Thursday, April 30, 2009

A productive yet painful day...

The day started with our pre-dawn run, followed by the all important weigh-in. We must confess, the last time we weighed in was in late March and the numbers were a tad high. Today, roughly a month later, we hopped back on the scale.

We are down five pounds. Nothing monumental, but an initial step in the right direction. And now that we have a baseline number, we will be back to weekly weigh-ins.

This afternoon, we cemented our Father of the Year candidacy by allowing The Playmaker to have not one, not two, not three, but four friends over for an afternoon of fun. Then, of course, four Neighborhood Scrappers found their way into Our Yard. With nine people wanting to play Capture the Flag, our services were requested to make it an even 10.

The end result? Our team won all three games. However, in the process we did the unthinkable. We actually got hurt playing with 7 year olds. That's right. We strained our right Achilles heel. Ugh.



Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Cranky Pants...

24, Del Negro & Stephanie...

Through the magical powers of the DVR, last night we watched last week's episode of 24. When we finished, we flipped over to the Celtics and Bulls. Chicago was up three with three minutes to go in regulation. Some observations:

1. What the hell was Vinny Del Negro doing on the final play of regulation?!? His idea of a game winning play is to let a one legged Ben Gordon waste the clock dribbling and then hoist a 20 footer?!? The same Gordon who was 6-20 from the floor?!? Yikes. Talk about being stupid!

2. Apparently Rajon Rondo is so good now that he can slap someone in the mouth and not get called for a flagrant foul. Because that's what he did to Brad Miller at the end of overtime -- and it turned Miller's mouth into a sea of blood.

3. Speaking of Miller, does anyone else think he looks like 24's Tony Almeida?!?

4. We despise Paul Pierce -- surprise! But even we must admit he was money down the stretch last night. And maybe Coach Vinny should realize that while he is greatly improved from his days as a 76er Scrub, John Salmons is not a Big Time player. It's not his fault, but bad things always happen when he is on the court. He is as mentally tough as a leaf blowing in the wind. We still remember him crying (crying!) after missing a pair of treys at the end of a regular season loss for the 76ers. A player like him should be no where near a player like Pierce in the fourth quarter.

5. Great to see Our Guy Lady Stephanie Marbury shoot an air ball from 7 feet (seven!) feet in overtime. Seriously, how is that even possible?!?

6. We think Chicago is now done. The Celtics will close out the series on the road in game 6.


Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Long Live Joe McCoy

Your Detroit Tigers got their first win last night in Rookie League play. No one is quite sure of the score -- such things are not a priority in a league of seven year olds. If we had to guess, we would say it was something like 20-17. In the spirit of Our (new) Hero, Joe McCoy, we are here to tell you The Playmaker was front and center. He was 4-5 at the plate (after going 3-4 in Saturday's Opening Day loss). His best hit was a 3-run line drive dinger to left center that plated three runs. On defense, he played catcher again and had two tag outs at home plate. (And, no, that does not happen very often in Rookie League ball.)

On to (much) less important stuff:

1. We continue to enjoy watching the Celtics get all they can handle from the Chicago Bulls. Shouldn't the self-proclaimed "Best Player in the World" be able to get his team out of the first round?!? And yet, Paul Pierce was a disgusting 9-24 from the floor in game four.

2. Gotta love the impact Stephanie Marbury has had with the Celtics. In game four, he played five minutes. Yet, his +/- differential was...wait for it...keep waiting...it was -17!. How can anyone be minus 17 in just 5 minutes?!? That's damn near impossible -- especially in a playoff game. (Well, unless you play for the New Orleans Hornets.) Classic. Keep up the good work, Stephanie.

3. It doesn't take much to piss off Texas Tech coach Mike Leach. Responding to the fact that Texas A&M part-time starting QB Stephen McGee was drafted in the 4th round while Leach's record setting QB Graham Harrell went undrafted, Leach said, "I'm happy for Stephen McGee. The Dallas Cowboys like him more than his coaches at A&M did." And when The Pirate was told the Cleveland Browns passed over Tech receiver Michael Crabtree because coach Eric Mangini was turned off by his attitude, Leach said, "Michael Crabtree has been more successful as a receiver than that guy as a coach."



Sunday, April 26, 2009

NFL Draft 2009: Are you SERIOUS?!?

We dare you to find a conference champion in the history of the league that came out of the draft with not one, not two but three sure fire starters and one significant backup.

Yet, that's what the Philadelphia Eagles have done. They had two first round picks. One was dealt to Buffalo for All Pro offensive tackle Jason Peters. The second first round pick (having moved up two spots to number 19) netted Missouri All American receiver Jeremy Maclin, the second most explosive player in the draft (behind pot smoking Percy Harvin). As of next Friday's mini camp, he will be the starting slot receiver, taking over for the ever mortal Jason Avant.

Today, on day two of the draft, they peddled two fifth round picks (round five!) to the New England Patriots for cornerback Ellis Hobbs. The minute that happened, all of New England couldn't wait to bad mouth Hobbs. Of course, they were quick to forget the Pats went to two Super Bowls with him as a starter. Plus, Coach Bill brought in, like, 17 different corners last year and none of them could displace Hobbs.

Beyond those three starters, the Birds also landed Shady McCoy of Pitt. He is a first round talent who will get 8-10 carries next season, many of which will occur with Brian Westbrook split out wide with Maclin, Kevin Curtis and DeSean Jackson.

Um...memo to Donovan McNabb. You now have the weapons you craved for so long.


Saturday, April 25, 2009

The 2nd most explosive player in the draft...

As The World knows, we invented Sooner Nation. And we can honestly say that other than Percy Harvin, we have never seen a more intimidating, explosive offensive player face the Sooners in the last 25 years than Mizzou's Jeremy Macklin. (An interesting side note is the fact that Macklin originally committed to OU before switching to the Tigers.) He is legitimately a threat to score every time he has the ball.
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Is he the fastest player in the draft? No. But we dare say he has the fastest 10 yard dash time of anyone, ever! (Ever!) He gets to maximum acceleration faster than anyone around.
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The naysayers? Some said deal the pick for Anquan Boldin. But there was no way Philly was going to pay a receiver $10 million. Then there was Power Woman Trey Wingo. Um, while the Kipers and McShays of the world were breaking down tape on prospects for three months, Wingo was ... wait for it .. doing women's college hoop games. So his opinion on any draft prospect means squat.
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Let us put this in terms even Fair Lady Trey can understand. Who would you rather have playing alongside Kevin Curtis and DeSean Jackson: Jason Avant, Hank Baskett or Jeremy Macklin.

Duh...


Friday, April 24, 2009

Close the deal, Andy, close the deal...

Yesterday, we cursed the Eagles for not giving up a second round pick for tight end Tony Gonzalez.

Same old Eagles, we said. Afraid to get a big time pass catcher.

Now, 24 hours later, maybe there was a different reason why they passed on Gonzalez.

Reports out of Philadelphia have the Eagles making a ... wait for it ... serious offer for Arizona receiver Anquan Boldin. Reportedly, they have offered a second round pick in tomorrow's draft, a third round pick in 2010 and offensive tackle Winston Justice (wink-wink).

Wow. In fact, double wow!

Our fingers are crossed.





Thursday, April 23, 2009

Final fire until next fall...

The temps today are in the 50s. But tomorrow it will hit 70 and over the weekend it will be (ugh!) 80. So today, we are burning the last of the fire wood that was dropped off way back in the fall the day after Thanksgiving. Here's a shot of the final logs being put to good use.



Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Friday Night Lights: Joe McCoy and Eric Taylor

We know high school football in the state of Texas is insane, but does anyone really believe that Dillon High School would dump coach Eric Taylor?!? In three television seasons, he has led the Panthers to one state championship and one state championship runner-up.

And yet, J.D. McCoy's father was able to run him out of town, errrrrrrrrrrr, to East Dillon High?!?

Great television, sure! Just not totally realistic.

What is realistic is J.D.'s father, Joe McCoy, prowling the sideline at every practice. And when Coach Taylor announced J.D. was named Dave Campbell's quarterback of the year, what did Mr. McCoy do?!? He flexed his muscle, of course. Literally. (It's at the end of the video clip. Classic. Nice shades, by the way!)

Somehow, someway, we actually want to be Joe McCoy.

And when The Playmaker is dominating the high school action, we, too, will be on the sidelines preening for all to see. Just like Joe McCoy.



Monday, April 20, 2009

Sunday, April 19, 2009

76ers Win...

This is not a great copy...and I'm not sure Iggy hits that shot more than 2 out of 10 times...

But, who cares, right?!?

76ers 100 Magic 98

Wow...

Big Dinger leads to HUGE win!

Raul Ibanez hits a two run dinger in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the Phillies a 5-4 win and snap a three game losing streak.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Tuesday morning thoughts...

1. Allen Iverson is an absolute L-O-S-E-R! We had total respect for him during most of his time in Philadelphia (right up until he quit on them and forced his way out of town). There has never been a physically or mentally stronger player. Now having left the Pistons, however, he is just a plain quitter. And maybe he will retire, because there sure as hell won't be any playoff caliber teams willing to give him big bucks this summer.

2. The NFL will release its complete schedule today. And when it does, we will undoubtedly feel the slightest chill in the air. As in, fall is really not that far away.

3. If you were the parent of a high school basketball player, would you let Junior anywhere near Isiah Thomas and Florida International University?!? And how long until he hires that other upstanding role model, Stephanie Marbury, to be his assistant coach? (And will Stephanie invite co-eds into his truck?!?)

4. Sergio Garcia bitching about The Masters?!? Why is anyone surprised?!?


Monday, April 13, 2009

Harry Kalas: The Best Baseball Announcer Ever!

(Even better than Vin Scully...)

Friday, April 10, 2009

Sean Williams = B A D attitude!

Sean Williams of the New Jersey Nets has been in trouble, like, 100 times dating back to his drugged out days at Boston College where he allegedly got busted for smoking dope multiple times. Just last month he threw a computer monitor at a clerk in a cell phone store.


Last Wednesday night we took The Playmaker to watch the Celtics and Nets. Our seats were court side (second row) right in front of the Nets' bench. And so it was that we had an up close look at Williams. The picture and video below tell all you need to know. The picture shows him staring off in space to the right, while teammates Yi Jianlian and Josh Boone follow the action on the court to the left. The video shows Williams in pre-game warm ups. Now, there are 1,000 things (minimum!) that Williams could/should have been working on. Instead, he tried to bounce the ball into the hoop from behind the 3 point line.

Classic.





Thursday, April 9, 2009

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Coach Cal's daughter scoops press on Facebook!

She announced to the world, via Facebook, that Josh Pastner is the new Memphis b-ball coach!

Top H.S. QB commits to Oklahoma!

Blake Bell

1. He is the number one ranked QB according to Rivals.com!

2. His dad, Mark Bell, played TE for the Seahawks!

3. His uncle, Mike Bell, was a nasty DE for the Chiefs!

4. Blake completed 64 percent of his passes for 2,871 yards, with 34 touchdowns and just eight interceptions!

5. He averaged 4.1 yards per rushing attempt!



Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Four on the floor...

1. What a terrible championship game last night! We willingly rolled over on the couch and went to sleep for about 45 minutes. Woke up for the second half but spent much of our time flipping over to watch The Hills.
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2. It was a fitting end to a rather boring March Madness. Cripes, even the One Shining Moment was sub par. (Which makes sense given the lackluster games played the last three weeks.)

3. All we heard all day on Sunday was how Ryan Howard had clubbed 11 dingers in spring training and was ready for a Monster Year. Correct us if we're wrong, but who pitches around hitters in frigging spring training?!? Um, that would be no one. Now that the games count, Howard will see his usual assortment of off-speed crap. Not surprisingly, he whiffed twice in the Sunday Night Opener. We said it over the winter: The Phillies gave a lot of coin to a streaky,one dimensional home run hitter.

4. The first softball practice for The Playmaker's Sister is tonight. Over/under on the number of times we say, "Elbow up and bend your knees" when she's batting is 12. Bet the over.



Monday, April 6, 2009

Peyton Siva can jump really high...

1. Click on the HD Button!

2. Peyton Siva will be at Louisville next year!

3. He is only 5'10"!

4. Tonight, we'll say North Carolina 71 Michigan State 66!



Sunday, April 5, 2009

Final Four Thoughts, 2.0

1. The key to beating UConn is stopping point guard A.J. Price. UConn's staple is a high screen and roll at the top of the key. Not to get technical/geeky, but we have never seen a team defend the screen and roll as well as Michigan State did yesterday. Everywhere Price went he was jumped by two defenders. He got absolutely nothing from it. Not only do the Spartans defend well, they do so with size and athleticism.

2. Villanova coach Jay Wright is, by all accounts, a good guy and a very good basketball coach. But he disgraced himself last night by whining on damn near every possession in the second half. News flash, coach: Tyler Hansbrough is an aggressive player. And Ed Davis is a good shot blocker. They both create contact. That doesn't mean they are fouling.

3. UNC guard Wayne Ellington is a good stationary shooter at the collegiate level. But he has what has to be the S...L...O...W...E...S...T release in the history of the world. And because of that, the junior will never (ever!) get a whiff of the NBA.

4. We love March Madness more than anyone. But even we must admit this year's edition has been a subdued one. When the biggest upset is a 4 (Wake) losing to a 13 (Mouse McFadden's Cleveland State Vikings), you are lacking some excitement.


Saturday, April 4, 2009

Our 1st YouTube entry (and it can be seen in HD!) ...

Click on the Red HD button for high def!

That's what we're talking about...

(A truly Great Read!)

Saturday afternoon thoughts...

1. Major technological development in the works for this space! More info in the coming days. (Hint: Let's just say you can never have enough Big Boy Toys.)

2. Don't tell The Wife, but we got up around 11 PM last night (couldn't sleep) and came down and watched last night's Friday Night Lights on DVR. Great as always, of course. But a tad unrealistic. As in the kids lose the state championship on the last play of the game and no one cries in the locker room?!? (Which leads to the obligatory All the Right Moves quote: "Come on! All I'm hearing is a whimper, Salvucci!") As for next week's season ending show? It looks explosive.

3. Baseball and softball practice start next week. True to gender form, The Playmaker's Sister's team has no name. Meanwhile, The Playmaker is on the Detroit Tigers. (You may remember they were Magnum's Team...)

4. We must admit that in recent years we have found the Final Four to be anticlimactic. Much like the Super Bowl, it is hard to get psyched up to watch when you know it signals the end of the season. Ugh. But, of course, we will watch. And since we have UConn and UNC meeting Monday night in our pool, that's how we see things unfolding today. Also, we will cap someone (as well as scream!) if Michigan State gets the sheeeet kicked out of it today after playing the game of their lives last weekend and beating Our Louisville Cardinals.