Tons of news over the past couple of days and as usual I'm going to throw my two cents in there whether you like it or not.
I don't want to say that the Mavs are done because I still think they are talented but the Heat looked darn good down the stretch of Game 1. Both Lebron and D-Wade really stepped up and made plays in the last couple of minutes. I still can't stand how Bosh is getting all this love. He does NOTHING but get points off of LBJ and D-Wade. He might make a play here or there but in all reality the Heat will NEVER look for him down the stretch in any game.
I was pretty shocked to see Dirk struggle like he did. He didn't look like the same player as he has in the previous series. Obviously, the length and athleticism of Miami caused him some problems. Also, Miami looked to have a great gameplan to attack him. That is the advantage of having a bunch of veteran guys that really know how to play. Udonis Haslem has been in the league for a while and is as tough as they come. He certainly won't back down but he has help.
Interesting to see Lebron cover Jason Terry down the stretch. I can see that strategy and I never thought of it before. And when you think about it, it's a great idea. When Terry goes off is usually when Dallas played well. Take him away with LBJ's strength, size, and athleticism. Very smart move by the Heat coaching staff. It will be interesting to see what adjustments both teams make tonight.
The Shaq Diesel is hanging it up. Definitely one of the biggest characters the league has ever seen. He was a great player as well. Probably the most dominating player in the league during his prime. Not much to do to stop him besides sending him to the line. Not exactly sure where to put him in the ranking of centers in NBA history but I would have to put him behind Mikan, Wilt, Russell, and Kareem, but he certainly should be in the discussion with those guys. These are the things that I'll remember most about the big Shaqtus: great song, great movie, rim rattling dunks, and terrible sneakers. He also made one of my favorite commercials of all time with the best basketball quote ever, "Don't fake the funk on the nasty dunk."
I might actually eat crow with this one but it looks like Ricky Rubio might actually play for the Twolves. I've said all along that he won't ever play here but now there are "sources" saying that he will play next season in the United States. I certainly won't hold my breath until he arrives. David Kahn might have just made this all up to save his job. Maybe he is just smarter then everyone. Maybe he plans on signing Rubio and trading him with the #2 pick to Cleveland to get the Cavs' next 17 first rounders in order for Cleveland to draft both Derrick Williams and Enes Canter (they won't need Kyrie Irving if they have Rubio, right?)
On the surprise meter, Daisuke is out for the year and is going to have Tommy John surgery. You don't wish injury on anyone but you could see this one coming from a mile away. His "time" is up and he is basically ineffective for Boston. Can anyone name a single Japanese pitcher that has had a long successful career? Hideo Nomo is as close as you come and he was very average after his first couple of years.
I certainly don't see what's the deal with Terrelle Pryor driving around in 8 different cars over his three years at THE Ohio State University. I think I drove a couple different cars when I was in college, a beautiful two toned (maroon and grey) Ford Aerostar as well as my favorite car of all time in the Oldsmobile Achieva. I got pick time hookups on both cars. The only difference between myself and Pryor is that I was (and still is) a great driver.
Our new athletic website is up and running now. If you want to look at my dashingly good looking picture, go right ahead. My hairline looks absolutely fantastic in it as well. The clippers might make some adjustments to that in the near future. Bald and beautiful.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
Memorial Monday
After a solid weekend of staying up way too late and not even close to getting enough sleep, I've decided to come back to the blog world. I had a buddy of mine visit for the weekend and I don't believe I've stayed up that late for three straight days since college, but it was good to see him and check out a bunch of local venues.
Surprise, surprise. The "Sweater Vest" is out at Ohio State. I've said for a long time that he always seemed to avoid all the bad mouthing that many other slimey college coaches get. Just because he wears the sweater vest and has "midwest values" doesn't mean he isn't a rule breaker. I'm certainly not saying that he isn't a good coach because he has proven that he is but I'll question a lot of things that he has done. In my personal opinion (like you already know, I have many), he avoided the whole Maurice Clarett situation like a cagey vet. Clarett made a bunch of accusations and nothing came of it because he was considered a criminal. Now that Tressel has gotten accused of all these violations it's about time that people go and look back at some of the other things people have accused the football program of and have been swept under the rug.
The biggest question now is, who takes over at THE Ohio State University? I've got my money on Urban Meyer. As much as he says it's about taking care of himself, I think it's a no brainer of a move for him. He has connections down in Florida still to get the speed guys and OSU will always get the top talent in Ohio. Not sure who else would be considered front runners for the job. Are there any Ohio State guys coaching right now? Does one of my former favorite NFL players, Chris Speilman, get involved in the program? Maybe Andy Katzenmoyer (if he don't remember him, please look him up) will come back as the LB coach and teach golf and health in the PE departent.
Now on to some celebrity crap. Have people heard that former Hopkins HS (MN) standout Kris Humphries gave Kim Kardashian a 20 carat engagement ring? Is she worth it? Ray J, Reggie Bush, and Miles Austin didn't think so. I don't think I've heard of anyone EVER getting a diamond bigger than 5 or 6 carat (thanks Kobe for the 8 carat, "forgiveness ring"). I couldn't imagine how big and ugly that thing is. And I'm not sure why I know this stuff or why I care but I think it's funny.
In about a hour and a half the NCAA Lax Championship game will be on. For some reason, I always like watching the Championship game. It's always on Memorial Day and it's always good lacrosse. As many of you know, lacrosse is pretty big where I grew up and one of my cousins played at UVa and scored a couple of goals in the National Championship game. UVa and Maryland will lock horns in an big time ACC battle. Should be fun.
Last but certainly not least, I'd like to thank all the former and current soldiers for all that they have done or are doing right now. Let's all be thankful for all that they have given us throughout the years. The video below is quite the tear jerker. Happy Memorial Day everyone.
Surprise, surprise. The "Sweater Vest" is out at Ohio State. I've said for a long time that he always seemed to avoid all the bad mouthing that many other slimey college coaches get. Just because he wears the sweater vest and has "midwest values" doesn't mean he isn't a rule breaker. I'm certainly not saying that he isn't a good coach because he has proven that he is but I'll question a lot of things that he has done. In my personal opinion (like you already know, I have many), he avoided the whole Maurice Clarett situation like a cagey vet. Clarett made a bunch of accusations and nothing came of it because he was considered a criminal. Now that Tressel has gotten accused of all these violations it's about time that people go and look back at some of the other things people have accused the football program of and have been swept under the rug.
The biggest question now is, who takes over at THE Ohio State University? I've got my money on Urban Meyer. As much as he says it's about taking care of himself, I think it's a no brainer of a move for him. He has connections down in Florida still to get the speed guys and OSU will always get the top talent in Ohio. Not sure who else would be considered front runners for the job. Are there any Ohio State guys coaching right now? Does one of my former favorite NFL players, Chris Speilman, get involved in the program? Maybe Andy Katzenmoyer (if he don't remember him, please look him up) will come back as the LB coach and teach golf and health in the PE departent.
Now on to some celebrity crap. Have people heard that former Hopkins HS (MN) standout Kris Humphries gave Kim Kardashian a 20 carat engagement ring? Is she worth it? Ray J, Reggie Bush, and Miles Austin didn't think so. I don't think I've heard of anyone EVER getting a diamond bigger than 5 or 6 carat (thanks Kobe for the 8 carat, "forgiveness ring"). I couldn't imagine how big and ugly that thing is. And I'm not sure why I know this stuff or why I care but I think it's funny.
In about a hour and a half the NCAA Lax Championship game will be on. For some reason, I always like watching the Championship game. It's always on Memorial Day and it's always good lacrosse. As many of you know, lacrosse is pretty big where I grew up and one of my cousins played at UVa and scored a couple of goals in the National Championship game. UVa and Maryland will lock horns in an big time ACC battle. Should be fun.
Last but certainly not least, I'd like to thank all the former and current soldiers for all that they have done or are doing right now. Let's all be thankful for all that they have given us throughout the years. The video below is quite the tear jerker. Happy Memorial Day everyone.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Fiesta Friday
So there has been a little response to my last post and the best part about it is when I question those people that question me, I win. Why? Because when I asked them what I said that wasn't true, they couldn't tell me. Here's the thing about it, I never said that I didn't like it here. I really like the Twin Cities but as I've said numerous times (probably not on the blog) it's a like huge small town. It's consistently six degrees of Kevin Bacon with everyone knowing someone that knows somebody. Confusing??? It's been tough for an "outsider" like myself to get into certain social groups because I didn't go to middle school with that group. I'm not saying anything is wrong with that, it's much like my hometown but just on a larger scale.
Ok, enough of explaining myself (though I shouldn't have to). Onto the ramblings...
The OKC Thunder took a nasty collapse against the Mavs. What I don't understand and never will understand is why do teams go away from what got them there when they have a big lead late in the game. You see the coaches calling plays and yet the players just wait for a pick and roll opportunity in the last six seconds of shot clock. Don't get me wrong, Dirk was ridiculous, but the Thunder's inexperienced really showed. When the Mavs' crunch time guys have been in the league for about 187 years and have been through the playoffs before, they aren't scared of the moment. The Thunder looked tentative. I said at the beginning of the first round that I thought the Thunder would win the West. Needless to say I was wrong, experience is huge in the playoffs. They weren't ready yet. Hopefully, KD will have a little more magic in his backpack next year.
Due to unforeseen circumstances I wasn't able to watch the end of the Heat-Bulls games last night. Judging from the highlights and what people have said, Lebron and D-Wade took over the last couple of minutes. Chicago was much similar to the Thunder in that they would just run down hte shot clock and hope that D-Rose would make a play. Again, don't go away from what got you there. With Lebron covering D-Rose, they had to make some adjustments and make plays but couldn't do it. There isn't enough to surround Rose at the moment. He needs someone else that can consistently get his shot.
Carlos Boozer certainly isn't that guy, and he certainly isn't worth the contract they gave him. Can't fault him for the ridiculous contract the Bulls' management gave him but he's not worth it, period. I'm not sure if he could cover me, let alone a NBA superstar. I couldn't imagine what Tom Thibodeaux is going to do over the next couple of years when he can't play Boozer over Taj Gibson. The Bulls were actually better when he was hurt at the beginning of the year. Typical Dookie.
Being a closer in basketball is not an easy thing to do. You need to take your lumps for at least a couple of years in order to be considered one. Unlike baseball, you don't need sweet facial hair or a crazy mullet. Larry, Jordan, Reggie, and Kobe are perfect examples of being closers. Those guys wanted the ball at the end of the game and everyone knew it. Jordan's last shot and Reggie's 8 points in 9 seconds are perfect examples of being a closer.
Durant and D-Rose aren't there yet. At this point in both of their careers they are still one dimensional at the end of the game. You know what they will do for their team's success. Durant is going trying and take a step back 3 and D-Rose will try to get to the rim. They will need to diversify their games in order to take themselves and their teams to the next level. I'm certainly not saying they aren't good players because they are both unbelievably talented. To quote the infamous Jay-Z, "In order to experience pleasure, you need pain."
As of right now, both Dirk and Lebron have experienced some pain in the NBA Finals. They are both hungry and obviously extremely talented. Their teammates know they want the ball in crunch time situations and like Jordan and Bird their teammates know where to be in order to get themselves shots off of the superstar. Just ask John Paxson and Steve Kerr about knowing how to feed off Jordan. I'm sure there are numerous occasions with Bird but I don't recall because I was like 5 when he was winning championships. Neither Dirk or Lebron are up to either of these NBA greats' level when it comes to closing but I could be speaking a different tune by the middle of June.
Scottie Pippen said that Lebron has the chance to be a better overall player than MJ thought MJ was a better scorer. I don't know if I can disagree with his statement even with Jordan being my favorite player of all time. Lebron has all the physical tools to be the best player ever. Now, there are a lot of guys that have the physical tools to be great but never are because they don't have the mentality. I think Lebron wants that mentality but isn't quite there yet. Though, he has showed me something by covering D-Rose in the 4th quarter in the Eastern Conference Finals. Will he do that again vs. Dirk? Lebron needs to be cutt-throat all the time in order to put himself in Jordan's category. I think he takes plays and some games off because he is so talented because he can. MJ wouldn't allow that. He was too competitive all the time. He wanted to be the best and worked his tail off to prove that. He was a prick.
Kevin McHale is going to named head coach of the Houston Rockets. I think that's a good move for the Rockets because I think he can really coach. Just make sure he gets zero say in any personnel decisions for the franchise. The Twolves are still reeling from his idiotic moves over the years.
The unforeseen circumstances that I wasn't able to watch the tail end of the Heat-Bulls game was that I went to watched The Hangover Part II. I figured I could watch most of the game and I really wanted to see the movie, so I missed a great ending. The movie was very good but as I've read with some other people, please lower your expectations. It's never easy for a sequel to live up to the first one. The movie was definitely funny, with some pretty ridiculous moments, but I'll let you figure out your own opinion.
Not sure if everyone saw the collision that took out Giants' catcher Buster Posey. Well, he broke is leg and could be out for the rest of the year. You never want to see someone get hurt but it was a clean play. People are trying to say that they need to change home plate collision rules in order to protect the catcher. I do understand that but what happened was a freak thing. He's a heck of player and has a bright future but you can't change the rules based off of one play when both teams are playing hard.
Twins are really bad right now. Carl Pavano and his 'stache might be on the trading block soon.
They are talking about adding a boatload of more seats to Michigan Stadium in order for the Wolverines to possibly play in front of 120,000 people. Are you serious? Is the below average team going to draw that many people? And it doesn't seem like they are just going to paint "the seats" smaller to get more people in there. Do they need any more seats? I just don't see the reason to add more. At WVU they have around 60,000 seats and it's all about supply and demand. I guess if you can add ten thousand new seats that means that the football program aka the athletic department will get back $200,000 per home game at the very minimum.
Hope everyone in Minnesota has fun at "The Cabin" this weekend. It's supposed to rain all weekend so I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Might do a quite a bit of THIS.
Ok, enough of explaining myself (though I shouldn't have to). Onto the ramblings...
The OKC Thunder took a nasty collapse against the Mavs. What I don't understand and never will understand is why do teams go away from what got them there when they have a big lead late in the game. You see the coaches calling plays and yet the players just wait for a pick and roll opportunity in the last six seconds of shot clock. Don't get me wrong, Dirk was ridiculous, but the Thunder's inexperienced really showed. When the Mavs' crunch time guys have been in the league for about 187 years and have been through the playoffs before, they aren't scared of the moment. The Thunder looked tentative. I said at the beginning of the first round that I thought the Thunder would win the West. Needless to say I was wrong, experience is huge in the playoffs. They weren't ready yet. Hopefully, KD will have a little more magic in his backpack next year.
Due to unforeseen circumstances I wasn't able to watch the end of the Heat-Bulls games last night. Judging from the highlights and what people have said, Lebron and D-Wade took over the last couple of minutes. Chicago was much similar to the Thunder in that they would just run down hte shot clock and hope that D-Rose would make a play. Again, don't go away from what got you there. With Lebron covering D-Rose, they had to make some adjustments and make plays but couldn't do it. There isn't enough to surround Rose at the moment. He needs someone else that can consistently get his shot.
Carlos Boozer certainly isn't that guy, and he certainly isn't worth the contract they gave him. Can't fault him for the ridiculous contract the Bulls' management gave him but he's not worth it, period. I'm not sure if he could cover me, let alone a NBA superstar. I couldn't imagine what Tom Thibodeaux is going to do over the next couple of years when he can't play Boozer over Taj Gibson. The Bulls were actually better when he was hurt at the beginning of the year. Typical Dookie.
Being a closer in basketball is not an easy thing to do. You need to take your lumps for at least a couple of years in order to be considered one. Unlike baseball, you don't need sweet facial hair or a crazy mullet. Larry, Jordan, Reggie, and Kobe are perfect examples of being closers. Those guys wanted the ball at the end of the game and everyone knew it. Jordan's last shot and Reggie's 8 points in 9 seconds are perfect examples of being a closer.
Durant and D-Rose aren't there yet. At this point in both of their careers they are still one dimensional at the end of the game. You know what they will do for their team's success. Durant is going trying and take a step back 3 and D-Rose will try to get to the rim. They will need to diversify their games in order to take themselves and their teams to the next level. I'm certainly not saying they aren't good players because they are both unbelievably talented. To quote the infamous Jay-Z, "In order to experience pleasure, you need pain."
As of right now, both Dirk and Lebron have experienced some pain in the NBA Finals. They are both hungry and obviously extremely talented. Their teammates know they want the ball in crunch time situations and like Jordan and Bird their teammates know where to be in order to get themselves shots off of the superstar. Just ask John Paxson and Steve Kerr about knowing how to feed off Jordan. I'm sure there are numerous occasions with Bird but I don't recall because I was like 5 when he was winning championships. Neither Dirk or Lebron are up to either of these NBA greats' level when it comes to closing but I could be speaking a different tune by the middle of June.
Scottie Pippen said that Lebron has the chance to be a better overall player than MJ thought MJ was a better scorer. I don't know if I can disagree with his statement even with Jordan being my favorite player of all time. Lebron has all the physical tools to be the best player ever. Now, there are a lot of guys that have the physical tools to be great but never are because they don't have the mentality. I think Lebron wants that mentality but isn't quite there yet. Though, he has showed me something by covering D-Rose in the 4th quarter in the Eastern Conference Finals. Will he do that again vs. Dirk? Lebron needs to be cutt-throat all the time in order to put himself in Jordan's category. I think he takes plays and some games off because he is so talented because he can. MJ wouldn't allow that. He was too competitive all the time. He wanted to be the best and worked his tail off to prove that. He was a prick.
Kevin McHale is going to named head coach of the Houston Rockets. I think that's a good move for the Rockets because I think he can really coach. Just make sure he gets zero say in any personnel decisions for the franchise. The Twolves are still reeling from his idiotic moves over the years.
The unforeseen circumstances that I wasn't able to watch the tail end of the Heat-Bulls game was that I went to watched The Hangover Part II. I figured I could watch most of the game and I really wanted to see the movie, so I missed a great ending. The movie was very good but as I've read with some other people, please lower your expectations. It's never easy for a sequel to live up to the first one. The movie was definitely funny, with some pretty ridiculous moments, but I'll let you figure out your own opinion.
Not sure if everyone saw the collision that took out Giants' catcher Buster Posey. Well, he broke is leg and could be out for the rest of the year. You never want to see someone get hurt but it was a clean play. People are trying to say that they need to change home plate collision rules in order to protect the catcher. I do understand that but what happened was a freak thing. He's a heck of player and has a bright future but you can't change the rules based off of one play when both teams are playing hard.
Twins are really bad right now. Carl Pavano and his 'stache might be on the trading block soon.
They are talking about adding a boatload of more seats to Michigan Stadium in order for the Wolverines to possibly play in front of 120,000 people. Are you serious? Is the below average team going to draw that many people? And it doesn't seem like they are just going to paint "the seats" smaller to get more people in there. Do they need any more seats? I just don't see the reason to add more. At WVU they have around 60,000 seats and it's all about supply and demand. I guess if you can add ten thousand new seats that means that the football program aka the athletic department will get back $200,000 per home game at the very minimum.
Hope everyone in Minnesota has fun at "The Cabin" this weekend. It's supposed to rain all weekend so I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Might do a quite a bit of THIS.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Welcome to Minnesota
Alright, so today I'm going to over everything that I've learned or haven't learned while living the past three years here in Minnesota.
What high school did you go to?
Well that's the first or second question that I would get when I first moved here. I've never known such a place that Woodbury/Edina/Eden Prairie are such a status symbol for me to be important.
You're from NY? Well, you don't have an accent.
Well, thanks for being correct. Sorry for not sounding like someone from Westchester, Queens, Brooklyn, or Long Island. For a little geography lesson, there is more to NY than NYC. I actually grew up four hours from NYC. And by the way, I don't have gold chains or velour track suits (well only one).
The "U"
Let's get one thing straight. The "U" is The University of Miami. It always will be. The "U" is that school's logo. No one else can say that. The University of Minnesota is not "The U." University of Wisconsin is not considered "the U" in that state. The University of Washington is called "U-Dub.' The University of Arizona is called the "U of A." I could go on but I don't want to bore with any more college nicknames.
35E and 35W
Here in Minnesota we have 35E and 35W as highways through the Twin Cities. You would think that 35E would run to the east and 35W would run to the west. Nope, they run North-South. I figured it out after a while but it certainly can become confusing for people coming in. 35E runs North-South on the East of the Twin Cities and 35W runs North-South on the West of the Twin Cities.
I've never been to the State Hockey Playoffs
This is a prime attraction here in the state. Whole towns come and follow their teams when they get to Xcel here in St. Paul. Students at the school get an excused absence from school in order to attend their team's game. It's that important here. All the games are televised, it's like Texas high school football.
No I don't like the Twinkies
"I wish we had all the money in the world to spend on free agents and buy our championships." Oh enough of that crap. Just because the Twins owner is cheap and would rather put money in his pockets instead of spending it on free agents, don't blame the Yankees for trying to put a great product on the field all the time. So now that they have this new stadium, they have created more revenue to spend on the free agent market. So, they spent a boatload of money to keep Joe Mauer in his home state and guess what happens. He gets hurt and he'll never be the player he once was. Plus, no one wants to play here because it's too damn cold.
This new stadium is awesome
Well, not really. It's like every other new stadium. It's nice but it doesn't "wow" me like other stadiums have. I'm not saying it isn't nice but what about separates it from all the other new parks? And don't say the skyline of Minneapolis because all you basically see is the ugly Target Center. Go to the parks in Pittsburgh or Baltimore and they "wow" you. That's what a new park is supposed to do. Also, with this unpredictable weather why wouldn't you put a retrackable roof on the stadium? I would agree with most people that during the summer it's better to be outside but when it's snowing in April and maybe October, you don't want to postpone games because we are in the great white north. I can't comment on the new Yankee Stadium but from what everyone else has said, it's ridiculous. Especially if this guy has anything to say about it.
You haven't been to a Wild game?
No, I haven't. You want to know why? Because I'm a basketball coach, I watch basketball. I do have access to tickets any time I want and I don't go because it doesn't really interest me. Maybe if the Mark Messier led New York Rangers come to town I'll go. Does he play anymore?
The Land of 10,000 Lakes
Not so fast my friend. I wouldn't consider a body of water that I could easily swim across a lake. That is what I like to call a pond. Apparently, there are a lot of lakes up north. I've seen Lake Mill Lacs (I might have the lake in the wrong spot) is an actually lake. When I drove up that way, I couldn't see the other side. I don't think I could swim across it.
Turn Signal
As most of the native Minnesotans know, people here don't like to use their turn signals when driving and it drives me nuts. When turning right or left, you are supposed to flip the turn signal up or down in your car in order to let the person behind you know that you will be turning shortly.
Yield Sign
A Yield sign means to proceed with caution. Much like a yellow light. If you have a lane to yourself there really isn't a need to slow down or stop at a yield sign considering that you have the right away in that lane. I don't know how many times I've completely stopped at a yield sign because the idiot in front of me decided they couldn't proceed with no cars in front of them in their own lane. There are times that I want to give a Macho Man Randy Savage (rest his soul) elbow drop to some of the drivers here.
Minnesota State Fair
I had my first fair experience this past summer. It didn't exactly live up to all the hype. Was it good for people watching? It definitely was, I got to see some of Minnesota's finest and it made me laugh. I can people watch sitting in my office, I don't need to pay $9 to see a bunch of weirdos.
Minnesota "Nice"
When I usually explain to people what my feelings are on what Minnesota Nice really is, they usually laugh or get really defensive, so here I go. I'll give an example to explain it, it's much easier that way. Let's say you are a Minnetonka HS grad and you graduated from there in 2001. You are out in Uptown and you see a fellow Skipper grad at the bar that you haven't talked to since you graduated. You will have a 10 or 15 minute conversation with that person to be "nice" and then afterward you will say, "Why did I even talk to that person?" How I would've done it was I would've avoided that person or say "don't talk to me." There is a reason I haven't talked to you in ten years, so there is no reason for me to talk to you. I won't be fake and act like I care what you are doing and vice versa for you. Instead of wasting 10 or 15 minutes of my night, I'm going to be productive and sing along to the latest T-Pain song.
"The Cabin"
With Memorial Day coming up this weekend, many people will head up "The Cabin" for the long weekend. If you didn't know, you would think that "The Cabin" is a HUGE cabin in Northern Minnesota that every family goes to for extended weekends. It's kind of like me saying when I lived in NY that "I'm going to the City for the weekend." Everyone knew what I was talking about. I was headed to NYC for the weekend. Here in Minnesota, "The Cabin" could be anywhere at least an hour north of the Twin Cities on one of the "10,000" lakes. It's somewhat of a status symbol to be able to say "I'm headed to the cabin." And no, my family or I don't have a cabin to go to.
Fourth of July
I think the nation's birthday is the biggest holiday in the state. Everyone heads to "The Cabin" and the Twin Cities becomes a ghost town. Unfortunately, I've been stuck here in St. Paul each and every 4th of July. It is like anywhere else?
Snow Emergencies
Here in the city of St. Paul nothing and I mean nothing gets touched during the winter until the city declares a 'Snow Emergency.' The city usually won't declare until after the snow completely stops. That means that my street will not get touched until at least two days after the fact. It drives me nuts. When they do declare one, they will tow or ticket the cars on the street. The worst part about it is that I live about three blocks away from the town of Maplewood and the streets there are cleared right after the snow falls. Plus, with all the snow, it's an accident waiting to happen, especially with all the terrible drivers and the cars parked on the street.
Ricky Rubio
Twolves fans, he will never play for the Minnesota Twolves. He is from Barcelona and has played there for a while where it's warm and sunny all the time. Why would he want to go the a place that snows basically the whole season? I know, it sucks when I'm right. The places I think he wouldn't mind playing for are NY (big market), LA (big market, nice weather), and Miami (big market, nice weather). My guess is that if the Twolves don't trade his rights to teams in those places, he'll just be content on staying in Spain.
Lack of Creativity
Here is my school nickname rant. First I'll go with the Minnesota colleges. St. Thomas Tommies, St. John's Johnnies, St. Olaf Oles, Augsburg Auggies, and Gusatvus Adolphus Gusties. I know, they are very unique names but not creative at all, so if the rest of the conference did the same here is what their nicknames would be with the real ones next to it. Concordia Cordies (Cobbers), Bethel Bethes (Royals), St. Mary's Marys (Cardinals)(best one yet), Carleton Carls (Knights), Macalester Mackies (Scots), and we can't forget the Hamline Hammies (Pipers). Even the high schools join in on the fun. White Bear Lake Bears and Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted Lakers to name a few. Even a Wisconsin college joined in on the fun with UW-Stevens Point Pointers.
That's all I can think of now, I'm sure there is more and if you have any that you can think of, throw that right in the comment section.
I'll have more on the Bulls-Heat series tomorrow to go along with the Mavs-Thunder game from tonight.
What high school did you go to?
Well that's the first or second question that I would get when I first moved here. I've never known such a place that Woodbury/Edina/Eden Prairie are such a status symbol for me to be important.
You're from NY? Well, you don't have an accent.
Well, thanks for being correct. Sorry for not sounding like someone from Westchester, Queens, Brooklyn, or Long Island. For a little geography lesson, there is more to NY than NYC. I actually grew up four hours from NYC. And by the way, I don't have gold chains or velour track suits (well only one).
The "U"
Let's get one thing straight. The "U" is The University of Miami. It always will be. The "U" is that school's logo. No one else can say that. The University of Minnesota is not "The U." University of Wisconsin is not considered "the U" in that state. The University of Washington is called "U-Dub.' The University of Arizona is called the "U of A." I could go on but I don't want to bore with any more college nicknames.
35E and 35W
Here in Minnesota we have 35E and 35W as highways through the Twin Cities. You would think that 35E would run to the east and 35W would run to the west. Nope, they run North-South. I figured it out after a while but it certainly can become confusing for people coming in. 35E runs North-South on the East of the Twin Cities and 35W runs North-South on the West of the Twin Cities.
I've never been to the State Hockey Playoffs
This is a prime attraction here in the state. Whole towns come and follow their teams when they get to Xcel here in St. Paul. Students at the school get an excused absence from school in order to attend their team's game. It's that important here. All the games are televised, it's like Texas high school football.
No I don't like the Twinkies
"I wish we had all the money in the world to spend on free agents and buy our championships." Oh enough of that crap. Just because the Twins owner is cheap and would rather put money in his pockets instead of spending it on free agents, don't blame the Yankees for trying to put a great product on the field all the time. So now that they have this new stadium, they have created more revenue to spend on the free agent market. So, they spent a boatload of money to keep Joe Mauer in his home state and guess what happens. He gets hurt and he'll never be the player he once was. Plus, no one wants to play here because it's too damn cold.
This new stadium is awesome
Well, not really. It's like every other new stadium. It's nice but it doesn't "wow" me like other stadiums have. I'm not saying it isn't nice but what about separates it from all the other new parks? And don't say the skyline of Minneapolis because all you basically see is the ugly Target Center. Go to the parks in Pittsburgh or Baltimore and they "wow" you. That's what a new park is supposed to do. Also, with this unpredictable weather why wouldn't you put a retrackable roof on the stadium? I would agree with most people that during the summer it's better to be outside but when it's snowing in April and maybe October, you don't want to postpone games because we are in the great white north. I can't comment on the new Yankee Stadium but from what everyone else has said, it's ridiculous. Especially if this guy has anything to say about it.
You haven't been to a Wild game?
No, I haven't. You want to know why? Because I'm a basketball coach, I watch basketball. I do have access to tickets any time I want and I don't go because it doesn't really interest me. Maybe if the Mark Messier led New York Rangers come to town I'll go. Does he play anymore?
The Land of 10,000 Lakes
Not so fast my friend. I wouldn't consider a body of water that I could easily swim across a lake. That is what I like to call a pond. Apparently, there are a lot of lakes up north. I've seen Lake Mill Lacs (I might have the lake in the wrong spot) is an actually lake. When I drove up that way, I couldn't see the other side. I don't think I could swim across it.
Turn Signal
As most of the native Minnesotans know, people here don't like to use their turn signals when driving and it drives me nuts. When turning right or left, you are supposed to flip the turn signal up or down in your car in order to let the person behind you know that you will be turning shortly.
Yield Sign
A Yield sign means to proceed with caution. Much like a yellow light. If you have a lane to yourself there really isn't a need to slow down or stop at a yield sign considering that you have the right away in that lane. I don't know how many times I've completely stopped at a yield sign because the idiot in front of me decided they couldn't proceed with no cars in front of them in their own lane. There are times that I want to give a Macho Man Randy Savage (rest his soul) elbow drop to some of the drivers here.
Minnesota State Fair
I had my first fair experience this past summer. It didn't exactly live up to all the hype. Was it good for people watching? It definitely was, I got to see some of Minnesota's finest and it made me laugh. I can people watch sitting in my office, I don't need to pay $9 to see a bunch of weirdos.
Minnesota "Nice"
When I usually explain to people what my feelings are on what Minnesota Nice really is, they usually laugh or get really defensive, so here I go. I'll give an example to explain it, it's much easier that way. Let's say you are a Minnetonka HS grad and you graduated from there in 2001. You are out in Uptown and you see a fellow Skipper grad at the bar that you haven't talked to since you graduated. You will have a 10 or 15 minute conversation with that person to be "nice" and then afterward you will say, "Why did I even talk to that person?" How I would've done it was I would've avoided that person or say "don't talk to me." There is a reason I haven't talked to you in ten years, so there is no reason for me to talk to you. I won't be fake and act like I care what you are doing and vice versa for you. Instead of wasting 10 or 15 minutes of my night, I'm going to be productive and sing along to the latest T-Pain song.
"The Cabin"
With Memorial Day coming up this weekend, many people will head up "The Cabin" for the long weekend. If you didn't know, you would think that "The Cabin" is a HUGE cabin in Northern Minnesota that every family goes to for extended weekends. It's kind of like me saying when I lived in NY that "I'm going to the City for the weekend." Everyone knew what I was talking about. I was headed to NYC for the weekend. Here in Minnesota, "The Cabin" could be anywhere at least an hour north of the Twin Cities on one of the "10,000" lakes. It's somewhat of a status symbol to be able to say "I'm headed to the cabin." And no, my family or I don't have a cabin to go to.
Fourth of July
I think the nation's birthday is the biggest holiday in the state. Everyone heads to "The Cabin" and the Twin Cities becomes a ghost town. Unfortunately, I've been stuck here in St. Paul each and every 4th of July. It is like anywhere else?
Snow Emergencies
Here in the city of St. Paul nothing and I mean nothing gets touched during the winter until the city declares a 'Snow Emergency.' The city usually won't declare until after the snow completely stops. That means that my street will not get touched until at least two days after the fact. It drives me nuts. When they do declare one, they will tow or ticket the cars on the street. The worst part about it is that I live about three blocks away from the town of Maplewood and the streets there are cleared right after the snow falls. Plus, with all the snow, it's an accident waiting to happen, especially with all the terrible drivers and the cars parked on the street.
Ricky Rubio
Twolves fans, he will never play for the Minnesota Twolves. He is from Barcelona and has played there for a while where it's warm and sunny all the time. Why would he want to go the a place that snows basically the whole season? I know, it sucks when I'm right. The places I think he wouldn't mind playing for are NY (big market), LA (big market, nice weather), and Miami (big market, nice weather). My guess is that if the Twolves don't trade his rights to teams in those places, he'll just be content on staying in Spain.
Lack of Creativity
Here is my school nickname rant. First I'll go with the Minnesota colleges. St. Thomas Tommies, St. John's Johnnies, St. Olaf Oles, Augsburg Auggies, and Gusatvus Adolphus Gusties. I know, they are very unique names but not creative at all, so if the rest of the conference did the same here is what their nicknames would be with the real ones next to it. Concordia Cordies (Cobbers), Bethel Bethes (Royals), St. Mary's Marys (Cardinals)(best one yet), Carleton Carls (Knights), Macalester Mackies (Scots), and we can't forget the Hamline Hammies (Pipers). Even the high schools join in on the fun. White Bear Lake Bears and Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted Lakers to name a few. Even a Wisconsin college joined in on the fun with UW-Stevens Point Pointers.
That's all I can think of now, I'm sure there is more and if you have any that you can think of, throw that right in the comment section.
I'll have more on the Bulls-Heat series tomorrow to go along with the Mavs-Thunder game from tonight.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Tuesday's Special
As I talked yesterday about the idiot of an owner the Mets have, he passed out a few more gems for me to make fun of. He said the Mets were "bleeding money" right now. I guess that means they are losing mucho dinero. He always said that the Mets are in $470 millions worth of debt right now. Please tell me how MLB hasn't stepped in to get rid of this fool. Didn't they do the same thing with the Dodgers? At least Frank McCourt (the Dodgers' psuedo owner) lost his money to a money hungry woman. Wilpon lost his $1 billion to Bernie Madoff and his glorious Ponzi scheme. I've said this before about the owners and I'll say it again. These guys or gals didn't make their money by being stupid. Well, this guy lost his money by being a complete and utter fool.
After watching the disaster of a game for the Thunder last night, I have to comment on that collapse. The Thunder clearly had control of the game and looked to be headed by to Dallas with the series knotted at 2-2 all until James Harden fouled out. That was a huge difference. What Harden adds to the Thunder is clearly giving both Westbrook and Durant space to "do work." He's a very good shooter and a great passer. With him out, the Mavs could run at both Westbrook and KD at any time. Thabo flat out ain't getting it done from the perimeter. What was KD thinking when he launched that 30 footer with three seconds left on the clock? He had two guys running to him besides his own defender. He needs to have the ball in his hands but he is more than capable of getting a better shot than what he got.
If you notice the team that the Mavs put on the floor compared to the Thunder. They have Kidd, Terry, Marion, Dirk, and Tyson Chandler in during crunch time. You can't help off of Terry. You have to respect Kidd and Marion from 3 and Chandler is athletic enough to get all rebounds. You don't need to run plays for Marion or Chandler and they can still be successful. Now the Thunder on the other hand (at least last night with Harden out) put Westbrook, Thabo, Durant, Collison, and Ibaka. Westbrook and Thabo aren't shooters or will never be shooters. Collison and Ibaka are both solid players but they certainly don't open up space for Durant or Westbrook. Thunder needs to put another shooter on the floor if Harden is out. Maybe throw Maynor at the point or put Daequan Cook in there and have Durant cover Dirk. He can't do any worse considering Dirk is averaging what seems like 78 points per game this series.
Could someone tell Westbrook that he isn't a jumpshooter? How many 3's is he going to airball? I don't understand. Do what you do best. His game is getting to the rim and making 15 to 17 feet pullup jumpers. If the stats are still correct up to this point but Westbrook is leading the Playoffs in field goal attempts in the fourth quarter and that's with Durant, Dirk, D-Rose, Lebron, and D-Wade still playing.
How good is Dirk? He is the ultimate YMCA over 40 league player. One footed runners, fadaways, one footed fadaways, and whatever else he decides is his shot of the day. They keep on saying Nick Collison is doing a great job defending him. I think Collison is doing a great job of not giving him space but he needs to contest with his left hand not his right. When you think about it, you have to contest with the opposite hand that the offensive player is shooting with. I hope that makes sense. It should be a mirror image of the shooter. Comprende?
I love how the NBA puts Joey Crawford on every big game. He totally controls the game and has a quick trigger when it comes to "T's." If there is ever a Game 7 in either series, he'll be on the game. Just watch.
How many unnecessary yells will we hear tonight from Carlos Boozer and Chris Bosh? Over/under is at 14. Any takers?
I started working out again after taking a full week off after my marathon. I've decided that I needed to get better beach muscles since there are soooo many beaches here in Minnesota. And a beach on a "lake" that I can swim across doesn't count. Well, I'm using these things called TRX straps and it's super intense. I'll look like Joe Burger in no time.
Tomorrow or Thursday I will bring to you the "Welcome to Minnesota" post which I am already laughing thinking about it.
After watching the disaster of a game for the Thunder last night, I have to comment on that collapse. The Thunder clearly had control of the game and looked to be headed by to Dallas with the series knotted at 2-2 all until James Harden fouled out. That was a huge difference. What Harden adds to the Thunder is clearly giving both Westbrook and Durant space to "do work." He's a very good shooter and a great passer. With him out, the Mavs could run at both Westbrook and KD at any time. Thabo flat out ain't getting it done from the perimeter. What was KD thinking when he launched that 30 footer with three seconds left on the clock? He had two guys running to him besides his own defender. He needs to have the ball in his hands but he is more than capable of getting a better shot than what he got.
If you notice the team that the Mavs put on the floor compared to the Thunder. They have Kidd, Terry, Marion, Dirk, and Tyson Chandler in during crunch time. You can't help off of Terry. You have to respect Kidd and Marion from 3 and Chandler is athletic enough to get all rebounds. You don't need to run plays for Marion or Chandler and they can still be successful. Now the Thunder on the other hand (at least last night with Harden out) put Westbrook, Thabo, Durant, Collison, and Ibaka. Westbrook and Thabo aren't shooters or will never be shooters. Collison and Ibaka are both solid players but they certainly don't open up space for Durant or Westbrook. Thunder needs to put another shooter on the floor if Harden is out. Maybe throw Maynor at the point or put Daequan Cook in there and have Durant cover Dirk. He can't do any worse considering Dirk is averaging what seems like 78 points per game this series.
Could someone tell Westbrook that he isn't a jumpshooter? How many 3's is he going to airball? I don't understand. Do what you do best. His game is getting to the rim and making 15 to 17 feet pullup jumpers. If the stats are still correct up to this point but Westbrook is leading the Playoffs in field goal attempts in the fourth quarter and that's with Durant, Dirk, D-Rose, Lebron, and D-Wade still playing.
How good is Dirk? He is the ultimate YMCA over 40 league player. One footed runners, fadaways, one footed fadaways, and whatever else he decides is his shot of the day. They keep on saying Nick Collison is doing a great job defending him. I think Collison is doing a great job of not giving him space but he needs to contest with his left hand not his right. When you think about it, you have to contest with the opposite hand that the offensive player is shooting with. I hope that makes sense. It should be a mirror image of the shooter. Comprende?
I love how the NBA puts Joey Crawford on every big game. He totally controls the game and has a quick trigger when it comes to "T's." If there is ever a Game 7 in either series, he'll be on the game. Just watch.
How many unnecessary yells will we hear tonight from Carlos Boozer and Chris Bosh? Over/under is at 14. Any takers?
I started working out again after taking a full week off after my marathon. I've decided that I needed to get better beach muscles since there are soooo many beaches here in Minnesota. And a beach on a "lake" that I can swim across doesn't count. Well, I'm using these things called TRX straps and it's super intense. I'll look like Joe Burger in no time.
Tomorrow or Thursday I will bring to you the "Welcome to Minnesota" post which I am already laughing thinking about it.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Daily Rambling
I liked the way my last blog went, so I'm keeping it going...
Ed DeChellis resigned today at Penn State, his alma mater, to take the head job at The Naval Academy. This was clearly a shocker. Plus, he is leaving roughly $200,000 per year at the table from the Nittany Lions. It's definitely one tough job to another. Penn State is and always will be a football school and not until they actually invest money into the program will they consistently be "ok" in the Big Ten. Yes, they did make it to the NCAA Tourney this year. That had a boatload of seniors and there wasn't much coming back. There was a bunch of talk throughout the year that the hoops team had to practice in a rec facility that was flat out awful. This was ever as they prepared for the Big Ten Tourney and then the NCAA Tourney. I understand Bon Jovi being a big deal but book them when the season is over. I'd be extremely frustrated if I was him too. They have great support for their hoops team at Navy, though it's a tough recruiting situation. Should be interesting to see where each program goes.
Fred Wilpon just questioned the talents of a bunch of his players for the Mets. You would think that an owner would at least be a little supportive of his team. Instead, he bashes his better players that have busted their tail for him the last several years. Don't blame them for you being an idiot and getting ALL of your (and some of the Mets') money getting caught in Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme. The Mets are in trouble and I'm sure they will be sold within the next few years. They have to compete with the Yanks and obviously that isn't happening right now. Bring Wally Backman back.
I've already rambled a little bit about the Heat-Bulls series but last night was quite entertaining. Joakim Noah said something that sounds like "puck too maggot" to a fan. I thought I was the only one to see it and then I got confirmation from my buddy Derek that he saw it as well. Today, he got fined $50k for his comments. What I don't understand is how Kobe got fined $100k for basically the same thing. Is the next guy going to get fined $25k? Not that I like Kobe or anything but make the fines the same for the same offense unless it's salary based and I think Kobe makes twice as much as Noah.
Is anyone else sick of seeing Carlos Boozer get blown by every single offensive possession for the Heat? Watching him trying to defend is like watching an old dog trying to play with a miniature pincher (visualize it). Tom Thibodeau is in a tough spot. Does he play Taj Gibson, who can actually defend or Boozer, who can make a 17' jumper? Thibodeau has mixed it to up throughout the playoffs and most of his decisions have been really good. The Heat have created some matchup problems and for the Bulls to win the series he is going to have figure who plays the crunch time minutes.
The Blazers fired their GM after him working for ten months. Thanks for your work, toot-a-lew. The Blazers said he wasn't the right fit. The only move that he was able to make was the Gerald Wallace for Joel Pryzbilla, Dante Cunningham, and a couple of draft picks. I think it was a decent trade but no one in the Blazers thought so.
In the great news of the day, I just saw a commercial for the Red Cross to help the victims of the tornado that hit Joplin, MO and surrounding areas. It's about time that people in the US actually look after themselves instead of helping others (as in other countries). There have certainly been a ton of tragic events throughout the world and we as a country go help them right away. I know that is what we do as a country because we are "The World Power" but let's take the airplane oxygen mask theory on this one. Help yourself before you help others. Let's try to get New Orleans back to normal instead of being in a state of disaster like a lot of the city still is.
The renovation of Hutton Arena has begun. They are putting in new urinals in the men's bathroom. They took the old ones out today and almost knocked a hole in my office wall. Besides the urinals, the sanding of the Hutton Floor started today and the ugly looking Piper was partially taken from us. The new floor will be installed and finished within the next month. It should look really good and it won't be a hodge podge of lines like it has been. It'll have less visable lines and will look "cleaner" than before.
That's all for now, you might see one tomorrow. Tell a friend about the best blog on the planet.
Ed DeChellis resigned today at Penn State, his alma mater, to take the head job at The Naval Academy. This was clearly a shocker. Plus, he is leaving roughly $200,000 per year at the table from the Nittany Lions. It's definitely one tough job to another. Penn State is and always will be a football school and not until they actually invest money into the program will they consistently be "ok" in the Big Ten. Yes, they did make it to the NCAA Tourney this year. That had a boatload of seniors and there wasn't much coming back. There was a bunch of talk throughout the year that the hoops team had to practice in a rec facility that was flat out awful. This was ever as they prepared for the Big Ten Tourney and then the NCAA Tourney. I understand Bon Jovi being a big deal but book them when the season is over. I'd be extremely frustrated if I was him too. They have great support for their hoops team at Navy, though it's a tough recruiting situation. Should be interesting to see where each program goes.
Fred Wilpon just questioned the talents of a bunch of his players for the Mets. You would think that an owner would at least be a little supportive of his team. Instead, he bashes his better players that have busted their tail for him the last several years. Don't blame them for you being an idiot and getting ALL of your (and some of the Mets') money getting caught in Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme. The Mets are in trouble and I'm sure they will be sold within the next few years. They have to compete with the Yanks and obviously that isn't happening right now. Bring Wally Backman back.
I've already rambled a little bit about the Heat-Bulls series but last night was quite entertaining. Joakim Noah said something that sounds like "puck too maggot" to a fan. I thought I was the only one to see it and then I got confirmation from my buddy Derek that he saw it as well. Today, he got fined $50k for his comments. What I don't understand is how Kobe got fined $100k for basically the same thing. Is the next guy going to get fined $25k? Not that I like Kobe or anything but make the fines the same for the same offense unless it's salary based and I think Kobe makes twice as much as Noah.
Is anyone else sick of seeing Carlos Boozer get blown by every single offensive possession for the Heat? Watching him trying to defend is like watching an old dog trying to play with a miniature pincher (visualize it). Tom Thibodeau is in a tough spot. Does he play Taj Gibson, who can actually defend or Boozer, who can make a 17' jumper? Thibodeau has mixed it to up throughout the playoffs and most of his decisions have been really good. The Heat have created some matchup problems and for the Bulls to win the series he is going to have figure who plays the crunch time minutes.
The Blazers fired their GM after him working for ten months. Thanks for your work, toot-a-lew. The Blazers said he wasn't the right fit. The only move that he was able to make was the Gerald Wallace for Joel Pryzbilla, Dante Cunningham, and a couple of draft picks. I think it was a decent trade but no one in the Blazers thought so.
In the great news of the day, I just saw a commercial for the Red Cross to help the victims of the tornado that hit Joplin, MO and surrounding areas. It's about time that people in the US actually look after themselves instead of helping others (as in other countries). There have certainly been a ton of tragic events throughout the world and we as a country go help them right away. I know that is what we do as a country because we are "The World Power" but let's take the airplane oxygen mask theory on this one. Help yourself before you help others. Let's try to get New Orleans back to normal instead of being in a state of disaster like a lot of the city still is.
The renovation of Hutton Arena has begun. They are putting in new urinals in the men's bathroom. They took the old ones out today and almost knocked a hole in my office wall. Besides the urinals, the sanding of the Hutton Floor started today and the ugly looking Piper was partially taken from us. The new floor will be installed and finished within the next month. It should look really good and it won't be a hodge podge of lines like it has been. It'll have less visable lines and will look "cleaner" than before.
That's all for now, you might see one tomorrow. Tell a friend about the best blog on the planet.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
All Over the Place on this One
I'm going to jump from place to place on this one so be ready...
The Hamline baseball team went 1-2 in the NCAA Midwest Regional this past weekend at UW-Whitewater. They won the first game against St. Scholastica in 13 innings. They then face the #2 seed UW-Whitewater and took a tough loss, 7-6, in 10 innings. They lost their final game to #1 seed UW-Stevens Point 5-0 to end their season. Whitewater ended up winning the Regional and is headed to the D3 College World Series. They finished their season at 29-15 with the program's first even MIAC Championship as well as setting a school record for wins in a season. Congrats to a great group of guys that really busted their tails all year long.
Apparently we had some tornadoes touch down in the Twin Cities area today. Pretty bad damage over in Minneapolis but nothing happened here. I heard the tornado siren but actually mowed my lawn about a half hour after hearing it. The only tornado I want to see is the 'Texas Tornado' Kerry Von Erich from professional wrestling fame.
As most people in the sports world know, former NY Ranger and MN Wild player Derek Boogaard died last week at his apartment in Minneapolis. He died from a mixture of alcohol and oxycodone. The coroner labeled it as an "accidental death." I don't think I'm going on a limb here but I don't think it was by any means "accidental." He knew what he was doing by mixing those to potent substances. That's like someone saying that Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose of druge. It's not accidental, it's far from it. For whatever reason, something was that bad in their lives that they decided to end it. They knew the consequences beforehand and had little regard for the people that are close to them and that was obvious with their actions. It seems like Boogaard was an all around good guy but don't call his death 'accidental.'
I'm so sick and tired of people "thanking God." after their performances. God doesn't give two poops about the basketball game you are playing. He has more important things to worry about than your basketball game. Look, I go to church on a pretty consistent basis but I'll thank my teammates before I thank God. It was the same way in college when one of my teammates consistently preached about God and lived a lifestyle that wasn't on par (or bogey for that matter) with his preaching.
Just this past week Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany talked about giving student-athletes extra money for their scholarships. The money could range from anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000 per year for extra spending money. The idea behind it is that these players potentially generate millions of dollars for their respective universities. So, now a roughly $100,000 or more education isn't enough? What sports will get this extra stipend, all sports or revenue sports? What about the non-BCS conferences that don't have the extra money that the SEC, Big Ten, or Pac-10 have?
Way too many factors in this decision. It could cause major problems within the NCAA if passed. Do many people know that these student-athletes (specifically men's hoops and football) get roughly $1,000 a month for their scholarship checks to cover their room and board? On top of that money, they can get a significant amount of money from their Pell Grant. Another way to get money is to file for independence from their parent(s) and since they technically don't make money, they live in Section 8 housing for super cheap. They can also file for food stamps. So, with minimal expenses their scholarship check goes a LONG way. I know a bunch of guys at WVU would immediately head to the cell phone store and get the newest phone or buy the newest video game as soon as they got their check. They have plenty of leftover money. They don't need to get paid extra.
What's with this whole Rapture business? Why and how did that idiot that came up with it even become relevant? Even the priest at my church joked about it today. It's amazing how these idiots get a little following and all of a sudden it blows up and people are talking about the whole deal. And me talking about it right now doesn't help but like 15 people read this on a consistent basis.
Could the Kyle Korver and Mike Miller matchup here in the Eastern Conference Finals be any more of a prototypical white shooter matchup. Both are small town America white shooters, weird. I wish I had some of Miller's tats though. They might be worse than some of the tats the guys on our team have.
Could Carlos Boozer and Chris Bosh be the most overpaid spotup jumpshooters in NBA history. Don't get me wrong, both are very good at what they do but neither can create a shot for themselves. Both are notorious for yelling after making a decent play that was initiated by someone else. It doesn't help that Boozer is a dookie, so I can't like him, ever.
The NBA Playoff commericials are awful. A talking basketball? You couldn't come up with someone better? The "Where Amazing Happens" and this one below are my all time favs.
I told you this would be all over the place. As usual, I was true to my word.
The Hamline baseball team went 1-2 in the NCAA Midwest Regional this past weekend at UW-Whitewater. They won the first game against St. Scholastica in 13 innings. They then face the #2 seed UW-Whitewater and took a tough loss, 7-6, in 10 innings. They lost their final game to #1 seed UW-Stevens Point 5-0 to end their season. Whitewater ended up winning the Regional and is headed to the D3 College World Series. They finished their season at 29-15 with the program's first even MIAC Championship as well as setting a school record for wins in a season. Congrats to a great group of guys that really busted their tails all year long.
Apparently we had some tornadoes touch down in the Twin Cities area today. Pretty bad damage over in Minneapolis but nothing happened here. I heard the tornado siren but actually mowed my lawn about a half hour after hearing it. The only tornado I want to see is the 'Texas Tornado' Kerry Von Erich from professional wrestling fame.
As most people in the sports world know, former NY Ranger and MN Wild player Derek Boogaard died last week at his apartment in Minneapolis. He died from a mixture of alcohol and oxycodone. The coroner labeled it as an "accidental death." I don't think I'm going on a limb here but I don't think it was by any means "accidental." He knew what he was doing by mixing those to potent substances. That's like someone saying that Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose of druge. It's not accidental, it's far from it. For whatever reason, something was that bad in their lives that they decided to end it. They knew the consequences beforehand and had little regard for the people that are close to them and that was obvious with their actions. It seems like Boogaard was an all around good guy but don't call his death 'accidental.'
I'm so sick and tired of people "thanking God." after their performances. God doesn't give two poops about the basketball game you are playing. He has more important things to worry about than your basketball game. Look, I go to church on a pretty consistent basis but I'll thank my teammates before I thank God. It was the same way in college when one of my teammates consistently preached about God and lived a lifestyle that wasn't on par (or bogey for that matter) with his preaching.
Just this past week Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany talked about giving student-athletes extra money for their scholarships. The money could range from anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000 per year for extra spending money. The idea behind it is that these players potentially generate millions of dollars for their respective universities. So, now a roughly $100,000 or more education isn't enough? What sports will get this extra stipend, all sports or revenue sports? What about the non-BCS conferences that don't have the extra money that the SEC, Big Ten, or Pac-10 have?
Way too many factors in this decision. It could cause major problems within the NCAA if passed. Do many people know that these student-athletes (specifically men's hoops and football) get roughly $1,000 a month for their scholarship checks to cover their room and board? On top of that money, they can get a significant amount of money from their Pell Grant. Another way to get money is to file for independence from their parent(s) and since they technically don't make money, they live in Section 8 housing for super cheap. They can also file for food stamps. So, with minimal expenses their scholarship check goes a LONG way. I know a bunch of guys at WVU would immediately head to the cell phone store and get the newest phone or buy the newest video game as soon as they got their check. They have plenty of leftover money. They don't need to get paid extra.
What's with this whole Rapture business? Why and how did that idiot that came up with it even become relevant? Even the priest at my church joked about it today. It's amazing how these idiots get a little following and all of a sudden it blows up and people are talking about the whole deal. And me talking about it right now doesn't help but like 15 people read this on a consistent basis.
Could the Kyle Korver and Mike Miller matchup here in the Eastern Conference Finals be any more of a prototypical white shooter matchup. Both are small town America white shooters, weird. I wish I had some of Miller's tats though. They might be worse than some of the tats the guys on our team have.
Could Carlos Boozer and Chris Bosh be the most overpaid spotup jumpshooters in NBA history. Don't get me wrong, both are very good at what they do but neither can create a shot for themselves. Both are notorious for yelling after making a decent play that was initiated by someone else. It doesn't help that Boozer is a dookie, so I can't like him, ever.
The NBA Playoff commericials are awful. A talking basketball? You couldn't come up with someone better? The "Where Amazing Happens" and this one below are my all time favs.
I told you this would be all over the place. As usual, I was true to my word.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)