Alex's Sports Blog

Blog closing down...

Wed, 03 May 2006 23:17:42 GMT

This is an entry that pains me to type, but I have decided to no longer blog at the moment. I do not want to neglect anything, and it seems my blog has been neglected as of late. I sent an email out to some readers, but if you didn't get that I'm telling you now.

I hope at one point, I keep blogging, but as for now expect no new entries up. Check out my podcasts though at www.mysportsradio.com as those are becoming HUGE.

As always,

Alex (Thanks for reading my blog for over a year, it means a lot to me.)

Johnny Damon is back in Boston

Mon, 01 May 2006 19:56:56 GMT

Alright, so it's Red Sox and Yankees tonight, and Johnny Damon is coming back to Boston. Don't worry though, I'll also discuss Chris Kaymen and some little NFL Draft thoughts. So, let's get this entry rollin....

Have fun in Arizona Matt Leinhart. Have fun in New Orleans Reggie Bush. Have fun in Houston Mario Williams. Ahhh yes, great college players going to crappy teams, and then they'll hold out, sounds like the NFL Draft to me. I'm proud to say I didn't watch it really on Saturday, that's one good thing....

Chris Kamen is upset that Reggie Evans was grabbing his nuts, but yet the three last letters in his name as men. Okay, some juvenile humor for you there. I didn't even find that funny. Anyway, I found that clip hilarious, and the NBA needs more of that in my opinion. They need guys showing passion in the games. If players show passion, more people will watch. You know if I see the Clippers, I know I'm watching to see what happens next....

As I'm typing this entry, it's currently 7-3 Red Sox, and an excellent start to the Sox and Yanks this year. A very good game. Damon was cheered by the Fenway Faithful, but of course after his first at bat it's settled in that he's just another Yankee. I'm going to the game tomorrow night, and I wonder if Damon will be cheered again, or if the fans tomorrow night treat him just like they treat every other Yankee. By the way, the surprise of the night is that Mike Myers doesn't get cheered or booed, I guess people don't care if a lefty specialist switches sides.

Funny story: An SUV pulls up in Fenway, and the fans are all excited, as they think it's reaquired backup catcher Doug Mirabelli. Well, the governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney steps out of the car and people sigh and walk away. Only in Boston are people more happy ro see the backup catcher, then the governor.

Reggie Bush, NFL Draft, and Barry Bonds

Thu, 27 Apr 2006 22:45:31 GMT

The NFL Draft is coming up, Reggie Bush is in trouble, and MLB will not celebrate when Barry Bonds passes Babe Ruth. I just had to sneak an entry....

Reggie Bush should be celebrating right now. He's going to probably be the number one pick of the draft this Saturday, and he's about to get a HUGE payday. He's not celebrating though, as apparently Bush's parents were living in a house that they possibly didn't own. San Diego businessman Michael Michaels (Yes, that's his real name) owned the $750,000 home. Bush claims his parents leased the home like everyone else, and he has no knowledge of the deal. There is talk of taking Bush's Heisman trophy away. I think it would be wrong to rake the Hiesman away from Bush, because they didn't take O.J. Simpson's Heisman away. They didn't take away many other athletes Heisman's after stories came out that they cheated through school, etc. More needs to be found out on this story before we start discussing about taking away Reggie Bush's Heisman award.

This is going to sound very unlike a sport fan, but am I the only one that doesn't love the NFL Draft? I'll watch it on Saturday if I have nothing better to do, but I'm not going to postpone my day because it's on. It takes the full 15 minutes to pick, and you can get just as much out of it if you read the results. I mean, after the second round does anybody really pay attention anyway? It is a crapshoot, and history shows a lot of great players, like Tom Brady get picked late, but do we really need to see Mel Kiper read a statsheet for two straight days? I don't think so....

Bud Selig has said that baseball will not celebrate Barry Bonds when he passes Babe Ruth. I know Selig is trying to get onto the good side of most baseball fans, but he needs to realize a whole era is in question, not just Bonds. He celebrated Barry when he hit number 73, when he passed Willie Mays, and when he hit home run number 700. He knew about steroids then, but chose to make money instead of telling the truth. Now that steroid stuff is out, Selig is the good guy and isn't celebrating Barry. Selig isn't the good guy, he's a total hypocrite.

I totally love the hair though. (note the sarcasm)

Lack of posting....

Thu, 27 Apr 2006 20:06:06 GMT

Some of you probably have noticed I'm not posting as much as I normally do. Well, my computer crashed, so I only have one computer in the house now. I'm been really busy lately, with a lot of school projects due, practice, friends, and the fact that we only have one computer for four people. So, keep checking everyday for a new entry, but I just wanted to give you a reason for my inconsistent posting as of late.

Monday Notes

Mon, 24 Apr 2006 21:29:34 GMT

School is back, but we're almost done! I'm checking off the days as we get closer and closer. Barry Bonds though, is not checking off his homers....

Henry Aaron's record is safe, as Barry Bonds has said in a recent interview that he believes his body isn't in good enough condition for him to last enough to break Aaron's record. It's really a sad story what's happened to Bonds. This guy is a jerk, and deserves some of what is coming to him, he did afterall cheat. However, fans throwing things at him, saying he should go to jail, etc is completely humiliating and unacceptable. Bonds doesn't deserve everything going his way though, as I keep saying he's just as guilty as everybody else. Leave the guy alone already, and let him retire in peace. If he wants to walk away, that's his decision, let's not force him to walk away.

Baseballreference.com is a great website, and if you put in Albert Pujols and compare his statistics by age to previous players, here's who they compare him to: Joe DiMaggio, Frank Robinson, Jimmie Foxx, Hank Aaron, and Hal Trosky. Mickey Mantle also appears on that list. Just a fan little fact I thought I'd throw out there....

Finally, let's talk about umpires. Yesterday, they ejected just about everybody during the Rockies and Giants game. Also, Beckett hit second baseman Aaron Hill on purpose last Friday, because Alex Gonzalez was hit in the previous inning. No warning was issued to anybody. Similiar thing happened in the Rockies and Giants game. Umpires need to start using warnings to their advantage, it will help keep the game under control.

Looks like he's safe

Thursday Thoughts

Fri, 21 Apr 2006 02:05:41 GMT

Hey, Cubs fans HAVE to be determined there is a curse now.

Derrek Lee is officially on the DL with a sprained wrist. Boy, does that suck for Cub fans. Derrek Lee is the most complete player to play for the Cubs since Ryne Sandberg's MVP year, and please don't tell me Sammy Sosa was a complete player. Once again, the Cubs curse might be true.

Adam Morrison is entering the NBA draft. This guy has the talent, but he needs to stop wearing his emotions on his shoulder. Banging a basketball against your head everytime you lose isn't going to get you very far in the NBA. If I were a team, I would be very sketchy about picking Morrison, because I question if he'll have enough composure to survive.

This is the year Iverson gets traded away from the 76ers. This guy has done all he can for the franchise, and he deserves to be on a winning team. I don't think he purposly showed up late to Fan Appreciation night, most likely he just didn't care. It's time to move on, the 76ers need to start rebuilding.

Larry Brown is returning for a second season? What? I hope he knows what he's getting himself into, as the Knicks are coming off a 59 loss season. Brown needs a miracle to even have the Knicks lose 55 games, this team is awful. They're full of stars that are selfish and past their primes. The Pistons and Spurs have a winning formula, Isiah Thomas better start doing something, and adding another Steve Francis won't help.

Poor Larry....

Spring Break Notes

Wed, 19 Apr 2006 12:49:07 GMT

It's Spring Break, and I'm lovin it! Chillin with friends, having some fun, and watching some sports. Here are some random thoughts:

The sixth seed in the Western Conference is a much better deal then the fifth seed in the Western Conference. What's wrong with that sentence? Losing a game and getting the sixth seed benefits a team? So, last night the Grizzlies and Clippers had mostly scrubs playing in the second half. I don't know what the NBA needs to do, but the playoff system needs to change. It's waaay too long, and winning your division means nothing in the scheme of things. I don't know what NBA needs to do, but they need to change their playoff picture.

Albert Pujols is well on his way to becoming the best player in baseball history. At one point this week, he had 4 home runs in 4 at bats. He now has 10 home runs already! He's on pace for about 100 homers. Pujols is the new face of baseball, all signs point that he's clean, and he's a great guy. Albert Pujols, David Wright, David Ortiz, Dontrelle Willis, etc are all guys baseball needs to continue to push, as their top players.

Speaking of Dontrelle Willis, the trade rumors are already rising up here in the Boston area. Florida is going to ask for a lot more then they did for Josh Beckett though. With Beckett, you had to take Mike Lowell and his 9 million dollars. With Willis, you get him under your control for another couple of years, and there is no Mike Lowell the Marlins are attaching with him. Florida first needs to activily look to trade away one of their only two marketable players left. They're going to ask for a lot as well, Jon Lester is our top prospect right now, he's a hard throwing left hander, and may even be better or similar to Dontrelle, and he'll be cheaper then Dontrelle as well. Manny Delcarman, and Craig Hanson might be talked about as well. So, a lot needs to happen before we can declare the D-Train a Red Sox.

Spring Break, it's party time!

If Bonds is guilty, why isn't everyone else?

Fri, 14 Apr 2006 15:59:28 GMT

It looks like Barry Bonds is being investigated by the feds, my question is why isn't anybody else being held on prejury charges?

Rafael Palmiero points his finger at Congress, and lies. Mark McGwire says he's not there to talk about the past, but yet the whole meeting was about the past, and don't forget about Sosa playing the I don't speak English card. Giambi, and others are also guilty of not exactly telling the truth as well. So, why is Barry Bonds the only one on prejury charges? How come Palmiero has vanished, how come McGwire and Sosa once again get away with murder? Just because Barry is the only one chasing the records now, doesn't meet he's the only guilty one. We all hate Bonds, but still it's not fair that he always gets blamed for everything. He's just as guilty as McGwire, who's just as guilty as Sosa, who's just as guilty as the utility player for the D-Rays, who's just as guilty as the 37 year old veteran in AAA that took steroids to maybe make a MLB roster. If we're possibly thinking of putting Bonds in jail, then everyone else should be investigated and charged as well, they're just as guilty.

Jose Canseco seems to be the only reliable source now. I mean, he's the only one that has no hidden agenda. What is it going to prove to put Bonds in prison? As I said earlier, we don't want him chasing the records, so we want to make an example out of him. How is putting a 42 year old, injury prone outfielder in jail going to make me feel safer? How is that going to better this country? It's just a case of us using Bonds an an example, and it's not right. He's a broken man, he only has 1 RBI this year. If we're going to investigate EVERYONE ELSE, and not have an agenda to only get Bonds, then it's fine. Right now though, it seems like Jose Canseco is the only one without a hidden agenda here, and it's a shame.

The finger seen around the world (Okay, bad joke)

Some thoughts

Wed, 12 Apr 2006 18:36:15 GMT

Here are some quick thoughts from me to you.

This Duke lacrosse thing will not go away. Now the DNA doesn't match the lacrosse player's DNA, and we have no idea what's happening. It looks like Duke lacrosse might be innocent, but these kids are just awful kids. Most of them have been arrested for urinating in public, drinking illegally, etc. These kids are just awful kids, and it's a good thing this case happened because even though these players are probably innocent, it's still good that Duke is forced to recognize what awful people these kids are, and maybe their act will be cleaned up.

Johnny Damon should just shut up. Now he is saying he went to the Yankees because they're the greatest fans in the world, greatest ballpark, and because Jeter is the greatest player in the world. This isn't that big of a deal, but why can't Damon just say he went for the money, or simply shut up? I hate it when athletes make an excuse instead of simply saying they took the money and ran. I think most athletes would be more respected if they said they took the money, instead of feeding us bs.

Sorry for being brief today, but those are two things that are on my mind at the moment. April break is only one day away, that means summer is almost here!

A peaceful summer time type picture....

Notes from the diamond

Mon, 10 Apr 2006 19:01:46 GMT

I know, a very cliche title, but you'll have to deal with it. Baseball's first week is officially over, and my Red Sox are 5-1!

While on the topic of the Red Sox, Jonny Paps has done a fine job closing. He's 3 for 3 in save opportunities. However, Keith Foulke only struggled in one appearance, which was the opener against Texas. I think we should give Foulke another chance, and stretch Papelbon out in middle relief. With Beckett, Wells, and Schilling as three pitchers, one of them is bound to be injured. So, would you rather have scrub Lenny DiNardo starting in their place and Paps closing, or Paps starting in their place, and Foulke or Craig Hansen closing? Speaking of Hansen, he's only about a month or so away from the big leagues, and he could be our insurence closer if Foulke continues to struggle. It's a lot more rare to develop a good starter, than a good reliever, and we've developed a good starter in Jon Papelbon. Don't blow him on closer, because we don't need him to close.

One of the surprises of the first week is the Detriot Tigers posting only one loss. Now, if everything goes right for them they could be a 80-85 win team. Also, their starting pitching isn't that bad. Jeremy Bonderman has been in the mid 90's this year, and Justin Verlander has been near 100. Young pitcher Joel Zumaya has been in the upper 90's as well.

My pick to win the NL Wild Card, the Brewers are also off to a very good start. If Rickie Weeks, JJ Hardy, and Prince Fielder mix in with vets like Corey Koskie, and Carlos Lee, Milwaukee's offense could be pretty good. Once Ben Sheets comes back from the DL, he'll give Milwaukee an ace to accompany two of the most underrated pitchers in the league, Doug Davis and Chris Capuano, who won 18 games last year. The bullpen is very good, and young as well, so Milwaukee looks to be in good shape.

Of course, not all teams get off to great starts. The Yankees only havr two victories, as they're heading home to Yankee Stadium this week. Of course, the last time they're first week was this was bad was 1998, and the Yanks finished with 114 wins, and a world series title....

Starting the Red Sox home opener will be watched by more people than any game he's played for the Marlins