The Kimmes

Tiger Tiger Woods y'all

2009-08-17T14:09:00.002-04:00

Did Tiger Woods choke on Sunday? I know it is a question I never thought I'd ask myself. Woods has proven to be the best finisher in golf, if not all sports. He is constantly, with good reason, lauded for his mental focus and toughness and his mind, as much as his physical tools, is credited for his victories. But on Sunday, he lost the lead. He had a two stroke lead and finished three strokes down. Does this constitute a choke job? I say yes.
As much as YE Yang played well, he did not play well enough to take the victory from Tiger. If Tiger shoots just even par, they go to a playoff. Give Yang credit. He took advantage of the opportunity. But he did not go out there, play lights out, and rip the title away from Woods. Woods bogeyed 17 and 18, making what should have been a pressure-packed situation for Yang into a less tense moment.
Woods led from the beginning of the tournament. Day 1, 2 and 3 all say his name atop the leader board. I believe he was at least tied for the lead 67 out of the 72 holes. Make no mistake. This was his tournament to win, or lose. He lost.
But it is a choke job for another reason. It was Tiger Woods. A choke job is when you fail to meet the standards that are set. With Woods, be it right or wrong, the standards are higher. If Yang had played poorly on Sunday, people would have said he folded under pressure, but he is the 110th ranked golfer, so we shouldn't expect any better. But Woods, the best golfer of a generation, if not all time, has higher expectations from both the fans and of himself. He clearly did not play as well as he is capable of. He clearly choked.

Vikings pre-season

2009-08-10T15:12:00.002-04:00

Normally, I am not a big NFL training camp guy. I find our obsession with football to me more annoying than anything else. I would prefer that the main sports story of the day be the Twins' actual game, then a Vikings' practice, but whatever. This year, though, I find myself slightly more interested in the Vikings. I'm not sure if it is because of the failed Favre saga, or the fact the Twins are in a mighty struggle, but Vikings Training camp has me mildly interested.
I really think it is because I feel like the Vikings have a chance to be good this year. They return many key parts from last year and appear to me to be a solid quarterback away from being a really good team. Adrian Peterson is absolutely amazing. Percy Harvin could be fantasic. Bernard Berrian led the league in yards per catch last year. They have weapons on offense, and still have two of the better O-lineman in the league (Steven Hutchinson and Bryant McKinnie). Really, the only thing the offense is missing is a quarterback.
However, I'm confident whoever wins the QB job will be fine. Tavaris Jackson has shown at times he can be a player, and he should continue to get better. And Sage Rosenfels is a veteran, who should be able to manage a game decently. The Vikings do not need a pro-bowl quarterback. They need somebody to complete 55-60% of his passes, minimize mistakes, and hand the ball to Peterson and Chester Taylor. It isn't that hard. I think a more seasoned Jackson, or a acclimated Rosenfals, could fill the roll.
The Vikings defense remains solid, with the Williams Wall and Jared Allen on the D-line. I read the defense doesn't have any starting position battles, which speaks to the experience and ability of the players. They are a good enough defense to carry the team in a couple of games, but not all year long.
The Minnesota Vikings are just an intriguing team this year, in part because Favre isn't here. They would have been more interesting with him, yes, but without him, their only big question mark is the most important position on the team, where a so far ineffective young quarterback and a veteran second-stringer fight for the starting spot.

Twins post-trade

2009-08-03T16:30:00.002-04:00

Well, the Twins did it. They made a trade-dealine move, akin to the days of yore. If you remember correctly, the Twins in the early part of the decade were active at the trade deadline. By my recollection, they made moves for Rick Reed, Todd Jones and Shannon Stewart within four years, if not three straight. The only trade that had a huge impact, was Stewart. Reed was decent for a year or two, not spectacular, and Jones was kind of a bust, if memory serves me.
So what will the Cabrera trade do for the Twins? I'm not sure, but I'm willing to bet he will not light a fire under the team like Stewart did for a glorious two month stretch.
This weekend showed by hesitation for the Twins to make a move like this. They have multiple weaknesses, that adding one move isn't going to make a difference. Cabrera had a good weekend for the Twins - 3 for 8 with a homer and a walk. We really can't ask for much more. Yet, we were blown out badly in these games.
Thankfully, the Twins didn't give up a whole lot for him. A mid to decent level prospect, while receiving some cash as well, all and all it didn't cost them much.
And in the grand scheme of things, this move probably needed to happen to squash public clamoring and in-house pleading to make a move. If this trade helps keep Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, etc... in a Twins uniform, it was great.
But make no mistake. This move makes the Twins marginally better at best, and did not address their biggest need - pitching. Besides, Cabrera takes away at bats from Brendan Harris, who has shown to be the most professional hitter out of the Harris, Nick Punto, Alexi Casilla trifecta of mediocrity. Harris has shown his best defense, and consequently his best offense, when he plays shortstop. Now, you force him to play out of position at 2nd or 3rd.
The player the Twins should have traded for was Freddie Sanchez of Pittsburgh. He is an all-star second baseman, and former NL batting champion. Plus, he plays second base (our biggest need on the infield) and used to play third, where he could play next year when Crede leaves. Yes, the asking price for Sanchez was much higher. Reports were either the Twins AAA third baseman, who is penciled in to start 3rd next year, of their top outfield prospect. To me, I saw either would have been fine. You need to give up something to get something. Right now, you have no holes in your outfield. In fact, you have too many outfielders. And if you trade your third baseman of the future, Sanchez can play third. And with the new ballpark, the theorized new revenue could be used to keep Sanchez for anther couple of years. But I am a huge fan of trading prospects for a known quantity. You can't do it all the time, but sometimes you need to. It is quite possible neither of the two players the Pirates asked for will be as good a player is Sanchez, the former batting champion and all star.
But we should be happy the Twins made a move. At least it is a step, albeit more a ceremonial one, but a step none the less the try and improve the team. Now if only we could get ...

Twins Trade outlook

2009-07-24T18:39:00.002-04:00

For those of you who love the Minnesota Twins as much as I do, it has been a painful year. They are a maddening team - showing flashes of brilliance, followed by stretches of incompetence. And, if you are even more like me, you hope that every year the Twins will make a trade that will help push them over the edge and either make the playoffs, or make a run in the playoffs.
But this, I have a different frame of mind. Think about this, all you devoted Twins fans. Are Twins even good enough where one trade would make a difference? The Twins have more than one hole right now. They need bullpen help, infield help at numerous positions (three, if in fact Joe Crede is seriously hurt) and their starting pitching has been very shaky. They are not a mere trade away, but rather two or three moves away from being a very good team. Now I want them to win as much as the next guy, and want these areas of weakness to be addressed. But can they all be addressed in the middle of the season? Some of this should have been done in previous years and the front office failed to step up. But that means they should not exaserbate the problem by trying a mid-season trade where they will probably over-pay for a player anyway. Nobody likes to give up on a season. Surely, I do not. But at some point in time, you've got to cut bait. The Twins have been entirely too inconsistent this year for me to believe they are one move away from being a good team. Yes, the Twins should continue to explore ways to make their team better. Trading for a player who is signed for more than this season would be a good move. But unless they can find a good reliever (which every contender is looking for) a solid right-handed bat, a quality middle infielder and a consistent starting pitcher, there is no need to trade for one of them. You only marginally make your team better and you risk losing assets to retool your team over the winter to make a run next year. And folks, next year is incredibly important. It is the new stadium, as well as Joe Mauer's final year under his current contract. The fans are going to look for an increase in payroll and are going to expect more from this team.

The British Open

2009-07-20T19:23:00.003-04:00

One putt for history. A simple 10 inches of movement of the putter and the record would be his. As he stepped up to swing his putter for a shot that would forever immortalize him, Tom Watson was surrounded by fans, well-wishers and people cheering him on, yet he probably never felt so alone.
When I think of sports, I tend to think of a team, and often times forget an individual. Maybe it's because I have played more teams sports than individual sports. I don't know what the reason, buy sports is cinanomous with team to me.
But when I saw Watson come to the tee box on the 18th green on Sunday afternoon, I can only imagine what was going through his mind. This wasn't a team game. He didn't have anybody to rely on or to blame but himself.
And with his putt for par and a place in the record books, Tom Watson stroked the ball like he was terrified of the moment. Tom Watson, with his magnitude of experience, his tens of victories, his eight majors, and his five British Open titles, fell the pressure and hit a week putt.
Maybe he was thinking too much about his previous put that he sailed well past the whole. Maybe he was thinking about the history. I don't know. But I do know if you look at Stuart Cink's birdie putt on 18 and Tom Watson's par putt on 18, you can see a stark contrast in confidence.
This got me thinking a little bit. If a guy like Tom Watson can be unnerved, that has to be just about the most difficult thing an individual can do in sports - make a clutch put.
Often times in sports, when the game is on the line, there is more than one individual who affects the outcome. It's either a teammate, a defender, maybe a referee, somebody. But not in this case. It was only Tom Watson. Nobody else.
And unlike other sports, this didn't happen in the flow of the game. There was no lead up to it where you are just playing and letting your instincts take over. He sat there for minutes with nothing else to do but think about his putt. This is the ultimate icing of the kicker.
I can't think of another situation like this. In football, a game winning field goal takes more than just the kicker. In baseball, even in the ninth inning, there is a pitcher and batter.
The closest thing I can think of is in basketball, if time is expired, a tie game, and you have one free throw to win. But that isn't exactly the same, because a free throw is the same distance no matter what court your on. It is something you've done hundreds of thousands of times before. A golfer never sees the exact same put twice.
Maybe in a field event at the Olympics. You have one throw left of the discus to win gold medal. I don't know, it still seems different to me.
So yes, Tom Watson should have one the British Open. He was 187 yards from the pin in the middle of the fairway and needed a par to win. He choked. But can you really blame him?

Fenway Park

2009-07-07T19:06:00.002-04:00

Today I am able to cross off an item on my life's to-do list, if I indeed had a list. I took in a game at Fenway Park. The Sox lost 6-0, but that is hardly the point. Rarely do I actually remember who won or lost the game, but rather I remember the experience surrounding the game. I couldn't tell you who won or lost a single game on my baseball roadtrip a few years back, but I could tell you where our tickets were for every game and that we waited out a rain delay in Wrigley and I almost caught a foul ball at Kaufman Stadium. So the Sox losing last night takes some fun out of the game, but not the overall experience. Sure, I didn't get to high-five a stranger, or spill my drink on the person in front of me when I jumped up for the winning home run, but the atmosphere and the aura of the parm remain unblemished.
My Fenway experience began about 4:30, when I got in line for tickets. I waited with a few hundred people to buy the tickets the Sox save for two hours before game time. After purchasing your ticket, mine was $50 for lower-level behind homeplate, you're immediately ushered into the stadium in order to persever the integrity of the tickets, i.e. scalpers can't buy day of tickets just to sell them. So I get into Fenway about an 1:20 before the first pitch and the place was crowded. The Sox game isn't merely a game, but rather an evening out. And hardly anybody is sitting in their seats yet, but rather everybody is is in one of the concourses eating a hot dog or a sausage of some kind, and drinking beer. Every 10-15 feet is another sausage/beer stand. Pure awesomeness. The stadium and the concourses are an interesting mix. Fenway is nearly a century old, but the concourses are new. The concrete floor is cracked and anything but smooth and the stadium shows all 100 years of its existence, but the concourses are modern and very fan friendly. The best concourse is Yawkey way, though. They block off the entire street a couple hours before the game so fans can spend time outside. Of course, you can buy beer and sausages outside, as well as listen to live music. Souvenir shops line the adjacent building and TV sets are abound in order to watch the pre-game, or if you need a smoke break during the game.
So we finally got to our seats. Now I don't think any ballpark has incredibly comfortable seats, but these aren't even close. You sit with your knees in your chest, while bumping the row in front of you, and it is impossible to avoid rubbing shoulders/elbows with the people next to you and a pole obstructs part of the viewing, but what do you want from an old stadium? People were smaller when it was built didn't have nearly the comforts we are used to.
The stadium was packed for a Monday night game against the anemic Oakland Athletics. But it's the Red Sox and they have sold out more than 500 consecutive games. But the fact that almost every ticket holder there was what was amazing. And the excitement throughout the stadium, from the moment I walked in until the last pitch, was incredible. They love their Red Sox (now that they're winning). As I found out during the starting line-ups, the game carried a little more significance than orginally thought - Nomar was returning. It would be his first time back in Fenway since he was traded in 2004. He received a warm applause when his name was announced in the starting line-up, but nothing compared to the standing ovation he received in his first plate appearance. He led off the second inning, and the Red Sox Nation standed and applauded him for a couple of minutes. It was a truly incredible experience. Here is this visiting player, who hasn't been on the team in five years, was traded away because he wasn't getting the job done, and never led them to a World Series, receiving an incredible amount of love from the fans. He nearly broke down in tears. I stood and applauded, not because I care about Nomar or have appreciation for what he did, but because you could the fans were saying "Thank You" and it was a moving experience that you couldn't just sit idly by and watch.
Nomar grounded out and the game continued. The A's jumped out to a 5-0 lead so we decided to wonder around Fenway more and see all the stadium. We explored all of the bad angles and strange viewing positions of the stadium. And we stumbled into a bar. Up above in right field, the have the Right Field Roof, complete with a full-scale bar, with stools and TVs and the whole works. Why watch the game live when you can sit at a bar right? Well, you have the option still in Fenway. Unbelievable.
We then made our way back to our seats, at which point the crowd was feeling the maximum beer affect (the 7th inning) and I saw the wave go around the entire stadium at least 4 times. Now that was impressive. The fans were finally starting to come alive, even though the Sox weren't in the game.
We got back to our seats for the 8th inning, enough time to sing Sweet Caroline in the largest Karoake spectacle I've been a part of. We stayed until the end of the game, even though it was clear the Red Sox had no answer for the A's starting pitcher, who completed the shutout, only giving up two hits. I later found it was the first time a rookie shutout the Sox at Fenway since 1989. We walked back to the car, and my Fenway experience was complete.

Favre

2009-06-12T20:09:00.000-04:00

I know I am late coming into the game, but since the saga doesn't seem to be going anywhere, I figure I might as well weigh in on the Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings.
First, if Brett Favre wants to play, who are we to tell him no. All this talk of tarnishing legacies for aging superstars is ridiculous. Michael Jordan went through the same thing, or George Foreman, or any athlete who has stuck around well past their prime. If an athlete wants to keep competing and somebody is willing to pay for their services, great. Go ahead and do it. It isn't my legacy that is possibly being tarnished, so really, why doesn't it matter to me. If anything, I should be glad that I get to see an all-time great play another year, even if he isn't at is peak.
The story of will he or won't he get's old, yes. That is true. However, that isn't necessarily Favre's (or any other athlete's) fault. They aren't the ones putting it front and center on Sportscenter, or in the paper every day. That is the media responding to what people want to read about. Don't blame the subject of the story. Blame our insationable appetite for football or for celebrity news.
So if Favre wants to play, let him play. It does't affect any of us in our day-to-day lives.
With that being said, I think the Vikings should sign him if he wants to play. Is he as good as he was five years ago? No. But is he better than any of the other quarterbacks on the Vikings? Probably. I'm not sure, but I do know that he isn't worse. The worse thing that could happen if Favre comes to the Vikings is they become a pass first team, and make Favre the center piece of the offense instead of Adrian Peterson. I don't think it'll happen, but it is a concern. When you look at Favre's best years, it was when he had a solid running back and wasn't asked to be the entire offense. Well, that is the situation he would have in Minnesota. The Vikings already have a lot of pieces, they are just missing a quarterback. An aging Favre can provide them with the needed balance on offense they have been lacking. He won't be throwing into double coverage very often because the opposing defense can't double team because of Peterson. Favre can do well here, if healthy.
So Favre probably makes the team better, but even if he doesn't, he is still worth a signing. With him on the team, the Vikings will no have no problem selling out every game of the upcoming season. Last season, they struggled to sell out the games, with blackout threats numerous times last season. Favre on the Vikings is a HUGE marketing too for Minnesota. Ticket sales are a gimme. The merchandise sales would be huge. A purple 4 jersey would be an instant seller. The Vikings instantly become incredibly interesting. All six games against the NFC North become must see TV, plus they will be favored to win the Central and probably to go to the Super Bowl. They become a fascinating team, no matter if they win or lose.
And from a Vikings fan who doesn't live in the area, if Favre is on the team, Minnesota becomes a national story. They will be on Sportscenter, featured more in Sports Illustrated or on ESPN.com. They immediately become a national story, which is great for me. But it should be exciting for all Vikings fans. I know I always get excited when any of the Minnesota sports team are prominently featured on national TV or in national magazines.
And finally, so see Brett Favre run out onto Labeau Field wearing the Purple and be booed without mercy is something that would be incredible, proving that fans are loyal to a bunch of colors, not players.
Minnesota Vikings, please sign Brett Favre. He won't hurt your team, he markets himself and it personally helps me. Get 'er done.

Anatomy of a conversation

2009-05-26T14:05:00.000-04:00

Every stop and analyze what kind of conversations you have with people? What is the ebb and flow? Is it dominated by one person or does everybody contribute equally? Is it a true give and take, or does each person just wait until the other person stops talking in order to jump in? How much of the conversation is discussing ideas/events or just swapping stories? Do the stories relate and enhance each other, or are they just one-uppers? Is the focus primarily on you, the other person or what? Does the other person seem to genuinely pay attention and care?

Recently, I have started to take note of the type of conversations I have with people. I haven't done it very much, but it intrigues me and is something I am going to continue to examine. I would encourage all of you to do that as well. My first thought is that the type of conversation you have with a person and how that conversation runs its course can actually be valuable insight into that person. In no way do I feel like I am qualified to judge what insight means, but I feel like it can be a window into said person.

I encourage you all to let me know what you find out, andI will keep you posted with my findings as well.

Good luck and happy talks.

A new direction

2009-05-26T11:45:00.001-04:00

Life is nothing of not ever-changing. Our thoughts from yesterday fade before we realize we miss them. Tomorrow's ideas form before we realize we need them. To forget is common. To be surprised is normal. It is who we are and how we operate.

We leave who we were an become somebody new without realization. The changes might be so gradual that they escape notice. Or happen with such speed as we cannot keep up. This is life.

Our task is not to be stationary. Change is inevitable. Change is good. Growth leads to new ideas, experiences and understanding. Our task is awareness. To be cognizant of change and ensure positive growth is our goal.

This is not the only undertaking in life. It might not even be high up on the list. But right now, this is my mission. This is what I need to do.

Hall of Fame madness

2009-01-16T16:05:00.000-05:00

I’m a few days behind the curve on this, but oh well. The new inductees into the baseball Hall of Fame were recently announced, and there was only two of them: Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice. For Henderson, this was his first time on the ballot, and for Rice, it was his 15th and final time on the ballot. I am not going to discuss the merits of either because they both belong. But what I will touch on his how Rickey Henderson only got 94.8 percent of the votes and how no player in MLB history has ever been inducted to the hall of fame with a unanimous ballot.
Think about that. Nobody, not Willie Mays, Ty Cobb, Ted Williams, anybody. How can that be? If anybody belongs in the HOF, it is Willie Mays. Many consider him the greatest player of all time. Yet he didn’t get a unanimous ballot. Now, some voters are under the impression that because Mays didn’t get a unanimous ballot that nobody should get one. If the greatest player, or players, didn’t go in uncontested, how can anybody? I guess I understand that thinking, but it is idiotic. If Rickey Henderson received a unanimous ballot, that doesn’t make him better than Willie Mays or Mickey Mantle. It just means that Henderson is, without a doubt, a bonafide Hall of Famer.
Henderson is the all-time leader in numerous categories, including stolen bases and runs scored. In one amazing hear, he had more runs scored than games played. Sure, runs scored is a product of who is behind him, but he has to get on base and put himself in a position to score. And the batters behind him got better pitches to hit because the pitcher was concerned with Henderson stealing a base. He was the greatest lead-off hitter of all time. Anybody who is the greatest anything of all time deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. Yet, he received less than 95% of the vote. Ridiculous.
This obsession with keeping a ballot from being perfect is insane. The sports writers who didn’t vote for Henderson, or who won’t vote for Greg Maddox in the future, are crazy. All they are doing is perpetuating an ill-conceived idea and continuously thinking that hundreds of wrongs make a right. It was wrong for Mays to not receive a perfect ballot, but that doesn’t mean Rickey Henderson should not have.
If enough writers buy into this twisted logic, it is possible that somebody like Henderson or Maddox, might not make the HOF. If enough voters are determined not to have a perfect ballot and feel safe not voting for a person because they assume that everybody else will vote for him, he could get left off the ballot. Think about that. With this current mindset, it is possible that Maddox, the greatest pitcher of the last 40 years, could conceivably not be voted in his first year.
The sports writers who elect the Hall of Fame members wasted an opportunity to begin to correct decades worth of mistakes and set the platform to allow future unanimous votes. Instead, they clung to their stubborn, ill-conceived ideas and kept one of the greatest of all-time, a sure fire hall of famer, from receiving his due, perpetuated an antiquated idea and made it more difficult for any player to receive a perfect ballot. Is it any wonder people don’t like the media?

A pro-BCS opinion

2009-01-09T16:36:00.000-05:00

With the end of the college football season, I have had my fill of debate/griping about the current BCS bowl system. It wasn’t that long ago that I was a proponent of changing the BCS system for a playoff, or at least an and-1 game for the national title (where everybody plays in a bowl game and then you re-do the BCS system to take the then no. 1 and 2 teams). In fact, I am pretty sure I wrote a column as sports editor railing on the current system. Maybe I should go back and read the column to see if I can convince myself to not write this next sentence. Nah. College football is great the way it is and it should not change. We do not need, and should not have a playoff system for college football. There, I said it. I just went against almost every college football pundit and fan. Whew, I feel liberated.
College football is, without a doubt, the most exciting season of any sport. Period. Every other sport, including the heralded NFL, has a boring regular season compared to college football. In the current system, almost every week is a playoff game for the top teams. Lose and you might not play for the national title. That is a lot of playoff games, don’t you think?
Let’s examine the NFL for a minute. This season, the New York Giants lost to the Cleveland Browns. Yet, nobody is saying the Browns are a better team or should be in the playoffs instead of the Giants because lost to them. Nor are people clamoring for the Houston Texans to be in the playoffs over the Tennesee Titans, who they beat in week 15. The season is a body of work, not just one game. In any given college season, the top-flight teams probably have eight or nine gimme games, while only being truly tested in three or four, about the same number as a playoff.
What is it about a playoff system that automatically gives credit to a national champion? As a fan, I want to see the two best teams play against each other for the title. With the BCS, we get pretty darn close to that compared to other sports, like NCAA basketball for one.
Everybody loves the NCAA tournament and it is probably sacrilegious for me to say anything bad about it, but since I’ve gone this far, I might as well punch my express ticket to sports hell. Often times in the NCAA tournament, we don’t see the best teams make it to the championship. Often times, a number two or three seed, or the occasional eight seed makes the championship. Yet nobody cries out foul when we, as fans, are robbed of seeing the two best (or at least two of the best) teams play for the title.
Also, look at last year’s NFL season. I think almost anybody will tell you that the New England Patriots were clearly the best team. Yet, nobody seems upset that they weren’t the champions. Or go back a few years to the 1998 NFL season (as a Minnesota Vikings fan, this is especially painful). The Vikings were the best team in the NFC, better than the eventual NFC champion Atlanta Falcons, but because Gary Anderson missed a field goal, we the fans were robbed of seeing the two best teams play for the Super Bowl.
And finally, I am going to stand up on my soap box and preach. Why do you need a supposed, true, non-debatable national champion? What is it about our society, our culture, ourselves, that we must have supposed closure. Why can’t we have an ambiguous national champion, or no national champion at all? Colleges are first and foremost a place of academics. Athletics are meant to spur school spirit and pride, as well as provide for social settings and entertainment for the university. Universities are not sports teams, rather educational entities.
We view playoffs as a way of determining who the best team for the season is. But they don’t. All they do is determine who the best team on that given day is. The BCS for all its failures, tries to give us something that no other sports entity, college or professional due, the two best teams playing for the national championship, while providing for the most exciting regular season of anything else. So for me, I’ve come around and I love the BCS and think it should continue just the way it is.
Congratulations Florida on your National Championship.

The First Catch

2008-05-06T17:38:00.000-04:00

Today was a momentous occasion, one that happens every year.
Today, I partook in the first catch of the year. Sadly, it was not with a baseball, as it appears I lost it sometime in the past, but with a football.
But the ball doesn’t matter. It is the idea that rings true. It is the idea that has sustained me through the winter. It is the idea that I have had since my childhood, an idea shared by many kids throughout the country, possibly the world.
The idea of catch is what matters most. Playing catch is more than just tossing a baseball around, or any ball for that matter. It represents more than just a game. For me, and many others, it represents fond memories, it represents childhood, it represents innocence.
Many kids grow playing catch. It is ingrained in our culture. Baseball is America’s Pastime, while football has become the national sport. The winter months shut in our nation’s children, close the door to the glorious splendor that only hot summer days and cool summer nights can provide.
Spring releases our kids. The little ones bursting with pent up energy, and us big kids, longing to grab the ball and run to the park for a game.
When I began playing catch, I was merely a young boy. A boy who idolized baseball players. A boy who idolized his dad.
Dad would come home from a long day of work, or after mowing the grass, and he would make the effort to play catch. That meant something. It surely did to me, and I would like to think it meant something to him.
Now every spring, when the first catch comes along, it isn’t with my dad. But that’s OK. It still represents what I happened as a child. And it represents more.
It represents spring. It represents hope. When the snow finally melts and puddles liter the lawn, it signals the arrival of spring. It is not a coincidence we have the expression “hope springs eternal.”
Spring is about hope. It is about promise. The hope of what the summer will bestow upon us. The promise that tomorrow will be a brighter day. The hope of the wonderful outcomes of those hot summer days and the promise that the cool summer breeze chills our rooms and eases our slumber. It is the hope of the sun after the storm and the promise that trees and plants will flower and provide us with beauty and sustenance.
Catch may seem like a simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball. And it is. But how true is it that such a simple act – throwing and catching a ball – comes to symbolize so much more. It symbolizes our hopes. It symbolizes tomorrow.

The Closer

2008-04-17T23:51:00.000-04:00

This blog would have been more appropriate a couple of days ago, but laziness and alcoholism being what they are, today is the day.
The Minnesota Twins lost two games to the Detroit Tigers. Not inherently bad, but the manner in which they lost them is greatly disturbing. The bullpen gave up leads late in the game. Making matters worse, the first game, the blew a five-run lead. The pen was supposed to be the strength of the team, the anchor of the pitching staff, and it failed, miserably, two nights in a row.
That gets me to the crux of the column. In both those games, when the bullpen caused the team the victory, the best pitcher on the staff (reliever or starter) did not play. Our newly signed 12 million dollar a year reliever, Joe Nathan, did not get in the game.
I know he is the closer. He pitches the ninth innings, and occasionally part of the eighth. I get that, but I don’t. I understand what a closer is and what he is supposed to do, but I don’t.
In those two losses, the Twins failed to put their best team out there. They lost without having their number one guy even take the field.
It would be like in basketball, resting Michael Jordan until the final five minutes of a game so he could go out there and ensure the victory. But what if the Bulls are losing by 15 points? Mr. Jordan would have arrived too late. No, you put him in there to begin with. If you are resting him in the fourth quarter when you have a lead and the other team comes back, you put him in there to stop the momentum, stem the tide if you will. You bring your best player in when he is needed, not when it is convenient.
I understand this goes against the recent conventional wisdom of baseball. During the past 30 years or so, the closer is a position that has, not only developed into one of the most prominent positions in baseball, but has just developed as a position in baseball period. Back in the day, closers didn’t exist. The ninth inning was handled the same way the sixth, seventh or eighth were. A designated ninth-inning guy didn’t exist. A reliever was a reliever. You entered the game when your team needed you. Period.
Now, managers are reluctant to bring in their closer anytime before the ninth, with the occasional eight-inning exception. Yet, how many times has a lead been blown in the sixth, seventh or eighth innings, only to have the big-money pitcher sitting on the bench come inning number nine. The closer is usually the best relief pitcher and needs to be brought in when the best reliever is needed, not the best reliever who is not the closer.
The Twins should have brought Joe Nathan into the ballgame in the seventh inning, or the eighth inning, whenever the game was at its most critical. They needed him. Sure, technically speaking the game is not won or lost in the seventh or eighth innings, but it can be. Sure, if you bring Nathan in then you have to have somebody else pitch the ninth, but so what? At least you get to the ninth inning with the lead and a chance to win. Instead, the lesser pitchers decided the game for the Twins while the star pitcher making the most money sat on the bench and was relegated to cheerleader status by the manager.

marathon baseball game

2008-04-13T02:18:00.001-04:00

So I got to cover some baseball today. On the whole, it was pretty exciting. Baseball is my favorite sport. I haven’t actually ever covered a baseball game, so I was pretty excited to cover the NDSU versus SUU doubleheader tonight.
And really, it wasn’t all too bad. Sure, only one game got played because it lasted five hours and 26 minutes and went 17 innings. And sure, it was cold in the press box and I had to wear my coat and walk around to stay warm. But overall, it was a pretty good game to cover.
Anytime a baseball game lasts 17 innings, it is something pretty rare. So to see that was pretty cool. But the coolest thing about the game was the pitchers. Often times in an extra inning game, almost all of the pitchers get used. That was not the case tonight. The Two teams combine to use only seven pitchers. Not bad for a 17 inning game.
But what was most interesting about the seven pitchers was that four of them threw more than 100 pitches. That is unbelievable. In a MLB game, rarely does a pitcher throw more than 100. Tonight, I saw four do that, highlighted by a 176 pitch performance by a kid from NDSU.
That’s right, 176 pitches. He went 11 and a third innings and struck out 11. He was incredible. From about his 6th inning on, we in the press box marveled that he was out there to begin the inning. That included his eighth, ninth, tenth and 11th innings. We couldn’t believe he kept going out there. Oh, by the way, the wind chill was in the 30s most of the time he was out there. It was amazing.
But not to be outdone, Southern Utah had their own pitching ace up their sleeve. The Thunderbirds had a pitcher come into the game in the ninth inning and pitch all the way through the 17th. Out of the 25 outs he recorded, 18 of them were strikeouts, including the last three outs of the game. He finished with 146 pitches, quite impressive.
Those two pitchers made the excruciating long game bearable. But I will tell you what I remember most from the evening, and it has nothing to do with the game.
The evening was scheduled for a doubleheader, so it was going to be a long night. With that in mind, the sports information people knew they needed some food. So they ordered pizza, the same pizza the players got. That is all fine and good, except they didn’t offer me any. Now for those of you not in the sports media business, that may not sound like a big deal. But here’s why it is. When you cover sports, specifically college, and D-I college at that, it is common place for the school to provide food for the media. They don’t always give us food, and that’s find. That isn’t what I’m complaining about. What really gets me is how something like six people got food in the press box, and failed to offer any to the one media person who was there with them all night.
Really, it isn’t about not getting free food that irritates me the most. It is how they, the sports info people, got food brought to them and didn’t offer the press any. If food was not available to anybody, I wouldn’t have a problem with it. That is pretty common for the “off” sports like baseball. But that wasn’t the case tonight. People got food, and never offered any to me. I would have been willing to pay my share of the cost, so I could have a slice or two to sustain me through the evening. I wasn’t even offered the chance.
I don’t understand how people can either be that stupid, ignorant or inconsiderate. They must have suspected I was hungry, I had been up there for something like three hours. If they didn’t suspect I was hungry, that makes them stupid, which might just be worse.

Winter in April

2008-04-12T00:24:00.001-04:00

I really need to sit down and write my blog sooner in the day. In case you haven’t noticed, I am trying to blog more often, every day in fact. And when I sit down to write it at 11 p.m. on my second glass of whiskey, writing an in-depth look anything really isn’t going to happen. So you are treated to another mindless, random blog.
I was snowed out today for my baseball game. It was rescheduled for Sunday afternoon, now to be part of a double-header. Really, it isn’t all too bad. The most important thing, for me at least, is that I am able to write one story for the Utah paper. I am not getting paid anyway, so the amount of stories I write isn’t too important. What is essential is that I get one story in though, because then I can say I have been published in a new paper and a new state. Really, all I am doing is trying to get some experience and trying to build the resume. Obviously, more stories means more experience, but the most important thing is to add it to my list of papers. A list that includes the Omaha World Herald and the prestigious Big Fork Eagle (I love you Faith).
In other news, the Wild tied up their playoff series tonight. I got to watch part of the game while I was running. It was enjoyable. I saw Colorado’s first goal. It came after an approximate four minute, uninterrupted stretch of play. Watching hockey players flow up and down the ice without stoppages is a joy to see. As a fan, you are able to witness the fluidity and artistry of the game when players are flying around the ice. Hockey, in my opinion, is the sport that suffers most when play is interrupted by stops. Faceoffs are incredibly boring. Hockey needs to be played up-tempo, with lots of open ice moves and open ice hits.
But this reminds me of how amazing hockey playoffs are. Generally speaking, I am only a passing hockey fan. I enjoy watching the game live, but I’m not a big fan of seeing it on tv. Also, I am not much of a professional hockey fan. I love the college game, then high school, and finally the pros. But the NHL playoffs are spectacular. When the Wild made their playoff run a few years ago, it was glorious. I had so much fun watching the games, all of the games, not just the Wild. It is hard to explain, but the intensity and the play rises to another level and makes the game phenomenal.
Speaking of college hockey, from what I remember, the WCHA was the talk of college hockey all year long. It was supposedly the strongest it’s ever been. With that being said, the league only managed one of the Frozen Four teams, and it got smoked. Although I am a WCHA fan, I do love how all the teams fell in the tournament.
Well, that wraps up another relatively pointless entry. Tune in tomorrow, same Bat time, same Bat channel. I am the Bat.

Running and raining

2008-04-10T23:45:00.000-04:00

I don’t really have a lot to talk about today. I have a few good ideas brewing, but right now I am tired and lazy. And I have been tired and lazy most of the day. So here are some idle thoughts.
I have been doing a fair amount of running recently. A while back, I got the crazy idea that I should run in the Fargo Marathon. The half marathon. I generally don’t like running the long or that far, but I figured I needed some motivation to get off my ass and actually run. So far, it hasn’t been a real big motivator. It has helped some, but only recently. I guess it is better than nothing.
But the point I am round aboutly getting to, is the crappiness and running for long times on a treadmill and the difference between running inside on a feel-good treadmill and on an unforgiving sidewalk.
So far, I have ran for a little over an hour on the treadmill. It was boring. I went about 6.5 miles. I felt like I could ran farther, but I had enough of the treadmill. It is ridiculous. I needed to get outside.
Finally, it happened. The weather turned nice, briefly, and I was able to run outside. It was glorious. Briefly. I realized the difference between the treadmill and the sidewalk. Treadmills have lots of give. Cement has none. My legs hurt more after a four mile run outside than my 6.5 mile run on the treadmill.
It is significantly more splendid running outside, actually moving, seeing different scenery. Yet, the next two days, I could barely walk. My legs hurt. It makes me wonder if I’m going to be able to make my 13.1 miles. I hope so.
So the weather is supposed to turn quite sour here. It has been raining/sleeting all night long here. I am quite tired of this crap. It is almost mid April and we are still dealing with snow. If Mother Nature herself came down and kicked me in the face, I would not be more annoyed. Not only is it disrupting my plans for running outdoors, sitting on my balcony and playing outside with Tom, it is potentially screwing me out of some newspaper stories. I have made plans to cover the NDSU versus Southern Utah University baseball games this weekend. Of course, this is dependent upon the games actually being played. I haven’t written anything in a while, and I want to cover some games. And it would be baseball games. I love baseball. I would get to watch four baseball games in a span of three days. It would be glorious.
An added benefit, of course, would be getting published in another newspaper and another state. I figure, getting published in as many states as I can is a good strategy. It looks good on the resume, and it is kind of fun. In addition, I figure having other editors read my stuff might be helpful. And who knows, maybe it will lead to a job some day. It may be a long shot, but I figure it doesn’t hurt to try.

Watch that baseball soar

2008-04-09T23:31:00.000-04:00

The Trifecta
2008, what will it bring for the Twins?
Warning: Pure speculation forthcoming, backed up by little to no facts or expertise. Gotta love blogs!
Minnesota will win 74 games this season.
The Twins lost a few prominent players, as already discussed. And their two big acquisitions, Delmon Young and Livan Hernandez, do not make them better than when they had Hunter and Santana. With that being said, it is hard to imagine the Twins topping their win total from last year.
But on the flip-side, they did bring back their 3-4-5 hitters and their outstanding bullpen. So I don’t think they will be terrible.
Really, their season hinges on a couple of things. One, Carlos Gomez. He is an incredibly exciting player. Early season results show that if he can get on base, he can cause havoc. The trick will be to get on base. He hasn’t played much time in the majors and from what I’ve read, tends to get a little too excited at the plate. But man, when he is on base, he is disruptive. He can steal bases, go from first to third on any single, score from second on any hit and has the speed to score from first. If he figures out how to get on base, he will set the table for Mauer, Cuddyer, Morneau and Young.
The other big question mark for the Twins is their starting pitching. With the exception of Hernandez, who is old, the pitchers are very young. Boof Bonser and Scott Baker have the most experience, but neither one much. The other pitchers are very inexperienced. If the young guys learn quickly and exceed expectations, the Twins have a chance to compete.
And then there is Francisco Liriano, the “franchise.” For a few months two years ago, he was the most dominant pitcher in baseball. Better than Santana. But Liriano is coming off of elbow surgery and has struggled some so far this year. If he can return anywhere close to his previous form, the Twins will have their ace to replace Santana.
Another question mark for the Twins will be if their revamped lineup can perform better than last year. As discussed earlier, Minnesota traded some defense for offense. So far, it has not produced results. With questionable starting pitching, the Twins will need to out-slug their opponents from time to time. They will need to get production out of more people than Mauer, Cuddyer, Morneau and Young.
I think Jason Kubel is ready for a big season, if he gets the chance. He had a really last few months of the season. I would like to see him get the majority of the at-bats at DH, or in the outfield. I think he has the ability to be a everyday player. He could be the key to the offense.
I am just looking for the Twins to be competitive this year. They are building for the future. If they finish over .500, it will be a successful year. After the first few months, when they still might be under the delusion they have a shot to make the playoffs, they should adjust their mindset to prepare for 2009 and 2010.

We're going to score

2008-04-06T17:14:00.000-04:00

Part Deux
We need to now look at other moves made in the offseason. The first, and biggest, to examine is the loss of Torii Hunter. It was sad to see Hunter go. He has been such a great player and person for the Twins. He was the face of the franchise.
He was.
Even if he stayed, he would no longer be. That title belongs to Joe Mauer/ Justin Morneau. I believe Hunter will still be a productive player for a few years. It would have been beneficial to the team to keep him, but not for the size contract the Angels gave him. Minnesota offered him 45 million for three years. I would have loved to see Hunter sign that. It would have been a great move for the Twins. But instead, Hunter signed with Los Angeles for 90 million and five years. That offer was too much for the Twins. Hunter might be worth 18 million for the first three years, but not the last couple.
Look at Johnny Damon. He replaced an aging centerfielder in Bernie Williams, and now the Yankees have replaced Damon because he is an aging centerfielder. Roaming the middle of the outfield is a tough position. Often one for a young man. Yes exceptions exist. And maybe Hunter is an exception. The Angels have the money to see if Hunter is the exception; the Twins do not.
In other moves, letting Carlos Silva go was another smart move. He is a mediocre pitcher and not worth 12 million a year, especially not when the Twins churn out one quality pitcher after the other.
The most interesting move was the Delmon Young. Minnesota traded a quality young pitcher, Matt Garza, for a quality young bat. It is the first time that I can remember the Twins trading a pitcher for a hitter. I like the move though. Adding Young to the trio of Mauer, Morneau and Michael Cuddyer gives the Twins a solid four hitters in a row. And they are all young, so could do some damage for the next few years.
The free agent signings were whatever. Adding Mike Lamb, Adam Everett and Brendan Harris are all relatively minor moves. I don’t think any of those guys will be stars, but they should be solid players. From what I have read, Everett is supposed to a great defensive shortstop but lack a little bit on the offense side, and Lamb and Harris are the opposite: decent bats but susceptible in the field.
So it appears the Twins have abandoned their recent approach of emphasizing pitching and defense, but trading pitching and signing weak defensive players.
I like the moves. Their past approach has not been working wonders. They have only won one playoff series and have struggled the past two seasons, save a spectacular four months. A new approach might not be too bad. And they only signed those guys for a couple of years. So if it doesn’t work, they can try something different in 2010 when they open the new ballpark.
Now we come to the contract extensions. Morneau, Cuddyer and Joe Nathan all agreed to extension. All of them were critical for the Twins, although Nathan might seem a little odd.
The Twins let the rest of their veterans go, staring with Louis Castillo last year, why sign Nathan? Because Nathan is one of the three best closers in baseball and he wanted to stay here. To ensure they don’t completely fade this year or next year, signing Nathan was critical. He stabilizes the bullpen. With a young staff, they need a strong bullpen. Nathan helps provide that.
The other reason was the Twins needed to sign him for PR reasons. After letting Hunter, Santana and Silva go, they needed to show their fans they were serious about winning. The Morneau and Cuddyer signings helped, but they are young, and weren’t as symbolic as Nathan. Signing Nathan, after so much speculation of trading him, proves the front office is doing more than waiting until the new ballpark opens. They are taking action to win.
Tune in for part three, when I actually look at the upcoming season.

We're going to win Twins

2008-04-05T11:49:00.000-04:00

I have been meaning to write this blog for quite some time now. Ever since the Twins traded Johan Santana, I’ve wanted to express my thoughts on it. Then spring training started, and that gave me more ideas about the upcoming Twins season. And now, they have began playing games. So figure it is about time that I let all of you know my thoughts on the upcoming Twins season. I’m sure you were all dying to know.
First, the Santana deal. Yes, it sucks. Having to trade the best pitcher in baseball sucks. Santana has done a marvelous job for us the past few years. He will me missed.
But it was the right move.
With the budget the Twins have, it is incredibly hard to justify spending 23 million a year on one player. That would be about a third of the their payroll last year on just one guy. Oh yeah, it is a guy who only plays once every five games. That’s about 35 starts a year. So you would give him more than 700,000 per start and pay him more than 1 million per victory. That seems like an awful lot to me. He had to go. It sucks, but it’s the truth.
That being said, I don’t know if they got the best offer. Obviously, having no personal knowledge of the trade talks between all the teams, I am subject to the rumors published in the paper and on websites. Who knows how accurate they really are. But if they were, the Twins may have let the best deal pass early in the offseason.
However, I cannot blame the Twins for passing. I honestly thought the Red Sox or the Yankees would step up their offer. I still can’t understand how they didn’t. Yes, they each have very good ball clubs now. But if they trade for Santana, they instantly make themselves the favorites for the World Series. Especially the Sox. How do they not put Santana next to Becket and Dice-K. A one-two punch of Becket and Santana in the playoffs for the next 5 seasons? Go ahead and pencil the Sox in has world series champions as long as those two pitchers stay healthy. Think Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling, except in their primes, and for five years. I am amazed at how the Sox failed to pull the trigger, especially with the Yankees being so close to getting Santana.
So I don’t blame Bill Smith for not taking those offers. He probably had similar logic to my own, and waited. We were wrong.
With that being said, Santana is now in the National League. Whatever we may of lost in prospects, we gained by not having to face him, and not having him go to a contender of ours. That is a bonus in and of itself.
But it wasn’t as if the Twins got nothing in return. The four prospects they got are talented and who knows about them. So far, that Gomez kid looks incredibly exciting. He has the potential to be a solid contributor. And they got three pitchers, one of who is 19 I believe. I think much of the Twins’ success in producing quality pitchers goes beyond the fact they draft well. That is part of it. But over the past few years, the amount of good pitchers they have produced, has to be in part to the way they develop and train them. I think having those pitchers, especially the 19 year old kid, in our system for the next few years, gives them a better shot of becoming quality pitchers than if they were to develop somewhere else.
Well, the blog is probably long enough. I forgot I had so much to say on the Santana deal. Check in later for part two of the Twins blog.

Finallly the Dream

2008-04-01T18:13:00.000-04:00

Right now, as I type, I am living the dream. Sure, I don’t have much money, or a good full-time job, but right now, none of that matters. For, at this moment, I am fulfilling a longing I’ve had more months. A longing that has been growing, seemingly growing closer, only to be cold-heartedly ripped away from me time and again by that cruel, calculating, yet unpredictable she-demon known as Mother Nature.
Fargo is finally thawing out. The sun is shining, the temperature is above freezing and I am sitting on my balcony. Not only am I sitting, but I am smoking, drinking, listening, typing and thinking. I have a decent, if some what dry, cigar, a fine brew, a good and new cd and a format to express my thoughts. Life, as I k now it at this moment, is Engels (if you don’t know the term, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Engels and scroll down to the picture. You’ll understand).
Some of you may not understand my elation at this seemingly simple scenario. Let me briefly elaborate.
When Tom, Jess and I looked for apartments, Tom and I required a balcony. For those of you who don’t know, sitting outside with the company of good friends, discussing the trivial or the profound, or just sitting there enjoying the wonders life has to offer is an exceptional experience. One I highly recommend, and one I thoroughly enjoy.
As I live in the Great Northern Tundra, winters are painstakingly long and summers are suspiciously short. I have been aching to reconnect with my balcony. During the fall, rare was the night I did spend at least a few minutes outside. Often, Tom and I would sit there and just be. We would talk, listen to music, read, whatever struck our fancy. We would smoke our cigars, drink our beer and bask in the glory of the balcony.
The long winter has denied me that pleasure. At first it wasn’t too bad. What is a couple of months? But then the months kept piling up. Maybe in February, I thought, I’ll catch a warm day. Nope. Then Marched rolled around. I figured March for sure had to have a warm enough day. And maybe it did, but not one that worked out with my schedule. So here we are, April first, and I finally get to be outside after a four-month reprieve. It is glorious.

There and back again, a sports reporters tale

2008-03-26T21:45:00.000-04:00

About a week ago, I had the privilege of covering the Creighton University Bluejays versus the South Dakota State University Jackrabbits in the first round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). Writing about SDSU is something I am quite accustomed too. However, I was at the game to write about Creighton, not SDSU. That was quite odd. Covering a game involving SDSU not for The Collegian and not from an SDSU perspective would be strange anywhere, but in Brookings was especially peculiar.
Going back to the place where it all began as a professional reporter was nice. Walking into Frost Arena, seeing the surprise looks of people who were not expecting me and talking with staff and Collegian folk, as a professional, was a definite ego trip, which I probably didn’t need.
As fun as it was, it was also sort of uncomfortable. Maybe uncomfortable isn’t the right word. I’m not entirely sure what is. It was an awkward feeling. A feeling that I just didn’t quite belong. It was my home, my beginning, but it was different. It was akin to walking into my parents house for the first time after I moved to college. Or coming home after living in Europe for five months. I knew everything, everybody, yet everything had change. I changed.
I was not the same, bewildered sports editor that roamed the courtside a few years ago. I had left what had become a comfortable setting, a familiarity with the beat, an understanding of what was expected and what to do.
Instead, I was a young, burgeoning part-time sports reporter. I ventured to a new land, a new sports landscape, a higher level of expectations.
I returned (triumphantly) to Frost Arena unsure of what to expect, unsure of how I would be greeted, unsure of my place there.
After the initial “hellos” and “what are you doing heres,” I settled into my comfortable spot behind the scorer’s table, right next to Terry. Stu made his once a year trip to Frost to help Terry, and the Collegian boys were on the other side. The game started, and it was business as usual.
Not quite.
I was covering the other team. At halftime, as I was looking over my game notes, I realized that most of what I jotted down related to SDSU. Sure, SDSU had a halftime lead, but they did not dominate the first half. Almost everything that happened I looked at from a Jackrabbit perspective, not a Bluejays’. At least I realized that and was able to adjust after intermission. Of course, the Jays shooting 70 percent helped some too.
When the press conference was over and the story was typed, I felt good. I was sad the Jacks lost, but not too sad. Maybe it was because I was there covering the Jays. Maybe it was because I hadn’t seen a game all year. Or maybe it was because I was more concerned with typing a quality story than the actual outcome of the game. Whatever it was, when I left Brookings I felt at ease, with the game, the story and my experience.

NCAA Tournament

2008-03-18T23:13:00.000-04:00

Well, it is NCAA tournament time. For the past few years, I have written a column at the Collegian about the tournament. I’m guessing that if I continue in the field of sports writing, most years I will write a column of some sorts about the Madness of March. This year will be no different. But this year I am not going to extol the wonders of tournament, nor give advice on picking brackets (I’ve been smoked too many years in a row in my family pool to do that). No, instead, I am going to complain. Something new for me.
I am so bored with all of the “bubble team” talk before the tournament and the few days after the tournament. Which team will get in? Who helped their chances? Who was robbed? Which team that didn’t make it deserves to be there the most?
News flash: It does not matter, no not one bit. Those teams that were “robbed” play no significant role in who wins the national title. The teams that had their “bubbled burst” are irrelevant to the overall scheme of the tournament.
The teams that were left out are insignificantly better or worse than the teams that made it.
Really. They are. The differences between the 60th best team in the nation and the 70th best team are minimal, and mostly subjective. Ask 10 different “experts” to rank the teams 60-70, and you will get 10 different orders. It does not matter.
Let me repeat, and this time, with emphasis. IT DOES NOT MATTER.
In the tournament, it comes down to matchups and getting on a roll. It is rare that one of the last few at-large teams make it to the final four. And if they do, it is because they had a favorable draw and caught fire. Not because they were that much better of a team then number 66 or 67.
The only people who should be upset are the players, coaches and fans from that school. Those last few teams are probably going to lose in the first round, maybe the second. They do not have a legitimate shot at winning. But for those kids, those fans, getting one game in the Big Dance can be a live-long memory. It can make the entire college career. For them, missing out by one or two teams can be devastating.
But for the casual fan … get over it. The “bubble teams” will not affect your bracket more than a few games in the early rounds. And they affect everybody equally. By complaining about it, all you do is show your ignorance about the tournament while trying to show off your knowledge about RPI rankings and strength of schedule. In the end, though, you just look republican.

Pregame

2008-02-28T20:26:00.000-05:00

As I write this, I am sitting, waiting for the quarterfinals of the North Sub-Section of Section 6A girls basketball to begin. My friends, let me tell you, the anticipation is building in the arena, and within this humble sports writer. Well, maybe in the arena. I have never seen either two teams play. Subsequently, I know nothing about either team. With that being said, it should be an exciting game for me.
I have lost count of the number of different teams I have seen play during the past few months. Covering North Dakota and Minnesota, boys and girls, class A and B, I have seen my fair share of teams. It is a rare treat for me to see the same team twice, thereby having some idea of what to expect from a given team.
I suppose that seeing so many different teams and players is nice. It adds diversity and keeps the viewing from getting stagnate. It is fun to travel to many different arenas and see different fans. I get to compare all the different aspects of a game, from the version of the Star Spangled Banner, to if and how big of a pep band plays, from listening to an announcer/scorer show enthusiasm for his or her team only, to seeing the varying degrees of student support/insanity. And of course, all of the different school songs (as the U of M Rouser plays behind me). And whenever I hear Ring the Bell (for South Dakota), I can’t help but sing along (with the words I know).
As a quick tangent, is it sad that I know all of the words to the U Rouser, a school I never attended, but don’t know more than “Ring the bell for South Dakota, bah dah dah dah dah dah, ring the bell for South Dakota, bah dah dah dah dah dah? Maybe. But when SDSU makes the big dance, I’ll bother to learn the words.
As nice as seeing all kinds of different teams play, it creates challenges. If I haven’t seen a team play before, I don’t know what their tendencies are. I can’t write how this particular game this did this great, or did that poorly, compared to normal. I don’t have a normal. I only have one game. It makes for finding storylines a little more challenging. At least interesting storylines. I really can only base my story on what transpired that night. I can’t tell the game story in the context of the season story, especially because a lot of the teams I cover will only get a couple of full-game stories in the paper.
Well, I have one minutes and 15 seconds left to go before tip-off. I better run. See you next time, hopefully with a rant of some sorts (I’ve got one brewing about Minnesota politics).

Welcome/Introduction

2008-02-24T19:47:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my blog, soon to be loyal reader. This will be a place for me to opine about various topics, mainly sports and politics. I imagine it will be more sports, but as the democratic nomination approaches ever nearer and then the election in November comes closer, I don’t see how it is possible how somebody with my vast intellect (maybe) and my superior knowledge (probably not) can refrain from engaging in political speak. I hope you all enjoy. I have no idea how often I will post. I would say once or twice a week, but most of you probably know me quite well and understand the laziness that protrudes my every action. With that being said … enjoy.