LongLiveRalph

I hear that. Somebody at work yesterday said, "Too bad about Norman, but hey, at least he gets to go home and have sex with Crissy Evert." I wasn't sure what the guy was implying, if he really thought that was a good thing, or if he was being sarcastic. I guess I didn't grow up in an era to watch a young blonde tan athletic Evert play. I have only seen her as a barely attractive mom and aging tennis player. I suppose it's kind of the same thing with Capriati, who is more "my generation." She was the young, successful teen to explode onto the tennis scene, and I found her pretty attractive. But if I didn't see her when we were both 14, and I only saw her now, I wouldn't think much of her at all.

Yes that's true...The strikeouts are easily dealt with if their production is abnormally high when they do make contact. However, even for a beast like Howard, it takes some serious numbers to offset 225 K's. The classic example is a team down by one run gets hitters 1 thru 3 on, and the bases are loaded. Hitter 4 comes up and strikes out. How many times has hitter 5 come up and grounded into an inning-ending double play? If hitter 4 can put the ball in play, the likelihood of a run scoring is extremely high. If he can fly out, it's a run, and likely one (or both) of the other runners can advance. Even if he grounds into a 6-4-3 DP, one run will score. Even if it's an easy defensive play, there is always the chance of an error. The strikeout is absolute zero as far as baseball stats are concerned. However, like you said, you would hope if hitter 4 is your power hitter that he will occasionally crush one when hitters 1, 2, and 3 are on base, and that will balance out the times that he wiffs.

I would love to see what Miami fans who used to boo Fiedler think of him now, considering the current QB's on their roster. Fiedler's biggest obstacle was being the first QB of the post-Marino era. Even though Danny boy never brought home a ring, Miami fans never fully embraced what Fiedler was, and instead booed him for who he wasn't. I always thought he was pretty good (for a jewish kid)

That's true. He also played on one of the great teams in NCAA history, with future NFL stars all over the field. They were teams built to win championships, or it was a failed season. He had to backup Portis and fight for a job with Frank Gore and Walter Payton's son. He had to prove he could produce on a team with incredible skill on offense, everyone wanting their share of touches. All of those things are motivating factors. Add to that his injury, and the motivation to prove he could make it back from that surgery to be a successful NFL RB, and it's impossible to question that he was a determined young man. His brother also owns a gym in the Miami-area, and Willis' workout sessions had reached "legendary" status at one point, you are correct. I agree that he wasn't the brightest bulb, and the constant attention paid to pro sports nowadays didn't help him. Every sentence is analyzed and dissected by fans and media alike, and most times it's much ado about nothing...Just something to pass the 6 days between games. He and Losman have been remarkably similar in several aspects- -Both drafted (somewhat unexpectedly) by the Bills...Willis #23 overall in '03, Losman #22 overall in '04 -Both injured during their rookie seasons, Willis playing zero minutes and Losman throwing a grand total of two passes -Both seemed to be a little bit "off" in their dealings with the media, and on the field, neither one appeared to be overly cerebral -Both would produce once every 4-5 games where they would look like a franchise player, and would have you saying, "Jeez, he might have figured it out" -Both, in the end, were disappointingly inconsistent and failed to get it done more often than not

Not true at all. A strikeout is the worst possible out, because nothing can happen. At least on a groundout, a fielder has to scoop the ball cleanly and make an accurate throw, which has to be caught by another fielder. There's several opportunities for a mistake. Also, on other types of outs, runs can score or runners can advance. Not so on a strikeout. Production-wise, it is the absolute worst thing you can do in a baseball game.

Plus, when you're playing shiitty, you can always say, "Hey, what do you expect, I've never even had a lesson."

Yep, well said. For a physical specimen that Willis is, he lacked the drive and desire to achieve more. There was a noticeable difference in games where Willis WANTED to make it happen. He would run hard and hit the hole quick, and usually finish with about 130. However, the next four weeks would be lethargic Willis who would stutter-step in the backfield, nudge into the hole, and go down on contact. He would typically finish with about 65 yards. His time in Buffalo would have to be described as average (sans his performances against the NYJ.) Granted, the offenses and QB's were nothing to write home about, but an elite back would relish the oppotunity to carry that offense on his back. As you said, Lynch seems to embrace that concept, while Willis seemed to want to get out of his pads ASAP and go play Nintendo.

New coach, and a new young QB in Flacco (JP) or a career backup in Boller (Holcomb.) Look for Willis to complain about 8 or 9 in the box this year as his excuse for not racking up yards, rather than running hard and taking the pressure off of his overmatched QB. Ray Rice may motivate Willis to perform, as Willis seemed to be a different player when Travis was in Buffalo also. Nonetheless, the Ravens are still the only team who failed to beat the 1-15 Dolphins last year. Nice job fellahs.

One of the strengths of the Saints' D last season was the line, and now they have Vilma to plug into MLB in their 4-3. Vilma was always a talent, but struggled mightily with Mangini's 3-4. I think they will win that division going away. A big piece will be restoring Deuce in the workhorse role. Bush has taken a lot of flak, but I think he's excellent if you accept him for what he is. Just because he was averaging 9 ypc in college, some people were expecting that in the NFL, and that's just not gonna happen for anybody. But as a flanker/receiver/occasional runner, he's been as good as advertised. Smashing it up the middle 25 times would kill the guy.

I think the nature of the sport would dictate that every player is "injury prone." What's his value then, if a 2/5 is too much?

So five more years of needing 4 goals to win! I kid, I kid...The boys in the suits are actually learning...$6.25M may look expensive now, but it's only going to look cheaper...The NHL open market is brutal, with no signs of a slowdown. Miller has proven he's the guy and proven he can take them on an extended playoff run. Losing series to teams backstopped by Cam Ward and Ray Emery doesn't taste good, but now he has some stable years and the faith of the organization to get over that hump.

I understand your point, the '07 Bills are a decent comparison. However, it's hard to say the Cards are doing it with "smoke and mirrors" when your sample size is 95 games. I think "smoke and mirrors" can last about a month. At some point, you have to just say that they are a good team. They have been either leading the division or been within 3 games of the Cubs for 4 months now. And they have done it without Mulder, Carpenter, Isringhausen, and even Pujols missed a bunch of games. And they are still ahead of the team (Milwaukee) that you claim is better. And unlike football, where it was pretty clear the Bills were not a championship-level squad, the Cards won the World Series in '06 after going 83-78 and slumping their way into the playoffs. They beat the HEAVILY favored Mets and Tigers to win it all. Baseball is different like that.

With the little "Future Stars" logo in the corner I hope...

Agreed...Sometimes a GM obtains a player (ex. Sabathia) to send a message to his players that he believes in them to get it done...It works both ways...Trading away players sends a message that "You guys don't have it" and we're looking at the future...

Not necessarily...I realize his track record with the DL, but if he stays healthy, the Cubs worked over the A's on this trade. The Cubs were not looking for their ace of the future...They are looking for a guy who can help them win for two months, and then win in October. And the prospects that Chicago gave up are not going to light the world on fire.

ROCCO!!!!!!!! Love the dude. He chips one in, he laughs and shrugs his shoulders. He drives one into the hay, he laughs and shrugs his shoulders. Incredible round by Villegas today too...Bogeyed #1 and #2, then birdied 8 of the last 16 holes, including all of the final 5.

Has anyone seen Notre Dame's schedule this season??? PATHETIC!!!! They could actually be fairly bad, and they should still win 8 games!!! San Diego State Michigan @ Michigan State Purdue Stanford @ UNC @ Washington Pittsburgh @ Boston College @ Navy Syracuse @ USC Other than North Carolina and Southern Cal, the Irish should have a good chance and could be legitimate favorites in the other games...SDSU I don't know much about, but I don't expect much from UM (transition year) or Michigan State, Purdue, or Pitt (down years.) Stanford and Washington should be better than last year, but that ain't saying much. Boston College will be weak. Navy is coming off their first win over ND in 40+ years, can they do it again? And Syracuse should again be among the worst in the country. Can you imagine the Irish at 10-1 going into the USC game? Good lord the media and the pollsters would be frothing over themselves. I think the Irish will be improved, but it will be more a product of a weak schedule rather than on-field talent.

You could buy a minipack directly from the Sabres, it's a minimum of 5 games, and you'd be able to get those two easy. The other three you could just sell? Otherwise, I think last year I was in town around the holidays and we got seats pretty easily off stubhub, with just a small markup.

I am no lumberjack woodsman, but I have been on several rustic camping trips and I have swung an axe in my day. I fail to see why somebody needs to hold the piece of wood that's being split? Is this a common practice? And would any of you EVER agree to be on the holding end? I don't get it. I'm pretty sure Parcells was swinging the axe once he found out Favre might be available. hahaha, yes! There's several friends of mine who set aside a little spare change to wager on the NFL, and Luke McCown was our go-to guy as far as betting against him...The air was thick with excitement anytime he was scheduled to start, with heavy money on his opponent...He never let us down and even earned the nickname Lucrative McCown in our little circle.

It's a horrible baseball venue, and was built as a baseball stadium. I have been there three times for games, twice there were about 1,000 people there (which makes any stadium look bad, but makes the concrete cavernous Trop look godawful) and I was there about a month ago for a Cubs-Rays game when the place was pretty packed. It was better, but still the worst in the league, IMO. However, I was unaware it was constructed from 1986-1990, I thought it was more recent than that, like a 1995-98 construction. I suppose that makes it slightly better, seeing as the "ballpark era" ushered in by beautiful Camden Yards hadn't begun yet. It's not horrible to get to but I think they would draw MUCH better across the bay, where the majority of their fans are. It's a convenient excuse not to go to the games.

The Trop is an atrocity. I can't believe how relatively new it is, and still is sooooo shiitty. They really dropped the ball with that stadium...It's in St. Pete, which is a REAL pain in the ass for the majority of the greater Tampa area to get to, and the design is just awful. I was at Fenway last summer and we bought some tickets from a scalper. Baseball, especially at some of it's older stadiums with the beams supporting the upper deck, must print "OBSTRUCTED VIEW" on the tickets. However, I came to find out, "Obstructed View" is defined as having your view to home plate blocked. Therefore, we bought these tickets, pretty decent deal, and no "Obstructed View" note on them. We get to the seats, and my view of the 2nd baseman and CF is blocked, and my father couldn't see 1st base. It was pretty funny, you don't really think about it, but the majority of plays in baseball are plays at first, and my father had to judge by crowd reaction whether or not the guy was safe! It was still a good time, and we ended up moving to empty seats a section over to watch the last few innings.

Isn't there a statistician in North Dakota (or something) who makes the baseball schedule every year? Sue that bastard!!! If there was no game that day, none of this would've happened!!!

It's just a cold sore!!!

So the people who weren't standing on their seats were fine? Got it, thanks. Let's sue the bus company and the Nationals, because personal responsibility is out the window when you're drunk!!!!

I went through the schedule and gave them a W for each game they realistically COULD win. I had them finishing at 11-5. I went through the schedule and gave them a L for each game they realistically COULD lose. I had them finishing at 5-11. Realistically, they will be somewhere in between.