Class Personified

Tough loss today to team Canada in Olympic Hockey. In one of the better played contests that's already being discussed as the greatest Olympic Hockey game ever played, the label of tough loss silver medalists belongs to Team USA. Far from the offensive explosion one week ago, each possession from both teams was met with collapsing, smothering defense, but in Team USA's case, it also featured some unreal goaltending from Ryan Miller.

Producing 36 saves against the high powered, fast skating, sticky puck-handling Canadian team, Miller more than held his own in winning tournament MVP. He also showed tremendous class and good sportsmanship afterwards in defeat.

Today's loss won't stop The Beard from chanting "U-S-A!"

Ken Rosenthal Loses His Damn Mind (And His Sense Of Geography)

So Fox Sports posts this bewildering, and nonsensical item written by long time MLB Scribe (and Fox Schill) Ken Rosenthal discussing the possibility of realignment. Aside from posting a map that has the Cubs in Indiana, the Twins in Winnipeg, and the Indians in Youngstown among other errors, Ken proposes a self described "modest" and "radical" possibilities for realignment to take place during the next collective bargaining period. Why does realignment need to take place in Ken's world? Well he feels that the competitive balance is not where it needs to be, and a dramatic shift of this nature would help jump start it again.

(Ed Note: I'm not going to touch his "Revenue Realignment" proposal since it involves moving the A's to New Jersey-ridiculous). His "modest" proposal would involve sending the Boston Red Sox to the AL Central, the Detroit Tigers to the AL East, and the Houston Astros move to the AL West, so that each league would have 15 teams. Besides being geographically challenged, this move doesn't make any sense. The Beard is all for minimizing the number of times the Yankees and Red Sox play each other during the season, but unfortunately breaking them up would leave too much money on the table for the owners to pass up.

His "Radical" proposal has 11 teams switching leagues, the divisions switching names, the Cubs and White Sox in the same division-a National League Division at that, and just an overall middle finger to the history and tradition of over 100 years of Major League Baseball identity. His argument for this realignment would be an increased emphasis on the rivalries between teams in the same city, and the Red Sox and Yankees would get two more teams to play that have similar high revenues in the Mets and Phillies. First of all, I can barely stand it when the Cubs and White Sox play each other 6 times a season, let alone 19. Secondly, I fail to see how the Yankees and Red Sox playing the Mets and Phillies is going to do anything for competitive balance? The Mets do have high revenues and payrolls, but that hasn't stopped them from producing absolutely awful teams over the years. Which leads me to my main argument against this...

The competitive balance in Major League Baseball isn't held back by a lack of inter-city rivalry games, or divisions lacking teams with similar payrolls, or teams not spending the same amount of money as the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, and Cubs. After all, only three teams have won the World Series after spending over $100 million on their payrolls (2004 Red Sox, 2007 Red Sox, 2009 Yankees). It's held back by a combination of a diluted talent pool, some terrible front offices that are allowed to remain in place (I'm looking at you Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Royals), and an unwillingness by Major League Baseball to cover any other teams as ferociously as the Yankees and Red Sox.

All of that aside though, the key to competitive balance is already in place, and it's called revenue sharing through the luxury tax. Through revenue sharing, small market teams are given resources to be able to compete, and it's paid off with teams like the Minnesota Twins being perennial playoff contenders each year. There just needs to be more accountability for the teams that take the revenue sharing money, and don't spend it like say...the Florida Marlins. They were accused of exactly this by MLB, and immediately threw money at Josh Johnson within 3 days of the accusation. Perhaps the owners explore a minimum salary cap like the NBA? Maybe.

One thing that is certain with The Beard however, is that teams hands being forced to spend money on players would be way more productive in restoring more competitive balance in baseball, rather than mutilating and deforming it with modest or radical division and league realignments.

Dollars and Sense

So much for empty apologies. Gatorade has ended it's business relationship with Eldrick Woods, a week after Woods' phony baloney, completely mishandled apology. That's three endorsements that Woods can now call "former" with Accenture and AT&T dropping him earlier.

Not everyone is avoiding all things Eldrick these days. The King Of All Media Howard Stern is offering to host a beauty contest between all of Woods' slut-bags for $100,000. A good idea is a good idea! Who knows if it will actually come to fruition, but goodness knows it would be entertaining if it did. Here's hoping...

Slow News Day Part II

Twitter-Gate!? Really?! I guess so since pretty much every publication and website has picked up on this story. Ozzie Guillen has a Twitter account, and apparently Kenny Williams doesn't like it. Ozzie isn't the only MLB manager to have a Twitter Account, as Joe Maddon and Tony LaImbecile-excuse me-LaRussa have one as well.

There's a couple of things that strike The Beard as odd with this one, most of it centering around Kenny Williams. This is the same Kenny Williams that signed off on a White Sox Reality Show to be shown on MLB Network in July correct? Why would Kenny not worry about Ozzie being up for public consumption on that medium but has issues with Ozzie being on Twitter? Is it because the show can be edited, and therefore Williams feels more in control of what's released? Maybe, but if Kenny believes he can control what goes on TV, he's sorely mistaken. Does he think Ozzie's going to tip people off on possible moves the White Sox will make during the season? Well Ozzie already said that will not be the case, and that he intends to use Twitter to describe his everyday activities, which are sure to include eating and drinking (mainly drinking I'd speculate). Does Kenny worry about Ozzie getting into heated exchanges with heckling fans? Well it's a little late to worry about that now, since Ozzie has had a public email address from which he has sent responses both friendly and unfriendly for 7 years now.

Long story short, I'm with Ozzie on this one. To paraphrase his own thoughts on the matter, he is a grown man, and he's free to do what he wants communication wise. He's already been doing similar behavior via technology for his entire tenure as manager, and he already knows what is appropriate for him to say without compromising the ballclub. Other managers choose not to use such technology, and that's fine too.

And yes I did laugh at Lou Piniella's line "But I'm really not a Facebook or Twitter guy, you know? I'm a prime rib and baked potato guy." Love Classic Lou!!!

Slow News Day Part I

Not even a tight USA Hockey victory over Switzerland today could raise spirits from another blah day from this blah time of year. It leaves us forced to react to things that under the normal run of things, wouldn't matter in the least. Since this isn't the normal run of things, we must magnify the minutia that comes from Spring Training.

The first piece that caught The Beard's eye was this one from the Tribune. Apparently former Cubs, and current Washington Nationals manager Jim Riggleman has been carrying around a big bag of self-imposed guilt for overworking Kerry Wood too much his rookie year of 1998. To the point where Wood responded in kind by saying that Wood's subsequent injuries weren't Riggleman's fault in the least, and that bad mechanics and a stubborn attitude on his part at the time were much more to blame.

Like Wood, I also found this pretty perplexing because I never heard that Riggleman was to blame for Wood's constant injury breakdowns. At first glance, I always though it was understood that a man whose name rhymes with Dusty Baker was much more guilty of over-working Wood, therefore more responsible for Wood's injuries and "transformation" to Closer, so I decided to check it out...

In 1998, Wood made 26 starts. Of those 26 starts he threw over 120 pitches in a game 8 times or 31 % of his starts. In spring training 1999, he underwent the dreaded Tommy John surgery and missed the entire season. So there is the connection that Riggleman made to trigger his guilt. However, a closer look at Wood's career shows some interesting stats.

2000: 23 starts, threw over 120 pitches 2 times (9%).
2001: 28 starts, threw over 120 pitches 1 time (4%).
2002: 33 starts, threw over 120 pitches 2 times (6%).

Enter "Dusty We Trusty"

2003: 32 starts, threw over 120 pitches 13 times (141 pitches against the Cardinals on 5/10! 41%)

2004: 7 starts until he went on the DL for a strained triceps, makes another 15 after that. He threw over 120 pitches 3 times (14%).

2005: Makes 10 more starts, doesn't go over 120 pitches once, and appears as a reliever in his last 11 appearances.

2006: Makes 4 starts, doesn't throw over 86 pitches, and manages to go on the DL two times including once for falling out of a hot tub.

2007: Dusty is fired, and Wood becomes a reliever the rest of his career.

So take it easy on yourself Jim Riggleman. The man to blame is now in charge of ruining even more live arms named Aroldis Chapman, and Edinson Volquez in Cincinnati.

Reaaaaaally? Nahhhh....Well?????

Normally I abstain from addressing rumors regarding possible free agent signings or reported trades, etc since 90-95% of them end up not being true. However, I couldn't help but notice this little gem in the New York Daily News, that states that the Bulls could be a "Dark horse" in the upcoming LeBron James Free Agent Sweepstakes.

Hmmmmmmmmmmm...Again, it's probably B.S., since it's been a foregone conclusion that he wants to go to the Knicks and the Knicks are going to throw everything they have at him. Still, as a Bulls fan, it does make your mind wonder on the possibilities. Not just because LeBron is LeBron, but mainly because this Bulls team is perfectly built as a supporting cast. It's just missing a superstar small forward who can score, pass, defend, make All Star Appearances, and take over games whenever he feels like it, i.e. LeBron.

Per usual whenever The Beard becomes aware of such rumors, they get filed under the "I'll believe it when it happens" label. However, if the unthinkable does happen, and LeBron ends up a Bull, Chicago will go nuts and Bulls games will become the "events" they used to be during the Jordan Era.

Hope Springs Eternal

Up and down weekend overall, but it ended with the U.S. Hockey team taking down Canada 5-3 in a spectacular display of uptempo, high powered, clean hockey. As usual, The Beard was having nothing to do with the Olympics once again, but the Hockey games are a fabulous exception. To beat Canada at THEIR sport, on THEIR home ice for the first time since 1960 (while wearing 1960 throwback sweaters) was awesome. Can't wait for the Medal Games...

Also, Spring Training has begun on both sides of town, and both the Cubs and White Sox are doing everything they can to tell everyone how "Great" every player looks. On the White Sox side, apparently Bobby Jenks is off the sauce (yeah right, been there done that with Bobby before), Andruw Jones is motivated and slimmed down, and Peavy and Buehrle keep kissing each other on how good they think they are. Amazing how positive things are when you haven't lost a game yet.

Apparently Ozzie Guillen agrees as he wasted no time sounding off in this interview with Joe Cowley in the Chicago Sun Times. It's a pretty typical Ozzie showpiece. He probably says more than he should, and there's no doubt there will be both Cubs and Sox fans that will have problems with what he said. The main point though, is that he's made it clear that he's the one that's responsible for the White Sox offseason moves geared toward defense and a balanced lineup. He also praised Lou Piniella, Kenny Williams and Jim Thome, plus made some typical funny comments that have always been an Ozzie staple. It doesn't mean anything in terms of predicting whether the White Sox will be good in 2010, but it definitely shows that Ozzie has a plan for how he wants this team to win games. Whether it works or not remains to be seen.

"Pathetic...Party of One?"

Where to begin, other than apparently he can read words that someone else wrote for him on a sheet of paper? Eldrick Woods lived up to what was expected today in an impotent attempt to set the record straight regarding his crashing empire. After saying how sorry he was for getting caught, and how he (apparently all of a sudden) cares about all the pain he caused his family, friends, sponsors, charitable organizations, peers on the PGA tour, board of directors of the tour, and everyone else who thought he was the superhero he tried to convince people he was...he went on to point the finger instead of the thumb with this gem:

"...However, my behavior doesn't make it right for the media to follow my two-and-a-half-year-old daughter to school and report the school's location. They staked out my wife and they pursued my mom. Whatever my wrongdoings, for the sake of my family, please leave my wife and kids alone."

Too little too late Eldrick. Did you just discover some drawbacks of being a celebrity? As I explained to Rossi, Privacy is a privilege to celebrities. Especially ones who use the media when it benefits you to do so. The media works both ways Eldrick. They are there when you do notable things like win a whole bunch of golf tournaments. They are there to perpetuate your image that you present them. And as you just discovered, they are also there when you F up. The moment your SUV hit that fire hydrant on Thanksgiving, your Privacy Privileges expired, and now you've got to pay the penalty. Part of that penalty involves your family picking up tab of public exposure, and being endlessly pursued by the media. As Jim Rome said earlier today, "You can't beat the Paparazzi. They're undefeated."

Just when The Beard thought there was nothing more pathetic than what he was watching on TV, he quickly found something else, and that would be the "Tiger Apologists" that call themselves "journalists". I've never been sickened more at these so-called truth seekers blatantly going out of their way to praise him for addressing this situation...in a COMPLETELY controlled environment! Every website from ESPN, CBSsportsline, Yahoo Sports, etc has at least 2 columnists saying how impressed they are with Tiger's performance, when anyone with a three digit I.Q. a long term memory, and a sense of rational logic knows that this wasn't even close to trying to apologize and come clean.

Fortunately, I was able to find some members of the media that knew this was a straight up B.S. job on Woods' part.

Let's hope that the rest of the people out there will do their own thinking on this, and not be swayed by the talking heads to believe in Tiger again...

Thanks But No Thanks Houston...

So it appears that the Bulls are going to go the safe route during this trading deadline and agreed to trade John Salmons to the Milwaukee Bucks for either Hakeem Warrick and Joe Alexander or Kurt Thomas and The Immortal Francisco Elson, despite the reports that the Bulls were close to a deal to obtain Tracy McGrady. The move eliminates the possibility of Salmons exercising his $5.8 million player option next season, and puts the Bulls in the best possible position to nab a legit superstar free agent for 2010-2011.

The most interesting part of this was Houston's demands in order to trade McGrady to the Bulls. The Rockets supposedly wanted Taj Gibson and multiple first round picks along with Brad Miller and Tyrus Thomas. It's very refreshing to see that GarPax went the "Kiss My Ass" route with Houston and settled for a common sense move like this one.

As Robert Montgomery Knight once said, the Bulls are now in position, to be in position for next season.

Pussycat Woods

Eldrick Woods has decided to make a statement (or something) this Friday at PGA Headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. According to his agent Mark Steinberg, "Tiger plans to discuss his past and his future and he plans to apologize for his behavior." Before anyone should get their hopes up, it should be pointed out that Eldrick will NOT be taking any questions from the press.......at his own press conference!

(YAWN) This is nothing more than a half-assed Mark McGwire-esque type of apology. It's the type of apology that is arrogant in its motive, because it is devoid of real ownership on Woods' part. If he really was interested in owning up to his mistakes, he would take questions. He would take them as long as he could, and then take a few more. If he was really interested in winning the public back, he would take his lumps the same way Kobe Bryant did in 2003 when his own sexual misconduct outside of marriage came out. Have a press conference, make a statement, sincerely apologize, and (tad dah) take questions. Kobe seemed to understand that he would never be able to go back to the way it was in terms of public admiration. More importantly he understood that the truth shall literally and figuratively set him free.

This bizarre statement-and-run from Woods shows that he hasn't learned anything from this entire fiasco. He hasn't learned that he alone is responsible for this situation and nobody else, despite his thinly veiled media bashing in his two previous statements regarding this ordeal. I'd expect even more "Damn Media" comments in this upcoming statement, since Woods has historically pointed the finger, rather than the thumb his entire life. There's also one more key lesson that Woods still hasn't learned yet:

You can run, but you can't hide...

What?!

In a curious at best, lousy timed at worst move, the Chicago Bears fired their Director of Pro Personnel Bobby DePaul today. DePaul has served the Bears in this capacity for more than 9 years, and was seen (along with Greg Gabriel) as one of the big behind the scenes pieces that helped build the 2006 Super Bowl team.

DePaul was responsible for not only key evaluations of Thomas Jones, but also of John Tait, Roberto Garza, Ruben Brown, and Fred Miller to form one of the best Bears offensive lines in recent memory. DePaul was also seen as the architect of the Jay Cutler trade along with bringing in key members of the coaching staff Ron Rivera and Dave Toub from Philadelphia.

So after knowing all of this, two questions emerge. One, what has DePaul specifically done, or not done to warrant firing him? Two, if he was going to be fired...why fire him now?! Not only is Free Agency coming up in 17 days, but the NFL Scouting Combine starts on February 24. Last time I checked, it's important that a Director of Pro Personnel attend the combine, or at the very least one should be in place by then. Does this mean the Bears have a candidate already lined up? That's pretty doubtful considering how they circled the wagons hiring 2 new coordinators, one of which was promoted from within because nobody else wanted the damn job.

Obviously, there has to be more to this than "the organization wants to make a change" token answer. DePaul must have said or done the magic word because it makes no sense to fire him now. One thing that is for sure is the timing of this move is really awful, and it's another indicator that the Bears have no idea what they are doing.

Happy Trails

The greatest player in White Sox franchise history officially retired today. Even though he's been out of the game for two years, Frank "The Big Hurt" Thomas decided to call it quits at a press conference at U.S. Cellular Field this afternoon. Not only did he call it quits, but the Sox themselves called it quits today on anyone wishing to wear the number 35 by retiring the number. As a further sign that all parties have kissed and made up, there are also plans for "Frank Thomas Day" on August 29 where there will no doubt be a statue of Frank unveiled. Among other things, Frank went out of his way to describe how proud he was to be a White Sox player, his personal feelings of admiration and kinship with White Sox Owner Jerry Reinsdorf, and opened the door slightly to the possibility of becoming a hitting coach down the line.

The Beard has never been prouder of Frank Thomas than he is today. It has not always been a rosy ride in terms Frank's popularity with myself, and other White Sox fans. Yes he was prickly in his demeanor. Yes he took things way too seriously, and was too thin skinned sometimes. Yes he was at odds with managers and management on more than a few occasions. If I had to guess what the main thing that Frank was most guilty of though with the fans? It was that he didn't conduct himself like Michael Jordan. He blatantly chose to never play the public relations game the way MJ did. He never went out of his way to lie to people by projecting a heroic image that was all based on B.S. Frank was going to be who he was unapologetically. At the time that was seen by most people as him "not getting it". Now however, his decision to be himself, warts and all, is really admirable.

Part of who he was and still is, was his early outspokenness against Steroids and Performance Enhancing Drugs. Frank has always maintained that it's cheating, and was calling for testing as far back as 1995. Thomas was also the only active player to willingly talk to Senator George Mitchell during his investigations. The media, specifically Sports Illustrated, sent numerous reporters speaking to MLB players off the record in 2002 to get a scope of who and how many players were on steroids. ALL of the reporters came back unanimous that nobody in baseball's inner circle had ever even heard a rumor that Frank was on steroids. That alone should erase any doubt that Frank was clean and Hall Of Fame worthy.

Speaking of the Hall Of Fame, yes he will and should get elected to the Hall first ballot. Here's all you need to know if you're wondering why. Frank Thomas is one of four players ever in the history of MLB to have a .300 career Batting Average, 500 Home Runs, 1500 RBI's, 1500 walks, and 1000 runs scored. The other three players to do this? Mel Ott, Ted Williams, and Babe Ruth. Not Barry Bonds, not Manny Ramirez, not Gary Sheffield or any of the other steroid freaks, but only Frank Thomas has done what those three have done. Where I come from, that pretty much guarantees first ballot Hall Of Fame election wouldn't you agree?

So, cheers to Frank Thomas on his wonderful career, and thank you very much for all the great memories and achievements you accomplished in a White Sox uniform. Put it on the BOAAAAARD!!!

Happy 20th Anniversary!!!

February 11, 2010 is the 20th Anniversary of two monumental and extraordinary events. The first, and more prevalent event took place earlier in the day, with the release of Nelson Mandela from 27 years of incarceration from Victor Verster Prison. Mandela was taken by motorcade to Cape Town City Hall where he address 50,000 strong from the balcony, and the millions of television viewers around the world.



The second event occurred later on that day in Tokyo, Japan. James "Buster" Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson in the 10th round of their boxing match. In what was supposed to be a tune-up fight for then "Iron" Mike Tyson, quickly became one of the most legendary upsets to ever take place in Boxing History. Tyson, at the peak of his career at the time, still had a presence and an agreed upon perception that he was indestructible. Douglas at the time however, had been described in the words of Jim Lampley as having "...difficulty looking spectacular." None of that mattered though as Douglas fought an inspired fight. Even though he took an 8th round knockdown from Tyson, he got up and rallied back to knockout Tyson with an uppercut and series of combinations that turned the boxing world on it's knees.

Not too many days happen like that...

Another Beatdown? Why NOT!

The Dayton Flyers beat the Charlotte 49ers 75-47 tonight at UD Arena. For the second straight game, Dayton not only beat the first place team in the Atlantic 10, but humiliated their opponent with an embarrassing point differential. Dayton once again displayed the stifling defense that has been so dependable all season long, as they out-rebounded the 49ers 44-33, and limited Charlotte to shooting 25% from the field. Dayton improves to 17-6 (6-3 in the conference), and has re-established themselves in the A-10 race, and NCAA Tournament Picture.

The (delightful) story of this game though was the play of Chris Wright. He scored a career high 30 points by going 11-15 from the field, at the same time snaring down 9 rebounds, and blocking 2 shots just for good measure. This is a crucial stretch of games for the Flyers. The kind of stretch where star players are expected to rise to the challenge, elevate their games, and put the team on their backs. Wright has done that for 2 consecutive huge games now, and he has never been more impressive than he was tonight. We may be witnessing a very good player deciding to become great right before our eyes. It's also clear that his play has elevated others around him as Chris Johnson chipped in 14 points (3 three point field goals), 7 rebounds, and has emerged as more than just a complimentary player, but possibly a rising star in his own right.

Next up is another tough challenge for Dayton in Rick Majerus and his St. Louis Billikens. Like Dayton, the Billikens are 6-3 in the A-10 conference and have lost only twice at home. A tough task, but a task that Dayton should be able to accomplish.

"Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more..."

Telling...

New Bears Head Coach-Err Offensive Coordinator Mike Martz gave an interesting interview today on WSCR's Mully and Hanley show with Chicago Tribune NFL Bigfoot Dan Pompei sitting in for Hanley. Some of the highlights of it include:

• How close he and Kurt Warner were to being the Bears offensive coordinator and QB in 1999 if McCaskey would have closed the deal on hiring Dave McGinnis.
• He reiterated that he's never had a QB as talented or as bright as Jay Cutler, and how ecstatic he is to be working with him.
• He shared his plans to use Devin Hester as a number 3 receiver similar to Az-Zahir Hakim with the Rams. Martz said Hester could be "Stupid Good" in that role.
• Martz pretty much said he's made up his mind that the only way Greg Olsen is going to see the field is if he learns to block.

The theme that most sticks out during the interview, is that he isn't talking like an assistant coach. He's speaking so freely that it's clear he answers to nobody, and that Lovie has given him free reign to run half the team. That's not to say this approach can't work, but one of the main concerns about Martz was his ego, and so far it looks like the plan to placate that ego is to leave him in charge of all things Bears Offense. The Beard actually agrees with Martz that Hester is most effective as a number 3 receiver, but is concerned that he doesn't think Olsen can be effective in his offense.

We shall see though. The next telling sign will be if he attends the Combine with Lovie on February 24, to scout for that all important third round pick...

Super Bowl Digest

In one of the most boring "classic" Super Bowl games every played, the New Orleans Saints provided one of the more memorable upsets, and are now Super Bowl Champions. Congrats to them, former Spare Bear Sean Payton, and what's left of their original fanbase.

The game itself while not stagnant, was also not spectacular. Both teams ran efficient offenses for the most part. Neither team's defense was particularly interested in tackling anybody. Tracy Porter's pick 6 joins the likes of other Super Bowl pick 6ers such as Willie Brown, Jack Squirek, and Reggie Phillips to name a few. There was only 1 sack in the contest, which was made by the remarkable Dwight Freeney. There was only one play that went for more than 30 yards the entire game, and that was Austin Collie's 40 yard grab in the 4th quarter. Some other key stats included both teams essentially splitting the Time Of Possession (N.O. 30:11 IND 29:49), both teams punting only twice, neither team had a running back run for over 100 yards, and neither team had a fumble the entire contest. The most remarkable stat really is that the Saints defense gave up 432 total yards, and STILL won the game! So much for defense wins championships in today's NFL.

So what does this say for the rest of the league? One thing's for sure is that the NFL is as much of a passing man's league than ever before. Unfairly or not, Peyton Manning did show that he can lose a game like any other quarterback in a pressure situation. Reggie Bush, while in many ways continues to be a bust, still made significant contributions to a championship season. When the 2010 season starts, we can expect several teams to run a similar offensive scheme as the Saints. Drew Brees likely has made huge strides this season to Hall Of Fame election.

Most of all though, we saw that Upsets and Underdogs still make for great television as this Super Bowl was the highest rated television program in the history of television.

"Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez"!

Super Bowl Prediction

As hopeful as I am about the Saints chances to win the Super Bowl, The Beard just doesn't see it happening. The Saints defense will simply not be good enough to stop or slow down Peyton Manning. Also, the Saints offense is too uptempo to hold onto the ball and control of the clock.

Final Score : Colts 39-Saints 28.

Payback

Now that's how you handle your business Dayton Flyers! Dayton beat Xavier 90-65 earlier this afternoon and with the win, knocked Xavier out of first place in the Atlantic 10. The Flyers showed that when both Chris Johnson and Chris Wright are on their game they are a dangerous basketball team, particularly lethal at UD Arena. Dayton opened things up with a 17-3 run to start the game and never looked back.

This game in many respects was the polar opposite of the previous Dayton-Xavier matchup three weeks earlier. Dayton played with tenacity, rather than timidness. The Flyers continued to showcase their blueprint of excellent defense and rebounding with 6 blocked shots, and outrebounded Xavier 42-21. Two big differences were Dayton's Free Throw percentage, and 3 Point Field Goal Percentage. Dayton shot 72% from the line, versus 64% against Xavier in January, and the Flyers were 7-13 from beyond the arc versus 6-20 in January.

In the words of a fellow Dayton Alumn and good friend, "This was a Michigan State type of Victory" today. The kind of blowout home victory against a good opponent that the Flyer Faithful are expecting from the Brian Gregory era. Up next is an even bigger test at home in the first place in the A-10 Charlotte 49ers. Dayton has a major opportunity to reassert themselves in the A-10 standings with a victory, plus the table is set with upcoming games against Temple and Richmond prior to the start of the A-10 Tournament. "Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more..."

It Doesn't Look Too F%^kin Good...

In what can only be described with the old war term of "preparing the ground", there have been a couple of ominous news stories in the past 48 hours regarding the expiring NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement. Both the Players Association and the Owners seem to want it known that both of them are digging in their heels for a very lengthy work stoppage.

Yesterday Baltimore Ravens owner Steve "Not Art Modell" Bisciotti decided to hold out his empty tin can and cry poor for the rest of the owners with this story. According to Bisciotti, most of the teams are struggling to finish in the black financially. More specifically, he stated that he has partners whose teams are "...making less money than their linebackers...". He also pointed out other franchises such as Jacksonville who have resorted to pulling an MLB Oakland A's type of move and tarping up 10,000 seats to avoid regular blackouts. He also echoed fears that the NFL would turn into a league of haves vs have not's without a salary cap .

Not to be outdone 24 hours later, NFL Players Association Executive Director DeMaurice "Not Gene Upshaw" Smith stated that on a scale of 1 to 10 of the likelihood of a lockout, the chances are at a "14", in his mind. He claims that the owners are asking for roughly an 18% pay cut per player. Smith went on to point out that the owners are getting $5 billion from their TV deals regardless if football is played in 2011, and that teams values have increased "almost 500% over the past 15 years. Smith is also interested in creating a "Legacy Fund" for increased support for retired players.

At the root of all this tough talk, is the current Collective Bargaining Agreement that was reached in March 2006. That agreement provided substantial increases in players salaries and bonuses because the players became entitled to 60% of the league revenues, up from 55%. The Owners are now furious with themselves that they signed off on such an agreement and are attempting to get it back.

According to Smith, the owners want the players to be entitled to only 41% of the league revenues, while the league would shave $1 billion off the top of the roughly $8 billion the NFL Generates. NFL Executive VP and chief counsel Jeff Pash states that the $1 billion is for annual incurred costs (i.e. NFL Network, NFL.com, etc) which are designed to create additional revenue streams, which the players already know about because they get 50% of it. Pash also states that the owners have never asked for an 18% pay cut, to which NFL PA President Kevin Mawae says, "That is absolutely not true they've asked for 18%".

Like the title suggests, it doesn't look too f&*kin good in terms of avoiding a work stoppage. Who knows if it will happen, let alone if these really are the disputes that are involved. One interesting aspect of this that hasn't really been discussed is the amount of potential litigation that will be involved. It got particularly ugly during the last two NFL work stoppages in 1982 and 1987. Will the NFLPA De-certify again in order to pursue anti-trust litigation against the Owners? If players are locked out without a union, it's a certain anti-trust violation.

Unfortunately for us fans, both sides are short-sighted and arrogant enough to think a work stoppage is a good idea. Let's hope that they actually realize that the real good idea is to get a labor agreement done and play football in 2011. The fans will have no tolerance or empathy for another "millionaires vs billionaires" squabble. While the NFL does need things fixed (i.e. outrageous money for first round Rookie Draft Picks), a work stoppage would be the equivalent of dropping a nuclear bomb to get rid of an anthill. Despite this, the 2011 season is in serious jeopardy.

Madden Prediction

Found this link on Yahoo Sports. The EA Sports Simulator for the video game Madden 2010 predicts the Saints will upset the Colts 35-31 in a shootout. You can find the link to the highlight reel here. In case you were wondering, Madden's prediction record is 5-1 in the past 6 years. Anyway, I thought it was pretty cool .

351...351...Rover Set HUT HUT!

Have I mentioned how worthless I think Super Bowl Week is? It's even worse when the Bulls go on an amazing 5 game road winning streak against good Western Conference teams, and then lay 2 eggs against the Clippers and 76ers. Plus, just for good measure, the Blackhawks drop one at home to the hated St. Louis Blues, to give us back to back losses after an amazing OT win against San Jose last Thursday.

Kurt Warner and Marshall Faulk gave two similar takes on whether or not Martz and Cutler will fail or flourish. Both of them agree that it will come down to Cutler checking his ego in favor of Martz's, grasping the terminology and reads, but mainly that the offensive line will need to provide excellent blocking in order for it to succeed. Sounds familiar...David Haugh wants the Bears to install field turf at Soldier Field. There are currently 6 non-domed stadiums in the NFL that use Field Turf, or some synthetic turf as their playing surface, so it's not that unheard of. To install it for $1.5 million dollars just for a new Offensive Coordinator who may be gone after next season seems a bit short-sighted however...

There is one positive about Super Bowl week though. It reminds of the movie that launched the career of Jim Carrey into the Stratosphere, Ace Ventura : Pet Detective. That movie takes place during the week before the Super Bowl, coincidentally in Miami. Here's one of my favorite scenes from that movie. It still makes me laugh every time I see it. Enjoy!

Media Day Fun

Today was media day for the Colts and Saints in South Florida. Even though nobody really cares about any of it, for some reason it still happens. Sports Illustrated posted a fun list of "All Time Dumbest Super Bowl Questions, and you can read the list here.

The Best Way To Get A Bears Coaching Job = Default

So Lovie Smith got his guy Mike Martz after all. As stated numerous times on this blog, Martz is not the best hire for this job. Since everyone else who had the chance to take it (figuratively) urinated on the Bears, might as well give it to the guy who actually wants it right? That's pretty much what has happened here, and what is still currently happening with the open defensive coordinator position...but that's a whole other big bag of monkey turds...

One thing The Beard will say in favor of Martz, he hasn't forgotten how to say the right things when he gets a new job. He did some big time kissing, and came back gushing about his meeting with Jay Cutler. Using words such as "...better than anticipated..." and "...instant connection..." to describe his encounter with Jay. What was particularly interesting to hear, was how surprised he was that Cutler has the mind and recognition of a ten year veteran already. That's a pretty good start to a honeymoon. Who knows how long the good feelings will last? Odds are, not very long...

He then said some things that are flat out fibs however. Things like comparing Matt Forte to Marshall Faulk, and insisting Greg Olsen will be featured in his offense, even though that's blatantly not true. Don't believe me? Go ask Vernon Davis of the San Francisco 49ers, who mysteriously busted out for 78 receptions, 13 TD's, and made the Pro Bowl the very next season after the Niners (specifically Mike Singletary) fired Martz. Mike Martz's scheme is heavily dependent on blocking Tight Ends, and Greg Olsen is very far from that.

That being said though, Martz is at the very least enthusiastic about what he has available, and the task he has in front of him. He seems to understand this is not a long term project, and that the goal is to win right now. He is sure to butt heads with Cutler and plenty of other players and coaches along the way, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. It will come down to his understanding of personnel, focusing on what they do well, what they do poorly, adapting his scheme to maximize the best plays for success, and make sure Mike Tice gets this offensive line ready to be able to block people for 7 seconds each play. Here's hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.