The Noise Factor

Wanted to say thank you to everyone here that has ever listened to my show during its tenure.  I have been offered a job that I could not refuse, putting my show on a hiatus for the rest of 2007.  Depending on circumstances I could have a new time slot, new show name, new co-host and new format in 2008.  Or my new gig offers me a permanent contracted position.  

What I know is I appreciate blog nation and what it stands for.  I will continue to surface on the blogs and hope to write every weekend, if not more.  I’d like to thank Demonicume for helping me continue to post on both Fox and Real Sports Blogger. 

Have a happy halloween and remember those who sacrificed their lives for us on remembrance day.

The Dan

PS - Phoenix v. Chicago NBA Finals prediction.

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Was there a more appropriate title to a post that involves a few different sports? 

- There are positives we can look at for both teams participating in this year’s World Series.  For Colorado they have been one of the hottest teams ever during a time that stresses clutchness.  For Boston they have been the best team over the course of the entire baseball season.  They were the ones hovering in and around a .600 winning percentage all year when nobody else could.  

Now people will look at Colorado’s layoff as a negative.  I know if I were them I would have been studying tape of each game Boston (and Cleveland) played.  By the time the series begins tomorrow I would have each player broken down with every tendency and what strategy our team would need to apply to succeed.  That said, Colorado should at least be well-prepared for this matchup.

However, I’ll go with the most consistent team over the season and say Boston in 6.

- Let’s hope the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots get through this week because two undefeated teams facing off would obviously be great to watch.  It would be a letdown if either team lost in week 8.

New England has certainly had their own kind of soap opera this year.   Ever since the whole camera operating fiasco they haven’t won over anyone.  That said, cheating of any kind will rub people the wrong way.  The backlash has been severe enough to cause people to believe the team has run up the score the last two weeks in a row.  No and No.

I’ve watched Football for the last 15 years and one of the things I have learned is no matter how good a team is NO LEAD IS EVER SAFE IN THE NFL. 

- If the Dallas Cowboys are so good, why do people talk about how New England ‘has not beaten anyone’?  People have said this about the Patriots, and if people really believe this then why talk about Dallas as a very good team?  You can’t have it both ways with the Cowboys.  If they are a serious Super Bowl contender then they should not be discredited as a bad opponent against New England. 

- Rumors surround the Toronto Blue Jays that President and CEO Paul Godfrey is stepping down to focus his attention on bringing an NFL team to Toronto.  Really?  And where are they going to play?  The Rogers Center?  Why would the NFL be open to having a team play in another country who’s venue can barely hold over 50 000 people?  Wouldn’t the NFL rather go somewhere that can hold 70 000 people?  It would certainly be appropriate for the NFL to stay on American soil where they don’t have to worry about the complications of TV contracts with Canada.

From my perspective, I’d love to have an NFL team.  I just don’t see it happening anytime unless they were to buy the Buffalo Bills and move the team up to Canada.  Last I checked, Toronto’s main venue would fail to meet the NFL’s expectations for an expansion franchise.  But one of the other problems the city has is the CFL.  The Toronto Argonauts are one of the oldest sporting teams in sports history and their tradition is rich in the city.  However, they only draw 25-35 000 people per game and if the NFL rolls into town that number will decrease.  The NFL may also affect the Hamilton Tiger Cats which is about 45 minutes away from the city of Toronto.  There is still a connection with the CFL and it’s country so moving the NFL into Toronto will hurt the CFL.  Does it really matter?  Well, politicians may feel in their heart that they don’t want to kill the CFL but a lot of politicians don’t seem to have a heart so they’ll have no problem with the huge revenues the NFL can bring to the city.

Last point: Godfrey leaving the Jays means the next president could fire J.P. Ricciardi after the 2008 season, about 3 seasons too late.  If they decide to make Ricciardi the President that would be a mistake.  He has proved nothing to deserve being president.

That is all for today.  Good day and good night.

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On the field, off the field, it don’t matter….

Like every baseball season there are changes and intriguing moments during this time of the year.  Of course this season is a little different as we approach this weekend with the ALCS still going.  Typically we would be preparing for the World Series tomorrow (Saturday), but instead we have a very interesting game 6 matchup in Boston with one of the best young arms in the Major Leagues in Fausto Carmona against arguably one of the best clutch pitchers over the last 15 years, Curt Schilling.

Boston did their job by beating the unsettled C.C. Sabathia, who hasn’t pitched well once so far in these playoffs.  Casual observers of the game would scratch their heads watching his fastball sail outside the strike zone and wonder how he was so good in the regular season. 

Early Prediction: Game 6 will be a pitching duel with Schilling digging deep one more time.  Neither pitcher gets the win and Boston will finally chase the Indians bullpen during crunch time.  Game 7 will go to Cleveland and they will take on Colorado in the World Series.  How is that for Drama?

Last point on Boston: I know Manny Ramirez rubbed people the wrong way with his comments and I wonder why people are surprised?  He’s been playing in the Major Leagues for 15 years I would assume you would have accepted who he is by now.  That said, his comments weren’t meant that he doesn’t care about THIS SEASON.  Unlike a lot of Boston hitters, ManRam has showed up.  His statements had more to do with handling the agony of defeat.  You may think that sounds stupid but ask a guy like Manny Ramirez to elaborate on deep feelings and you won’t get a great answer.  Why?  Because he’s just not wired that way.

COACHES

Dusty Baker will now coach the Cincinnati Reds.  Why would he want to coach them?  I’m guessing he was bored this season being out of coaching. 

Why hire Baker?  Because he is a name.  That is the best answer I have.  People like to talk about how he hung Mark Prior and Kerry Wood out to dry on the mound but I would not blame Wood’s injury problems on Dusty.  Kerry’s problems began WAY before Dusty arrived in Chicago.  Mark Prior on the other hand is a maybe.  Lets remember that when Prior first went on the DL back in 2004 his problem was with his foot.  Perhaps he was overcompensating and then his arm gave out.  We don’t know.  I am not here to say it was a great hire for Cincy but based on their track record they have gotten a guy you could consider as an upgrade.

Speaking of upgrading, the New York Yankees will not be upgrading the managerial position as Joe Torre is gone.  Love how the Yanks spun the whole situation by giving Torre the power to come back.  BULLCRAP!  The seed had been planted when reports of Torre being gone were leaked during the ALDS.  That, along with the drama that has unfolded since the 2004 playoffs, would it have been worth the trouble of coaching a team loaded with big bats and questionable arms and a front office that doesn’t care if you are still there?  Torre didn’t need to accept the deal from New York because he would have been slapped in the face again sooner or later.  New York will now either use the inexperienced Don Mattingly or Joe Girardi.  Girardi may have worked wonders in Florida but its not an upgrade.  Not when the previous manager still had his clubhouse and the respect from the players in that room - something that gets lost when you manager in the league for a significant period of time.

THE OTHER SIDE

If I am Colorado right now I would be studying tape of both teams as much as possible during this time.  There should be no excuse for them to be unprepared. 

Side note: does Orel Hersheiser and Jim Kelly look alike?

Have a great weekend

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Woke up this morning to read a terrible headline on foxsports.com’s website stating the NLCS suffered it’s lowest TV ratings in history.  Apparently people have decided they would much rather watch garbage, over-the-top drama shows than a team that is in the midst of perhaps one of the greatest runs in Major League Baseball history.

We’ve seen some great runs by MLB teams in recent years.  One of the most famous runs that people talked about for years was the 35-5 record of the Detroit Tigers to start the 1984 season.  They went on to win the World Series.

There was the 2001 Seattle Mariners who, despite losing in the ALCS to the New York Yankees, had an incredible regular season.  However, people quickly forgot how good they were because they didn’t get the job done.

Then there was the run in 2002 by the Oakland Athletics in which they ripped off 20 consecutive victories to propel themselves into first place in the West Division.  They went on to have an unmemorable playoff loss to the Minnesota Twins.

But the biggest reason why this run is special is thanks in part to the 1-game playoff victory as well as the 7-0 start to the post-season.  That doesn’t cover their 13 wins out of 14, including 11 in a row, just to climb from 4th place on September 16th to tied for 2nd on the very last day of the season.  Nobody saw this coming - and anyone who says they did ought to be a betting man for a crime family.

They got spanked 3 games in a row prior to the 11-game winning streak, once by Philadelphia (12-4) and twice by Florida (7-6 - not a spanking, and 10-2 - a total spanking).  What was impressive about their climb in the standings was that all the wins came against teams that were above them in the standings.  Then they blew right by Los Angeles after sweeping them and then tore apart San Diego.  Then they administered some more punishment on LA before swiping two of three against the team they just eliminated last night, Arizona.  They didn’t have the luxury of crushing Pittsburgh or Cincinnati during their run.  They beat teams that were considered contenders all year long.

If someone came up to you in August and said, "one team will win 13 of their last 14 to force a 1-game playoff and win that playoff game", you would have maybe thought of Detroit, Atlanta, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Minnesota or even Seattle.  Colorado would have been in your top 10 but certainly not option #1.  Perhaps the shock of seeing Colorado this far in the playoffs is the reason why some may believe that this is the greatest run of any team over the course of a 20-25 game span.  

Whether or not you believe that is your call.  Nobody can take away what appears to be one of the most clutch performances by any team who could have folded up and played .500 ball and nobody would have thought any less of them. 

The people who have chosen not to watch this team has missed the opportunity to witness baseball history.  If they become World Series champions it will become part of sports history and those who watched this amazing performance will have stories to tell for the rest of their lives.

Maybe even Eric Byrnes.

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As we sit and wait for a decision regarding Jesse Boulerice’s vicious crosscheck to the face of Ryan Kesler this past Wednesday night I can’t help but wonder what the decision would have been without the influence of the NBA and NFL. The NHL will not admit that they have taken notes on the disciplinary actions handed down by Roger Goodell and David Stern but it is certainly a coincidence. Just as those sports began handing down stiffer suspensions to those players for their conduct on (and off) the field or court, hockey began to take notice.

They won’t admit it. Perhaps there was pressure from the fans and media to push for longer suspensions for brutal acts on the ice. But these other sports forced their hand. Think about it: you see a basketball player suspended for 20 games for a fight on the court, yet a vicious crosscheck in a hockey game gets you 5 games?

Look at Steve Downie, for example. He practically jumped out of his skates to crack Dean McCammond. He gets 20 games, but the AHL decides to keep him out of hockey until November. This means he will have served over 20 games - pending he makes it back to the NHL. If he doesn’t, was justice served?

Although I do feel Downie’s hit was bad, I can at least say that he did not use his stick like a weapon the way Chris Simon did to get a 25-game suspension. If Downie got 20, Simon should have gotten at least 30. Both, however, are better than Todd Bertuzzi’s suspension. Whether you care to admit it or not, there is a double standard between an ordinary player and a star player. Bertuzzi was a star player and got the star treatment. Even Wayne Gretzkey did what he could to get Bertuzzi reinstated so that Gretz could pick Bert for Team Canada. Obviously his motivation was personal which makes you wonder how many more games Bert would have gotten if other people didn’t feel sorry for him.

Steve Moore still sits a home. And again, at least Downie’s hit was closer to a hockey play than what Bert did on the ice.

What is the point of mentioning Bertuzzi’s heinous act? Simple: his suspension was a total joke back then and if he did the same thing today that suspension, hopefully, would have doubled. In total, he missed 9 regular season games and 5 playoff games to bring the total to 14 games missed. 14 games for crippling another hockey player? Do you think Goodell or Stern would have let him slide? Ron Artest missed the rest of the regular season for fighting in the crowd and he’s just as much a star in the NBA as Bertuzzi was in the NHL.

Because of several missed opportunities by the NHL over the years to crack down on illegal acts on the ice that hurt other players in the process has hurt their product. How can Americans embrace a game where players can run rampant on the ice without having to face severe consequences? They won’t, and when the disciplinary committee does not seriously condemn the players who help ruin the game of hockey that translates to disappointed fans and another reason for non-fans to poke fun at the game of hockey.

So we sit and wait for the decision to be made on the latest action. Still, I wonder what the decision would have been had the NFL or NBA not stepped up to force it’s players to conduct themselves properly.

***UPDATE - 25 Game Suspension***

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Let’s get this right out of the way so that fans of Jimmy Rollins or Philadelphia can think about jabbing the pitchfork through this blog rather than no thought whatsoever: Jimmy Rollins is a good shortstop and has been one of the best in the National League for years.  Teams would kill for a guy like him to play position 6 for several years.  His game has transformed him from being a speed guy to an all-around, perennial All-Star shortstop.  

But he is not the MVP of the National League.  In fact, he is not the MVP of his team.  

That distinction goes to Chase Utley.  I realize Utley’s playoff performance was a disappointment while Rollins showed up, but the playoffs do not dictate who the MVP of the regular season is.  The Phillies could not have gotten to the playoffs without the play of Rollins, Utley or Ryan Howard, the reigning MVP of last season.  The team went through a roller coaster ride all season; from a manager on the hot seat to the team losing pitchers to injury to a head-screwed starter-turned-closer losing his head (only this time it was not on his wife), to making an improbable comeback to win the division.  Who was the one guy Philly could not play without?  Chase Utley.  When he was hurt, Philadelphia went into a funk.  When he came back from injury, they starting clicking again.  That is why he is the MVP of this team.  They were not the same team when Utley was out of the lineup.

As for Rollins, who played a big role in Philadelphia’s run for the playoffs, is to his team what Kenny Lofton was to Cleveland in the mid-90’s, what Roberto Alomar was to the Toronto Blue Jays in the early 90’s and what Derek Jeter has been to the New York Yankees.  All rock-solid players who are valuable to their team - but none of them have an MVP under their name during the regular season.  Seems strange because those guys were impact players in their prime (in Jeter’s case he still is an impact player), but that does not downplay how great they were or are.  Rollins is that guy. 

But don’t go Barry Larkin and give him the MVP. 

Who takes the award then?

Some people are saying Matt Holliday.  Granted, Holliday plays in Colorado - a place known for offense but he certainly had a great year.  However, Holliday wasn’t even on the radar until the last week of the season.  An MVP should have had strong consideration before September 15th.  Therefore, Holliday is not an option.

This decision, however, will allow you to pile up ridicule.

David Wright.

I realize New York just had one of the biggest choke jobs in baseball history.  But Wright was the man the entire year, hit for a great average with great power, fielded his position like a gold glover and added 30+ stolen bases to his credit.  Not to mention that his second half and September batting average was incredible.  So how do you fault the guy?  The Toronto Blue Jays choked a big lead away in 1987 to the Detroit Tigers when they lost their final 7 games of the season.  The man who won the MVP award that season was George Bell, who played with the Jays.  He was the MVP that season and David Wright should be the MVP of the National League. 

Other Awards:

- A-Rod should win the AL MVP, Jake Peavy should win the Cy Young Award in the NL and I’d give the AL Cy Young to Josh Beckett with C.C. Sabathia being a close second.  Give Ryan Braun the Rookie of the year in the NL and Dustin Pedroia the Rookie of the year in the AL.  Coaches of the year?  Let’s go with Eric Wedge and Bob Melvin.

***My show has been on hiatus since Sept 20 as I have been working on other projects while recharging the batteries.  I will be back next Tuesday October 16 at 9AM EST. 

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I needed something that would continue the rhyme…HIV was logical.  But I will not be discussing HIV and I hope you do not carry this disease.

Where are my sports in Canada???

Oh yeah, the NHL begins tomorrow.  My thoughts…

- People believe this season will revert back to the NHL’s old ways with a lot of teams carrying enforcers more than they have the last two years.  Didn’t take long for teams to abandon the new NHL style.  If they think more fights will draw an audience they are sorely mistaken.  There has been enough violence in the league the last 2 years regardless of the numbers.  Giving the scoring increase only 2 years to develop isn’t enough time to get the game to attract more fans.  They need to stick with it and MARKET the game better.  The first order of business would be to strike a partnership with UFC.  Hockey needs to draw from that fan base and UFC is their target market.  Give the fighters and/or their crew some jerseys to wear to the ring, whatever.  Would it work?  Not sure, but it’s a start.

- Speaking of enforcers, even the Americans know about the hit Steve Downey put on Dean McCammond.  The response by the players around the league was harsh and deservingly so.  However, would he be getting this much ridicule if he were a 40 goal scorer?  A top-flight player?  Nope.  They would make excuses by saying, "he made a mistake and he regrets it".  That is what they did for Todd Bertuzzi and his act was much worse than what Downey did.  At least Downey was closer to an actual hockey check rather than sucker-punching a guy who resolved his problem earlier in the game.  But Bertuzzi was a star, Downey is not.  Easy target.  Still bullshit.  Downey has been dirty for a long time and you can ask Buffalo (2006 playoffs), but if he were a superstar he would not be getting cracked the way he has.

- Roberto Luongo would retire if the nets were bigger?  I realize he would be ticked off and that is understandable.  However, he isn’t that intelligent because quitting would be stupid.  Quitters aren’t winners and he still hasn’t proved he is a winner either.

NFL

- Winners to whiners, Matt Leinart should have waited until AFTER a loss to an average team to say what he said rather than a victory over Pittsburgh.  Just a thought.  But Kurt Warner has looked very good.  If I’m Whineart I look to play big next week.

- Tom Brady is the best quarterback in the NFL and he finally has that one impact wide receiver.  Deion Branch was nice but now he has a whole new dimension that is Randy Moss and company. 

- How is Donovan McNabb not in a casket?  Wow, get that man some protection.  And I don’t mean trojan larges.  But those are great condoms.

MLB

- Colorado?  How? 

- Mets blew it?  How?

- Arizona won more than 60 games?  How?  How do they win when Brandon Webb doesn’t start?  How?

- Philadelphia won the division?  How?

- Can’t answer these questions, so let’s allow the World Series to do it for us. 

I’m freaking sleepy already.  Been going hard since last week and I’m drained.  That is why my blogs have slowed recently.  I apologize but I am still around so don’t be a stranger. 

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