Recent Posts
Well, the LA Angels broke the hex of the Boston Red Sox with a 3-game sweep of the Sox in the Divisional Round. Much was made of the Red Sox eliminating the Angels in the first round in 2004, 2007, and 2008, but the Angels made all of that look like ancient history with their performance during the last week. In Game 1, they dominated. In Game 2, they still won convincingly. Game 3 was a classic, Angels-style comeback win that was reminiscent of their remarkable run to the 2002 World Series. The Angels trailed 5-1 in the fourth inning...and won 7-6. Was this an Angels win or dare I say it...a Red Sox choke-job?
When you get 5 runs in the 8th and 9th innings combined, you beat the other team's bullpen and deserve credit for winning. Timely hitting and shutdown pitching in the first two games are what won this series for the Angels. In fact, playoff baseball is about timely hitting. Some will argue that overpowering and better pitching win in the playoffs, especially in a short series. Ask the St. Louis Cardinals and Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright how that worked out for them.
The Angels won this series. The Red Sox couldn't get the timely hits when they needed them. Tori Hunter's homer in Game 1? Pretty timely if you ask me. Now the Angels will face the mighty Yankees in an American League Championship Series that should be absolutely epic.
Oh and a side to Jonathan Papelbon - you try so hard to look all intimidating out there with your "game face." How did that work out for you on Sunday? I would suggest you lose the mean, scary face, close your mouth, and just get out there and pitch. At least then it would be a lot less embarrassing if you lose.
Ah the Oakland Raiders...ever the fantastic source of entertainment. Expcet that they don't entertain by winning or playing well on the football field - goodness no! They entertain by remaining the most pathetic and dysfunctional franchise in the NFL.
Here in Northern California, lots of sports radio is filled with callers who believe that the Raiders won't ever get close to respectability again until Al Davis...well, dies. I mean have you seen the guy's picture lately? No one will ever forget his mesmerizing press conference when he read his termination letter to former coach Lane Kiffin. Priceless!
Here are some quick thoughts on the Raiders:
- If you own any Raiders players in fantasy football, then I am truly sorry.
- In a time when high-draft picks ar epaid rediculous salaries, they had better be pretty darn good. If you are a bad team (aka Raiders) you get lots of high draft picks. An examination of first-round draft choices in recent years:
-2009: Darius Heyward-Bey
-2008: Darren McFadden
-2007: JaMarcus Russell
-2006: Michael Huff
-2005: Fabian Washington
Washington is now a starter for the Baltimore Ravens. The other four...well, Huff has a few interceptions this season. But the skill players (QB, RB, WR) haven't shown they can be very productive. In fact, Russell basically looks terrible and that he doesn't even belong in the NFL. If he continues to struggle and regress, he is on his way to being one of the all-time biggest busts in league history.
Such is the state of the Raiders, one of the true laughing stocks in the league. Good thing I'm a 49ers fan.
So tonight is the big Monday Night Football game in which the Minnesota Favres (aka Vikings) host the Green Bay Packers. Like most people, I have grown extremely weary of the Brett Favre sagas of the past two NFL offseasons. I am by no means a Packers fan, but I would like nothing more than to see Green Bay pound Mr. Favre into the turf of the Metrodome a few times and remind him that he should have stayed retired.
From the Favre perspective, it has to be strange and emotional for him. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see a few mistakes from #4 in purple. Expect a lot of handing off to Adrian Peterson.
As for Green Bay, I really root for Aaron Rodgers tonight. The poor guy not only had to sit on the bench each year Favre decided to play "just one more year." The guy unfairly has a lot to prove not only to Packers fans who will squirm as they see Favre against their beloved green and gold, but perhaps also to Favre...whom he studied under once upon a time.
I just finished watching the Notre Dame - Washington game, with the Irish pulling out the win in the first overtime. It really was an incredible game, but I was rooting for UW the whole time. And I'm not sure why. In fact, it was more like I was rooting against Notre Dame. Funny thing is...I have no reason to dislike Notre Dame nor do I have any personal attachment to Washington. So why the reason for the hate against Notre Dame?
I know I'm not alone on this one. And I'll admit I have misplaced "hate" for other teams as well - New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, just to name a few. I may be able to pinpoint the root of my issues though. All of those teams, along with Notre Dame, have one thing in commom - they've all been around for a long time. It almost seems sometimes as if the national media annoints such teams as the ones that are "supposed" to be good. I always have a bit or a problem when I hear "It's good for the NBA to have the Lakers and Celtics among the league's elite." Why is it good? What if you're a fan of the Milwaukee Bucks or Golden State Warriors? If you are, is it good for you to have the same big-market teams always in first place? I didn't think so. Why have 30 teams when there is a bias against 20 of them
[ Click here to read more ]
The last anyone saw from the San Jose Sharks, they were leaving the Honda Center in Anaheim while their cross-state rivals celebrated a once in a decade occurance - an 8th-seeded team upsetting a President's Trophy-winner in the opeing round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Sharks were not only defeated in that first-round series...they were humiliated, shamed, and embarassed. Sharks fans know the feeling - they've had to digest it all summer.
Ah but it's October now! A new, fresh NHL season is upon us. Hockey's playoff flounderers have a clean slate...right? Not so fast. The debacle against the Anaheim Ducks was not the first taste of playoff disappointment for San Jose, one of the NHL's most successful regular-season franchises since the lockout. 2009 was the year of the killer Duck. In 2008, it was a second round loss to the hated Dallas Stars, with the team bowing out after an epic, multiple-overtime heartbreaker in Game 6. In 2007, a second round series witht the mighty Detroit Red Wings was all but won until a series-altering OT victory by the Wings in Game 4. Oh yeah, don't forget 2006, when the Sharks choked away a 2-0 series lead against the 8th-seeded Edmonton Oilers and lost four straight en route to sulking out of the playoffs and the hunt for the Stanley Cup
[ Click here to read more ]
So here goes nothing...
Let the records show that this here is a little experiment to see if I can entertain you all as much as I entertain myself. My main passion and interest is hockey and the National Hockey League. I am also a huge NFL fan and fantasy football nut, as well as a fan of most other sports: Golf, Baseball, and Basketball in particular. So there should be a little something for everyone
[ Click here to read more ]
|
|
|
Add Comments
Read More
Comment by Wiggles
on Orble Blog traffic over time: what to expect
The Boneyard