Author: jcalvert

Georgia is not what you would consider a traditional college baseball powerhouse. I read in the local newspaper today that Georgia’s first trip to the CWS was in 1987 (something I did not realize). They won it all in 1990, but they over the next 11 years they only had one winning season in the SEC (something I did realize).

The Bulldogs are one of only five teams to make the CWS twice in the last three years. The article did not list the other four teams, but I think they are Texas (2004, 2005), Oregon State (2005, 2006), Miami FL (2004, 2006), and Cal St. Fullerton (2004, 2006). College baseball fans can correct me if I am wrong.

It looks like Georgia coach David Perno has started the foundations of a real winner. I am not sure how well the Dawgs will do this year, but if they can take a lead into the final innings, they will be in good shape behind all-American closer Joshua Fields (3-2, 15 saves, 1.80 ERA).

Georgia opens this afternoon by hosting last year’s CWS Champions (Oregon State) for a three game series.

Go Dawgs!

After the Mexico/US game last night, some interesting numbers were discussed. Since 2000, the US is 7-0-1 against Mexico for games played in the US. This includes a 13-0 goal differential, and accounts for 732 scoreless minutes for the boys from Mexico. Nice.

Looks like the next National team outing is in Miami, FL against Ecuador, which means another overly strong anti-American crowd .

I thought Conrad played a grate game (kind of a duh statement), and Howard looked strong in goal once he settled down after some opening minute jitters. I know Donovan had a beautiful goal and assist, but I just did not think he played an even performance. For much of the game, he was not a factor.

Mastroeni played a smart, patient game. Several times he stopped runs with well positioned play, and on multiple occasions he slowed down the US attack to help try to sustain a build-up. This was important because for much of the match, I think the boys in white thought they were playing FIFA – just kick and run and hope for the best.

Donovan! Yes! Mexico 0 – USA 2. Happy days are here again. Not really because we have not played well, but I love going up 2 – nil on Mexico!

Hell yes!  Corner from Donovan.  Perfectly served to Conrad on a header.  Beautiful movement in an otherwise piss poorly played game.  Mexico 0 – USA 1.

Not so much.  When is a friendly not a friendly?  When Mexico visits the US.  Nothing against the people of Mexico, but I hate Mexico (the team).  I have a feeling that we are not going to do well tonight; just a feeling.  Hope I am wrong.

Go USA!

I love The Hardball Times (need to talk about the THT 2007 Baseball Annual sometime soon). The recently ran a great article on Bonds and his quest to break the HR record.

“Assuming Bonds sees a 20% attrition in plate appearances, that gives him about 410 opportunities, which means he needs a HR/PA rate of 5.4% to sneak over the Hammer Line, which is marginally above his 2006 pace of 5.3%. If he were to repeat his 2006 long ball rate he’d only need an extra six plate appearances (416) to beat the record. If he were to attain 450 plate appearances, then his home run rate only needs to be 4.9%, which is above what all the projections estimate. One thing is clear: The margin for error in our aging analysis is thin!”

I think it is unfortunate that we are going to have to talk about drugs all summer, but it will be interesting drama. I am a Braves fan, so I am biased, but I do not want to see Bonds break Aaron’s record. Bonds was a great player long before he started (allegedly) taking the juice, so it is regrettable that Bonds saw fit to tarnish his legacy.

For those of you that thought football was over, think again. Today is that great time known as National Signing Day. My dad used to really get into this (after he retired – too much time on his hands I guess), but I never put much stock in ranking signing classes because these kids have not even stepped on the field. My opinion is that you have to withhold judgment on your team’s signing class for a couple of years.

To be fair, I understand the importance of recruiting, going after blue chip prospects, and landing that next stud that will take a team to the promise land. Some freshmen will contribute, but most of these kids will not make an impact for two or three years. I guess my point is that these guys are just kids. Kids – the great hope of over zealous football fans.

Things happen. Some of the kids never step foot in the school. Some of the kids become home sick. Some flunk out. And some turn to a life of crime; was going to make a joke here, but I guess it is really not a laughing matter.

From what I have read, the SEC did a great job. rivals.com has seven schools in its top ten (three in the top five). espn.com also has three SEC schools in the top five. Georgia is consistently in the top ten, and Texas is in the top five. So all around, high hopes for my teams.

I still think guys that sit around living for this stuff have too much time on their hands, but different strokes I guess. When does spring football start?

The monkey is off the collective back of the collective backs of Tony Dungy and Peyton Manning.  I think this victory just earned both of those guys a trip to the HOF.  Dungy for a great winning percentage and of course the social significance of being the first black coach to win the Super Bowl.  Manning, just because of his numbers – they compare well to other HOF QBs – and he now has his ring.

I know I predicted the Colts at the beginning of the season (and stood by that prediction last night), but you may want to know why the Colts are my pick. For starters, despite the over exposure of Manning, I actually like the guy, and want to see him do well. I am not an Indianapolis or Chicago fan, and other than being a huge Elway fan, I am always typically an NFC type of guy. Last year was an exception because of the UGA connection on the Steelers was stronger than the Seahawks, but I digress.

Tonight I see the Colts defense continuing its impressive playoff run. I see the Bears defense performing well, but they will be hampered by an offense that cannot make big plays. I think Rex will play a better than average game, but he will be limited to one big play and that will only come after the Bears are down by 13.

I do not see the rain being a factor, and I do not think Manning is going to “choke” in the big game. I think the Bears running game will be solid, but the Colts will actually put up a better performance on the ground.

In the end, the Colts are going to pull away to a 33-17 victory.

The giggles you here resonating from the Big Three are all from the Bing N.  Nintendo must be pretty happy these days.  I am getting a small tax refund this year (will comment on pros/cons later) so I figured I could “float” a Wii and pay it off with the expected return.  No such luck; at least not around Columbus, GA.  Same goes for the DS Lite; figured I may actually play that more than my PSP, but those are not to be had in these parts.

So Nintendo is laughing all the way to the bank, MS continues to build its user base (although still not tempting me), and I have no idea WTF Sony is doing these days.

Possible content warning for younger readers. I just came across what has to be the worst site ever (or damn near close to the worst ever) – gadgetcandy.com; tag line is “because girls love gadgets too.” Maybe so, but I do not see how this site will help the cause. Two samples of rubbish from the above link follow

“While the Xbox 360 is content to be middle-of-the-road, and Nintendo’s Wii oozes simple-minded fun from every pore, PS3 is the console of choice for the person who wants their gaming with a hefty side-order of multimedia.”

“Of course, buying a console and not playing games on it is like buying a car just for the cigarette lighter, so you’ll be pleased to hear that the current titles don’t disappoint.”

Come again? You can thank baby Joseph for your late night (or early morning – 4:30AM Sunday morning right now) reading pleasure.

Interesting Braves blog article in the AJC about fan favorite Adam LaRoche who was recently traded to Pittsburgh for closer Mike Gonzalez. The one quote that caught my eye?

He also said this about Atlanta fans: “They got spoiled, and they’ve got to know that. Somebody’s got to have told them by now. They were spoiled, and we were spoiled as players.”

Thanks for that LaRoche.

I actually liked LaRoche and hate to see him go, especially for a closer that has had recent arm issues. I know the bullpen needs to be improved, but still, trading LaRoche seemed almost like a panic move on the part of Braves management.

Of course GM John Schuerholz has a knack for knowing when to hold, fold, or run. Well, at least within the limits of their budget. Good luck LaRoche!

Just in case I run out of time, I will make my prediction tonight.  I am going to stay with my beginning of the season pick – Indianapolis.  Just do a search; the rest of my picks may be a bit of a mess, but I am going to ride the Colts.   

When I learned that Michael Irvin made the NFL Hall of Fame my first thought was that this was due to popularity; ESPN is a mighty fine marketing machine. I decided to dig into the numbers a little bit to see if I could make a legitimate argument to support my case.

The Hall of Fame bio/press release states

Irvin, the Dallas Cowboys’ first round pick in 1988, caught 750 passes for 11,904 yards and 65 touchdowns during his 12-season career. He was named to five Pro Bowls and is a member of the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 1990s.

Fair enough. Did Irvin get in on the merit of being one of the top receivers of the 90s? Maybe, but I keep hearing that Andre Reed and Art Monk deserve to be in the Hall. Why Irvine, and not Reed and Monk?

Some interesting numbers come to light if you look at the Top 20 receivers (courtesy of the Hall of Fame; current as of 2005). Andre Reed and Art Monk not only have more receptions than Irvine, they also have more yards and more TDs. Hmmm.

After poking around a little, I do think that Irvin is a Hall of Fame receiver, but the only reason Irvine goes in the Hall in front of Reed or Monk has to be marketing. Or maybe popularity contest.

I was looking at the OOTPB 2007 feature change list and came away very impressed. I was going to quote a few of my favorite items, or general items on the list that caught my attention, but to be honest, the list is too long!

There is always eternal optimism prior to the release of any new game, especially one with the loyal following of OOTPB, so I am going into this one with guarded optimism. I am hopeful that OOTPB 2007 is everything (and more) that OOTPB 2006 should have been, but the proof is in the pudding.

Please oh please, SI, do not f’ this one up. If we can really see an improved version of OOTPB that actually pays attention to the needs of online leagues (and historical leagues) then I may have to do a jig.