Extra Innings

Weekend Lineup: 1/12/2007 - 11/14/2007

2007-01-12T19:00:00.000-05:00

MLB

Relocating a team to Portland makes sense (Phil Rogers)
Report of failed test could hinder new Bonds deal (ESPN.com)
Rocket return likely (Jon Heyman)

MLS
Wanted: More stars (SI.com)

NFL
Be like Brady (Michael Silver)

Are we surprised?

2007-01-11T16:50:00.000-05:00

The NY Daily News reported today that Barry Bonds failed an amphetamines test last season and then tried to blame it on teammate Mark Sweeney.

Finally, some evidence for those who can't accept that Bonds cheated to get where he is. I don't really have much to say about this since it only validates what I've been saying all along.

Bonds is a cheater.

Caught in the act (TJ Quinn)
Marises believe MLB should return HR crown to Roger

Daily Lineup 1/11/2007: David Beckham Edition

2007-01-11T15:50:00.000-05:00

In honor of what's probably the biggest event in the history of MLS - the signing of David Beckham by the Los Angeles Galaxy - I'm dedicating today's Daily Lineup to the event.

Beckham, MLS a good fit (Marc Connolly)
Beckham signing is a no-brainer (Jen Chang)
Beckham signing legitimizes MLS on world scene (Steve Davis)
Entertainment value (SI.com)
Galaxy to get Beckham in summer (Jason Halpin)
Red-letter day (Grant Wahl)

Oh, sorry about no Daily Update yesterday - I was moving back into school and never got around to posting.

Hall of Fame Day (Well, actually yesterday)

2007-01-10T00:00:00.000-05:00

Congrats to Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn on their induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. This pair was truly deserving of this honor and it's unfortunate that the controversy over Mark McGwire had to come on the same election.

I saw Ripken play once. He came in for a few innings during a Baltimore Orioles-Rochester Red Wings exhibition game and I came within feet of getting his autograph. This was back in the days when this sort of thing was allowed - the past bargaining agreement put an end to minor league exhibition games. I'm pretty sure the one I saw was the second-to-last of its kind for the Baltimore-Rochester marriage. Albert Belle put the kabbash on the final one.

Anyways, back to the Hall of Fame. If I had a vote (which I hope to have someday), I would've also put Goose Gossage and Bert Blyleven in. They're getting close and Goose should have a chance next election in the absence of a big name.

I was disappointed to read and hear about the writer from Chicago who submitted a blank ballot since he felt he shouldn't make a judgment on the Steroid Era. It may sound trivial but voting for the Baseball Hall of Fame is a pretty big honor and privilege and to submit a blank ballot seems like shirking that responsibility. I understand that this writer claims to have been making a point but after hearing him on Tuesday's Cold Pizza, I don't have much respect or consideration for him. If he didn't want to make a judgment on McGwire, then fine, don't vote for him. But what about the Ripkens, the Gwynns?

It's hard to conceive how there has never been a unanimous choice to the Hall of Fame. Not just Ripken but what about Babe Ruth? I have to chalk this up to self-righteous writers feeling that they can play God when it comes to the players. It's one thing to decide not to vote for a suspected steroid user until more information is available but it's another to not vote for a player because one feels that no one should ever be a unanimous choice. If everyone took that route, then no one would ever get the 75 percent needed to make it into the Hall.

I'm glad though - check that - I'm extremely happy though that McGwire only receive 23.5 percent of the vote. I thank the Baseball Writers of America for sending this message to Big Mac and all other steroid users. If they're going to continue to play this game of lies and deceit, they're going to ultimately pay the price. They may bask in their fame and dollars now but the halls of history will not remember them so kindly. How many times now, will fathers have to explain to their sons why Mark McGwire - the man who has so many bats and jerseys enshrined in the Hall - isn't a member himself?

Palmeiro, Bonds and anyone else still lurking in the shadows, this is your chance, your warning. Come clean. Ask for forgiveness. And maybe, just maybe, you'll have the slightest of chance of being welcomed into the Hall of Fame with the likes of great players and great people like Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn.

2006 Extra Innings NFL Playoff Update

2007-01-09T23:41:00.000-05:00

After shooting 75 percent on this weekend's playoff games, we now move into Divisional Round. To recap my predictions for this upcoming weekend:

Ravens over Colts Chargers over Pats Saints over Eagles
and the now-defunct Cowboys over Bears

Since that last prediction went kaput thanks to The Bobble, I now must weigh in on the new matchup.

Seattle Seahawks at Chicago Bears.
Last week, I said that Rex Grossman isn't working as the Bears' quarterback and I still feel that way. If this franchise is going to have any long term success, they're going to have to find a solid option at quarterback. I don't know if that means playing Brian Griese or finding someone somewhere else but he can't lead the Chicago offense. When it comes to facing the Seahawks though . . . hmmm. I originally was going to write that I'm going with the Bears but I'm going to pick the Seahawks instead. Watching a healthy Matt Hasselbeck and Shaun Alexander churn through the Cowboys this weekend has shown me that despite being a 9-7 team, Seattle - now running at full health - has a chance in this post season. The Seahawks move back into the NFC Championship after this weekend.

Daily Lineup 1/9/2007

2007-01-09T23:18:00.000-05:00

All Wie, all the time (ESPN.com)

"If I had to guess, I'd say about 95 percent of the guys on tour are against Wie's competing on their circuit, but it has less to do with sexism or ageism than the simple fact that she's just not good enough," says Jason Sobel. Thank you.

NHL Power Rankings (Scott Wraight)
The Sabres not only took back the top record in the NHL this week but they remain on top in SI's rankings.

Romo will rise (Tim Layden)
As a Bills fan, I'm not allowed to like Tony Romo. But I guess I can like his desire to perfect in the game.

Smacking Down Big Mac (John Donovan)
23.5 percent of the vote. McGwire was closer to being left off the ballot next year than he was to making it into the Hall of Fame.

Stop obsessing over coaches! (Gregg Easterbrook)
I remember when all coaches wore suits and just stood on the sidelines. Well, actually, I don't. I just wanted to sound knowledgeable.

Daily Lineup 1/8/2007

2007-01-08T21:00:00.000-05:00

Hall of Famers vs. Non-Hall of Famers: Who would win? (ESPN.com)
McGwire, Rose and the Boys take on those immortalized in Cooperstown.

Less is more (Allan Muir)
Continuing the theme of the new NFL (myNFL?), the league has discussed dropping the number of divisions. Allan Muir gives his input on who should go where.

Migden suits up to block 49ers' move (Daniel Macht)
San Fran's plans to out of the city may soon hit a hitch.

The NFL's new power family (Peter King)
Parcells began Belichick who began Mangini . . .

An uncomfortable vote for McGwire (Jayson Stark)
Aw, c'mon, Stark, c'mon. Just don't vote for Bonds in a few years. Please.

Daily Lineup 1/7/2007

2007-01-07T17:27:00.000-05:00

AFL History (Tim Ball)

Yeah, it may seem weird, but I kind of like it. So there.

Fiesta Bowl still noteworthy (Arash Markazi)
Some behind the scene perspective from last week's Fiesta Bowl.

Goats, gaffes and blunders (Page 2)
Tony Romo. Oh boy. Oohhh boy.

Hall voting remains archaic (Jim Caple)
As long as Bonds doesn't get in, I'm happy. Check that - I want Blyleven in too.

Psychic predictions for 2007 (Kurt Snibbe)
It's funny since most of the Bengals have been arrested. And the NFL has a gun problem. And a steroid problem. But no one cares. They just vote the problems third in the Defensive Player of the Year voting.

Daily Lineup 1/6/2007

2007-01-06T22:30:00.000-05:00

As a new feature to Extra Innings, I'm going to try to post a couple sites or web pages that I liked and feel that people should be reading per day. To fit the baseball lineup allegory, technically, I should post nine things. Or eight things and a pitcher for those reading in National League cities. But for now, I'm going to aim for five. Five blogs, columns or something else online that I want you to read. Listed in alphabetical order. Since that's how I do.

Please, Mr. Bettman (John Ondrasik)
Yeah, I might be beginning to care for hockey a little bit more, but there's still work to do.

Post-Unit era filled with question marks (Bob Klapisch)
Clemens, anyone?

Selig developing positive legacy as commissioner (Jon Heyman)
A couple years ago, after the whole tied All-Star game debacle, I wanted the commish to get the boot. Like a lot of other people though, I've started to change my view of Selig.

Sting fold three weeks after Bobcats give up control (Associated Press)
Well, what's the over/under on years until the NBA stops bleeding funding into this experiment and the WNBA folds?

Survey: McGwire receives less than 30 percent (ESPN)
The first member of the Class of Steroids will serve as the litmus test for those who will follow in the upcoming years.

EIBIT: The Big Unit Arrives in the Big Apple

2007-01-04T22:47:00.000-05:00

This Extra Innings column was originally published on January 6, 2005, the day the Yankees completed the trade bringing Randy Johnson to New York.*

Let the healing begin.

Now that Randy Johnson has made it to New York, we can finally put that whole 2001 World Series loss to the Diamondbacks thing behind us. Yeah, the Red Sox might have Curt Schilling, but the Yankees now have Randy Johnson. The Big Unit. This is the one who throws perfect games and wins Cy Young awards. Yeah, he's had some injury problems over the past few years, but the guy threw a perfect game this season.

Forty years old?

Pah!

Things are finally going to come together this season. The Great World Series Drought will end in 2005. With Johnson, the Yanks finally have the starter they've needed. A proven ace. A proven post season ace.

I'm excited.

I hope Arizona enjoys Javier Vazquez. Couldn't hack in it New York or in the post season. You can't expect him to handle the bright lights of a place like New York or even a smaller city like Chicago. He came up in Montreal so Vazquez really doesn't have the pedigree to perform in the post season. I'd be very, very surprised if he's ever able to win a World Series. Unlike the new Yankee: Randy Johnson.

Complete opposites.

Everyone mark your calendars for the World Series parade in New York City this October. 2005: the year of the Yankees.

*Extra Innings Back In Time may or may not actually be real columns. In this case, this wasn't a real column.

Stuart Appleby: My Hero.

2007-01-03T15:27:00.000-05:00

"[Michelle Wie] should just let it go for now and come back when she has a more accomplished game. She's just not ready for it. She's certainly not proving anything except that she can't play with the men at her level right now. A couple times is nice. It's interesting . . . But now it's just getting to the stage where she'll get criticized too much."

Stuart Appleby at the Mercedes-Benz Championship.

See, I'm not the only one who feels this way. What started out as kind of a cute show has only turned into a tired exercise in the absurd. Michelle Wie obviously doesn't have what it takes right now to play with the men. In fact, she hasn't even proved that she has what it takes to win with the women.

Before trying to take on the entire golf world, a player needs to actually collect some smaller wins. Play LPGA events. Try to win those first. You've proved to us all that you're not ready for the men. Stop taking their spots on the tour though. Men aren't allowed to play the women's tournament. Their are rules about that.

Geez, seriously. I'm so happy that some players are starting to actually say what they've all had to be thinking for the past few years.

2006 Extra Innings NFL Playoff Preview

2007-01-01T20:11:00.000-05:00

With the 2006 NFL season wrapped up, Extra Innings takes a look at the upcoming playoffs.

Wild-card Round

Kansas City Chiefs (9-7, 6th seed) at Indianapolis Colts (12-4, 3rd seed)
The Chiefs kind of snuck their way into the playoffs this year, edging out the Broncos on the final weekend. The Colts, a once mighty 9-0, finished the season on a 3-4 skid - keep in mind too, that final win of the 9-0 start was because of a missed field goal on the Bills part. Neither team is really flying too high right now but I'm going to have to go with the Colts on this match-up. I'm not saying they're going to make it very far - this definitely isn't the same Colts team of past years and that defense isn't going to hold up against a possible clash with San Diego.

New York Jets (10-6, 5th seed) at New England Patriots (12-4, 4th seed)
The Jets surprised everyone by following a mediocre 4-4 start with a post-bye-week 6-2 mark. And then, we have the Patriots. Despite winning their fourth straight AFC East title (also their fifth out of the last six years), this New England team doesn't have the full weaponry of past ones. Brady (and I have to give him credit for this one) managed to steer this team to the post-season even though he lacks any form of a number one receiver. I want to say that the Jets will pull the upset in this one but the Pats have been the best post-season team for years now and should get the job done this weekend.

New York Giants (8-8, 6th seed) at Philadelphia Eagles (10-6, 3rd seed)
I'm not even going to dwell on this one. The Eagles have found magic in Jeff Garcia while the Giants might not even be able to find their way to Lincoln Financial Field. The team completely lacks any kind of chemistry, leadership or any reason to even be in the post-season. Garcia is going to have a great off-season after piloting the Eagles over the inept Giants.

Dallas Cowboys (9-7, 5th seed) at Seattle Seahawks (9-7, 4th seed)
Several weeks ago, I would've penciled Dallas in for an quick victory. But, several weeks ago, there was a chance that the Cowboys wouldn't even have to play this weekend. The Cowboys dropped three of their last four, including a loss to the cowardly Lions, and blew a chance to win the NFC East. But, oh wait, the Seahawks lost three of their last four too, falling to Arizona and San Francisco. Neither of these teams are going anywhere but Dallas'll move onto the next round.

Divisional Round
Based upon projected Wild Card results

Indianapolis Colts at Baltimore Ravens (13-3, 2nd seed)
One of the league's worst defenses versus one of the league's best. Peyton's going to have a hard time attacking the Raven's defense. Baltimore looks extremely strong right now and have won their last four straight games. I will say though, the Buffalo Bills prevented the Ravens from scoring an offensive touchdown last weekend. This shouldn't matter though and the Baltimore Ravens will return to the AFC Championship.

New England Patriots at San Diego Chargers (14-2, 1st seed)
Tom Brady and crew are going to have a tough time taking down LaDainian Tomlinson and the rest of the potent Chargers offense. With the presence of steroid-fueled Shawne Merriman, the San Diego defense will be able to match the play of Philip River's offense. (I wonder if Eli Manning ever wishes he had manned-up and stayed in San Diego.) Anyways, the Chargers will notch a meeting with the Baltimore Ravens by shutting down the patchwork Patriots.

Philadelphia Eagles at New Orleans Saints (10-6, 2nd seed)
I can't go against a story like the New Orleans Saints. A rookie phenomenon (actually two: Reggie Bush and Marques Colston), a quarterback finding a new home and a city looking for a second life - how could this team go wrong? Both the Eagles and Saints found new quarterbacks over the past year but it'll be the former Charger that comes up victorious. Saints march on.

Dallas Cowboys at Chicago Bears (13-3, 1st seed)
Rex Grossman isn't working at quarterback. Unfortunately for Chicago, it doesn't seem like Lovie Smith is going to realize that in time. I take back what I said about Dallas not going any further - I'm going to pencil Romo and the 'Boys in for another upset, fueling the false hopes of Romosexuals everywhere.

Conference Championship Round
Based upon projected Divisional results

Baltimore Ravens at San Diego Chargers
What a match-up. This game'll make the previous two round of playoffs pointless but it'll be worth it. The archetypal top-defense-versus-top-offense game should give fans one of the best games of the season. When these two teams played in Week Four, they were only able to muster three touchdowns as Baltimore beat San Diego 16-10. This game should see a different result though as San Diego will solve the Raven's defense and punch their ticket for Miami.

Dallas Cowboys at New Orleans Saints
After last season's 3-13 campaign and the environment of Hurricane Katrina, did anyone ever expect New Orleans to have the season they did in 2006? I surely didn't. But, I do expect them to beat the out-of-place Cowboys. The Saints Super Bowl crusade will be almost complete.

Super Bowl XLI
Based upon project Conference Championship round

San Diego Chargers vs. New Orleans Saints
There are so many story threads that come with this match-up. Two possible MVP candidates - Drew Brees and Philip Rivers - going against each other, Brees against his former team, the fact that the Saints carry the spirits of an entire city with them. This is a tough one. I'd say that the Chargers are a superior team but I feel that the Saints, after getting this far, won't stumble. Look for a full offensive onslaught between the two teams. By winning Super Bowl XLI, the Saints will cement their future in New Orleans.

Didn't call it.

2006-12-29T00:29:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I guess I was wrong on the whole Zito thing. Actually, I think most of the sports media community was off on predicting where Barry Zito would end up.

San Francisco.

Huh, didn't see that one coming. New York, New York or even Texas but not the Giants. I'm pretty sure that even with this signing though, the Giants' off-season has been a waste. Yeah, congrats on Zito but way to let Jason Schmidt move to division rival Los Angeles Dodgers. And way to let one of the only offensive weapons - Moises Alou - leave for the Mets.

Well, at least the Giants now have one one Barry who isn't tainted. And when I say tainted here, I mean tainted like Chernobyl. I had hoped (prayed) that no one would sign Barry Bonds for the 2007 season. Collude, scheme, plot - whatever the owners could've done to kept the Sultan of Syringes out of the game would've been fine for me. Giants' owner Peter Magowan and GM Brian Sabean, despite talking about building a younger team and how they couldn't use Bonds to create a team. I guess that was just part of the negotiations with Bonds' agent? So much for youth.

Anyways, congrats on your $126 million, Zito, you've earned it. I just hope you don't mind suffering from Roger Clemens Syndrome. After posting a sub-3.00 ERA the past three years in Houston (including a 1.87 ERA in 2005), Clemens never received the run support needed to post wins. Looking at San Francisco's offense lineup, Zito's going to have a hard time collecting wins . . . something I'm sure Clemens won't have a problem with in New York in 2007.

Called it?

2006-12-25T21:35:00.000-05:00

The current sports news is saying that the Yanks are beginning talks to trade former star pitcher Randy Johnson, possibly back to the Diamondbacks or to the Padres or Giants. This is just another step in GM Brian Cashman's purge of past-prime talent that the Yankees had collected over the past few years (Gary Sheffield, Jaret Wright).

If New York does manage to move Johnson, it's even more possible that they'd make a move for Barry Zito, says SI.com's Jon Heyman. Makes perfect sense. I'd love to see an aged pitcher moved out of New York, have young talent brought in in return for him and then top it all off with the addition of who's probably the best pitcher on the free agent market this season (Daisuke Matsuzaka not included since he's still a mystery.)

It would also be another way to counter the Red Sox's addition of Matsuzaka, something I brought up a few weeks ago. If the Yankees can swap out Randy Johnson for Barry Zito, here's what their rotation will look like: Mike Mussina, Chen-Ming Wang, Andy Pettitte, Barry Zito and Kei Igawa. I'm not including Carl Pavano since I'm just going to assume he'll be struck down by another phantom injury. That's beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. On top of that, just imagine if the Yanks win the Roger Clemens sweepstakes, I'm not even sure what'll happen. Igawa will most likely go to the pen. And I consider the Yanks to be the odds-on favorite to land Clemens too.

Merry Christmas

2006-12-25T10:46:00.000-05:00

Here's wishing everyone a merry Christmas from Extra Innings.

I asked Santa for a few more wins for the Bills this season but he's obviously not a Buffalo fan. Next year, Santa, next year.

Double killers?

2006-12-20T23:45:00.000-05:00

On tonight's Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith, Allen Iverson talked about his past in Philly and his future in Denver. When asked to describe himself as a player, Iverson used the word "killer." Smith then asked Iverson to describe new teammate Carmelo Anthony. Iverson once again chose "killer." Prompted to describe the partnership of Iverson and Anthony, the former Sixer called them "double killers."

Now, I understand this is all rhetoric and talk but with the recent "brawl" involving Carmelo and the image problems both Iverson and Carmelo suffer, was "killer" really the best choice?

Iverson's been in jail, had that rap CD a few years ago that stirred up trouble and threw his wife out of his house and then followed her to his cousin's house. Carmelo's didn't play like a teammate in the Olympics and appeared on the Stop Snitchin' video in 2004.

I'm rooting for Carmelo as he is the patron saint of Syracuse basketball after leading them to the 2003 NCAA Championship but he's going to have to be very careful around Iverson. While some players feed off of each other to excel, I'm afraid that Iverson may be a negative influence on Carmelo.

The Blackout Rules Continues to Haunt Us

2006-12-18T12:10:00.000-05:00

As a part of my current crusade against the NFL black out rule (which has kept me from watching three of the last four Buffalo Bills games and is just generally unfair), I compiled some data based on the capacity of the 31 NFL stadiums (the Giants and Jets share Giants Stadium) and the metro populations of each NFL market.

Starting off, in terms of just stadium capacity, the Bills' Ralph Wilson Stadium ranks 6th out of 31 with 73,967 seats. In terms of metro population, Buffalo ranks 30th out of 31 with 1,254,066. Only the ultra-small market of Green Bay (226,778) ranks lower than Buffalo.

From just looking at these numbers, one can see that there's a huge divide between what the NFL is requiring the Bills to fill compared to what they have on hand to fill the stadium with. I wanted to further illustrate this discrepancy so I've decided to bring back the SSRI (Student to Seating Ratio Index) that I used a year ago to dissect college gym capacity. Of course in this case, we aren't dealing with students, we're dealing with population. It works the same. Here's how the SSRI pans out for NFL markets.

Green Bay 0.3216
Buffalo 0.0590
New Orleans 0.0524
Jacksonville 0.0498
Tennessee 0.0484
Carolina 0.0460
Kansas City 0.0408
Denver 0.0327
Cleveland 0.0325
Indianapolis 0.0311
Cincinnati 0.0310
Pittsburgh 0.0276
Baltimore 0.0266
Tampa Bay 0.0246
San Diego 0.0243
St. Louis 0.0237
Minnesota 0.0216
Seattle 0.0176
Arizona 0.0171
San Francisco 0.0169
Detroit 0.0145
Atlanta 0.0144
Miami 0.0139
Houston 0.0132
New England 0.0118
Philadelphia 0.0118
Washington 0.0114
Dallas 0.0113
Oakland 0.0090
Chicago 0.0064
New York 0.0036

So as you can see, the Bills rank second in SSRI. Unlike college gyms though, this means that the teams with high SSRIs have a much bigger gap to fill (and to not be blacked out) than the lower ranked teams do. In fact, the Bills have more than 16 times the work to do than either of the New York teams do.

With this big of a difference in the work teams have to do to sell their stadiums out, how does the NFL see the blackout rule as fair? It's obviously not.

Buffalo Charging

2006-12-18T09:42:00.000-05:00

So the Buffalo Bills are now 14 games into the 2006 season and possess a 7-7 record. For a team that most people thought would be in rebuilding mode this season, 7-7 is respectable. But let's do a quick run through of their schedule so far and see what could have been.

Week 1: Lost to the New England Patriots 19-17. Man, they should've had this game. The Bills controlled this one but couldn't hold on. Now, I'm not going to say that the refs were biased toward the Patriots in this one but I'm going to say the refs were biased toward the Patriots in this one.

Week 3: Lost to the New York Jets 28-20. The Bills did play catchup most of this game but nonetheless a close one. Losman threw for 328 yards - wasted.

Week 6: Lost to the Detroit Lions 20-17. The Lions? C'mon, the Lions? Up until about a week ago, I had actually completely forgotten about this game - probably my mind doing me a favor. Only lost by a field goal.

Week 10: Lost to the Indianapolis Colts 17-16. The Bills were one missed field goal from upsetting the then undefeated Colts. Oh, Rian Lindell, why this one? Of all the times to miss, why this one? Good grief. Anyways, the Bills did all the work in Week 9 and all the Cowboys did the following week was take the lid off.

Week 13: Lost to the San Diego Chargers. Once again, another close game to an elite team. Just a field goal separated the Bills from the Super Chargers.

These five games, had they been wins, would put the Bills at a fearsome 12-2 and would have them atop the AFC, not the Chargers. That's how close this team has been this season to being great. Heck, wins against the Colts and Chargers would have the Bills on a seven game winning streak and undefeated since their bye week.

It kills me to wonder what could've been had a couple more points gone Buffalo's way. I have to say though, JP Losman has quickly won Bills fans over with his play of late. After falling to the Colts, the third year QB has posted the following stats:

Vs. Texans: 26/38 for 340 yards and 3 TDs (one being a thrilling last second gamewinner)
Vs. Jaguars: 21/28 for 169 yards
Vs. Chargers: 21/37 for 184 yards and 2 TDs
Vs. Jets: 10/15 for 157 yards and 2 TDs
Vs. Dolphins: 13/19 for 200 yards and 3 TDs

This isn't the same Losman that Bills fans have been emotionally battered with over the past year and a half. This isn't the same Losman that I almost killed myself when the Bills didn't draft Matt Leinart over. This is a Losman who has learned how to win and how to strike with a touchdown when needed.

Over the first seven games of the season, the Bills went 2-5. During this period, Losman threw six TDs. Over the second half of the season so far, Losman has eleven TDs. I chalk this up to a combination of an offensive line that was shuffled around during the bye with the fact that the kid really has learned. That was Mike Mularkey's problem last year - he didn't let Losman learn. If you're going to break in a new quarterback, you have to play him. That quarterback shuffle that Mularkey conducted last year was counterproductive. Oh well, this is the same Mularkey whose as Miami's offensive coordinator has only been able to muster six points in two games against Buffalo in 2006. Dick Jauron really has done a good job as of late making Bills fans forget the Gregg Williams-Mike Mularkey era.

Back to how this kills me. Losman has just about doubled his TDs output over the second seven games. Just imagine if the Bills had that extra TD a game over the first seven games. Beat the Patriots 24-19? Check. One point loss to the Jets? Maybe they could've gone for the two-point conversation and sent the game to overtime. Beat the Lions 24-20? Done. The loss to the Bears and the second loss to the Patriots are beyond fixing. That's pretty impressive though. Out of the 14 games the Bills have played so far, only two were out of reach.

The Bills need to pick up wins against the Titans and the Ravens to have any chance of qualifying for a wild card spot. The Titans are red hot right now with Vince Young leading a resurgence of the franchise. The Ravens will probably have a first young bye wrapped up by the final week and should rest its players including the aching Steve McNair. Of course, this game shouldn't be taken for granted. The 2004 Bills, needing a final win to make the playoffs got stomped by a third string Steelers.

One final note: the Bills game was blacked out again in Western New York. Third home game in a row for the Bills. I'll have more on that later on.

Daisuke Matsuzaka, Not "D-Mat"

2006-12-16T17:50:00.000-05:00

Interestingly enough, ESPN's Bill Simmons column today addressed the topic of the "D-Mat" nickname for Boston's Daisuke Matsuzaka, which I wrote about yesterday. I'd like to think that there are more people out there who don't want to see this "D-Mat" nickname catch on.

So, I've decided to do something about it. A petition. To nip this "D-Mat" fad in the bud before it becomes a full grown weed in baseball lingo.

Give Simmons' column a look. Then sign the petition. Save the world from another corporate nickname (A-Rod anyone?) and prevent having to tell your children about a player named "D-Mat."

D-Mat? C'mon.

2006-12-14T21:40:00.000-05:00

Just a quick note.

Can we nip this "D-Mat" nickname for Daisuke Matsuzaka right now? Please. C'mon. Seriously.

I understand that Scott Boras created the A-Rod nickname for Alex Rodriguez which led to people calling Ivan Rodriguez "I-Rod." Ivan Rodriguez is not I-Rod. He's Pudge. Seriously.

Matsuzaka already has a nickname too. It's Kaibatsu. It means "Monster." Do we really have to demean him with D-Mat? Hey everyone, wipe your feet on the D-Mat before you come in. Yeah, that jerk? He's such a D-Mat. What's D-Mat-ter? Absolutely horrible.

Matsuzaka is already being underpaid by Boston (the posting fee doesn't count, the player doesn't get any of it), pay him the respect he deserves and use his real name.

Zito in NY?

2006-12-14T01:36:00.000-05:00

Well, now that appears that the Red Sox have somehow wrapped up the Daisuke Matsuzaka deal, how do the Yanks counter? Yes, I love Pettitte and am thrilled that he's returned to New York, but in the world of Yankees-Red Sox, you have to match ace for ace.

So, I guess that means that Barry Zito will soon be coming to Yankee Stadium. Yes, I'm calling it here, on this blog, on Extra Innings. Yeah, you can read about Texas all you want but Zito will be pitching in pinstripes for 2007.

Let's start at the beginning. The New York Yankees bid something like $32 million for Matsuzaka. The Red Sox bid an insane $51.1 million. Okay, check. You won that one, Boston. But now, there are still are still chips on the table.

Scott Boras isn't stupid. Not by any means. He surely has to realize that he'll be able to play this Matsuzaka-envy onto the Bronx Bombers and create a need in New York for Zito.

And I'm completely fine with that. So far this offseason, the Yanks have shown great restrait. They've traded away Sheffield. They've traded away Jaret Wright. They've talked about moving Pavano. Things are looking good. Prospects are coming into the Bronx. Go ahead, Cashman, spluge a little. You've earned it. Let's bring Zito into New York.

In six years, we'll add Matsuzaka too.

The Matsu-clock-a is a tickin'

2006-12-12T14:30:00.000-05:00

Leave it to the Red Sox to mess this one up.

With a bid of $51.1 million, you'd think Boston and Theo Epstein would've realized that they'd win the bidding for Daisuke Matsuzaka. I understand that this was probably all a power play to make sure the Yanks didn't get the Japanese phenom but this reflects pretty badly on baseball as a whole now.

I understand that the Red Sox already paid over 50 million just to have the rights to talk to Matsuzaka but that shouldn't be something held against him. In dealing with agent Scott Boras, a team has to know that the price of a player is going to be high. If Barry Zito is expected to get a $100 million deal, then why shouldn't his Japanese counterpart?

And there have also been rumors that Boston has tried to get Matsuzaka's team, the Seibu Lions, to allow them to reduce the bid or even pay for part of the World Baseball Classic MVP's MLB salary. Which is all strictly against baseball policy.

There seems to be a lack of respect on the Red Sox's part here. The Yanks have respected Hideki Matsui and paid him his due. Shouldn't Boston be able to do the same?

I think the Sox may have finally found themselves outside of their league on this one. It was funny and it was cute to bid $51,111,111.11 but how about signing the guy? You realize that this chance doesn't come around every season. If the Sox screw this one up, they're going to have a hard time wooing another Japanese star down the road. And if they don't sign Matsuzaka this season and expect to get the rights for the same price next season, they're sadly mistaken. What was $51.1 million this year will turn into $80 million next season. The Yanks bid somewhere around $30 million for Matsuzaka this season, thinking that it would be enough based on past posting bids. I'm pretty sure that if they get a second wack at the gyroballer, they'll get him. Posting fees don't count toward the luxury tax and I'm pretty sure the combo of Matsui and Matsuzaka'll sell pretty nicely - especially in that brand new Yankee Stadium.

Congratulations, Boston Red Sox. A couple years ago, you bought out entire hotels in hopes of keeping the Yanks from negotiating with Jose Contreras. But you've outdone yourselves on this one.

Fisher football falls to Mount Union

2006-12-09T14:38:00.000-05:00

With a score of 26-14, the Cardinals lost to the Purple Raiders today in the Division III semifinals. While the score seems kind of far apart, from watching the game, things were a lot closer than that score let's on.

I guess, like last week, it just took Mount Union a couple quarters to get moving. Fisher never led but managed to keep it close for most of the game. If it wasn't for an errant snap in the second, the game would've been tied 7-7 for the most part.

The Fisher defense seemed to play solid, coming up with some big stops and even forced a Mount Union fumble. The offense came up empty handed a couple of times and missed a field goal.

All in all though, this had to be the best season in the history of Fisher football. A 12-2 final record, a trip to the NCAA playoffs, and showdown against Mount Union. Not too shabby. Not too shabby at all.

After taking a step back last year, this program took a giant leap forward this season. I honestly cannot wait to see where we're ranked in the D3football.com poll to start the 2007 season. A Final Four appearance should rocket the Cardinals into the top 10, possibly top five. To be one of four teams left in the Division III program is quite an accomplishment especially to be amongst the company of a Mount Union.

But take heed, Mount Union. We've seen each other now. A little bit earlier than expected but we're familiar now. And in 2008, we're coming for you.

Pettitte returns home

2006-12-08T18:57:00.000-05:00

Well, in what I'm considering one of the greatest Yankee signings ever, Andy Pettitte signed with New York for the 2007 season. Yeah, it was for $16 million but I really don't care. Best $16 million ever spent by the Yankees.

See, here's the thing: Andy Pettitte is a Yankee. There have been certain players that are Yankees. Scott Brosius was a Yankee. Paul O'Neill was a Yankee. Tino Martinez was a Yankee. Even Chuck Knoblauch was a Yankee. Derek Jeter is, was, and forever shall be a Yankee.

When Pettitte left the Yankees to sign with the Astros, it was probably the first time I ever felt bad about a player leaving the Yankees. Pettitte was our go-to guy, the guy who could always win in the postseason when we need it. And Steinbrenner and the rest of the Yankees brass let him go.

Well, hopefully that's been fixed now.

Welcome home, Andy Pettitte. Welcome home.

UPDATE: Oh yeah, last time Pettitte moved to another team, guess which former teammate followed him there. Yeah . . . Roger Clemens. Jackpot.

Fisher travels to Mount Union this weekend

2006-12-07T14:30:00.000-05:00

If this column doesn't sell out, you can't read it

2006-12-06T19:52:00.000-05:00

In the world of sports, fans are confronted almost everyday with the ridiculous. From Terrell Owens writing children books to Latrell Sprewell thinking that ten million dollars isn’t enough to feed his family, from Garth Brooks playing baseball to Barry Bonds . . . well, to Barry Bonds doing anything, there’s always something that just doesn’t seem right.

For the past two weekends, Western New Yorkers have been rudely exposed to the pinnacle of sports absurdity: the NFL black out rule. According to the all-mighty NFL, if a game doesn’t sell out within a certain amount of time before gameday, then the team’s television market doesn’t get to watch. Basically, football fans need to pray that their neighbors are paying the hundreds of dollars needed to see a game in person just so they can watch it from the comfort of their home.

What doesn’t make sense about all of this is the blatant fact that most NFL stadiums – heck, most stadiums in any sport – are funded with public money. That’s taxpayer dollars going to build palaces for the emperors of the gridiron. If a game gets blacked out, you’re not allowed to watch a game that’s being played in a building you paid for, your parents paid for.

How this has been allowed to go on for years is beyond me. To me, the whole notion of the black out rule is extortion, blackmail, and theft. The NFL is forcing you to not only pay for their stadiums but then of course, they want you to pay to see the games. I can deal with that. That’s just the way the universe works. We pay taxes that go to sports teams and then are expected to fork over an exorbitant amount of money to see the games. Fine . . . fine, I understand that.No other league tries to pull off this joke of a business practice. MLB airs hundreds of games a year and I’m pretty sure they don’t all sell out. The NBA is the same. Hockey – well, hockey begs you to watch, so they definitely aren’t going to penalize you for not selling out their games.

Not to play the part of Chicken Little here but the black out rule combined with the fact that most fans can’t watch NFL Network games plays into the logical evolution of more and more games being put on cable. Cable that fans have to once again pay for. Eventually, who knows? A pay-per-view Super Bowl?

When the NFL punishes these already taxpaying fans though for not paying to see games is when we need to put our collective foot down.

Let’s say fans were to turn the table on the NFL in terms of the black out rule. I propose that from now on, when teams aren’t performing up to our expectations, we lock them out of the stadiums we’re paying for. San Francisco, Houston, Oakland – you didn’t have a winning record within 72 hours of game time, so we’re not allowing you into the park this week. Go win on the road since we don’t really feel like paying to see you lose in our stadium.

How do you like them apples, NFL? Not so much, huh?

Let me watch my Bills on Sundays. Yeah, NFL fans are a pretty devoted bunch. Just look at Browns fans – their team left town in the middle of the night and all they got was Drew Carey for a couple years. I swear though, tick us off enough. Push this parity thing in our faces enough and make us watch 8-8 teams make the playoffs. Make us pay for seat licenses and luxury seats.

Or just let me ignore the fact that the NFL doesn’t get the public scrutiny on steroids that MLB suffers, that the Bengals are made up of criminals, and that Bill Belichick shouldn’t be allowed to wear cut-off sweatshirts and just let me watch the Bills on TV.

- Originally published in the Cardinal Courier (Volume 6-Issue 6; December 6, 2006)

Cardinals Advance to D3 Semifinals!

2006-12-02T14:21:00.000-05:00

In a dominating win, Fisher knocked off Rowan to advance in the playoffs. In the Final 4, the Cards may face Mount Union, up 17-7 at the moment.

More to come later on.

David Stern shoots . . . he misses!

2006-12-01T23:33:00.000-05:00

So I'm scrolling through the headlines at ESPN.com (no, I'm not going to hyperlink it - I'm still mad at them about Insider) and I come across an article about the players' union filing a lawsuit against the league over the current wave of technical fouls and the much maligned new ball.

Well, I say to myself, this is interesting. I just saw Mavericks' owner Mark Cuban on PTI earlier tonight talking about his (disfunctional) relationship with Commissioner David Stern and he made no mention of this lawsuit. So technically, since the suit is against the NBA itself, Cuban would know if his players were suing him.

So, I'm not really sure how I feel about this whole players suing the league thing. As a baseball fan, I'm use to the players' union almost always getting its way. This whole "strong commissioner" thing isn't really something you see in baseball nowaday. Cough, steroids, cough, Bonds, cough, Palmeiro, cough, BALCO, cough, the All-Star game a few years ago, cough, contraction, cough, why the hell haven't the Yankees won a World Series in the past six years? I do have to commend Stern for trying to take control of his league here. The NBA has over the past years gained the image of being the league of rappers, of gangstas, and of general disarray. I don't think this is the fairest of generalizations but it works. Yeah, an NFL player can get suspended for steroid use but no one cares. I understand that each league is held to its own standard.

I really don't want to address the whole technical fouls thing right now, so let's tackle this ball issue. And what an issue it is.

Already, top names like Shaq and LeBron have spoken out against the new ball. It doesn't bounce right, it holds moisture, it doesn't shoot right, etc., etc., etc. C'mon, Sterny, a new ball? Was that really necessary? This would be like baseball switching to aluminum bats all of a sudden. Yeah, the college kids use them but no one really cares. It's one thing to market a new fad basketball to the kids but to force it upon seasoned veterans who grew up using the old ball? Seriously, not smart.

So now the NBA has a near-insurrection on its hands. League hates the way the players act. Players hate the way the league acts. Mark Cuban hates the way David Stern acts. This really isn't the Brady Bunch of sports leagues anymore.

To concede defeat and admit that the new ball was a horrible experiment would be a severe blow to Stern. But maybe he's finally crossed the breaking point on this one. You can create dress codes and tell kids they have to play an arbitrary year of college hoops but you can't change the one constant of the whole game. Firetruck, David Stern, firetruck.

Extra Innings is growing

2006-11-30T16:48:00.000-05:00

In order to create a more comprehensive sports blog, Extra Innings will be adding a few new columnists. The newest addition is Seth Pohorence. Seth, like myself, is a student at St. John Fisher College and also writes for the Cardinal Courier.

Updated Division III Bracket (11/27)

2006-11-27T19:01:00.000-05:00

With the win over Springfield, the Cards move on to face Rowan next Saturday at home. With the defeat of Springfield, it would seem appropriate that Fisher could call itself the true Empire 8 Champion now. You know, just saying. Click on the bracket above to enlarge it.

Liveblogging the Bills game

2006-11-26T13:22:00.000-05:00

Oh wait. Nevermind. I can't do that. Thanks NFL. Thanks blackout rule. You're welcome for all that taxpayer money that funds Ralph Wilson Stadium. Gee, no problem, I don't mind. I hope that angry fans make Takeo Spikes angry. And you wouldn't like him when he's angry. Watch out NFL - Takeo might add you to his hit list.

Morneau wins MVP, Jeter second

2006-11-22T12:53:00.000-05:00

Wow. What a shocker. Twins' first baseman Justin Morneau took home the AL MVP yesterday surprising most people who had expected Yankee legend Derek Jeter to claim what was basically the one missing piece of hardware from his trophy case.

Morneau received 230 pts and 15 first place votes while Jeter received 306 pts and 12 first place votes. One voter even had Jeter at sixth place on his ballot. Now, maybe I'm horribly biased as a Yankee fan but to put Jeter down that far on a ballot is just crazy. For most of the season, he was seen as the strong favorite for MVP. I have no problem with Morneau - in fact, I rooted for him as he made his way to the majors. With my hometown Rochester Red Wings serving as the Triple-A franchise for the Minnesota Twins, we've been lucky enough to see a lot of guys play in Minnesota that made their way though Rochester.

Anyways, Morneau is nice and all but when you look at his own team, can you really even say he was better than Joe Mauer? Mauer, the first catcher to win the AL batting title, would be the guy I would give the MVP to if I was looking to award it to a Twin.

But I wasn't looking to award it to a Twin.

A Yankee should've won this year. Maybe this is retribution for A-Rod winning it last year. Maybe the voters didn't like the idea of giving it to a New York guy two years in a row. New York hasn't had consecutive MVPs since the dominant period of the 40s, 50s, and 60s. For anyone who knows my thought on A-Rod now, I'd trade his 2005 MVP for a MVP for Jeter. I hate to sound like Jeter's on the downside of his career now but at 32, he's been in the game for ten years. In that single decade, Jeter's won a Rookie of the Year, Gold Gloves, an All-Star MVP, a World Series MVP and of course, four World Series rings.

I know that the MVP isn't supposed to be a lifetime achievement award but with everything Jeter's accomplished and with the season he had, maybe it would've been appropriate to name him the MVP. Hey, the Academy gave Peter Jackson just about every award it could think of at the 2005 Oscars for Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. Maybe baseball writers need to take a note from the Hollywood elite . . . or maybe that wouldn't be the best thing to happen.

This could've all been solved by just naming the right guy the MVP: Derek Jeter.

Fisher to take on Mt. Union

2006-11-19T18:00:00.000-05:00

For those of you paying attention to this column, you'll know that on a few occasions, I've mocked or challenged Mount Union. The Purple Raiders have won seven Empire III Championships and are consistently ranked number one in the d3football.com poll.

Beginning in 2008, Fisher will play Mount Union, replacing Kings College on the schedule. Sadly, I'll have graduated and moved on by this point but I'll pay attention to the result of this game. In all likelihood, the Cardinals will probably get knocked around by the Purple Raiders at first. I'd like to think though that the learning curve will be quick and the Cardinals will eventually be able to defeat the D3 powerhouse. I really would.

A defeat of Mount Union by the hands - or wings? - of the Cardinals would most likely bring on a dramatic change in the rankings.

I can't wait.

Updated Division III Bracket (11/20)

2006-11-19T13:00:00.000-05:00

Fisher defeated Union College yesterday setting up a rematch with Springfield College next weekend. Click on the bracket to see a bigger view of the bracket.

This is my final answer, Regis

2006-11-15T16:00:00.000-05:00

Congrats, Houston Dynamo on your MLS Cup win. For those of you who don’t pay attention to American soccer, Houston took home the prize at the eleventh Major League Soccer championship, defeating the New England Revolution.

What? You don’t follow MLS? Oh. That’s okay, I guess.

How about that Chicago Rush, huh? For awhile there, I thought the Predators were going to come back in the fourth quarter. A score of 69-61 is kind of close for a championship game. But hey, Matt D’Orazio really bounced back from being the former quarterback of the Rochester Brigade to lead the Rush to capture the ArenaBowl XX.

No? No ArenaBowl? Arena football is just like regular football but indoors. C’mon. No? Well, what else is there?

Hey, that was quite a season for the Rochester Razorsharks? What’s a razorshark? Not really sure, but they play a pretty basketball game. Only four losses last season paired with a dominant post season game brought a championship home to the Flour City. Not bad, not bad at all.

Really? What do you mean you haven’t TiVo’d the ABA games? It’s just like regular basketball but without the weird new ball.

Okay, so most people probably don’t pay any attention to these leagues. American soccer, indoor football, and minor league basketball don’t really register on the sports-o-meter of the American public but for a sports junky, these are further layer of sports to learn and bring up in conversation.

Is it sad that I can tell you that before playing in Milwaukee, the Brewers were once the Seattle Pilots? Is it pathetic that I know that the Kings made a cross country trip, going from Rochester and Cincinnati (as the Royals) and then becoming the Kings in Kansas City before finally reaching Sacramento? How about the fact that I know that the Tampa Bay Storm (AFL here, people, AFL) were once the Pittsburgh Gladiators?

I know that I’m not the only like this out there. There has to be numerous people lurking in the shadows who know that the Rochester Jeffersons got kicked around in the early days of the NFL and that the New York Yankees started the twentieth century off as the Baltimore Orioles.

Seriously here, folks, this is the life of someone who has nothing better to do than study the logos of the New York Islanders – 1996 fisherman, anyone? – and knows that MLS once had a central division.

Maybe sports facts were created just for the sole purpose of allowing me to win Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? one day. I’m pretty sure that’s not why we have math. Um . . . the circumference is 8.2, Regis? I don’t think so. Sports, like history, is a field full of random facts and knowledge, all ripe for the picking of those who don’t see the need in memorizing the formula to find how two triangles are congruent. That’s what my calculator is for.

I can tell you the name of every president back to Herbert Hoover and in which year they took office and I can tell you every World Series champion to before I was born. For the life of me though, I couldn’t explain to you how to factor trinomials. Honestly, I don’t even remember what a trinomial is anymore.

It’s kind of like natural selection, a survival of the fittest for the mind. I can remember history since it plays a part in everyday life and I can remember sports since it gives me something to talk about at Thanksgiving and makes my extended family like me.

One day, Millionaire will call. And on that, I will be ready. Former Mets’ manager Bobby Valentine coaches the Chiba Lotte Marines. Final answer, Regis, final answer.

- Originally published in the Cardinal Courier (Volume 6-Issue 5; November 15, 2006)

Athletics keystone of St. John Fisher College

2006-11-01T16:00:00.000-05:00

I was thinking about writing another edition of weird sports that we should add to the Fisher athletics program. Last year, I made the proposal to create cricket, elephant polo, and Russian roulette teams . . . and no one ever got back to me on it.

Oh well.

I thought they would be exciting at least.

This got me to thinking though, what would happen had no one responded to the initial requests of basic sports at Fisher? You know, the first time a really tall kid brought up the idea of creating a basketball team? Or, the first time a kid who could throw a ball really far brought up the idea of creating a football team?

Actually to answer that last question, just see Nazareth. Or RIT. Go Tigers football! It’s grrrr-eat!

Anyways, just try to imagine this campus without any sports teams. What would Fisher be like without the athletic aesthetic?

Well, alumni and family weekends would be kind of strange without the football team to watch. What would the slew of visitors do in lieu of this activity? Hmmm . . . well . . . Fisher doesn’t have much going on on-campus does it? I guess everyone could hang out in the campus center . . . and . . . well . . . yeah, there’s not much there either. I guess alumni and family weekends would be just a little bit pathetic without the football team, huh? I pretty sure my family wouldn’t want to hang out in the campus center and watch COP work through the windows. Boring.

How about that rivalry with Nazareth College? Could we still hold onto that without athletics? Maybe we could start up a math league or something. Does anyone know if mathletes fight each other? I’d hate to be the security officer assigned to the multiplication matches.

“Daddy, what do you do for your job?” little Bobby would ask his father.

“Well son, your father works security at the Math Olympics,” the father would say. “It’s my job to make sure the fans don’t get into fights. You know son, there’s a lot excitement at those math matches – without me there, who knows, fans might get out of control and start throwing abacuses or something.

Little Bobby would look up at his father now. “Daddy? Am I adopted?”

Okay, so the idea of taking athletics out of the Fisher-Nazareth, ahem, equation would leave us with little to fight about. I mean, there really isn’t much to fight about when everyone already knows that Fisher is the superior institution.

So without athletics here at Fisher, we’ve so far checked off any excitement on alumni and family weekends and kicked the Fisher-Naz rivalry to the curb. What else could we examine?

How about the use of the space that the athletics facility now takes up? Imagine if the strip of land between the old Fishbowl up to I-490 was empty. Short of building a landing strip – Fisher International Airport anyone? – what could we use that area for?

Well, what could Fisher use? What are we missing? And you can’t say a pool or ice rink since that defies the purpose of this exercise. Hmmm . . .

I know. This is the answer to the biggest problem on this campus right now – besides the ladybugs that have invades my room, that is – a parking garage. We could use that space to put up a massive, leviathan of parking garage.

Only one problem. Without athletics on campus, without teams and players to rally around, we wouldn’t need to house all those cars. Why? No one would stick around if we didn’t have the athletics that we do.

Yeah, Fisher might not be perfect when it comes to athletics. Some of our facilities might be a little outdated or over-packed. We have teams that lose. We don’t have a pool or a track or an ice rink. But we’re doing pretty well.

Now how about that elephant polo team?

- Originally published in the Cardinal Courier (Volume 6-Issue 4; November 1, 2006)

The A-Rod Disaster

2006-10-18T16:00:00.000-05:00

Sometimes in a relationship, things start to go sour, the magic seems to be gone and it might just be time to move on.

Well, I guess it would be time for Alex Rodriguez to gather up his CDs and leave New York. This relationship has more than run its course and is becoming unhealthy.

In the most recent post-season collapse of the Yankees, A-Rod had one hit. One lousy hit. This from the 2005 AL MVP, the man who many say could be the greatest player of his generation. One hit.

It’s now more obvious than it ever was (and it was pretty obvious after last season’s A-Rod break down) that Rodriguez can’t hack it in the Big Apple. Yeah, he’ll post a pretty batting average and hit home runs but most of them aren’t clutch. Alex Rodriguez and clutch go together as well as Kevin Federline and Mensa.

The concept of being a Yankee is one that Rodriguez still fails to grasp. It’s not about personal stats and awards – only the end result matters in the Bronx. Win or World Series or else it was all for notion. And so far, A-Rod has been all for nothing.

Maybe the deck is stacked against A-Rod. Derek Jeter, the captain, has been there his entire career and is the cornerstone of the Yankees. Or the keystone – whichever one makes more sense. Needless to say, you don’t go against Jeter. And most Yankees know that. Even Steinbrenner knows that. Despite being friends almost a decade ago, things changed between Rodriguez and Jeter and by the time the former Texas Ranger arrived, things were pretty cool between the two. A-Rod even had to surrender his lifelong spot at shortstop to Jeter just to be a Yankee.

Manager Joe Torre, another key to the success of the Yankees over the past ten years, doesn’t seem to be a big fan of A-Rod either. During the series against Detroit, he batted the future Hall of Famer in the lower positions of the line-up. Now that everyone knows that Torre will return for another season at the helm of the Yankees, it appears that Rodriguez lost this battle.

The Yankees have to move him. Unfortunately, the very fact that they are the Yankees will hurt the chances of getting fair trade value from other teams. No one is going to willingly help the Yanks solve their biggest problem. In a perfect world, the Yankees would get young pitching in return for a player still in his prime. Probably not going to happen. It doesn’t matter though. Almost any price will be worth it just to fix the chemistry problem that has brought the New York Yankees post-season success rate down to the level of the Atlanta Braves.

The Yanks won championships in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000, with a collection of players who understood what mattered. The Scott Brosiuses, the Tino Martinezes – they knew what it meant to be a Yankee. I would take them any day over Alex Rodriguez.

A-Rod, your time is New York is over. Your welcome is worn out. Pack your bags, gather up your sunbathing lotion, and box up your collection of whine – it’s time to go.

- Originally published in the Cardinal Courier (Volume 6-Issue 3; October 18, 2006)

The State of Journalism vs. Barry Bonds

2006-10-04T16:00:00.000-05:00

The legal proceedings surrounding Barry Bonds, his alleged use of steroids and the participation by BALCO in our nation’s realm of sports has sent a few men to prison. Unfortunately, not a single one of them is Bonds.

One of the men behind bars is Greg Anderson, Bonds’ trainer who, according to several sources, supplied the slugger with illegal steroids. Anderson went to jail after refusing to testify whether or not Bonds committed perjury in a previous federal grand jury. Anyone with any bit of sense can understand what occurred here. Had Anderson been able to state under oath that Bonds had not committed perjury, Anderson would have had no reason to not testify. The very fact that he refused to further paints Bonds as guilty in the eyes of the public.

The two recent victims of the Bonds storm are Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada. Why are these two men going to prison? Did they work for the BALCO labs that created the steroids? Did they give the drugs to Bonds and his other cohorts? Did they refuse to implicate the cheaters in our legal system?

No.

They wrote a book exposing Bonds, Anderson, BALCO and a laundry list of other American athletes in terms of steroid use. Game of Shadows was released earlier this year and was based partly on the transcripts of the grand jury that investigated BALCO. These transcripts were leaked and the authors have refused to reveal to the courts the source of the leak. A judge has found the two to be in contempt and sentenced them to a maximum of 18 months in prison.

Let’s take a closer look at what’s happened here. The first joke of a hearing gave any baseball player that testified immunity from being charged with steroid use. Mark McGwire refused to talk about his possible steroid past, Sammy Sosa somehow conveniently forgot how to speak English, and Rafael Palmeiro waved his finger at those insinuating that he had ever touched steroids. A year later now, both Sosa and Palmeiro are out of the game with Palmeiro actually failing a steroid test.

None of these men went to jail. But two journalists, after researching and digging for the truth, are. Something is definitely wrong here. Disgustingly wrong.

I lay the blame for what has happened with several parties.

Baseball, instead of turning a blind eye to the steroid use devouring the game from inside and riding the wave of popularity that came with it, should have rooted out the cheaters and expelled them from the game. Not a suspension, not a slap on the wrist. Expulsion. Bud Selig, the commissioner, should have ordered every player tested. There is no infringement of rights here – why should athletes be excluded from the drug testing that goes on in any other job out there?

Sports, the commissioners of the leagues, the fans, the clean athletes being tainted by their cheating brothers – they all should’ve demanded action.

But unfortunately, that never happened. Steroids were allowed to have their way with the players, with the game. They chewed up and spat out careers, warped the record books, and forced the fans to look suspiciously on every accomplishment and every athlete.

Fans shouldn’t have to be the judge and jury on the steroid issue. There are real judges and juries to do that. Sadly though, they aren’t doing their jobs either. And that’s why two journalists who were just doing their jobs are now going to prison while Bonds and other cheaters continue to collect handsome paychecks.

I understand that the current system doesn’t allow for journalists to be afforded the right to withhold information from federal courts. But when the government isn’t doing its job, people Williams and Fainaru-Wada step in. That’s the beauty of a free press – it keeps everyone in check. In countries that have state-controlled newspapers, people will never receive truth or news that may offend those in power. There are those at every level who wish to censor the press since they don’t like what’s being said.

It’s a shame to see two honest, hard working men like Williams and Fainaru-Wada go to prison because of someone’s ego and arrogance.

- Originally published in the Cardinal Courier (Volume 6-Issue 2; October 4, 2006)

A Summer of Sports

2006-09-20T16:00:00.000-05:00

How was everyone’s summer? Short? Yeah, I know the feeling. I clocked in an average of 60 hours a week at work. Between working at a CVS and working at a science warehouse – where I put bagged animals to the shelf – I didn’t have much free time. That doesn’t mean though, that I didn’t have time to take in the wide world of sports. Here’s a little timeline of my summer in sports.

April 29: Watched the NFL Draft. Being a Bills fan, I’ve grown to use to disappointment and failure. It’s a sad thing, but I’ve come to expect it. For a team that changes head coaches and quarterbacks more often than Hillary Clinton changes sides on an issue (save this one – you’ll all appreciate it come the 2008 presidential election), you really can’t expect much consistent success. But I’m used to that. So when the Bills came up with the eighth pick in the draft this year and Matt Leinart was still available, I should’ve just known that the Bills leadership would screw up. I mean, why would Buffalo want a two-time national champion, Heisman winning, box office draw? Naw . . . we don’t need those in Buffalo. Instead, the Bills took a safety who no one thought would even go in the top ten. Amazing. Just amazing.

May 28: Barry Bonds hits career home run 714. Baseball fans weep on this day. When talking about Bonds, I’m legally required to use the word “allegedly.” Bonds “allegedly” used steroids. Bonds “allegedly” cheated at the game of baseball. Bonds “allegedly” scarred the record books. Retire, Bonds. Do us all a favor and retire.

June 1: The Buffalo Sabres are eliminated from the NHL play-offs. Oh well, NHL, you almost got me to care. Really, you were really, really close. After a year of no hockey, the NHL returned with new rules and a new attitude – or at least that’s what the advertising campaign told me. But kudos to you, NHL, you’ve piqued my interest, whetted my appetite now. I think I might just tune in a little bit more this upcoming season. If not for the hockey, but to see the Sabres’ new jersey. Let’s go charging slugs!

June 3: Attended the opening of PAETEC Park. For those of you not from the Rochester area, PAETEC is our soccer stadium, home of the Rochester Rhinos. For those of you not from the Rochester area, the Rhinos are probably the greatest non-MLS soccer team in America. This stadium went through constant redesigns, relocations, and refinancing. So after years of hard work and determination, PAETEC Park finally opened its doors in June. And it poured. Not just your usual “Oh it’s Rochester, of course it’s raining” rain, but torrential downpour “let’s start building an ark in the Kodak parking lot” kind of rain. Due to my disposition to pneumonia, I left at the half.

July 16: Michelle Wie withdraws from the John Deere Classic due to “heat exhaustion."

September 8: Michelle Wie misses cut at the Omega European Masters.

September 15: Michelle Wie misses cut at the 84 Lumber Classic. Okay, for those of your catching onto a trend here, I’m not a fan of Michelle Wie. She worth millions in endorsement deals and Time magazine said that she’s one of the people who will shape our world, etcetera, etcetera. Well, I’m not buying it. So far, all we’ve seen from her is a girl with poor golf etiquette, someone who felt she didn’t have to pay her dues before going trying to go to the top of the sport, and someone who at this point, has made the cut at zero PGA events. For those keeping score at home, Michelle Wie and myself have made the cut at the same number of PGA events. And I don’t even have an endorsement deal.

Welcome back, everyone. Enjoy another season of Courier sports.

- Originally published in the Cardinal Courier (Volume 6-Issue 1; September 20, 2006)

Reggie, Matt, the Ducks, and nothing

2006-05-02T18:34:00.000-05:00

First up - the NFL Draft. You gotta love the fact that ESPN devotes an entire weekend of coverage to a league's annual selection of players. No one cares about baseball's draft. It's a non-event. Can anyone tell me who the first pick of the 2001 MLB amateur draft was? Yeah, I can, but that doesn't count for this exercise. Now who can name the top pick in 2001 for the NFL? Michael Vick. Anyways, basically anything the NFL does now is a show. You could have the Barber twins in a mudwrestling event while Eli Manning sounds out Goodnight Moon and it would draw ratings. And I, like a lot of you out there, watched it to. Mainly to see who went in the top ten and especially since my Bills had the eighth pick. I'll get to that in a second.

The Texans passed on Reggie Bush. Really, for all their talk about wanting Mario Williams over Reggie, I just assumed like everyone else that Houston management was just talking in hopes of raising the stakes and forcing Bush's and his agent's hand to sign with them. I was pretty surprised to see in Saturday's paper that Williams had agreed to a contract with the Texans. I understand why the Texans passed on Vince Young. David Carr has had problems but he hasn't had much to work with up to this point. Which is where Reggie would've come in handy. A dynamic player would've changed that young franchise.

So because of the Texans' blow chance at an amazing talent, the Saints got lucky, something the city of New Orleans hasn't had much of lately. I've heard talk that Bush isn't going to sign with the Saints and he's going to hold out for money and blah, blah, blah. Whatever. That would be a PR nightmare. A disaster. I really hope that Reggie Bush doesn't want to be the one to turn against that city. I thought Eli Manning was a punk for determining where he went as a rook but anyone who snubs NO would be deemed a monster. So whoever it is out there helping Bush make decisions, make the right one here.

Now onto what killed me the most about this draft. Once again, the Buffalo Bills excelled in ineptitude. Eighth overall pick. You have to screw up pretty bad the year before in order to get that pick. And you have to screw up pretty bad to waste that pick. Welcome to life in Bills Nation.

Matt Leinart.

We could've had Matt Leinart. You know - Heisman winner Matt Leinart. National champion Matt Leinart. Box office draw Matt Leinart. I knew we wouldn't draft him. I didn't even think he'd be around when the eighth pick came up. But he was so I started hoping that maybe, just maybe Levy and gang would take Leinart. Yes, I know that we have JP Losman to play quarterback. But passing on Leinhart since you have Losman is like passing on Stacy Keibler since you have Teri Hatcher. Teri Hatcher was nice that one time she was on Seinfeld but she's really nothing to look at anymore. And don't correct me on that. I'm a dude. I think that I'll make that decision.

Could you Bills fans out there imagine Leinart playing in Orchard Park? I personally would bestow forgiveness upon all Bills coaches and executives for the past decade of blunders if we had Leinhart. I will put money on Leinhart being the next Roethlisberger. Like the rest of the Bills fans out there, I continue to take abuse year after year. Damn you, Bills - why can't I quit you?

Let's see - up next the two-headed play-off monster that is the NBA and NHL. Honestly, I don't really care all that much about either one. I will admit though, that I've slowly started caring about hockey. This could be due to the fact that the Sabres are in the thick of things right now and most of those kids played in Rochester for the Amerks last year. Maybe.

But I've also decided that I don't really have a favorite team in either league. Yeah, I'll root for the Sabes. I rooted for the Mighty Ducks when they played a couple years ago and I still feel a like for them to this day. Maybe it's because I use to watch the movies back in the day. I had a birthday party where we went to see D3 and I got a Ducks hat for my First Communion. When it comes to the NBA, I'll root for a couple teams. The Nuggets for Carmelo (go 'Cuse!), the Cavs for LeBron (go bandwagon!), or sometimes the Kings since they are the holders of Rochester's only championship from one of the big leagues - Rochester Royals, 1951 NBA champions.

I'll talk more about this stuff in later posts. These postseasons go on forever so I'll have about three months of material.

And finally, Michelle Wie. For those of you new to listening to me talk about sports, let me fill you in on a secret: I hate her. Yes, yes - journalistic objectivity, yadda yadda. I'll make an exception for her. I hate Michelle Wie. She'll be attempting to get into the men's US Open again this year and will probably fail at it again.

Who does this kid think she is? At this point, she's won nothing. She is nothing. Michelle Wie needs to go out and win some LPGA tournaments before she tries to play with the guys. Actually, she just needs to stop trying to play with the guys. The LPGA has rules against men playing in their tournaments but the PGA doesn't outlaw women. It should though. I could make some kind of metaphor about Wie being to the PGA as illegal immigrants are to American workers but I'll pass for now.

Basically, Michelle Wie and myself have the same track record when it comes to making PGA cuts: zero. And I suck at teeing off.

Don't forget to root against Barry Bonds. He's only two away from the Babe right now. So please put his failure in your bedtime prayers.

By the way, the first pick in 2001 for MLB was Joe Mauer to the Minnesota Twins. They passed on Mark Prior, who went second to the Cubs.

Itha-can't

2006-04-19T16:00:00.000-05:00

As this is the last edition of the Courier for this school year, I’d like to play against the theme of the issue and instead look forward to next year. Yes, we’ll strive to do things like play our hardest and be show good sportsmanship but I want to set out one overall goal for the 2006-2007 sports calendar:

Beat Ithaca.

Now, now, I realize that we’ve all been born and bred here at Fisher on the notion that the boys and girls of Naz are our rivals but I propose that we change our focus. Let’s bring down the biggest threat in the area, not the closest one – if we actually count Naz as a threat, that is.

Since 2001, 89 championships have been held for 22 different sports under the Empire 8 banner. Ithaca College has captured 45 of them outright and shared the title for another five. That gives Ithaca a whopping 56.2 percent claim to all Empire 8 titles. To put that into perspective, the New York Yankees have only won 26 out of 101 World Series – a measly 25.7 percent. The Cards of Fisher have won eight championships and shared one (football in 2004 with Ithaca), giving us claim to 10.1 percent of Empire 8 titles.

The question is how do we better compete with a powerhouse like Ithaca? How do we make the Bombers bomb?

Some of it will be taken care of over time, as our athletic programs have become stronger over the past few years. Success breeds more success. The more people see Fisher in the news for winning, the more interest they will have in coming here.

We should also consider expanding the number of sports that we compete in. We’re all familiar with the Empire 8’s football and basketball but field hockey, swimming, and track are also out there. The more we offer, the more diverse student population we’ll draw, the more success we’ll have on the field … or in the pool.

I don’t know – maybe we should start raiding Ithacan teams and steal their players. Promise them parking spots on campus or something.

We have a great and growing athletic program here at Fisher. It’s time though, that we become the Yankees of the Empire 8. Yeah, we have a couple championships, but so far, we’ve played the role of the Red Sox to the Bronx/Ithaca Bombers. And for those of you naïve enough not to understand – we don’t want to be the Red Sox.

- Originally published in the Cardinal Courier (Volume 5-Issue 12; April 19, 2006)

This juice is squeezed

2006-04-05T16:00:00.000-05:00

As many baseball fans know, for the longest time, Babe Ruth was the home run king. With a grand total of 714 of the suckers in his career, the Babe was the epitome of power hitting.

And then Hank Aaron came along. Finishing his career with 755 homers, Aaron surpassed Ruth in the record books. And he earned every single home run he's credited with. A deserving champion.

Unfortunately, a sad event is looming for Major League Baseball. Barry Bonds, the slugger most often associated with steroids, is only a few home runs away from breaking Ruth's record. Don't get me wrong - I have no problem with Ruth's record falling. At this point, it's not even anything to celebrate as Aaron already broke it.

What my problem is though, is that Bonds has cheated his way to this place. Yes, I know that he's never tested positive but in every baseball fan's heart, the knowledge is there. Just like McGwire, just like Sosa, just like Palmeiro – all cheaters.

A book titled Game of Shadows was recently published. This book chronicles the highly sophisticated – and highly illegal – steroid regiment that Bonds was on beginning with the 1998 season when he supposed chose to start juicing as a result of jealousy over the attention McGwire and Sosa were receiving. On top of that, MLB just launched an investigation into the dark steroid past of the sport. A little late? Yeah. Necessary. Yeah.

It’s easier to deal with the random players that test positive for steroids now in the game. The guys like Alex Sanchez don’t really mean anything. They don’t sell tickets, the entire record book isn’t written around them. But the Palmeiroes and the Bondses, these guys are in the upper echelon of the sport. Bonds is aiming for the most sacred mark in all of sports and he’s ahem, allegedly, cheated his way there. Even if an investigation shows that Bonds took every possible illegal substance every chance he got, you’ll hear the argument that baseball didn’t have rules against it prior to 2002. The question though is, did baseball really need anti-steroid rules when they were illegal in the real world? I’m sure baseball doesn’t have a rule about killing another player but those of us in the real world play by that rule – shouldn’t that translate onto the field?

There's no easy way to deal with the past decade plus of inflated records. Maybe it should just be the Asterisk Era with every record up for examination. The single season home run record should be returned to Roger Maris, who won it back in '61. He had to live with an asterisk for years as people felt that the difference in games played compared to Ruth (154 to 162) gave him an edge.

But Maris never cheated.

Maybe the best thing that we can all do when the day comes when Bonds passes Ruth - and even possibly passes Aaron - is to just ignore it. Pretend that it never even happened. Never mention his name to our children. Stop writing about him. As much as Bonds has shunned the fans during his career, what if we shunned him? Could he just fade away as if just a bad dream?

Here’s hoping Bonds fades away.

- Originally published in the Cardinal Courier (Volume 5-Issue 11; April 5, 2006)

Ten-nial Celebration

2006-03-05T16:00:00.000-05:00

What you are reading right now is the tenth edition of Extra Innings. In honor of this milestone, I’d like to look back and reflect on some points that I’ve previously addressed. I thought it would be cool to have ten points – but I don’t have that much space. So here’s five. In an order that makes sense to me.

5) I’m sorry about the Seneca Park Zoo’s loss of the baby elephant. Earlier on in the year I made the comment that they’d be “birthing some more elephants” and that we could borrow them for elephant polo. I felt kind of bad looking back at that. So, I’m sorry, elephant lovers of the world. I’m a Republican, so it touched me too.

4) I proposed that our football team should challenge USC. In the end, our season didn’t turn out exactly how we wanted it to but hey, neither did USC’s. On top of that, they basically lost the entire team to the draft. At least we still have a lot of our guys for next season. Ha. We’re still going to get you, Mount Union. You just wait.

3) Hockey got a raw deal. This is probably one of the hardest working club sports at Fisher and deserves to either be made an official sport or get better funding. I know that it’s a club’s responsibility to get funding but it’s an expensive sport and it really isn’t logical to expect them to foot the bill by themselves.

2) I still stand by what I said about the mascot. Update or overhaul. It’s a cardinal, not the Phanatic.

1) I recently commended the school for naming the basketball court in honor of Bobby Wanzer, the founding coach of the game here at Fisher. I praised the administration for refusing to succumb to monetary desires and for recognizing an integral part of our history.

I take it back.

I found out that for the court to be named after Wanzer, a group had to raise $100,000 in his name.

Ten grand.

Is that what it takes to honor someone here at Fisher? Money? Where’s the honor in that? What’s next? Rich Uncle Pennybags Presents Bon Appetit? Richie Rich Hall? Montgomery Burns Park-N-Ride?

I’m sorry, Bobby Wanzer, but despite all the pomp and circumstance you saw at the ceremony unveiling the court, the school insulted you. And we all owe you an apology for letting that happen.

And with that, here’s to another ten.

- Originally published in the Cardinal Courier (Volume 5-Issue 10; March 5, 2006)

The Bigger They Are . . .

2006-03-02T12:43:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to quickly weight in on the current state of affairs of the NFL. Labor disputes between the owners and the players. Revenue sharing problems between the owners and the owners. Years of a cap system about to get shredded and thrown aside.

Beautiful.

Now, I love football as much as the next guy. Don't think I don't. It's just that I've grown tired of hearing how the NFL is the greatest sports league in the world - the archetype of what a professional league should be.

And I'm tired of hearing that.

Especially as a baseball fan. After the strike of '94, baseball lost its hold on being the national pasttime and allowed football to slide in. But now, now everyone will be able to see that not even football can hold it together.

The NHL lost a complete season and dropped out of the Big Four national sports, leaving a triumvirate of MLB, NFL, and NBA. That's not going to happen to the NFL. But a labor dispute will hurt the NFL. Teams are cutting players that normally they wouldn't have to only since they have no idea what's going to happen. And as a sports franchise, that's not a good place to be in. Just take a look at the Washington Nationals. They don't even know if they're allowed to call themselves that.

All in all though, I'd be glad to see the NFL brought back down to Earth. Now it's time for leagues like MLB to play up the fact that it's been over ten years since the last stoppage or labor dispute. This is the opportunity for baseball to move back up the pasttime ladder.

[Extra Innings Exclusive Content]

Fisherlympics

2006-02-22T16:00:00.000-05:00

For those of you keeping track, 2006 is once again a year for the Olympics. More specifically, the Winter Olympics. The 2006 Turin Winter Olympic Games.

While the Summer Olympics go hand in hand with presidential elections and have the more traditional events like swimming, running, and trampoline, the Winter Olympics are somewhat limited – basically to events that involve snow or ice. Which is why they’ve had to find a dozen different ways to compete with a snowboard. Boy, am I looking forward to Snowboard Hopscotch. Go Team USA!

Anyways, it seems that people really don’t care about the Games this time around. Maybe it’s because fan faves likes Michelle Kwan are gone. Or maybe it’s because no one cares about Russian dudes dressed in sequins. Or maybe it’s because Turin is just too far away. Or maybe it’s because there’s also another session of Olympics going on in some city called Torino. Man, that’s some poor scheduling.

Maybe we need to create some Olympic excitement here at Fisher.

Welcome to Fisher Winter Olympics I.

Athletes will compete in many thrilling events staged around the lovely grounds of Fisher’s Pittsford campus. Some of the featured events include:

•The Murph Marathon: Participants must trudge through several feet of snow, braving blustery winds all in hopes of getting to class in time. Will the paths be plowed? Will traffic allow them to cross over to Fisher? Will these daring athletes make it to Basil despite the cruel luck of being placed in the Murph?

•Campus Center Speed Skating: Fisher Olympians will race through the new Campus Center, trying not to slip on the stylish yet dangerous tiling. Yes, those multi-colored squares may look cool but don’t let your guard down or else you will find yourself in last place.

•Cold Shower Plunge: Competitors will test the very limits of their endurance in the Keough Hall showers. Who needs warm water when you have guts? Only those with heart should enter this battle. Heart and immunity to hypothermia.

•Hockey: Oh . . . that’s right – we cancelled that. Never mind.

Those rooms above the Cyber Café will be used to hold the medal ceremonies – no one’s ever in there anyways. The medals themselves will actually be made from spray painted AOL CDs since I don’t think the school’ll spring for real gold, silver, and bronze – well, maybe bronze. I pretty sure bronze runs cheap.

All we need now is TV coverage. Somebody call Bob Costas. I can’t wait.

- Originally published in the Cardinal Courier (Volume 5-Issue 9; February 22, 2006)

Insider Scam

2006-02-22T14:58:00.000-05:00

Okay - ESPN has once again managed to tick me off.

How you may ask?

Let me introduce you to the ESPN.com Insider.

ESPN.com has this club that gives members access to more articles and more features. The catch though, is that you have to pay to join this club. Not just register, not just give your e-mail address but pay.

$39.95.

Why should I have to pay 40 bucks in order to read articles that are going to be free in a couple of days? That's absolutely ridiculous.

SI.com has a similar feature to this in it's EXTRA program. The nice thing about SI's though, is that it's free if you're a subscriber to the magazine. It's also technically free if you borrow a magazine from a friend and enter their subscription number. But SI.com's EXTRA info doesn't take up basically half of their site. Most of SI's stuff is available for free - like it should be.

ESPN.com, on the other hand, has almost every interesting feature or rumor locked down under the INSIDER program. In the past, there would be a little "in" next to articles that INSIDERs only could access but they've stopped making that a consistent feature. It seems that now almost anything on the front page of ESPN.com is unavailable to the viewing public.

Personally, I have never heard of anyone who has forked over the 40 to gain INSIDER access. I have though, heard many complaints about this program.

So c'mon, ESPN - stop alienating your faithful following and let us in. We'd really like to read what you have out there.

[Extra Innings Exclusive Content]

Playmade

2006-02-19T14:12:00.000-05:00

Over the past weekend, I borrowed the Playmakers season DVD set from a buddy and proceeded to spend my time watching all eleven episodes of the series.

For those of you who don't know, Playmakers was a show that ran on ESPN for one season. The series followed the lives of the players on a fictional team called the Cougars. The show received really good reviews and I personally loved it.

Unfortunately, the NFL was none too happy with the way its league and players were being portrayed in the TV show and basically threatened to not allow ESPN use its game coverage and such on SportsCenter and other great ESPN programming.

So that meant no more Playmakers.

Which is really too bad. The series ended on kind of a down note with the Cougars winning out and possibly securing a play-off berth only to have the Phoenix franchise (a team that had to lose for the Cougars to make the play-offs) pull out a Michael Vick-esque win.

And that was it.

Nothing beyond that.

The show was done. Eleven episodes and a semi-cliff hanger ending.

Thanks, guys, thank a lot.

I realize that I'm about two, three years late to jump on this bandwagon but ESPN really dropped the ball by cancelling Playmakers. Way to cave into the all mighty National Football League.

What would've happened had ESPN stood its ground on the show? Would the NFL really've stripped the network of rights to use the NFL? And would the viewing public really've tolerated such a thing actually happening?

I highly doubt it. The way I see it, ESPN could've kept going with Playmakers and called the NFL's bluff on this one. Imagine the biggest sports network not having rights to the biggest sports league?

Wouldn't've happened. For the NFL, that would've been a huge PR disaster. Huge.

For all sports fans and all fans of good TV, the loss of Playmakers was tragic. I rank this along with the loss of another great show - Sports Night.

I miss you, Sports Night.

[Extra Innings Exclusive Content]

An Indecent Proposal?

2006-02-19T01:30:00.000-05:00

It’s that time of year again in the sporting world. The best of the best come together in a brilliant spectacle, one that fathers will someday tell their sons about. Legends will be born. Careers will be forged. History will be made.

No, I’m not talking about the Olympics.

I’m talking about the pinnacle of publishing – the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

What’s that you say? Not sports? Sexist? Inappropriate? Yes, no, and have you ever been to the beach?

For those of you who have somehow missed the phenomenon known as the Swimsuit Issue, here’s how it works. Every year, Sports Illustrated puts together a modest collection of a few females modeling current swimwear. And it sells like crazy. Like crazy.

From what I’ve heard, Sports Illustrated makes more money from this single issue than some magazines make in an entire year. While the Super Bowl is the … um, Super Bowl of TV advertising, the Swimsuit Issue is the Super Bowl of print advertising.

There’s a lot of money to be made in a Swimsuit Issue. Which is why I’m proposing the creation of the Cardinal Courier Swimsuit Issue.

I’m not saying that we should fill it with Fisher co-eds in swimsuits (but I’m not saying that we shouldn’t) as the Courier Swimsuit Issue will feature actual models but in the Fisher setting. Instead of tropical locales like the Bahamas or islands owned by rich guys you see on MTV Cribs, imagine layouts done in great places like the Cyber Café or Bon Appetit. We can throw some sand around the Cyber Café since there’s never really anyone in there anyways. The one and only Jim Leibow can help us with the Bon App pages, crafting ice sculptures and decorations made from pineapples and other fruits that come from warm places.

I’m sure that with our own Swimsuit Issue, we could make the Courier circulation skyrocket. Kids from other schools would want copies; we’d win even more awards. And everyone would want to be a photographer for the Courier.

All of this popularity would be because of the stunning literary qualities of this issue, of course. Like the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, ours would feature great articles and … other great … stuff … and everyone would read it … for the … articles … yeah …

Now, you may be saying to yourself, how can a college in the Catholic tradition possibly allow such a depraved thing like a swimsuit issue to exist on campus? Well, a drag show somehow slipped in so I think this can fly too.

[Extra Innings Exclusive Content]

An Olympic-Sized Flop

2006-02-18T13:01:00.000-05:00

So what are we now? A week into the 2006 Winter Olympics? Something like that. And what do we have to show for it?

As of 1 PM today, we have 10 medals, six of them golds. Germany and Norway have 15 medals (Germany six gold, Norway two gold). Russia and Canada are also above us on the medal rankings.

Pathetic.

What happened to the United States being an Olympic power? What happened to American domination?

So far, Turin has been close to disaster. Bode Miller has gone 0-for-3, making careless errors. Lindsey Jacobellis lost a gold that was hers when she decided to show off a little. The guys hockey team can't beat third-world nations. The girls hockey team suddenly isn't invincible. A Russian figure skater who is known for his sharp dressing skills took that gold . . . wait - actually, I don't want that gold. The Russians can keep it. You're welcome, comrad.

There is a light coming up in the next few days.

I have a good feeling about women's figure skating. Sasha Cohen is on the up and up and should take home the gold there. I really don't care about Michelle Kwan - never won a gold medal in her prime and she's now past her prime.

For the most part - and with the exception of Jacobellis - we dominate at anything that involves a snowboard. I'm pretty sure we actually invented snowboard. We need a strong showing in these events in order to salvage these Olympics.

The United States doesn't lose to Norway.

[Exclusive Extra Innings Content]

The New Blog

2006-02-18T01:22:00.000-05:00

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Bill Kuchman and I write a column for St. John Fisher College's Cardinal Courier. A sports column, that is.

The reason that I've created this blog is to not only post my columns themselves but to also extend my commentary to national sports, something that I'm not really able to do at the Courier.

The columns themselves will be posted exactly as they are published in the Courier. I'll probably put them up a few days after they hit the stands as to not steal the Courier's thunder.

The extra stuff - Extra Extra Innings, you might say, will show up whenever I feel like posting it. Probably when something stirs me to write.

Yeah. That's about it for now.

Slim Gyms

2006-02-08T04:00:00.000-05:00

Our gym is small. Way too small. How many of you saw the recent Naz game? Good for you if you did. I wasn’t able to get in. I forgot that because of our gymnasium’s capacity, you basically have to start camping out the night before a big game if you want a chance to get in. And we shouldn’t have to do that. This isn’t American Idol.

Now, I’ve researched 25 colleges and crunched some numbers to figure out how our problem compares to other colleges, both local and from around the country. If you don’t want to read a bunch of numbers, then this might be the time for you to read something else. Check out the Papa John’s ad (Papa John’s, please note this mention – send free pizza).

To illustrate the fact that our gym is too small, I’ve created the Student to Seating Ratio Index. The SSRI represents the number of seats a school has at their basketball venue compared to the student enrollment at that school. Basically, it’s students vs. the number of seats available. Here’s what I’ve got. The home of our basketball team, Manning & Napier Varsity Gymnasium, has a capacity of 1,200. The college itself has an enrollment of 2,075 which gives Fisher a SSRI of .58. For every one student here at Fisher, there’s .58 of a seat waiting for them at the gym. Find a buddy, since you’re sharing a seat.

Now let’s take our rival, Nazareth College. Enrollment of 1,800 and a gym capacity of 1,200 equals a SSRI rating of .67. Better than Fisher. Hear that, administration, Naz is better than Fisher at something.

On a bigger scale, look at Duke University. For a school of 6,500, they can pack 9,314 Cameron Crazies into a basketball game. That leads to a SSRI of 1.43. Almost one-and-a-half seats per student. Bring Star Jones to a game and she’ll be comfortable.

And the prize for best SSRI? Out of all the schools surveyed, Syracuse University is our champion. With 18,247 students and a basketball capacity of 33,000 at the Carrier Dome, ‘Cuse brings a 1.81 SSRI to the table. That’s almost two students per seat. Now Star Jones can bring her husband.

So what am I trying to say here? Ah, that’s right. We’ve fallen behind when it comes to taking care of our fans here at Fisher. And that’s a problem. We’re a school that prides itself on our athletic prowess yet those in charge have let this problem continue on. Let’s fix it. Let’s build a gymnasium that has a capacity bigger than my high school alma matter – Rush-Henrietta, SSRI of 1.11 – and welcome all of our students to basketball games, not just the ones who brought their sleeping bags. You have to admit that the current situation is like saying you want to be a fire truck when you grow up - it doesn't make sense.

- Originally published in the Cardinal Courier (Volume 5-Issue 8; February 8, 2006)

This space not for sale

2006-01-25T16:00:00.000-05:00

On Feb. 11, the basketball court at the Varsity Gym will be named “Bobby Wanzer Court” in honor of the pioneer coach of Fisher men’s basketball. Wanzer coached the Cardinals for 24 years and retired with a 311-239 record. When it comes to Fisher sports, Wanzer is a legend. Not only did he coach the Cardinals but he also played all-star basketball for the Rochester Royals – they’re the current Sacramento Kings, for those of you playing along at home – won the MVP in 1953 and is a member of the hall of fame.

So it’s only appropriate that he receives this honor. In a sports world that’s dominated by corporate sponsorship, Fisher continues to acknowledge those who helped build the community instead of turning to faceless companies.

There are too few examples left of this on the national level nowadays. There are too many Pepsi Arenas, PETCO Parks, and FedEx Fields. The San Francisco Giants’ stadium isn’t even six years old but is about to take on its third name. We need more Lambeau Fields, Ralph Wilson Stadiums, and Comiskey Park – oh, wait … that one succumbed to sponsorship too. Hello, U.S. Cellular Field. Classic. Even the local War Memorial is now the Blue Cross Arena. Gee, thanks, Blue Cross for defending freedom.

I understand that sometimes in order to build these new stadiums, teams and organizations need to raise a few bucks. But isn’t there something to be said about history? About keeping the past alive? Are we going to tell our children someday about how great the pool at the BOB in Arizona was? Or about the awesome luxury sweets at the Staples Center? Or about the train at Minute Maid Park? No. Hopefully, we’ll be able to pass on stories about the great stadiums. And God bless baseball’s trinity of untouchables: Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park, and Wrigley Field.

Thank you, Fisher, for honoring those made Fisher what it is today. And thank you, Bobby Wanzer, for making us what we are today.

- Originally published in the Cardinal Courier (Volume 5-Issue 7; January 25, 2006)

Add new sports

2005-12-07T16:00:00.000-05:00

As the semester comes to a close, I’ve got a couple of suggestions for the upcoming year’s athletics. No, no, not the mascot again. I said what I had to say about that. And I regret none of it. None of it.

As many of you have probably realized by now, we have a lot of sports teams here at Fisher. That’s great and all but they’re very traditional sports. Football, basketball – yeah, I’m pretty sure I can catch all of those on TV. So, here are some new sports that the athletic program should consider for the 2006 season.

• Cricket: I’ll admit that I have no idea how cricket is actually played. There’s a ball (of that, I’m almost certain), wickets and bats. I think it’s kind of like baseball. Not completely sure but it’s probably close enough. I bet the baseball team could help us out on this one. Just think of the boost in enrollment when we start recruiting all the top cricket players from area high schools. Since there really aren’t many other cricket teams in the Empire 8, we’d be on the fast track toward an E8 cricket championship. Take that, Naz.

• Elephant Polo: The biggest challenge to starting an elephant polo team would be getting the elephants. I checked the Dick’s Sporting Goods ads for this last weekend and they don’t have any elephant sales going on. Once we clear that hurdle – the Seneca Park Zoo is supposed to be birthing some more elephants, maybe they’d loan them out on the weekends – I think the elephant polo team’ll take right off. It should be quite popular. Everyone likes elephants. With the exception of the evil ringleader from Dumbo. He wasn’t very nice.

• Russian Roulette: This might be the hardest one to get off the ground. Recruiting might be difficult, finding people to play against might be difficult, getting school approval might be difficult, getting legal approval might be difficult. It’ll be a challenge. But isn’t that what athletics are all about? Overcoming a challenge. I’m pretty sure I remember that from those posters they use to have on the walls back in elementary school gym class. There’s one key benefit to having a Russian roulette team: unlike other sports, if we suck at this one, it won’t be around very long.

What’s that you say? These aren’t real sports? Listen, if we can consider cheerleading a sport . . .

- Originally published in the Cardinal Courier (Volume 5-Issue 6; December 7, 2005)

Fantasy Football

2005-11-18T16:00:00.000-05:00

Every Monday morning during football season, I hop onto the Internet to check one thing. Sure, I’m interested in the scores of the games, but the one thing that I need to know is if my fantasy football team won.

For the past few seasons, my team, The Avengers of the Uncle Dan Football League, have wallowed in the basement, plagued my injuries and bad luck. This season is different though. The Avengers stand in second place with a 5-3 record. Thanks to the stats put up by guys like Donovan McNabb and LaMont Jordan, I’m in line for a play-off spot and a chance at the league trophy.

For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, you’ve somehow missed out on the fantasy football craze that infested computers across America. Here’s how it works: a group of guys get together and sign up for a league on the Internet come early Septemberish. A draft is held and the members of the league pick actual NFL players for their teams. Once the draft is done, each team has a field of players from various NFL teams. In fantasy games, real teams don’t matter – only the individual player counts. Yeah, it kind of goes against the whole team philosophy thing, but this isn’t real – it’s a fantasy.

Once the season starts, fantasy teams are matched up against each other each weekend (just like the real game). After the games are done, the team’s whose players put up the best stats wins. Between “games,” managers can pick up or drop players and trade with other teams. It helps to have a good knowledge of the game to prevent getting ripped off in trades . . . and to maybe rip other teams off. I guess since it’s fantasy football, I can have fantasy ethics.

Okay, so fantasy football may sound kind of geeky but all the cool kids are doing it so it has to be cool now. Walk down your hallway on any given Sunday and you’ll hear guys yelling at their TVs – not at their favorite team that’s losing but at that defense on their team that’s more porous than our Southern border. The worst scenario is when your star fantasy player is up against your favorite team. I just pray that McNabb doesn’t have to face the Bills this season since I might just have a heart attack.

- Originally published in the Cardinal Courier (Volume 5-Issue 5; November 18, 2005)

Dear Coach Carroll

2005-11-02T16:00:00.000-05:00

Dear Coach Pete Carroll,

I am writing on behalf of St. John Fisher College to invite your football team, the USC Trojans, to come play our team, the SJFC Cardinals. Yes, I realize that your team plays Division I and we play Division III but it’s all football, right? Yeah.

I’ve looked at the stats and we’re really pretty similar. Your starting quarterback, Matt Leinart, has completed 63.1% of his passes and thrown for 1947 yards and 12 TDs. Our starting quarterback, Nick Suchyna, has completed 71.8% of his passes and thrown for 1597 yards and 18 TDs. Matt may have us when it comes to passing yards but Sooch takes the crown when it comes to completion percentage and TDs.

Top USC running back Reggie Bush has 761 yards rushing and, look at this, our James Reile also has 761 yards rushing. And Reile has three more TDs than Bush, 12 for Reile and 9 for Bush.

When it comes to receiving, Troy falls. Yeah, you’ve got Dwayne Jarrett with his 568 yards and 9 TDs but I’ve got one word for you – Noah Fehrenbach. Well, I’ve got one name for you. This kid has 918 yards and 12 TDs.

Okay, you guys may be ranked number one nationally for what, something like 70 weeks? The last time someone else was in first place, there was a Democrat in the White House. Yeah, we might be 13th in the D3 polls but we all know that the other Division III teams cheat. Yeah, the cat’s out of the bag now, Mount Union. Ha.

I’ve got a couple of stipulations that would go along with you playing us. First off, Matt Leinart has to throw with his non-playing hand. That’s only fair. This guy’s going to be the first overall NFL pick come next draft so I think he can overcome this change in his game. Reggie Bush, you’re going to wear a blindfold. Remember how much fun that was back in kindergarten when you had Mexican Day and had a piñata? You’ll enjoy this too.

Also, I know that Leinart is friends with the Simpsons sisters. Bring Jessica. Please. There are a lot of people here who would really appreciate that. Ashlee? Don’t mess around with us like that, Pete. I know that you’re trying to get rid of her but don’t dump her here. We don’t want her either.

We’ll take care of all the costs, just save your receipts. I’ll submit them to RSA or something. Unlike other guests – cough, Gavin DeGraw, cough – I’m sure you guys won’t rip us off.

Let me know what you think about this proposal, Mr. Carroll. Feel free to give me a call sometime and we’ll work out the details.

Thanks.

Bill Kuchman

-Originally published in the Cardinal Courier (Volume 5-Issue 4; November 2, 2005)

Baseball Reigns

2005-10-19T16:00:00.000-05:00

October has rolled around again and everyone knows that this football season. Or hockey season, I guess. But mainly football season. So why hasn’t that been the subject of conversation lately? One word:

Baseball.

Yes, baseball – the sport that everyone says is dead, that nobody watches, that’s boring, that’s slow, and that’s any other complaint people have come up with. For the past couple years now, come October, baseball rules. Classes are let out early to watch the games, professors check scores during class, strangers stand around the TVs in the Cyber Café discussing the games. For a sport that no one cares about, people seem pretty interested.

These dorms are a hotbed for baseball during the postseason. Last year, there would be a dozen people in my room, glued to the TV, screaming and cringing at every play. Up and down the hallway, the anguished cries of fans could be heard, as their teams went blow for blow.

I will concede though, that this boost in popularity may be due to the apocalyptic series that the Yankees and Red Sox have fought in the past few seasons. If it was the Royals and Devil Rays, I’m guessing most people would be checking out that great Outdoor Life Network programming instead. I guess we’ll find out if that’s the case since this year both the Red Sox and the Yankees have already been eliminated (well, look at it this way, Boston – only another 85 years until the next championship now).

Without the Yanks and the Red Sox, fans of the other teams, of the Cardinals and of the Angels, will have a chance to see postseason glory. This could prove to be a good thing for baseball. Different teams will mean that more fans can be drawn in. I know that there are White Six fans on this campus who love the fact that they get to play this October. The new, young stars of the small market teams’ll finally get some exposure.

Maybe a postseason battle without the Yanks will be a good thing for the game. The Yankees have won their fair share of World Series and it’s someone else’s turn. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go make a sacrifice to the Baseball Gods to assure them that I don’t actually mean that.

- Originally published in the Cardinal Courier (Volume 5-Issue 3; October 19, 2005)

Masked Mayhem

2005-10-05T16:00:00.000-05:00

Did anyone see our mascot at the last football game? Yeah, me neither. There was some guy in a red chicken suit pacing back and forth on the concourse – what’s that? That was our mascot? Oh. I see.

So our school has a highly competitive football team and a packed beyond capacity stadium. But the representation of our school, our spirit is a scrawny, red bird. Possibly made of felt. Or rejected Muppet. I’m not really sure. He’s never come into the stands. I’ve never seen him lead a cheer or do a cool dance or mock the other team. In fact, I’m not even sure if he’s a him.

Does or mascot have a name? Is it something clever, like Carla the Cardinal? Brock the Bird? Fernando Fowl? (See, alliteration is clever.) Maybe the mascot should wear a name tag or something. Not like we’d be able to see it as he hides under the stands.

In case you haven’t realized it yet, a mascot can pretty much get away with anything it wants. Ever see these guys at other sporting events? Mascots dance on dugouts, hassle refs, steal kids’ hats, and high five just about anyone within arm (or wing) length. Just out of curiosity, has anyone ever gotten a high five from the Fisher mascot? Yeah . . . that’s what I thought.

We need a new mascot. A bold mascot. One that better represents our campus. Here’s what I propose. The mascot will still be a cardinal but will actually look like a cardinal. He might wear sunglasses, since guys who wear sunglasses all the time are cool. For example, whenever Snoopy put on sunglasses, he became Joe Cool. And we all want a cool mascot, right? Now our mascot’ll need a slick name. I’m going with Crusher. Crusher the Cardinal. Since we crush our opponents. That’s tough.

A couple of people have told me that the Fisher mascot is actually a work study job and that he only shows up when there’s a student to do it. Somebody gets paid to be the mascot? The school pays someone to have the right to anonymously have free reign of the crowd and most of the stadium? I’d do that for free. In fact, I’m offering my services right here, right now. I’ll be the mascot at a football game for free. With full immunity, that is.

- Originally published in the Cardinal Courier (Volume 5-Issue 2; October 5, 2005)

'Til Fandom Come

2005-09-21T16:00:00.000-05:00

Fans. Without them, athletes are just playing in front of empty seats. And unless you play for one of “The Big Two” here at Fisher (basketball and football), you may have noticed that there aren’t many fans at your games. Or any fans at all.

If you play football or basketball, consider yourself lucky that you have huge crowds and “Cardinal Crazies.” If you play for any other sport, well, it appears that your fan base may be made up of the “Cardinal Cadavers” – explaining why none of them showed up to watch you play.

Why don’t we support all of our Fisher sports? Where’s the TLC for baseball, golf, men’s basketball, men’s lacrosse, men’s soccer, men’s tennis, softball, volleyball, women’s basketball, women’s lacrosse, and women’s tennis. Don’t forget that there are numerous club sports that weren’t even mentioned. These teams work just as hard as “The Big Two” but just aren’t getting the same results fan-wise. Don’t the other teams deserve the same love that we bask “The Big Two” in?

In the case of groups like the men’s soccer team, it seems like they’re doing everything they should be. They play at Growney Stadium, home of the football team, so everyone should know where to find them – we did pack a record 5,983 fans into the stadium for the homecoming game last weekend. This is the team that went to the Empire 8’s last season. The blame for the lackluster attendance is on the shoulders of the student body for this one. Teams like the soccer team deserve our support.

Why aren’t we flocking to soccer games? Or baseball games? Ask yourself these questions. I’m pretty sure that MTV’s going to repeat that episode of Laguna Beach so you really don’t have an excuse. You may not be a big sports fan. Odds are though, you have a friend on at least one of these teams. Go to the game just to support that friend. And once you’re there, maybe the sport will grow on you.

It would be nice if every sport enjoyed the crowds that The Big Two receive. Teams that are doing everything they can like the soccer team are getting cheated. We should all be at their games. They’ve earned it.

Like most of you, I’ll be at the next football game. I’ll be at the basketball games once they start up. But, unlike a lot of you, I’ll be at the next soccer game.

- Originally published in the Cardinal Courier (Volume 5-Issue 1; September 21, 2005)