Holy Crap!

9:03pm: Scott Baker is improbably, unbelievably, pitching a perfect game into the 8th inning. We are at 1 out in the 8th here, Twins lead 3-0.

9:04pm: Baker strikes out "superprospect" Alex Gordon with a nasty, nasty slider. Strikeout number 9 for Baker, all swinging.

9:04pm: Next up, some guy I've never heard of. The exact kind of guy who breaks up perfect games.

9:04pm: Nope. Lazy grounder to Morneau. Wow.

9:08pm: Cuddyer singles, his third of the game, which is pretty amazing by itself. That'll help my fantasy team.

9:09pm: Kubel off the baggie. These guys need to hurry up and get out and get Baker back out there.

9:11pm: Single for Redmond. Fake Ryan Braun can't get anybody out.

9:12pm: My mistake - he got Rondell White out. Shocking. Kubel scores from third. Obviously it was a deep fly.

9:14pm: Nick Punto just struck out looking on a curveball down the middle and didn't like the call. Seriously - when you're hitting .190 you are lucky if everything you take isn't a strike.

9:15pm: Casilla just grounded out on one pitch - thank you - and here we go.

9:16pm: Crowd on their feet. John Buck first up and Baker goes 2-0.

9:18pm: Buck walks on 5 pitches. No hitter still intact.

9:20pm: Just showed Mike Sweeney on deck. I don't care what happens with German (current batter), Sweeney makes me nervous.

9:21: Forced at second, couldn't get the double play. Sweeney up next. Baker at 101 pitches.

9:22: I knew Sweeney would do it. Dammit.

9:23: Hell of a game. Dominating until the 9th. Don't know if it was nerves, or just wearing down from the game, but he definitely doesn't have whatever he had all game here in the 9th.

9:24pm: DeJesus (spanish for "From Jesus") flys out to center. Baker can at least get his first major league shut out if he can get Grudzielanek - who, by the way, is apparently still in MLB.

9:26pm: Lineout to Bartlett. Baker finishes with the extremely rare "disappointing one-hit shutout." Great game. I have to admit, last year I was hoping we would trade him before it was too late and he had no value. He's proved me wrong tonight and this year in general. Time to trade Bonser instead.

9:30pm: Baker just informed us that he didn't get the perfect game because it was "God's Will." He also said that faith and family are more important than baseball. Sissy.

9:35pm: I'm going to drink Beer, play Madden, and watch Anchorman now.

This Solves Everything!

In the pioneer press:

The football Gophers will wear white shoes in their opener against Bowling Green on Saturday night, instead of the black shoes they have worn for years, because coach Tim Brewster emphasizes speed and believes white shoes project a faster image.

Hasn't even coached one game, and is already making positive changes in the program. Thanks for the info Charley Walters!

ALSO: Bill Walker says he's ready to go for the season in this article:
"I'd say I'm back to 100 percent," Walker said. "My running and jumping is back to normal. (The knee) came back slowly, and I just steadily got my explosiveness and my quickness back."

Sweet.

ALSO ALSO: I was searching for Nathen Garth inside info, and I stumbled across his My Space page. Not really a whole lot of inside info here, other than the fact that he really, really likes God. No word on if he believes Jesus rode dinosaurs.

Gophers vs. Bowling Green

So the super exciting Gopher football season kicks off this weekend at 7pm, with the mighty Gophers taking on the Bowling Green somethings (Falcons? EDIT: Yes, Falcons) at the Metrodome. (Why 7? Make it at noon and I'm there. But 7 on a Saturday night for this matchup? No thanks).

The Gophers are currently a 14.5 point favorite, and I don't have a strong feeling either way. If I had to choose, I'd go with Minnesota.

Sure, the QB is a question mark with redshirt freshman Adam Weber getting the start, but BG isn't exactly a stellar defense either. A spread offense, which I hope is really truly going to be used this year, always has the potential to put up a lot of points (and is always fun to watch - Harvard and Cornell both use spread offenses by the way. True story.)

BG returns 8 starters on defense this season, although they are very young at LB and DB, but that's ok because they weren't very good last year. BG ranked 98th in points allowed last season in DI, and although they should be better this year, they still aren't going to be shutting anyone down.

BG offense is mostly run-oriented, which is excellent news for the Gophers lackluster pass defense. They can get into the groove against a not-very good passing team and maybe get some confidence.

PREDICTIONS: Weber looks good. Pinnix looks good. Defense gives false hope. Minnesota 28 - Bowling Green 10.

I is an Expert

Saturday Sound Offs has started doing a feature where he previews each college football team by having a blogger who covers each team answer five questions.

He clearly saw there was nobody more qualified than myself to handle the pile of excitement that is the golden gophers. I recognize his ability to recognize genius.

Head on over to read the brilliant analysis.

Another Burleson lets his Team Down

Lyndale Burleson, the third of the Burleson trio, has been declared academically ineligible for the fall semester by the Nevada Wolfpack.

Burleson is a junior, who averaged 15 minutes per game last year scoring 1.7 points per game and dishing out 2.2 assists. According to reports, he was supposed to be the starting point guard this year.

Even worse is the fact that he didn't even have GPA problems, he just didn't take enough units to be eligible. That's just pure laziness right there, and from a non-NBA prospect no less. You expect this out of future NBA lottery picks, but not from slightly below average guards from a non-BCS conference.

Kevin sucked for the Gophers, but he managed to scrap his way onto a couple of NBA teams for a few minutes.

Nate was supposed to turn out to be a decent NFL wideout, and I guess he still might, but he was thoroughly mediocre (at best) with the Vikings.

I never thought the third Burleson would be more disappointing than the first two, but, here we are.

Not Great for the Hoosiers

My new favorite team, Indiana, has suffered a major blow, as senior guard and third-leading returning scorer A.J. Ratliff has been suspended due to academic issues.

Assuming he gets his shit together, he will be back on the team in time for the Big Ten Season, but will miss games against Georgia Tech, Kentucky, and Southern Illinois, as well as the Chicago Invitational and a potential game against either Xavier or Kent State.

Ratliff was a 40% shooter from three last year, and was penciled in to start at a guard spot. After losing Earl Calloway and Roderick Wilmont to graduation, Indiana is going to be quite thin on the perimeter.

Although with talented freshman Eric Gordon and Jordan Crawford coming on board, as well as Juco transfer Jamarcus Ellis, this may turn out to be a positive for the Big Ten season. Gordon is going to be a stud regardless, but Crawford and Ellis will have to be ready to play in a hurry. By the time Ratliff gets back, the Hoosiers may be more stacked than they were already.

I'm officially calling this a positive (assuming he gets eligible for second semester).

ADDITIONALLY: Didn't mention this earlier, but Illinois' Jamar Smith is out this year due to a DUI, but Illinois sucks anyway so who really gives a crap?

Prognostication

The Gopher Basketball schedule is out, and here's what is going to happen:

W Army
L @ Iowa State
W Central Michigan
L @ Florida State
W UC-Riverside
W North Dakota St
W Colorado St
W South Dakota St
W Santa Clara
W Nicholls St (@ Vegas)
W Kennesaw St (@ Vegas)
L @ UNLV
L @ Michigan St
W Northwestern
L @ Penn St
L Indiana
L Michigan St
L @ Ohio St
L @ Michigan
L Wisconsin
L @ Northwestern
W Iowa
W Illinois
L @ Wisconsin
W Michigan
W Penn State
L @ Purdue
L Ohio St
L @ Indiana
L @ Illinois

So that's 14-16, 5-13 in the Big Ten. So looks like no NIT.

What the Hell is this?

So I wasn't around my computer much yesterday, and this morning I'm all hung over from a fantasy football draft last night (which I rocked, by the way) so I finally get around to checking the internet stuff and I see this.

Nathen Garth decommits? What the hell is that? Unless the Gophers are very close to signing a better PG this is bad news.

It gives me slight hope that part of the article reads:

A 6-foot-4 senior at Woodrow Wilson High School, Garth said he had a phone conversation with Smith today and both decided it was best for him to reopen his recruitment.

Perhaps it was with a slight shove from Tubby that Garth stepped back, which is still weird, but better than him just deciding not to come here. I really hope this doesn't affect the recruitment of guys like Iverson and Sampson.

UPDATE: A very well known poster, JohnnyGopher, over at gopher hole reports the following, which makes me smile:

the Garth situation has been something that has been going on for some time now. Don't believe some of those Garth quotes, this was exactly like the Brommer deal. Tubby made a mistake early on before he had hired his full staff especially his main recruiting guy, and over the summer they realized that Garth was not the PG they we're looking for. This would of occured weeks ago had Mitchell decommitted from St. Louis. There are also a couple other issues that aren't being talked about in this Garth situation but they don't really matter since he won't be a Gopher. Don't read too much into Garth's comments about Minnesota still wanting him, just like with Brommer, Tubby appears to have no problem letting the kids make it look like it was there choice instead of the school backing off them. In the end, it will be best for both parties. Coach Taylor knows what he is doing and has us in position to land some outstanding players.

I feel much better now.

So Awesome

The sign says it all.

From the Applebee's in Plymouth, courtesy of the Sidler.

Only $1.99 today!!

Gophers Get JUCO Forward

Junior College Forward Paul Carter has committed to Tubby Smith and the Gophers for the 2008-2009 Season:

Paul Carter, a 6-foot-8, 195-pound forward from Missouri State University-West Plains CC, has become the first commit for the 2008-09 season, according to sources close to the program. Carter had been a top priority for the Minnesota Gophers basketball staff after his strong play in Tulsa at the Jerry Mullen camp in July.

(I will add here that Nathen Garth is also committed for 2008-2009, so that part of the blurb above is in error.)

This is the guy who I was nervous about because our competition for his services was Charlotte, Wyoming, and Oregon. I will give Tubby the benefit of the doubt here, especially since it sounds like this guy was a little off the radar, and then really started showing his talents recently.

I'm also a bit nervous because he committed without ever seeing the campus, and that seems weird to me. I do, however, like this quote:

"I think it will be a great opportunity for him to play right away," said West Plains coach Brian Ostermann, a Minnesota native. "He's a very talented young man and also a great person. He will remind a lot of Gopher fans of former Minnesota player Quincy Lewis. He's that gifted offensively."

So between that, and trusting in Tubby, I am very pleased with this signing, even though an awful lot about this reminds me of a Monson signing. I also can't find any pictures or highlights of this guy, so hopefully he actually exists.

Additionally, Tubby has reportedly offered Austin Dufault, a 6-8 kid from North Dakota who has impressed on the AAU circuit.

He's rated three-stars on scout.com, but again, our competition for him consists of NDSU, Arizona State, Washington St, Montana St, Northern Iowa, and Creighton. I guess I'm probably expecting too much too quickly, but I don't like going after a kid who is also a target of Montana State, I'd like to think the Gophers are at least higher than that.

UPDATE: I've now heard that Carter is one of the top 10 rated JUCO players in his class, so that's good.

Information Overload

Like college football? Like information? I have the blog for you. Saturday Sound Offs covers not just a team, not just a conference, but the entire college football world. I highly recommend checking it out.

I've been published

I'm pretty bored at work today, and happened to see there was a college basketball recruiting chat on espn.com with some guy from Scouts, Inc. so I fired in a question.

He answered, but I was hoping for a bit more information. I guess I should have asked a more specific question, but whatever. Here is the transcript:

Nate (Minneapolis, MN): Tubby Smith seems to have the Gophers on the trail of some good recruits (Sampson, Iverson, Joseph, Royce White, Rodney Williams). How do see it all shaking out? Is he going to turn the Gophers around?

SportsNation Paul Biancardi: (1:16 PM ET ) Without question, Tubby has made a concerted effort to evaluate and recruit the 2009 class in Minnesota, as well as the 2010 class, which should pay dividends. I think it's a matter of time before he benefits from it.

So, I guess that means something.

Move Over Willie Parker

In the formerly awesome Gopher running back camp, we have a little non Marion Barber/Laurence Maroney info, courtesy of Pro Football Weekly:

Undrafted RB Gary Russell has been one of the surprises at Steelers camp, and we're hearing he's going to get a longer look in the weeks to come as the coaching staff assesses how he fares against better competition.

I loved Russell at the U, and this doesn't surprise me. I thought he had every bit of talent that MB/LM had, and it sucked when he became ineligible. Now he'll probably end up taking over Willie Parker's job with the Steelers. Poor Willie Parker/Wally Pipp. Same initials and everything.

This preseason: 24 rushes for 121 yards. That's 5.0 per rush. Parker: 4 rushes/4 yards. The choice is clear.

Book Reviews

From time-to-time, I'll take a moment to review a Sports-related book I've recently read. This time, I'll highlight two books I highly recommend reading, and two others I recommend staying away from that I have read this year.

RECOMMEND:

The Last Best League, by Jim Collins:
Awesome book about the Cape Cod League, where the best of the high school graduate/college players come to play ball in the summer. The same league that one movie with Freddy Prinze and Jessica Biel was based on, only in this book the main character doesn't leave in the ninth inning of a no-hitter to chase after the girl. Oh no! I spoiled it. Anyway, the book is one of the best sports books I've ever read.

A Good Walk Spoiled, by John Feinstein:
I really could have put any non-fiction by Feinstein here, but A Good Walk Spoiled is the book of his I read most recently. Feinstein follows the PGA Tour for a season, with total access behind the scenes. It's a little older, written in 1995, so the golfers followed are a little older - Norman, Faldo, Watson - but it is still very good. See also: Tales from Q School, The Last Amateurs, A Season on the Brink, A March to Madness

NOT RECOMMENDED:

Throwing Bullets, by Roy Rowan:
Somewhat similar as The Last Best League as it follows minor league players, but not very well written. It follows Francisco Liriano and some other Twins minor leaguer who I can't remember for a season, although they are playing in different cities, so the author can't completely cover either player. I'm guessing it got published simply because of Liriano's amazing run last season, because it is very sloppily written and really doesn't hold up.

Faithful, by Stephen King and Stewart O'Nan:
I love Stephen King, he's my all-time favorite author, and I love baseball. Should be great, right? Nope. It's written by the two authors, die hard Sox fans, although O'Nan says he's also a Pirates fan, so what's up with that, as they follow the Sox through the 2004 Championship season. The problem, is that they both wrote it diary-style, mostly separately, and there's no real narrative here. It would be very entertaining if we were reading it during the season, night-after-night, but in this format it's really, quite boring. I found myself continuing to read it only to get to their reactions to the actual playoffs, and that was pretty anti-climactic somehow. Read only if you're a die-hard Red Sox fan.

Walker gets Redshirt

There are few teams/players other than the Gophers that I am a fan of, and will likely get a more than average amount of coverage at Down With Goldy. Kansas State, and Bill Walker, happen to fit that category, so I was happy to see this blurb from Dick Vitale (you can imagine him yelling it at you):

• Kansas State got a positive ruling when forward Bill Walker was given a medical redshirt year after playing in just six contests last season. Walker suffered a ruptured ACL in his left knee during the January 6th game against Texas A&M. He averaged 11.3 ppg. and 4.5 rpg. in those six games for Kansas State. Because of the ruling, Walker gets to team up with Michael Beasley as freshmen this season.

So Walker can play five years now instead of four. Except, this is most likely pretty pointless because I don't see any way Walker stays four more years. I think he most likely would have gone pro after last season if he hadn't injured his knee.

That injury really sucked because I was traveling with my brother down to Iowa State the very next weekend, and we had tickets to watch the Cyclones/K-State game and then stupid Bill Walker got hurt like a little baby and we didn't get to watch him and that sucked.

But he's still awesome.

Also awesome: Edgar Sosa, Paul Harris, DJ White, Rico Tucker, Chase Budinger, Tyler Hansbrough, Mike Taylor (he got kicked off the team, but is still awesome), Sean Singletary, Derrick Caracter, CJ Anderson, everyone on Memphis.

Not awesome: Scotty Reynolds

Johan Dominates

In case you missed it, earlier today Johan Santana struck out 17 Rangers on the way to a 1-0 Twins victory. Here are the highlights. WARNING: It's super awesome.

This is a Good Watch

I think #2 is the best -

September 7th is a Big Day

According to Chuck Walters of the Pioneer Press, September 7th is a big day for the Gopher hoops team. Both Ralph Sampson and Colt Iverson will be visiting the campus that day.

Getting both of these guys would be the start of something very special. Walters also points out that with Bryce Webster leaving the team, that gives Tubby nine scholarships to fill over the next three years. He has plenty of room to bring in good players to fit his system and turn the Gophers around.

I'm so very excited for the next few years.

Adios and Good Luck

It's official, Bryce Webster will transfer from the University of Minnesota.

Eh. No big deal. He may have ended up developing into a decent Big Ten player, but he certainly looked overmatched last season. This now frees up an extra scholarship for Tubby to fill with one of his guys (Ralph Sampson?)

Webster continues the fine tradition Dan Monson started of recruiting players who can't hang on the D-I level and end up transferring out. At least he's known for something.

Good luck to Bryce wherever he lands. Seemed like a good kid, just not Big Ten caliber.

ALSO: Freakin' Purdue has now added one of the top JUCO transfers in the nation in PF Nemanja Calasan. I'm already sick of Purdue.

Final Recruiting Class Ranks

Van Coleman of Hoopmasters has come out with a FINAL ranking of the 2007 NCAA Basketball recruiting classes (Florida is #1). A few Big Ten teams are ranked by Coleman, comments are mine:

#2 INDIANA: Eric Gordon himself would make this a top ten class, but they add several other top tier recruits. As previously detailed, I really like Indiana this year.

#7 PURDUE: I still can't get over this, but they have the guys this year. So weird.

#18 MICHIGAN STATE: No surprise here. Izzo's cupboard starting to look a little bare and he comes in with a stellar recruiting class.

#19 IOWA STATE: Ok, they aren't a Big Ten squad obviously, but it's my brother's alma mater and I love Hilton Coliseum, so I've always had a soft spot for the Cyclones. After the mess the team was in, and having leading scorer and Gopher killer Mike Taylor released from the team, Greg McDermott really needed this class.

#36 ILLINOIS: I've honestly never heard of any of the signees for the Illini other than Jeffrey Jordan (Mike's kid), but Van Coleman has, and he's smarter than I.

Iowa also shows up in the "best of the rest" section, which puts them somewhere between 60-75th. Not mentioned: Minnesota.

Their is also a section ranking individual players, and Hoffarber finished at #157, which is honestly better than I thought he'd be ranked, and now I'm really looking forward to watching the sweet lefty drain the three-ball like Mike Bauer used to.

Twins Fan for One More Night

Ok, I know I said I'd be a Mariners fan now, but look at this pitching matchup, then realize the Twins are actually an underdog here, and you'll see that there's no way I couldn't throw money down on the Twins tonight, even on the road.

So Go Twins. For one more night.

MIN: Matt Garza: 37ips, 1.19 WHIP, .239 OAV, 2.92 BB/9, 8.52 K/9, 0.24 HR/9

SEA: Horacio Ramirez: 67ips, 1.85 WHIP, .337 OAV, 3.89 BB/9, 3.89 K/9, 1.07 HR/9.

I mean, Garza has him in every category. And this Ramirez guy has a 1:1 K to BB ratio, that's freakin' terrible. For example, Sidney Ponson was 1.35 at least, with almost identical WHIP and OAV. He's better at home, but Safeco is a ridiculously friendly park to pitchers (.87 lifetime park factor), so if that helps out Ramirez, it should make Garza unhittable.

This Ramirez is so bad, he should cancel out the complete inability of the Twins to hit, and they should be able to manage to score enough runs to win. I'm betting on it.

EDIT:

10:00pm - It's working.

10:07pm - Dammit.

10:13pm - Ramirez somehow managed to shut down Redmond, Punto, and Casilla 1-2-3. Even for a crapass pitcher like him, that was easy.

10:18pm - Punto can't hit, but he sure can field. He's like Brooks Robinson without the hitting. And not as good a fielder.

10:20pm - Jason Bartlett hits home runs now?

10:25pm - We were just informed that Lew Ford has been tearing up Triple A. Sweetness.

10:28pm - Rondell White just got a 2-run single by barely hitting the ball and doinking it off the secondbaseman's outstreached glove. If that's gonna work, I'm calling this a win.

10:42pm - Vacancy is a pretty stupid movie

10:57pm - Double play ball. Garza continues to pitch like a front-line starter. So far 6 innings/5 hits/2 walks/2 K's/1 run.

11:05pm - Morneau drives in his first runs of the month. Finally.

9:15am - I WIN!

My Allegiance has Officially Switched

From this point forth (for this season only) I am now a Seattle Mariners fan. For a very simple reason, please don't judge me too harshly until you see why.

It's not because the Twins are throwing away this season by going 3-9 so far in August when they really need to make a push.

It's not because the Twins refused to trade any of their prospects for a bat before the deadline, even though sometimes it's good to trade when the value is at it's peak because pitching prospects don't always work out (see J.D. Durbin, Adam Johnson).

It's not because last night a string of the lineup was as follows: Rondell White, Tyner, Punto, Casilla, Bartlett - although that is laughable.

It's not because the Twins continue to pinch hit with guys like Lew Ford and Luis Rodriguez - I'm not sure what's worse, that those guys are the best bats off the bench, or that guys in the lineup are bad enough to be yanked for that quality of hitter.

It's simply for the reason that at the beginning of the year, the Seattle Mariners were 40-1 to win the AL pennant, and I thought those looked like pretty good odds.

Now, with the Twins running away from contention as fast as their little legs can carry them, and Seattle with a shot at making the playoffs - tied for the Wild Card with the dreaded Yankees - I must follow my greedy little heart and become a Mariners fan.

Although it will be difficult to root against Garza tonight.

College Hoops Net Gopher Preview

Found this, the first preview I've seen for the Gophers this upcoming season on CollegeHoopsNet.com.

They are ranked #98 in the country, and #8 in the Big Ten. I think they're a little worse than #98, but it's tough to rank teams at that level. Whose to say which team is worse out of Minnesota, Cincinnati, and Wake Forest? They're all big conference teams that have had success but have fallen on hard times and aren't very good anymore.

The review is basically the same thing you'll read anywhere, the team is not very good, but with essentially the whole roster back for another year, and Tubby Smith in instead of Monson, they'll be better.

Well, they'd pretty much have to be after going 9-22 last year. I think .500 is a pretty good goal, maybe an NIT berth. The bottom of the Big Ten is not going to be very strong this season, so maybe 6th/7th in the Big Ten.

The author has a couple of inaccuracies in his review but overall not bad. Examples include saying the Gopher frontcourt has "plenty of talent" and that "Jonathan Williams, Damian Johnson, and Bryce Webster......will provide quality depth."

He also mentions that Blake Hoffarber is a lefty. I have no idea if that's true or not, but if it is that is freakin' sweet. There is nothing better than watching a left-handed jump shooter. Seriously, watch Delonte West here:



Sweet. Why Delonte West? Because I couldn't think of any left-handed shooters on the spot other than him and Ed O'Bannon, and there's a shocking lack of Ed O'Bannon highlight videos. Someone fix that.

Quick Thoughts

I finally have power back at my house, and here are a few thoughts from this weekend:

- The Twins suck. Their hitting is just horrible, I've never seen anything like it other than 2005. and 2004. and 2003. and.....

- I watched the first series of the Vikings Preseason game on Friday, and saw Jackson complete a few passes, run for about 10 yards, and Troy Williamson actually catch a pass. So I'd say it looks like an 11 or 12 win season for the Purple.

- When the hell did Purdue become relevant again? The job Matt Painter is doing recruiting there is just staggering. For the upcoming season, Purdue has freshman ranked #35, #41, #71, and #72 on the Rivals Top 150, and this past week they signed two freshman for 2008, Ryne Smith and Lewis Jackson, who are both on the list for 2008. In case you are wondering, the Gophers have zero players signed from the list for 2007 and zero signed for 2008.

- My golf picks for matchups in the PGA Championship went 6-1. I told you people I was an expert.

- Speaking of the PGA Championship, it looks like El Tigre is going to win a major this year. He's up 2 with 3 to play. Woody Austin and Ernie Els were making him a bit nervous, but he decided to birdie back-to-back holes because he's just that good.

Colts Suck

So I watched a good chunk of the Colts/Cowboys preseason game tonight, because when you are supposed to fly home from DC and they cancel your flight and make you stay in DC another night and you have nothing better to do than sit at the hotel bar, you don't have a lot of viewing options, and I have to say the Colts are terrible.

A mediocre Cowboys team destroyed them. The offense was out of sync, the run defense was weak, and the pass defense was like swiss cheese.

Sorry to my good buddy The Sidler, but your team is done. They should start trading players away and rebuild.

Also, note to the guy sitting next to me at the bar: It's ok to eat buffalo wings without being really loud and obnoxious. I promise.

William & Mary Update - A little Reggie Miller too.

I decided to do slightly more research on William & Mary than just listening to random drunk guy at hotel bar, and it turns out, they are awesome.

They were an awesome 15-15 last year, 8-10 in the tough Colonial Conference (yes, it's a decent mid-major, but still) with out-of-conference losses to such prestigious programs like Towson, Navy, and Holy Cross, with only win against a decent team (Drexel).

They are also losing their best player, a guy who led the team in scoring, rebounding, and steals.

They must have an awesome recruiting class.

I also just saw on sportscenter that Reggie Miller is considering coming out of retirement to play for the Celtics. So, my reaction is, Why and Why?

Why come out of retirement at this point? That didn't work so well for either Magic or Jordan, and he wasn't the most athletic of guys in his prime. Second, the Celtics? Really? The team with both Paul Pierce and Ray Allen? What the hell would Miller's role be on that team? Might as well sign Dale Ellis instead. You get a guy who could shoot his ass off in his prime, never won a ring (note: not sure if this is true or not and too lazy to look it up), and won't play a minute for your team.

Conclusion: Reggie Miller is dumb. Or is Danny Ainge? It's like chicken for morons.

EDIT TO ADD: Friday is a funny ass movie. What chain?

Congratulations?

I just, literally, seconds ago witnessed Barry Bonds break Hank Aaron's all-time home run record off some guy who I don't even know was pitching.

It's funny, because even though the San Fran fans seems to be pretty jazzed about it, his teammates don't seem to give a crap. Probably because he's completely turned this into an individual achievement, which I admit it is, but still. I haven't even seen him acknowledge a teammate.

And there's Willie "Hayes" Mays, and he's about to say some stuff now.

I honestly don't even know how to feel about this. It sucks that he is a cheater, and it sucks that he's an asshole. I truly wish it was different, and I truly wish I could be more excited about this, but I can't.

And there's Hank Aaron on the Jumbotron congratulating Barry. That's dumb. Either show up and be diplomatic about it, or take a stand and don't do anything. I thought he was all pissy and wasn't going to even acknowledge it, which I could at least respect. Now he just played it both ways and looks like a dummy. TAKE A STAND AND GO WITH IT. Support him or don't. Just like Bud Selig. This middle crap is stupid. UPDATE: I've since learned that perhaps Aaron wasn't as against Bonds as I thought. So I kind of sort of take it back a little.

Although, weirdly, it's kind of how I feel. Indifferent.

Although Bonds just thanked his Dad, pointed to the sky, and then looked like he was about to cry, which is kind of how the reaction of the guy who just broke the "most hallowed record in sports" should be.

I didn't even know Bobby Bonds was dead. That's too bad. From what I've seen he was a pretty good player, although he struck out a lot.

Maybe we can get on with a very good baseball season now, and let this not dominate it.

Also, that dude who got the ball is going to be rich. You should see it, it's a freakin' scrum.

This is a lot of words but shut up I'm drunk in Virginia. Thank God for auto spellcheck on this blogger machine.

Want to Bet on Golf?

Here's some matchups you could take advantage of:

Aug 09 707 S CINK [MU] -120 Toms really blew last week, and Cink has played well
9:25 AM 708 D TOMS [MU] -110

Aug 09 713 R GOOSEN [MU] -140 Goosen hasn't been great, but Immelman has just sucked lately
9:05 AM 714 T IMMELMAN [MU] +110

Aug 09 715 P CASEY [MU] -115 Cabrera really hasn't looked too good since his win, and I think Casey is due to contend
2:10 PM 716 A CABRERA [MU] -115

Aug 09 727 S STRICKER [MU] -130 Stricker seems to always be in contention lately, Stenson is really struggling
9:40 AM 728 H STENSON [MU] EV

Aug 09 729 Z JOHNSON [MU] -140
2:10 PM 730 A BADDELEY [MU] +110 Based on odds here I'd take Baddeley, I consider them even.

Aug 09 731 R ALLENBY [MU] -110
2:45 PM 732 L GLOVER [MU] -120 Allenby hasn't contended since early in the season.

Aug 09 739 H STENSON [MU] -110
9:55 AM 740 P CASEY [MU] -120 same reasoning as above

I consider myself an expert because I'm winning my fantasy golf league. Eat it THEORY!

Watch Out for William & Mary

So, I'm out in Virginia for work and I'm stuck here so I'm at the hotel bar and some guy starts talking to me. I have nothing better to do, so I talk back, and then the conversation turns to college hoops because it's the only thing I can talk about intelligently.

He's a William & Mary grad, and he told me to watch out for them this year, they're gonna be good.

So consider yourself warned.

Good One Sabbatini!

Remember how a few months ago, Rory Sabbatini said that Tiger Woods was as beatable as ever, an pretty much was begging to be matched up with him on a Sunday?

Well, Today at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, he got his wish. The round started with Sabbatini one shot ahead of Tiger, and ended with Tiger Woods the champion, with Rory EIGHT shots back.

Paired up together in the final grouping, Sabbatini shot +4 and Woods shot -5. Like a champion. Sabbatini is an idiot, he talks about Tiger again and again, and is completely unable to back it up. He had the lead over Tiger earlier this year at the Wachovia and blew that one too.

Keep talking Rory, keep talking.

EDIT: To add this article, which includes the following awesomeness:

'Sabbatini even had a run-in with a spectator who, as Sabbatini left the ninth green, said to him, "Hey, Rory. Still think Tiger's beatable?" Sabbatini had police officers escort the fan off the course.'

Charley Walters is Dumber than I Thought

I haven't read any of the local columns in a while, due to being stuck in New Jersey for work which was not awesome, so I just saw Charley Walters reaction to the KG trade, which was this:

In exchange for Garnett, the Wolves will receive Al Jefferson, Sebastian Telfair, Gerald Green, Theo Ratliff, Ryan Gomes and two first-round draft picks from the Celtics. If the Wolves got just Jefferson in return, they would have gotten the best of the deal.

That last part has to be a joke, right? Jefferson is a nice, young player who will probably be very good. KG is a top five player over his career, and is probably still top 10 right now. Maybe this is the beginning of the unfortunately inevitable bashing of Garnett that will take place to make idiots feel better about the fact that he's gone.

Or maybe Charley Walters is a stupidhead.

Recruiting Notes

- Team Breakdown was led by Kenny Boynton with 16 points, while Eloy Vargas added 8 points by the intermission. The Georgia Stars top gun was Al-Farouq Aminu who had 8 points. He got support from front court running mates 6-foot-10 bookends Ralph Sampson and Darius Morrow who added 6 points each.

- Eloy Vargas, the 6-foot-10 post from Team Breakdown, has Pittsburgh, Oklahoma, Florida, Miami (FL), Indiana, Minnesota, Clemson, Virginia, and South Florida among his favorites.

- L.A. Pomlee, the 6-foot-8 power forward from Martin Brothers Select, has really blown-up in Orlando now that he's healthy and back in shape. Schools like Indiana, Kentucky, Providence, Alabama, and Ohio State have joined Iowa State, Iowa, Minnesota, Miami (FL), and Bradley as teams with serious interest in the physical rebounder and shot blocker.

- Vargas, who hadn't scored much for Team Breakdown during the week, showed why a number of majors are hot in pursuit of his services. He hit a 17-footer, did a nifty spin move with a dunk finish and threw a missed shot down with a nasty dunk to get the crowd buzzing

- Klay Thompson, 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Rancho Santa Margarita (CA) Santa Margarita, shined in the recent adidas Super 64 tournament in Las Vegas and the Best of the Summer at Loyola Marymount. Thompson's father Mychal was a standout for the Gophers and was the top overall pick in 1978. The Gophers have offered Thompson a scholarship.

The only guy I haven't heard of in this group is Pomlee, but he's attracting interest from some good schools, so it can only be good to get into the mix.