Mouth Like A Magazine

The Best

Which MLB ballpark is the best? Well, according to a new fan survey from Sports Illustrated, it's... Cleveland? Hmmm. Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and St. Louis round out the top five. Coincidentally, the Monkies have been to all five of these ballparks. So, what do you think? Are the ratings accurate, or is SI just trying to stir the pot?

Free Agents

The draft is over, so all the college players with NFL dreams who didn't get drafted now get to see if they still have a chance at making an NFL team. I was surprised when I checked in on the draft and saw that MSU's Jehuu Caulcrick wasn't drafted. Now, I'm no NFL executive, but if I was the Lions I'd try and sign this guy right now. They don't have a lot of depth at the moment, and I'm not convinced that a rookie from Central Florida will fill all their needs in the running game. Signing these guys costs relatively little, so what's the risk? Side note: The Sports Inc. bio for Jehuu says that he doesn't have "prototypical power". I'm sure you can knock him for many things, but lack of power? Have these guys seen him play? So, who should I believe, Scouts Inc. or my lying eyes?

In case you're wondering, UM running back Mike Hart was taken in the 6th round by the Colts.

UPDATE: The Lions are really satisfied with Tatum Bell (who was mostly benched last season), Kevin Smith, Brian Calhoun, and Aveion Cason (who they've cut before)? RB coach Sam Gash says he looking for "the cream to rise to the top". Uhh, what if there's no cream? By the way, the Lions plan on using a FB again. You think Jon Bradley, Sean McHugh, and Jerome Felton can play as well as Schlesinger used to? Me neither. I feel 6-10 coming on.

Draft Thoughts

It's a little strange to have the commissioner step on the stage, announce the beginning of the draft, and immediately announce the first pick.

The top two picks have the same last name? Saw it coming, but it's still odd.

How silly is it to have instant draft grades? Post-draft grades are frivolous enough given that we won't really know for 3-4 years. We certainly won't be able to appreciate the picks in 3-4 minutes. If you graded that way, the Lions would be geniuses.

Note to ESPN: "Live" online draft coverage isn't worth anything if it doesn't automatically update.

Keyshawn must be blind. That's the only explanation for the outfit he's wearing. How did they let him go on TV looking like that?

Phrase of the Day

"200-proof nonsense" by Jonah Goldberg.

Late

Did you know the NFL Draft is starting 3 hours later this year? Normally it would start at noon, this year it's starting at 3 ET. I'm going to assume the NFL (and ESPN) would only make this move if they think it's going to increase the number of viewers. Could this really be true? How does moving the draft back to a time where it's competing with MLB games and the Stanley Cup playoffs increase viewership? Sure, I enjoy the draft, but I still only half follow it through the first round. Do they think people are going to sit enthralled by the TV screen and watch the Raiders make the 3rd pick? The draft is exactly the kind of event you follow by channel surfing or watching ESPN's Bottomline. I don't get it.

Seattle

Happiness

You know, watching a Red Wing smash an Avalanche player just puts a big smile on my face. You can feel the old rivalry waking up and shaking off the dust.

Wokka-Wokka-Wokka-Wokka

So, Pacman Jones has been traded to the Cowboys. Okay, for accuracy's sake, the trade needs to be finalized, but the they're planning on making the trade. The Titans will reportedly receive a 4th-round pick.

Here's a question: What is Dallas THINKING? Does Terrell Owens not give them enough headaches? What has Jones done to deserve a second chance? He's a pretty good player, but he's only had 4 INTs in his career. And his idea of rehabilitating his image during his suspension (which is still ongoing by the way) was to take up professional wrestling. Yeah, he's contrite. Dallas is going to regret this, and they're going to deserve it. Mark it down, I'll stand by this one.

Turtle Power

I usually don't post the geekiest stuff I find to the blog, but these are pretty cool. Probably even cooler than all the old turtles that are sitting in a closet in Caseville. At first I thought they looked a little funny, but a few more pictures sold me on them looking pretty good. I don't really need any Turtles to sit on a bookshelf, but I'm afraid I might end up with them (because you can't buy just one turtle) anyway. I'd imagine Joe has them already being shipped to him. Here's the company's website.

“This is a window to what Michigan can be.”

There was an article in the Detroit News yesterday about the windmills in the Thumb and the energy they provide. Apparently the governor spoke at Lake Elementary about them. Doesn't sound familiar? Oh, that's right, it's actually LAKER slementary school. But I guess that's just a minor detail for someone in Detroit.

My first thought on reading the quote from Granholm: "Yes, all of Michigan should strive to be more like Pigeon."

Four Yorkshiremen

#1

Predicting the 2008 NFL Draft just became a little easier. Miami signed UM tackle Jake Long to a contract likely worth nearly $60 million today. To my knowledge, this is the earliest a #1 overall pick has signed. It's refreshing to see someone just make a deal and get it done with. I suspect the fact the he was an offensive lineman made it a little easier, since they don't usually get the egos that, say, a WR gets.

3 n' 6...

...represents our current varsity baseball record. As mentioned earlier in a comment, we picked up our first win of the season last Thursday v the Ubly Bearcats. Brent Doerr picked up the win in game 1 going 6 and 2/3 and only yielding 2 runs. It was 6-0 going into the 7th inning and Austin Babich closed the game for the final out with the bases loaded (after walking AND balking in a run with the bases loaded) to seal the win 6-2.

In the nightcap, we jump out to a 2-0 lead only to give up a 3-run blast in the bottom of the first to a southpaw sophomore. But, we battled back to regain the lead 4-3 the next inning. However, more problems and we fell behind 11-4. But, we managed 2 runs each in future innings to cut the lead to 11-8. Ubly then entered their #2 stopper and we lost 14-8.

Saturday was the Tuscola County Tournament in Vassar. We were scheduled to play Caro in the opening round. We were looking for revenge as we came up hitting for a 1-0 lead...only to see ourselves give up 7 runs in the bottom of the 1st. Mason Doerr was unable to get through the whole inning and was pulled when the top of the order came around again (Then again, when you give a team 7 outs, anyone will score 7 runs.) The Hawks failed a comeback and lost 7-2 after 4 and 1/2 innings.

With the loss, that meant we had to face mighty KINGSTON!!! Basically a JV team. The Hawks pulled out the 15-7 victory. Yes, 7 runs to Kingston. We'd have a better chance of Adam Stoeckle getting on the mound to throw strikes. We literally can't hit water from a boat...or grass if we were playing on a grass infield.

Last night: The Hawks bats pounded out 6 runs in the first inning but went silent until the 6th inning. The Harbor Beach managed one in the first to cut it to 6-1. It stayed that way until The Beach small balled a few more runs to make it 6-4. Next inning, 3 errors later, we are down 10-6 heading to the top of the 6th inning. We scratched out some gap shots and plated 3 runs to make it 10-9. We shut them down defensively in the 6th to set the stage for the dramatic 7 inning.

The first two batters didn't help as we fell in a deep hole with 2 outs and no runners on base. But, some timely hits eventually got us to runners at 2nd and 3rd with Austin Babich, our best hitter, at the plate. Ball 1, ball 2, ball 3. At this point, I gave Austin the "green light." Strike one. Ball 4.

Bases loaded, two outs, and a senior at the plate. (It should be noted that the backstop was about a football field behind homeplate. It was possible to steal 2nd and 3rd on a passed ball.) Ball one....I can't remember much after that except our batter simply couldn't put the ball into play and struck out. Ball game over. 10-9. We really needed that game.

Game 2: Not knowing ahead of time that The Beach didn't have a JV squad, basically Harbor Beach was happy with a win and just put in a bunch of freshmen and sophomores. We won, 10-0. Big whoop.

Silver Lining: The last 3 occasions we've had a game day, we've managed to at least go 3-3. Next up: Lakers...first conference matchup!

It should also be noted that of our 14 players on the roster, four run track and one plays golf. We were missing 3 players last night due to a track invitational. All of them are great hitters...3 of our top 5 in the batting order to be exact. Two are pretty good defensive players. I'm not making excuses, but track didn't help us. However, we should win no matter who shows up, especially with a 6-1 lead in the 4th inning.

Wings Win

The Red Wings won in a 3-0 shutout by Chris Osgood (Is this 2008 or 1998?) to take their series against the Nashville Predators 4 games to 2. I wanted to watch at least some of this game, but couldn't find it on anywhere. I could, however, watch an early '90s football game between USC and Washington. Go figure. Anyway, it seems pretty difficult to even find much hockey coverage. Most of what I see is notes in the Detroit News. Are people in Detroit following the Wings?

Monkey Torture

"Darth Vader aesthetics and a ninja’s reputation."

The F-117A Nighthawk is one of the most unique aircraft ever to take to the skies, and perhaps the most recognizable. On Monday it will retire to the history books and museums after a farewell ceremony at Holloman Air Force Base. The Air Force Times has an excellent article up on the development and history of the F-117A. It's a great read if you're interested in military technology, or if (like me) you read books about the F-117A while growing up and thought it was just too cool to be real. (Hat tip: Danger Room)

Shaken

So, did anyone actually feel the earthquake this morning? I was awake and should have been able to, but I didn't.

?

Did everyone realize a remake of Prom Night came out last weekend? Tell me someone saw it. I suppose we could all wait for the DVD release and watch it at Danny and Shirley's.

More Cowbell

After the last post, I think this is required:

"Less Cowbell"

I read this post at The Corner by Rich Lowry and thought: "I know exactly how he feels." I've often nursed revenge fantasies against those idiots in the stands (or in class) despite my best efforts not to. Sigh. Sporting events would be much more fun it wasn't for all those other people.

0fer

I don't have much to write right now, but thought something needed to be posted...our record is still worse than Daniels...0-3. We lost to Brown City tonight at home: 0-3 and 0-10. Yeah, shut out on our own diamond. We lost to Caro two weeks ago 6-9. But, we tied 2-2 in the second game after 5 innings and darkness. Most times I wouldn't settle for a tie, but in this case, that tie keeps us from being 0-4.

Strange

I'm watching the Tiger-White Sox game on WGN and the commentators are talking about the Nintendo DS almost as much as they are about the game. Apparently A.J. Pierzynski had one at spring training and played one of the quick recognition games, now he's off to a fast start. One of the commentators also owns one. Strange, but it certainly shows how Nintendo is appealing to those outside the usual demographic.

Who's on first?

Non-Core

You want to know why GM and the rest of the Big Three are having financial difficulties? Here's one reason: they were paying (and still are) $28/hour to the guys who drove the finished vehicles around. That's $58,240 a year (before taxes, assuming no OT) for driving tiny distances. Material movement (fork truck drivers) were making the same. After reading this, I don't understand how GM and the rest didn't fold a long time ago.

?

Who is Clete Thomas and how is he batting .476? I know he's under the minimum to be considered among the league leaders, but that's still pretty impressive, right?

"He was delicious."

It's On!

The world puts up with a lot of things from communist (or wannabe communist) dictators like Hugo Chavez: nationalizing industries, torturing dissidents, etc. But banning The Simpsons? Enough playing around, let's just nuke the bastard.

More Thanks

So, the MHSAA has all but declared bankruptcy. I can barely articulate how angry this makes me. For one thing, the MHSAA was defending the position that the people of Michigan actually favored and preferred, but the law (an ass) decided the other way. Then, an attorney who "volunteered" her time is now going to get paid the bulk of the money. What kind of vounteer demands payment after successfully volunteering? Sure, I'll mow your lawn for free, but only if I do bad job. If it looks good, pay me. I've been a supporter of girls' sports as the HS level, but, frankly, I really hope they suffer in Michigan now.

Finally

It only took the supposedly World Series contender Tigers 8 games to get their first win. I think I can let that slide if the go on a 20-game win streak. And crush the Royals.

Alive

Mirror, Mirror

Thanks A Lot

Hey, remember those moms who sued the MHSAA and ruined Michigan high school sports? A judge just ruled that the MHSAA owes them $7.4 million. The MHSAA only has assets of about $6 million. So, in addition to screwing up HS sports they might now destroy the body that administrates the entire enterprise. If Michigan lost a season of volleyball, could these moms be sued by other moms? It would serve them right.

Wood-Grained Glory

I haven't seen much in the way of April Fool's humor yet today, but this page from XBox Live was pretty good. Who wouldn't want a wood-grained XBox?