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The British Open: The Best PGA Major 2007-07-18 21:27:00 With the British
Open set to tee off, I feel it is time yet again to write about a topic that Scott disagrees with me about.In a nutshell, I feel that the British Open is the best of the four majors. Hands down!The British Open is played on some of the greatest golf courses in the world. These courses were not built on a large pot of land. They were built around and with the land that was currently there. The rough grows wild and winds are unforgiving. This is the way golf should be played.In today's golf tournaments there are plenty of golfers who can drive it 300-350 yards. They can do it on a tree-lined course with little wind. Now, you go to these courses where you are 50 yards away from the coast at times with a wind that blows so hard in your face it makes your grandmother complain that it's ruining hair. If they have a bad tee shot they not only have to face the shin deep rough that looks like the lawn on the boarded up house on the corner but then they have to deal with bunke Read more:Major
Goodell Takes A Stand 2007-07-23 20:54:00 As Scott refuses to write a post on Mike Vick, I will write a post on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Since Goodell took over as commissioner the league has almost done a complete 180 degree turn. Between the Chris Henry case, Pacman Jones, Tank Johnson and now Mike Vick, Goodell has seen his fair share of off the field problems.After he suspended Henry and Jones, Goodell made a statement that off the field issues will not be tolerated in the NFL. Johnson did not get that memo and it could look like Vick "did not know about dogfighting" but also does not realize that he is not above the law.After Vick was indicted and his court date was set for the first date of Falcons training camp, people started to wonder how much of an impact this would have on the Falcons. Well, it looks as if Goodell does not even want to test the waters. He ordered Vick to not report to Falcons' training camp at all. He wants to take a look at what sort of case is against Vick and what the league should do in Read more:Stand
What a Joke 2007-07-25 17:28:00 Today ESPN decided that instead of showing SportsCenter, they would hold a told meeting discussing Barry Bonds. That was their first mistake. The panel consisted of Bonds' former manager Dusty Baker (who works for ESPN), former teammates Ellis Burks and Kirk Reuter, ESPN writer Buster Olney, SF Chronicle reporter (and co-author of Game of Shadows) Lance Williams, sportswriter Bryan Burwell, and NPR correspondant Juan Williams. And apparently, they decided to hold this meeting in San Francisco.Baker,Burks, and Reuter defended their boy, saying that no one has proven he used steroids. Ellis Burks even called him the greatest baseballplayer of all time, to loud cheers from the crowd. Buster Olney toed the company line, and just said that its unfair to single Bonds out. An employee of ESPN would certainly never said a bad word about Barry Bonds. Williams, Williams, and Burwell responded by making intelligent, well-defended points, and were boo'd by the crowd.The whole thing was an
The Greatest TV Episode of All Time 2007-08-02 07:32:00 I realized today that there are actually some benefits to waking up at 5:30 in the morning. Mainly, if you time it right, you can watch 3 straight hours of Saved By The Bell between TBS and UPN. Now before you tell me this isn't sports related, let me remind you of all of those times Slater vanquished Valley. That leads me to today, at 7 AM, on TBS, when I was witness to the greatest episode of any television show ever (seriously, it's not an exaggeration.) The gang had a killer geometry final, and Jessie had to do well to get into Stanford. You probably know the rest. Jessis gets hooked on caffeine pills, and sings those oh-so-famous words... "I'm so excited! I'm so excited! I'm so.... scared." A lot of people don't realize the other plot point that pushed Jessie over the edge. You see, Jessie, Lisa, and Kelly had formed a girl group (Hot Sunday). Zack was their manager. And of course, Jessie cracked under the pressure of singing and studying. Here are some more thou Read more:Greatest
, Episode
What a Joke: Part 2 2007-08-01 23:00:00 As a sports fan, I am interested in seeing Barry Bonds break the home run record. In a similar way of when I watched the McGuire-Sosa home run race and Tiger woods tame the Masters in such strong fashion. I turn on ESPN, well ESPN2 tonight, to see the status of the home run chase. I watch an entire inning of baseball between the Giants and the Dodgers.Not a single time I heard the count announced on air. Sure, they had it on the top of the screen but this was just pure blabbering between Chris Berman and Joe Morgan. It was like listening to a conversation between two people while a baseball game was on the screen. Then in the 7th inning, they took at least a half hour on just talking about Barry Bonds and his swing. You are there to broadcast the baseball game, not just talk about Barry Bonds.As I write this the Giants score a run to make it a 3-2 game. There looks to be a pitching change and this is just an excuse to actually analyze the game itself and not just talk about Bonds. I wa
A Breath of Fresh Air 2007-08-06 01:20:00 After all the rage that flowed through my body last night, it was a pleasant release to watch Tom Glavine pick up win number 300. Lets analyze this milestone in list form.--First and foremost, kudos to Cubs fans (wow, it physically hurts to say that) for their show of class. Instead of littering the field with garbage, the fans gave Glavine an extended standing-O.--The win milestone has to be one of the most anti-climactic in sports. It doesn't have to be. It could have been a 1-run game, with Glavine on the mound in the ninth. Instead, it was Billy Wagner on the bump, up by 4, with Glavine watching fromte dugout.--Why didn't anybody think to tie in Glavine's 300th win with the DVD release of 300? That would have been marketing GOLD.--I wouldn't be doing my journalist duty if I didn't mention Tom Glavine's wife. Wow. I guess thats what you get when you're a 300 game winner and a first ballot hall of famer. My question is: Is, for example, Jeff Weaver's wife proportion Read more:Breath
What a Joke: Part 3 2007-08-04 22:53:00 Ah, I love late-night blogging. I just wish it could happen under better circumstances. You see, I'm in a bit of a mood, as Barry Bonds has just tied Hank Aaron's record. Now don't get me wrong, that bothers me a lot, but it doesn't make me physically ill. Cue ESPN. SportsCenter featured analysis of Bonds' record-tying home run from Orestes Destrada and Fernando Vina, who have about as much talent on screen as they did on the baseball diamond.Fernando Vina started the lovefest by calling Bonds the greatest home run hitter of all-time. Naturally, he's avoiding that pesky little steroid scandal, but that's to be expected. Vina followed that up by saying that what Bonds is doing is GOOD FOR THE GAME OF BASEBALL! WHAT?! It was really one of the most incredible things I have ever heard, earning Fernando Vina the honor of having said the dumbest thing ever. Then Destrada, in analyzing Bud Selig's less-than-excited reaction, said that Selig would react the same way if it had been Fran
Way to go, A-Rod 2007-08-04 19:24:00 If you haven't heard by now, Alex Rodriguez hit his 500th career home run today at Yankee Stadium, making him the youngest player in baseball history to reach that milestone. Avid readers of the blog will probably be surprised to find me writing about it. Usually I steer clear of the giant headline stories. Many sports stories today are simply bled to death by ESPN, to the point that I find myself totally numb to them. It's why you haven't seen my blog about Michael Vick or Tim Donaghy. But there's something about A-Rod that I really like. Perhaps it's simply the fact that he's a rare clean baseball player (with apologies to Jose Canseco). Maybe it's the fact that he's the anti-Yankee, even as he plays for them. Or maybe I like him because while we all watch in horror as Steroid Bonds breaks Hank Aaron's record, A-Rod seems like a light at the end of the tunnel.There are a lot of sports superstars that I dislike, but I don't dislike them because they are superstars.
Pride FC Video 2007-08-03 22:45:00 As mny of you already know, the UFC purchased Pride
FC a while back. While Dana White and the UFC promised that Pride would remain it's own entity, we've yet to see this, and it's not looking good. Anyway, I wanted to share this video with everyone. It's regarded in MMA circles as one of the best highlight videos out there. Many of you have probably seen this before, but don't worry it doesn get old. And if you ever need to explain to someone why you are an MMA fan, this video should do all the talking. And if you've never seen it before, enjoy.http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/furious+angels+boondock/video/x13v8u_furious-angels-boondock
Those Lovable Losers 2007-08-03 22:21:00 Don't look now, but the Chicago Cubs are making a push at the playoffs. They lost tonight, and Milwaukee jumped back into first place, but for a brief two-day window, the Cubs were in first place. The city of Chicago was in pandemonium. Callers lit up the phone lines on The Score, and fans starting making plans for playoff tickets. Lou Piniella, the level-headed guy that he is, found this type of behavior foolish. Yes, Lou Piniella acted as the voice of reason. After all, he told us, its only the beginning of August, there's a long way to go, this is no big deal.But when the Chicago Cubs are in first place this late in the season, it IS a big deal. Sweet Lou doesn't get it, because he doesn't understand the culture of losing, he doesn't buy into it. In his world, first place on the first day of August really isn't anything to get excited about. And thats the reason the Cubs are winning. Piniella doesn't buy into that lovable loser crap. In the past, when the Cubs were bad (much Read more:Losers
Baseball is Crying 2007-08-07 23:12:00 I have two initial reactions to Barry Bonds breaking Hank Aaron's record: relief, and shame.First and foremost, I am glad this thing is over. Now maybe I can start watching ESPN without getting my blood boiling. In general, I don't have a problem with hype. What I have a problem with is people turning a blind eye to the facts in the name of hype. Barry Bonds broke the record, now hopefully we can all forget about it until A-Rod comes knockin. That being said, I also feel a sense of relief of behalf of Barry. As odd as this will sound, especially coming from me, I was starting to feel bad for the guy. Steroids or no steroids, he is human, and you could see the chase was getting to him. And this may sound ridiculous, but I feel like he conducted himself with a sense of resignation. Because deep down, Bonds knows he cheated. In the last month, we were treated to the sheepish Bonds, as opposed to obnoxious boarish one. And with the way former players, Bud Selig, and ESPN were
Hank Aaron: Classy Move 2007-08-07 22:57:00 For as much as I have hated watching Barry Bonds try and break the home run record held by Hank Aaron
, there are a couple of points that I want to make.I think that it was fitting that he did it in front of a home crowd. As a sports fan, I always like to see a record broken at home, or a game 7 won at home, a championship won in front of a team's fans. His true fans were able to watch him break the record. Having his family and his son in the dugout being able to watch the record be broken was also fitting.Then two things surprised me. The first, was the taped message from Hank Aaron himself. I am curious to see if that was his idea or if Major League Baseball asked him if he would send a message. That was the passing of the torch per say, no matter how many steroids might have been used, it was still passed. It was a classy statement and a classy move. I think that shocked everyone.The second thing was that I got chills when I saw it and they stayed all the way through. The only time Read more:Classy
Thank God it's Over 2007-08-07 22:57:00 At 10:51 PM Central Time, Barry Bonds became baseball's all-time home run leader. The celebration is on-going right now. More to come. Read more:Thank
UFC 74 Preview: A Preview 2007-08-07 11:25:00 I know what you're thinking, "Scott, UFC 74 is still more than two weeks away. Isn't it too soon to do a preview?" In a word, yes. But I've never let semantics stop me before. That's how excited I am about this event. First, let me just say that this is, on paper, the best card in UFC history. If that sounds familiar, it's because I said something similar before UFC 73. Get used to it, because I'll probably say it before UFC 75 as well. We're really starting to see the benefits of the Pride FC acquisition. I'll save the predictions for later, but here's a breakdown of the fights I'm most looking forward to:Marcus Aurelio vs. Clay GuidaSadly, it doesn't even look like this fight will even be on the main card. As usual, the UFC is more interested in showing well-known fighters than showing good fights. This is why you will see Roger Huerta (Sports Illustrated coverboy) against some can on the main card. This fight however, is going to be a war. This may sound odd, as both figh Read more:Preview
Feel Better 2007-08-07 07:06:00 Feeling pretty bad about sports these days? Well when Mike Vick and Barry Bonds have got you down, just remember: There's a little J-Mac in all of us.
Another Early Morning 2007-08-16 07:40:00 I'll get to the main point in a second, but first lets talk about Tim Donaghy. He pled guilty today, which means shockingly, this story is about to BLOW OVER. David Stern needs to send a card to Mike Vick and Barry Bonds. When the summer trifecta of stories hit us, this one was probably the most shocking, and was the one that meant the most to the actual sport. I don't know how it happened, but I think we're about to put this story behind us... and I don't know if it was ever really in front of us. Hell, even yesterday the story got pushed off the front-burners by crazy Jose Offerman.I don't want to be too hard on Jose Offerman though. I mean, if you had asked me a week ago what irrelevant former major league baseball player would be making headlines for something crazy, there was a decent chance it would be Jose Offerman. There's always the chance it'll be Ricky Henderson, or even a sleeper pick, like Chili Davis, Delino Deshields, or maybe Derek Bell (That reminds me, I Read more:Early
, Morning
Damn you Insight 2007-08-20 15:42:00 So I just moved back down to school, and I had to set up my cable. As can be expected, Insight
screwed everything up. They didn't give me the classic package, and instead gave me the "digital standard." So since Saturday, I've been stuck living without ESPN, ESPN2, Comcast Sports Net, and Fox Sports Net. That sucks. Other non-sports related channels I'm missing are Comedy Central, CNN, and Spike. Those of you in the know will realize this means I'm missing a week of specials and countdowns to UFC 74, DAMMIT! I've barely been keeping my blood sports levels (Just as one needs to maintain a certain blood sugar level to survive, I need to maintain a certain blood sports level. This has nothing to do with the hit movie starring Jean-Claude Van Damme) with more obscure channels such as ESPNU, The NFL Network, and some fitness channel. It gets worse. I called Insight today to fix this mess, and the woman promptly turned off my digital standard package. Then she informed me that
UFC 74 Preview 2007-08-24 17:55:00 We are a little over 24 hours away from UFC 74, and I am pumped. If you haven't yet, I reccomend reading my UFC 74 Pre-Preview
, for even more insight and analysis. Right now though, its time for my picks. For those of you keeping track, I've currently picked 13 of my last 14 fights correctly, dating back to December 30th of last year. This card though is probably one of the hardest to pick in a long time. And since it's so stacked, I'm not only going to give you predictions for the 5 Main Card fights, but also 2 bonus fights. Without any further ado...Preliminary Bout: Frank Mir vs. Antoni Hardonk (Heavyweight)Vegas actually has Mir as a favorite in this one, and I don't really know why. Everyone knows Mir hasn't been the same since his motorcycle accident. The guy is just fat, and gasses in every fight he's in. Hardonk on the other hand has absolutely terrible ground skills, but I've actually been impressed with his striking. If Hardonk can survive the first two minu
UFC 74 Wrap-up 2007-08-27 18:08:00 Randy Couture really is my hero. To come out at age 44 and absolutely dominate Gonzaga in the way he did if one of the most impressive things you'll ever see in sports. At this point, I have Couture as the #2 heavyweight in the world. I know a lot of people are going to scream Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera at me, but listen. Couture has been dominant against two top 10 heavyweights (we all know Tim Sylvia actually blows, but he was ranked in the top 10 nevertheless)), and holds the most presitigious belt in the sport. Nog on the other hand struggled mightily against Heath Herring (I'm actually a huge Big Nog fan, but that fight really should have been stopped in the first round), and split 2 fights against top 10 HW Josh Barnett. For me, thats enough to put Couture ahead for the time being. Now the big question is, who does Randy fight next? Logical thinking would have to say that it would have to be either CroCop, Noguiera, or Fedor. Then there's the UFC's emergency option, wh
Week 3 picks 2007-09-22 12:44:00 Jon Kitna and the Lion's overtime heroics helped me hit my upset special, and pull even this week, as we flip-flopped last weeks numbers. Now its Scott: 5-5 Zach: 5-5. Week 3 is where I really start putting some distance between us.Scott:JETS over DolphinsLIONS over EaglesSTEELERS over 49ersCARDINALS over RavensBEARS over CowboysZach:JETS over DolphinsEAGLES over Lions49ERS over SteelersRAVENS over CardinalsBEARS over Cowboys.Scott: Thats right, I'm bettig on the Jets, Lions, and Cardinals in the same week. I'm screwed.Zach: .......wow.......
NFL Week 2 Picks, again 2007-09-16 16:25:00 Well the plan was to just edit my picks in, but apparently I'm too dumb to figure out how to do that. Alright Zach, this is the week I make my comeback, and I see an opening:I'll take the COLTS, CHARGERS, PACKERS, EAGLES, and my upset special: THE LIONSBetter luck next week Parcell
NFL Week 2 Picks 2007-09-16 10:58:00 Alright, second week of the NFL season...Current records look like this:Zach: 3-2Scott: 2-3Not a great start for us but, its early in the year...Here are this week's 5 games starting with my picks:Zach:VIKINGS over LionsCOLTS over TitansPATRIOTS over ChargersGIANTS over PackersEAGLES over RedkinsScott:We'll have more next week.
NFL Picks 2007-09-09 12:46:00 Now, I know that this is shortly after kickoff for the first games on Sunday, but I still feel the need to post my picks for the entire season.Short and sweet...NFC:EAST: PhiladelphiaNORTH: ChicagoSOUTH: New OrleansWEST: St. LouisWILD CARD: Minnesota and SeattleAFC:EAST: New EnglandNORTH: CincinnatiSOUTH: IndianapolisWEST: San DiegoWILD CARD: Baltimore and DenverSuperbowl: New Orleans over New EnglandYes, I know that the Saints had a rough time with Peyton and Company but, I still feel as if they will be able to take the NFC South and make it all the way.Football is here and it feels great!
A Little of This, A Little of That 2007-09-05 18:34:00 Brace yourself, I have a few things to say.First, obviously, the big story in sports this week hs been Appalachian State's upset of Michigan. Whenever something massive like this happens, its very important that we all take time to gather our thoughts. I didn't want to make a knee-jerk reaction post where I called it the greatest (fill in the blank) since (fill in the blank). If I did that, you would just be reading the same garbage you've been reading all week. I'll revisit this in a week (when it's done being beaten into the ground) to figure out how I really feel, and where exactly I thing it belongs in a historical content. Until then, you'll just have to enjoy ESPN's ongoing wall-to-wall coverage of the upset.Briefly, Curtis Granderson of the Detroit Tigers was chatting on ESPN.com today. For those of you who don't know, Granderson went to my old high school. So, I thought I'd give the chat a try. Granderson was well-spoken, and seemed to have the right, but not n
Scott's Week 4 picks 2007-09-30 13:00:00 Well, the theme for this week's picks is using your head, and not your heart. As a Bears fan, it would be a sin to not just pick against the Bears, but also pick the Packers. Don't get me wrong, I don't think the Pack is all they're cracked up to be, but I still think they're better than Minnesota. So all my picks for the week:RAVENS over BrownsLIONS over BearsSEAHAWKS over 49ersCOLTS over BroncosPACKERS over Vikings Read more:Scott
NFL Week 4 Picks 2007-09-30 11:00:00 Alright, week 4 us upon us and its a big week for a some teams.Scott went 2-3 last week, took a chance and it didn't pay off. As for myself, I went 3-2. That puts the standings at 8-7 for myself and 7-8 for Scott.The games this week:Zach:RAVENTS over BrownsBEARS over LionsSEAHAWKS over 49ersCOLTS over BroncosVIKINGS over PackersScott:
Scott's Week 5 Picks 2007-10-07 14:19:00 There's a reason Zach made it short and sweet this week. It's because he didn't want to mention the fact that he went 2-3 last week, whil I was a stellar 4-1. I now sit one game over .500, at 11-9, while Zach rides the fence at 10-10. COLTS over BucsBRONCOS over ChargersTITANS over FalconsBEARS over PackersCOWBOYS over BLLS Read more:Scott
Week 5 NFL Picks 2007-10-07 13:02:00 Short and sweet this time:COLTS over BucsCHARGERS over BroncosTITANS over FalconsPACKERS over BearsBILLS over Cowboys
Major League Baseball Playoff Preview 2007-10-03 17:02:00 Lets take a brief time-out from my football domination to take a look at this year's MLB playoffs. There's some fresh faces in the NL, and the same old teams in the AL. Here's how I see things going down.NLDSDIAMONDBACKS vs. CUBS:This is the toughest series to call. As a die-hard White Sox fan, I need the Cubs to lose, and lose quickly. But except for a hiccup in Florida, the Cubs have looked pretty good down the stretch. Of course, that was against cellar-dwellers, not the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Cubs see a steep drop-off in their pitching after Zambrano and Lilly, but the Diamondbacks don't even go that deep. Brandon Wedd is as dominant a pitcher as their is in the National League
, but after him its Doug Davis and Livan Hernandez. The D-backs are a young, scrappy, grind-it-out sort of team, featuring the likes of Chris Young and Eric Byrnes. Still, I think the pitching carries the Cubs in this one. CUBS in 5.PHILLIES vs. ROCKIES:You probably didn't know this, but the Read more:Major
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