Monday, October 29, 2007

Notent Notables

Red Sox Win: I've not yet become bitter about the Red Sox success. Their success is still a more than acceptable alternative to Yankee domination. I'll even go on record as saying that, until the Red Sox even the all-time World Series count with the Yankees, I wouldn't mind Boston becoming the dominant team in baseball. Say what you will about Red Sox fans, they don't take winning for granted like Yankees fans do, and won't take winning for granted as long as their pre-2004 history is fresh in the minds of most members of Red Sox nation. Plus, as a Mets hand, I still have the '86 upper hand over the Red Sox while the Yankees remain despicable.

Rockies Lose: Disappointing, but the layoff clearly killed them. Two weeks ago this series would have at least gone back to Boston.

NFL in London: I taped Sunday NFL Countdown as well as the Giants-Miami game itself because it was being played in Wembley, just a few miles from where I lived last year. American Football does have a strong cult following with Brits. Sky carries games to satellite subscribers and Madden is a popular video game. I loved that a regular season game was played there. I think if they do start playing 1 or 2 games internationally every year, London should be a regular spot in the rotation. I don't buy the argument that the travel caused the sloppy game. They traveled either on a charter flight or first class. And these guys are professional athletes. They can handle the intangibles that come with playing a game in Europe. I do think that the thin soccer turf played a role in the sloppiness. If they ever have a Super Bowl in London, they'll have to prepare the grass a long way in advance. And the other reason that the game was crappy is that one of the teams is terrible.

Musky Fishing: Sunday I spent 8 hours on a boat trolling along the St. Lawrence hunting for Musky. Musky fishing is like the lottery: it's all luck and the odds are against you. We dragged four different lures and didn't see a single fish. You don't even get bites because you're never holding the pole; they're mounted on special devices. And yet, the old saying is so true: "a bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work." The day was cold but sunny. And the company - my dad, my cousin Brian, and my uncle Tony - was excellent.

Century Ride: Last Sunday I biked 113 miles from my house in Manlius to our cottage in the Thousand Islands. This is the route I took. One of the reasons I wanted to do it was to get a feel for how hard it is to bike that far and that long. I trained a little in preparation biking in the hills around my house that were steeper than any I'd find on the actual route. I left before sunrise at 6:50am and arrived at 3:45pm for an average speed of a little less than 13mph. I stopped a lot - almost every 30 minutes - mainly because my back bothered me. My bike is too small for me; I think on a perfectly fitted bike I'd have stopped much less. Halfway through I realized I could connect my backpack to the back of my bicycle and that really helped with the back. After that, my knees bothered me the most. I must be in good shape, because my leg muscles held up fine and I didn't have any muscle soreness afterwards. My knees, back, hands and toes felt creaky for a day then I was fine.

A century ride is, I think, considerably easier than running a marathon. A marathon is a nonstop battle against pain. Running involves the entire body. Biking is all legs. Actually, it's only half legs. The other half is gravity and momentum. You can rest on downhills. All you have to do is grind up the hills and keep yourself going on the flats. If you've only used a mountain bike your entire life, like I had until a couple years ago, you'll be amazed at how much faster a road bike rides. A century ride is much more similar to a climbing a mountain. Some parts are easier than other parts, and overall you just have to chop away as much as you can before you take a little break. Anyway, consider this an open invitation to anyone who wants to try a ride with me next year. It's a great, satisfying test of athleticism and endurance.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Reilly to ESPN

Rick Reilly is leaving Sports Illustrated after 22 years to join ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com. I'm a bit of a Reilly-hater, but even I have to recognize what a coup that is for ESPN. I also love this quote from The Magazine's editor-in-chief: "With Rick joining Bill Simmons, our readers will now enjoy the two best sports columnists anywhere."

Chris used to worship the ground Reilly walked on. Thoughts?

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Pats v. Cowboys

Are you ready for some disappointment? This game is going to be a blowout. The Patriots are as good as we think they are, and the Cowboys are not.

Here's another prediction: Dallas will NOT have the best record in the NFC come playoff time. They might win their division, but they won't be playing in the NFC championship game. As we will see this afternoon, their defense is seriously flawed in defending downfield passing. And more importantly, Tony Romo might just suck.

OK, so Romo got off to a great start this year before last week's debacle. But recall the opponents. In week 1, he had 4TD/1 INT against a Giants team that, it seems to me, was not quite ready to roll. Week 2: 2/0 at awful Miami. Week 3: 2/1 against the falling apart Bears. Week 4: 3/1 versus awful Rams.

But last year he was great, right? Well... Here are his regular season numbers in five games against teams that made the playoffs (NYGx2, IND, NO, PHI): 4TD, 10 INT. Then of course there was the disastrous loss to Seattle.

So I'm asking the jury in the case of "Tony Romo v. Super-Stardom" to return to deliberation for the rest of this season at least. Today, for instance, we are going to see how a brilliant defensive coaching staff can destroy him.

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Saturday, October 13, 2007

Why the 2007 Colorado Rockies will win the World Series

The 2007 Colorado Rockies will win the World Series because they are baseball's version of the 2003 Syracuse basketball team that won the National Championship.

I've been formulating this theory for a while. The most striking similarity is that both teams got hot at just the right time. It's been three decades since an NL team won its first 6 post season games. Back in 2003, after January, Syracuse didn't lose to a single basketball team besides Connecticut.

Other things feel the same. Both teams came from off the national radar. Colorado was dead and buried halfway through September. Syracuse was mentioned by a few experts before the tournament as a dark horse, but was certainly not a favorite. Both teams relied on a lot of young players, with some key veterans in the mix. I think I can even find parallels in specific individuals of both teams:

Matt Holliday is Carmelo Anthony - This one is obvious. 2003 was a coming out year for Melo. 2007 is a coming out year for Holliday.

Troy Tulowitzki is Gerry McNamara - Rookie. Less heralded than Holliday/Anthony. By the end of the regular season, he was the surprising team leader. (TBD: Troy's clutchness)

Todd Helton is Kueth Duany - After weathering some rough years, the vet finally sees some well-deserved success of which he plays no small role.

Kazuo Matsui is Billy Edelin - A brief stint in the lower levels (minors/AAU ball) catapaults him back into the limelight for a short, sweet and extremely effective time.

Jeff Francis is Craig Forth - Under-appreciated, both by the fans of his own team and outside observers, he nonetheless is critical to his team. If he performs crappy, there is no title.

Ubaldo Jimenez is Hakim Warrick - He isn't the star of the team, but watching him at the time gives you the distinct feeling that he may be a star in the future. (TBD: A shutdown game in the World Series would be Ubaldo's version of The block.)

Manny Corpas is Jeremy McNeil - He does the job with a slightly dazed demeanor, but at least he does the job.

Willy Taveras is Josh Pace - Glue.

LaTroy Hawkins is Matt Gorman - Years later you will be mildly surprised to recall he was a part of that year's roster.


See? Plus, either Boston or Cleveland would fit the role of Kansas. Boston would fit as a heavy favorite with a dominating duo (Ortiz/Manny = Heinrich/Collison). Cleveland would fit as a great baseball locale which nonetheless has fallen well short in recent history.

The only thing that doesn't work: Clint Hurdle is no Jim Boeheim. I looked, and the only great baseball manager out there who doesn't have a World Series title is probably Bruce Bochy, and he is still 20 good years shy of Boeheim status.

Anyway, consider this a warning to not underestimate the Colorado Rockies.

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