What did you say about my mother?
I had so much of this weekly preview written, and then Firefox went kaplooie on me. That in addition to throwing out my shoulder patting myself on the back last week means a tough go of the weekly review.
ITEM ONE: College football makes me sick sometimes. Take the 2-5 Gophers and the 5-2 Boilermakers, for instance. In their one meeting, at Purdue, the Gophers were lackluster, to be generous, even by their standards, and still came within six. They lost to Michigan by 14, the same margin by which Purdue lost to Notre Dame, who, in turn lost to the Wolverines by somewhere around 58. Even looking at the teams's schedules, particularly the non conference games, its clear that the Gophers have been better this season than Purdue, or at the very least, been as good as the Boilers. The Gophers shut out MAC leader Kent State in Ohio while the Boilers struggled mightily with MAC understudy Ball State at home. Add to the Gophers' poor record their back breaking loss to Penn State, thanks to a blown call and missed extra point, and there you have it, Purdue is a lock for a bowl, and the Gophers are screwed.
ITEM TWO: During the ALDS, which I'm beginning to admit actually happened, much was made about how inhospitable the Metrodome is. Well, I'm glad. Oh no, the outfielders lose the ball in the ceiling and the right field wall is soft! What you call a joke, I call a distinct and wonderful homefield advantage. Making fun or complaining about someone elses stadium is the same as belittling someone's mother. Sure, she may have her problems, but leave the comments to those who know her best, unless of course, she causes a serious injury, like, say the Dome turf blows your ACL or my mom hits you with a car. Until then, don't be talkin' 'bout my momma - er... stadium - that way!
ITEM THREE: The Wild are in full swing, winning their first five games. Manny Fernandez is settling into an every day role quite nicely. The biggest problem I see with the Wild at this point is the chemistry, but it's probably hard to establish rapport when you are speaking fifteen different languages in the locker room.
ITEM FOUR: Ryan Newman, Purdue graduate, is a hero among former Boilermakers. He competes in NASCAR, one of the biggest boys clubs in the world. Also, he reveals to CNN, he likes puppies. I'm not particularly in touch with Purdue or NASCAR, yet I'm mildly embarrassed.
ITEM FIVE: I rate Chris Carpenter as a better pitcher than Tom Glavine at this point in their careers, giving the Cardinals a distinct advantage in their remaining games. Of course, the Mets outnumber the Cards in Carloses, giving them an even bigger advantage. Mets in seven.
ITEM SIX: Continuing my look at the Twins last year and next, we move on to what should be the best, most secure position for the Twins for many years to come. Joe Mauer is the best catcher to come up since Ivan Rodriguez, and if he develops a power stroke, may even be better than him when all is told. Even better, they have a second option for Mauer's off day in Mike Redmond. The only real problem is that since Mauer is such a good, young player, the farm system is devoid of anyone who can step into the back up role should one of the two go down to injury. All told, if you thought that the Twins were set at relief pitching, then you must be on cloud 9 when it comes to the catcher position.
ITEM SEVEN: I haven't mentioned much about the Blackburn Rovers or the Premiership lately, but that's mostly because I don't get to actually watch an soccer. In the mean time, I just want to say, Shabani Nonda.
Have a good one - Ryan
ITEM ONE: College football makes me sick sometimes. Take the 2-5 Gophers and the 5-2 Boilermakers, for instance. In their one meeting, at Purdue, the Gophers were lackluster, to be generous, even by their standards, and still came within six. They lost to Michigan by 14, the same margin by which Purdue lost to Notre Dame, who, in turn lost to the Wolverines by somewhere around 58. Even looking at the teams's schedules, particularly the non conference games, its clear that the Gophers have been better this season than Purdue, or at the very least, been as good as the Boilers. The Gophers shut out MAC leader Kent State in Ohio while the Boilers struggled mightily with MAC understudy Ball State at home. Add to the Gophers' poor record their back breaking loss to Penn State, thanks to a blown call and missed extra point, and there you have it, Purdue is a lock for a bowl, and the Gophers are screwed.
ITEM TWO: During the ALDS, which I'm beginning to admit actually happened, much was made about how inhospitable the Metrodome is. Well, I'm glad. Oh no, the outfielders lose the ball in the ceiling and the right field wall is soft! What you call a joke, I call a distinct and wonderful homefield advantage. Making fun or complaining about someone elses stadium is the same as belittling someone's mother. Sure, she may have her problems, but leave the comments to those who know her best, unless of course, she causes a serious injury, like, say the Dome turf blows your ACL or my mom hits you with a car. Until then, don't be talkin' 'bout my momma - er... stadium - that way!
ITEM THREE: The Wild are in full swing, winning their first five games. Manny Fernandez is settling into an every day role quite nicely. The biggest problem I see with the Wild at this point is the chemistry, but it's probably hard to establish rapport when you are speaking fifteen different languages in the locker room.
ITEM FOUR: Ryan Newman, Purdue graduate, is a hero among former Boilermakers. He competes in NASCAR, one of the biggest boys clubs in the world. Also, he reveals to CNN, he likes puppies. I'm not particularly in touch with Purdue or NASCAR, yet I'm mildly embarrassed.
ITEM FIVE: I rate Chris Carpenter as a better pitcher than Tom Glavine at this point in their careers, giving the Cardinals a distinct advantage in their remaining games. Of course, the Mets outnumber the Cards in Carloses, giving them an even bigger advantage. Mets in seven.
ITEM SIX: Continuing my look at the Twins last year and next, we move on to what should be the best, most secure position for the Twins for many years to come. Joe Mauer is the best catcher to come up since Ivan Rodriguez, and if he develops a power stroke, may even be better than him when all is told. Even better, they have a second option for Mauer's off day in Mike Redmond. The only real problem is that since Mauer is such a good, young player, the farm system is devoid of anyone who can step into the back up role should one of the two go down to injury. All told, if you thought that the Twins were set at relief pitching, then you must be on cloud 9 when it comes to the catcher position.
ITEM SEVEN: I haven't mentioned much about the Blackburn Rovers or the Premiership lately, but that's mostly because I don't get to actually watch an soccer. In the mean time, I just want to say, Shabani Nonda.
Have a good one - Ryan
posted by Ryan | 7:44 PM
1 Comments:
Item #2 has me in complete agreement. Each stadium being different is one of the unique things about baseball.
There's fifteen different language spoken in the Wild locker room? That few? ;)
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