team on the field, I have heard many different takes on the game sealing interception thrown by Peyton Manning. While I will be the first to agree it was not Manning's best throw, in my opinion, that INT was at least 50% Reggie Wayne's fault. He totally quit on the route if he had been where he was suppose to be (the Colts run a precision passing attack) Porter still might have intercepted the pass, but Wayne would have tackled him immediately.

Beyond the actual game, I must say it is great for New Orleans. Back when Hurricane Katrina devestated the entire region, I had a daily sports talk show in the Monterey/Salinas area. At the time, I thought the Saints were a hopless cause. How would the Saints repair the Super Dome? Who would fill the much needed luxury boxes, which corporations would not move their headquarters out of the Delta? And most importantly, why would a free agen go to the Saints?
Much credit needs to be given to Paul Tagliabue, I know he took heat for making the Saints play a home game in New Jersey, but he sternly told Saints owner Tom Benson he would stay put. The NFL helped pay for the repairs, and Sean Peyton brought in Drew Brees......and the rest is history.

While there are many scenes of celebration from the Big Easy, I think this video of Drew Brees teaching bar patrons his pre-game chant is pretty cool.

"Are we on? I don't believe you....."

After working in the Television news industry for nearly four years, there are few things in life I enjoy watching more than a broadcaster doing something stupid and not realizing they are on camera.

While this is rather harmless it does remind me of my producing days doing the morning news at a local station. The anchors would basically show up 5 minutes before the newscast, not read the scripts, and then do their makeup the entire time they were off camera.

Finding and posting embarrassing clips of broadcasters will be a staple of this blog, I hope you enjoy.

I'm a Willow Glen Dad and I like sports....

I know what you're thinking: "Great, another reject with a blog that thinks his opinions matter". Yup, that's pretty much it. What makes me qualified to write about sports? Absolutely nothing. I don't work in sports, I don't have any insider knowledge and I never laced them up (unless high school golf counts). I do like sports, watch a lot of sports and I have pretty strong (and perhaps educated) opinions about the sports I like. Thanks to the internet, and more specifically the ability to create a blog in 25 seconds, I can write about sports and there's really nothing anyone can do about it.

So, on with the sports.
You'll find out more about my sports allegiances as I write but I'll rank my sports in level of enjoyment for you. From the big 4 (if hockey even counts as big anymore) I'd rank them pro baseball, pro football, college football, college basketball, hockey and pro basketball. I'll watch other sports as well (especially golf) but my sports brain mostly concentrates on the big 4. Living in San Jose I've caught a bit of "Sharks Fever" and my love for hockey has grown over the past 2 years. This year it make overtake my love for college basketball (it kind of already has considering I've watched more hockey than college basketball) but we'll see how that goes once tournament time comes.
The NCAA tournament is probably my favorite sporting event of the year. Every year I get together with my brother for the first weekend of the tournament. For a few years we went to the closest arena that had 1st and 2nd round games. It was a great time but it got a little expensive. So, lately we've been just getting together, taking Thursday and Friday off, locking ourselves in a room with beer and junk food and watching as many of the 48 games as we can. We usually have our regional game on the main TV plus 2 laptops running games as well (by the way I love the NCAA for broadcasting all it's games online for free). It's like my second Christmas and Santa may be adding more presents under the tree.

This week the NCAA met to discuss expanding the tournament. Apparently there are 347 division 1 basketball teams and everyone wants to figure out how more teams can get in on some tournament action (thus get in on some of that tournament money). Does this mean I'll have to take off the entire week now to catch the entire tourney? Will I now gain 20 lbs instead of 10? I'm intrigued. However I think expansion is a bad idea.

Some have suggested taking it up to 68 and playing 4 play-in games instead of 1. If that's what happens the NCAA is just making a joke of itself. The only people who watch the play-in game are degenerate gamblers, parents of the players too cheap to go to the game and maybe students from the universities playing. Who cares who wins so they can lose to the number one overall seed in the tournament? When they release the brackets after Selection Sunday you fill it out before they even play the play-in game. No one says "I'm not picking yet because I want to know who Kansas is playing from the play-in game".

Another idea has been expanding the tournament to 96 teams (basically absorbing the NIT). Do we really need more teams with 10+ losses than we already have? Do you remember who won the NIT last year? I don't. I had to look it up. Turns out it was the basketball power that is Penn State and they beat Baylor. Would the tournament have been better with those teams in it? Maybe a game or two, but neither of these teams was going anywhere. I understand that over 50% of all D1 college football teams make it to the post season but football also has D1AA (or whatever they call it now). Why can't basketball adopt the same structure and have two tournaments? If they really want to add more competitive teams to the tourney why not get rid of the rule that allows the .500 team, that got hot at the end of the season and won their conference tournament (against superior teams that aren't going to let their star players get hurt before the big dance), to get an automatic bid into tournament of 64? If the conference tournament brings in big money then still have them but make the teams have a better than .500 record to play in it. This would at least open up 4-5 slots a year for teams that probably deserve to be in the tournament.

The only reason that I want to see more teams in the tournament is to potentially extend the 4 days of bliss that is the first weekend. Overall I think it's a bad idea. 64 (I mean 65) just feels like enough teams and extending it will probably just dilute the talent in the tournament that much more. However, if they do expand the tournament, I'll still watch the entire first weekend, even if it means taking a full week off of work.

Thanks for reading.

Stumbling Home ......

Three cheers to the brand spanking new Rookies Sports bar on Meridian..http//www.rookieslodge.com/ As Bogey once said, "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

The Snow Cap last night was delicious, the servers friendly, and best of all, all of the TV's are flat screens. We hardly even noticed the best game on TV last night was the Kansas vs Colorado basketball game.

While maybe a block or two farther than I would prefer, I have a feeling that my posse (yes I actually have one) will be making the walk down Hamilton often. What a great way to burn off the extra calories from a pitcher or two.

I say during march madness we have a Snuggie brakcet buster night with all of the willow glen dads.

My Football Withdrawl Face

Even though I am excited for the Super Bowl, I will be more excited for the NFL Draft and spring football throughout the NCAA. The Super Bowl is just too long and the game atmosphere is weak. With that said, IS IT SUNDAY YET!

First Post

Well, here I go. My first foray into blogging, let my voice be heard!