Monday, March 31, 2008

Twins Win Opener!

The nasty weather outside kept me from attending the game tonight. But it didn't keep me from enjoying the first win of the year. I'm going to try to start a tradition of picking three "stars" from each game and post their stats.

Carlos "Go-Go" Gomez: 2 for 3, walk, 2 SB, 2B, BB, 2 R, SO; Go-Go set the tone early and couldn't have asked for a better debut in a Twin's jersey. Are you ready to say, "Torii who?" yet?

Livan Hernandez: 7 IP, W, SO, 7 H, 2 R; This is exactly why the Twins paid him $5 million. The bullpen should be fresh for the rest of the series.

Joe Nathan: 1 IP, SV, H, SO; Maybe other players are more deserving, but after signing the big contract, it was a big step in the right direction getting in and getting it done. Plus, he got a huge strikeout against Hunter.

That's all for tonight. Enjoy the snow.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Twins

I scored some (free) tickets for tomorrow night's game, so it looks like I'll get to watch indoor baseball while it snows outside. That means I'll get to see Livan's Twins premier. I'm hoping he can do good things. I'm also very excited to see Go-Go Gomez and Delmon Young in their first game as a Twin. The Twins will start 6 or 7 players that weren't even with the team last year. (Gomez, Young, Everett, Lamb, Harris, Hernandez and possibly Monroe.) Has that ever happened before? The only Twins that return from last year opening day lineup are Mauer, Morneau and Cuddyer. I'm also excited to see Torii Hunter's premier as an Angel. Have I mentioned I'm excited?!?

Probably won't have a chance to post tomorrow.

Check out this clip of Livan kicking the ball to first: http://sportswrap.berecruited.com/2008/03/28/livan-hernandez-kicks-baseball-for-the-out-at-first-amazing-video/

Contest Scenarios

There are 8 scenarios for how the tournament can play out, here they are and who would place...
By no means consider this final. I would say it's 99.9% accurate, so take it for what it's worth. Payout 65%, 25%, 10%. I did this quick, so if I find any errors, I will be updating it.

PS: Check out my last post about what Kansas would have to do to beat Davidson. Go figure Bill Self didn't figure it out until halftime.

North Carolina over Memphis:
Glodosky 96
Fellows 95
Dachel 93 (Tb -7)
Gleason, B 93(Tb -9)

North Carolina over UCLA:
Nygaard, St 94
Nygaard, Marg 93
Braaten 92

Memphis over North Carolina:
Kimberly, C 92
Gleason, B 91
Glodosky 90 (Tb -3)
Heebink, A 90 (Tb -8)

Memphis over Kansas
Keefer, D 93
Murphy, D 91 (Tb -6)
Nygaard, St 91 (Tb -10)

UCLA over North Carolina:
Harris, M 97
Davis, J 92
Estrada, C 91

UCLA over Kansas:
Harris, M 92 (Tb -5)
Stitt 92 (Tb -5) *Would split 1st and 2nd - Each would receive 45%
Johnson, Mel 90

Kansas over Memphis:
Johnson, E 93
Saxe 92
Luehman 88

Kansas over UCLA:
Luehman 93
Duch 92
Kimberly, J 91

Psycho T (and today's games)

I was too tired after the UNC/Louisville game to post. But there was something I really wanted to say... and I was going to sleep on it to decide if I actually was going to post it. I am.

"Tyler Hansbrough won't be a sucessful NBA player."

I like Tyler Hansbrough and I like UNC. But after watching last night, I'm even more convinced that Hansbrough won't have great success in The League. Don't get me wrong, his work ethic is unmatched and that will get him a shot. I expect him to be drafted, most likely in the 1st round pf the 2009 draft. He'll be 24 by the time he plays his first NBA game. (By the time LeBron James is 24, he'll be a three-time All-Star Game MVP and possibly NBA MVP, along with 11,000+ total points. Four times what Psycho T will ever score.) For a guy being hands down the best player in the ACC and, aside from Michael Beasley, the best player in the nation, it's tough to believe he's the 3rd best prospect on his team. Maybe that's why I like college basketball so much more than the NBA.

My NBA prediction: Late 1st round pick in 2009. (Goes to an already good team.) He'll sign a 2 yr/$1.9 million guaranteed contract. He may break into the rotation. But at 6-8, 245, he won't be able to bang with the 4s, nor is he athletic enough to play the 3. He'll strictly be an energy guy - a la Mark Madsen. Because he's reached his peak physcially, there's not a lot of upside left. He can probably stick around for a few years after his guaranteed contract is up, but by 2013, there's a pretty good chance that Tyler "Psycho T" Hansbrough will be selling real estate... which is too bad.

As for today's games:
Memphis at Texas - Do I dare pick against Memphis again? How much of an advantage does Texas have playing in Houston? I think that Memphis should win this game, but Texas does have a chance. But for that chance to be reality DJ Augustin has to really outplay Derrick Rose. And I don't see that happening. Memphis by 8 and moving on...

Kansas vs Davidson - I think Stephen Curry is going to finally meet his match in Brandon Rush. My issue is that I don't think Bill Self is a good enough coach to realize that Rush needs to guard Curry. Rush will be able to out-muscle Curry, something no one has been able - or tried - to do.
My personal feeling is that Self is going to try to guard Curry with Russell Robinson, and I don't think it's going to work. If Rush guards Curry, Kansas by 12. If Self brings someone else at Curry, all bets are off.

Friday, March 28, 2008

Ready for Baseball!


The whole family... well, most of us, are ready for baseball.

(If there are any FHM readers here, you'll know what I mean when I say, "Hey, little girl looking at TC, who the hell are you?")

Hoops and Twins

Not quite a repeat of last night. And if Drew Neitzel wasn't junk, maybe that would have been a game worth watching. The games tonight averaged 17.5 point winning margins, compared to last night's 13.5 with an OT game... plus the UCLA game was a close game, it's just not many people stayed up to finish it.

Looking ahead to tomorrow: I'm going to take UNC and UCLA. North Carolina has been a wrecking crew. (They played an exhibition today against the Heat and beat them by 30. Wait, that was the UNC girls team? Just kidding.) I like Louisville, but I think I remember their collapse against Illinois in the Elite 8 a few years ago... and I can't pick against the Heels in Charlotte. (I could be wrong about the Illinois/Louisville game, I'm too tired to research it.)
As far as the West Regional Final goes, I can't pick Xavier. If Collison/Westbrook can lock down 5footnothing Drew Lavender, it's over. And I can't think of any reason why they wouldn't be able to. So there's that...

The Baseball (in America) opener is Sunday night and the Twins open Monday. The Twins made a move today that Twins fans have been waiting on, optioning Francisco Liriano to the minors. I think a lot of us were holding out hope that Liriano would be the Liriano of '06 already, but I think we all knew that, realistically, it's going to take a while. Let's keep our fingers crossed that all goes well in both rehab starts and he can make it back to the big club in mid-April.

The rotation is set and it appears that LeAnne (my lovely, blog-supporting wife) and I will get the pleasure to see Boof pitch on Tuesday night. I think this will be the 3rd time in a row she's see him pitch and I think I've seen him pitch live no less than 6 or 7 times. In fact, the first Boof-pitched game we saw, we bought the tickets hoping to see Liriano. Lirano got scratched the night before the game due to elbow pains. Looks like we haven't quite come full-circle.

More tomorrow...

Stephen Curry

I guess I was a little off on my Wisconsin prediction. But to be completely honest, I just didn't see Stephen Curry torching UW the way he did. I mean this is Wisconsin. And they play Wisconsin defense. To Curry's credit, he is the best player the Badgers saw all year. (Prove me wrong!) Even though every intelligent person watching the game knew he was going to be the guy taking the shots, he was still able to get the ball and get good looks... and make some unbelievable shots. (Did anyone else see LeBron say, "I want that guy!"? Ok, I didn't either, but you know he was thinking it.)

All in all, it's too bad that Stephen Curry wasn't recruited by a big-time college, but I really believe he's getting more exposure this way then if we playing for, say, Duke. He has become a legitimate NBA prospect. (NBAdraft.net projects him as a late-first round pick in 2009.) My only question is, if he played for the Wolves, would he be their best player right now?

(Not many saw this coming, only 3 or 293 entries in my pool had Davidson going to the Elite 8. I know, I know, I never did. But I did on my Facebook bracket!)

Another round of NCAA picks

I'm back to blogging after a short hiatus. (Apparently google had to confirm that I was a human, and not spam.)

4 for 4 last night. Although, I think tonight's games are much harder. I'll see if my luck continues...

Davidson vs. Wisconsin
-Wisconsin fans travel well, but Davidson College is paying for students who want to go. I think that will minimize the "home feel" that Wisconsin would have had. Personally, I'm torn between being a Wisconsin guy and having picked Davidson as my dark horse. I'm hoping that Curry and Co. will keep it close, but I have a feeling that the Badgers will pull away and win by 12.

Stanford vs. Texas
-I would have loved to see Marquette playing Texas, but I guess I'll have to settle for the Cardinal. I think it would be a close game on a "neutral" court, but I don't think Houston is very neutral. And after last night I don't think the Pac-1o is as tough as we believed previously. I'm taking Texas by 10.

Villanova vs. Kansas
-Kansas usually finds a way to choke early in the tournament... but I think they're a deeper team now then they have been in the recent past. I like the way Scottie Reynolds plays, but he's going to have to have a Curryesque performance tonight to give Villanova a chance. Kansas in a 2o point route.

Michigan St. vs Memphis
-There's nothing like watching two of college basketball's best coaches go head-to-head. If Drew Neitzel was even a lick of consistent, I'd take the Spartans 10 out of 10 times. Unfortunately, he's brutally inconsistent. But, he's a senior, and that has to count for something. I like the Spartans chances. If they can keep it close, Memphis will blow it at the free throw line, and I think that has a good chance of happening. Michigan St. by 6.

I plan on posting later tonight about the Twins.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Idol Elimination

Wednesday Night recap:

I wasn't at all surprised when Chikezie was shown to the stools. I thought being brought out first might help him out, but it didn't. I also figured that as he was the first to head to the stools, that making him sweat it out "in danger" for the full hour was going to be the extent of it. I guess I was wrong.

I don't like Carly, but after spending last week in the Bottom 3, it was clear to me that the "Carly-Crazies" were going to be making a lot of calls to ensure her safety.

The timing of Syesha coming out made me think that she was going to be heading to the stools. And as much as I like her and hoped that I was wrong, I wasn't.

Ramiele and her hideous outfits appear to be coming back next week. (Dang!)

I was really looking forward to Kristy Lee being sent to the stools and was unpleasently surprised when she was sent to the "safe" couch. I think it had more to do with the patriotic song choice last night, then the way she sang it.

I was hoping that Jason "I should practice more" Castro was going to have to sweat it out a little more, but only spent about 20 seconds in the Bottom 3.

That left Syesha and Chikezie hoping for one spot. I'd say America got it right sending Chikezie home over Syesha, but I think there were a few others that could have very easily seen their runs end.

Going into next week, here's my American Idol Power Poll:
1. David Cook
2. Brooke White
3. David Archuleta
4. Michael Johns
5. Carly Smithson
6. Jason Castro
7. Syesha Mercado
8. Ramiele Malubay
9. Kristy Lee Cook

That's all for now... more tomorrow!

NCAA picks

The field of 16 is reduced by 4 tomorrow night. I'm going to give my thoughts on each game.

West Virginia vs. Xavier
-This is the toughest game of the round for me to pick. I'm going with Xavier solely on the fact that they've beaten better teams in the last week. Xavier by 7.

Washington St. vs. North Carolina
-The Cougars will find their hands full with the Heels. Coming east to Charlotte is going to be way too much for them to handle. Hansbrough and Co. win by 14.

Western Kentucky vs. UCLA
-I don't know if the Bruins will be able to handle the trip all the way to Phoenix... except I do, and they will. Western Kentucky hasn't seen a team as good as this all year. UCLA by 13.

Louisville vs. Tennessee
-I've never been a big fan of Tennessee. I don't know if it's Chris Lofton, Bruce Pearl, or Wayne Chism's crooked headband... but I always find myself annoyed while watching them. I hope that Sosa can keep it together long enough to give the Cardinals a 6 point victory.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Twins and American Idol

I've decided to become a blogger. Apparently, I think I'm interesting enough to write stuff that other people may find somewhat worthwhile. I guess that remains to be seen. Anyway, I'll probably focus on things I know a little bit about (sports) and other things I spend my time doing (watching TV, family stuff). So on to my first post...

I've read more than enough stuff about the Twins extending Joe Nathan's contract. I'll add my two cents: No matter what the Twins do, there will be people questioning their decision. On the flip side, there will be others that applaud the Twins' willingness to spend a little money. Here's my take: The casual fan will think that the Twins made a good move. They locked up an "elite" closer until 2011 and didn't pay more than market value.

The more serious fan has a completely different view. A casual fan turns on the TV and hopes the Twins win today. The more serious fan follows baseball year-round and hopes for decisions that help the team win today and (maybe more importantly) next year. I'm not a huge believer in building "for the future". To me, the future goes no further than next year. Anything past that is uncertain. (You want examples: Kurt Warner, Mike Hampton, Tariq Abdul-Wahad.) So I'm going to look at it this way...

Did the deal make the Twins better this year? NO! He was already under contract... and a closer can't win games if the team is behind.

Did the deal make the Twins better next year? NO! Looking strictly at the contract, it ties up an additional $11 million or so next year. Though I will give the Twins credit for ripping up the current deal and making it a non-escalating contract. (Had they not given him an extention, they probably would have been forced to trade him in July. That WOULD make the Twins better next year.)

Anything past next year is anyone's guess... but here's mine:
Joe Nathan will not be an elite closer at 35 years old.

Hopefully, I will be wrong. Liriano comes back healthy, Livan eats innings and Slowey, Baker and Boof set the world on fire. That would give Joe Nathan some extra value... but at this point, none of that is likely.

At the very least, the Twins saved themselves a pair a pants (the ones with the money burning a hole in the pockets) and kept a face of the franchise. Obviously it's been a rough offseason and the thought of losing Santana, Hunter AND Nathan would have hurt a little bit more... but not too much.

MOVING ON...
American Idol is down to their Final 10. Here's my recap:
Those who should sleep well tonight: David A., David C., Brooke W., Syesha M. and Michael J.
Those who will be nervous, but ok: Carly S. and Chikezie
Bottom 3: Kristy Lee C., Jason C. and Ramiele M.

MY FEARLESS PREDICTION: Jason and Ramiele sweat it out, but ultimately, Ramiele (and the hideous outfits) go home.

That's all I have for tonight. Hope to have more tomorrow.