Quick! Name 3 Twins starters with a first name that doesn't start with a "J." (Yeah that excludes former MVPs Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer)
Maybe you get Denard Span or Delmon Young who is hitting right around .300 with 18 jacks and over 100 RBI. But probably not. I don't know. Maybe I'm underestimating your knowledge of mid-major teams.
What you do know is its October and that means the season is over. No, not just summer but the baseball season as contenders have separated themselves from pretenders who are now officially mathematically eliminated.
"Their success is not supported by or founded on free-spirited financial philosophies focused on finding high-priced free agents."
The Twins are still around. Every year. They are the exception. Their success is not supported by or founded on free-spirited financial philosophies focused on finding high-priced free agents. They even got their home town hero to resign at a discounted rate when he could have collected and made bank as the game's second best player and by far the premier player at his position.
Not only is it rare for teams to develop their own talent and have it translate to wins but even more so to sustain it by keeping those players. Look at the Tampa Bay Rays. They could easily win the World Series but star Carl Crawford just might be too good. Too good for pitchers who try to keep him off base, catchers who try to stop him from stealing them and the Rays who want to just keep him, but can't afford to.
That's what makes the Twins so amazing, their ability to balance their budget and bottomline while staying atop the division.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Monster's of the Midway?
The Chicago Bears started the season off with a less then impressive controversial win over the Detroit Lions. Who I remind you lost their last twenty plus road games dating back to the 2007 season. The only bright spots of the game was Julius Peppers hit on Matthew Stafford that knocked him out for a few weeks, and lance Briggs fumble recovery on the half yard line in the second half. Very bright spots in this despicable game. If it was not for the controversial call in the end zone, the Bears would have lost that game and would have been the laughing stocks of football.1st down- what were the bears thinking this off-season when they went out and got Peppers, Martz, and Taylor w/o getting help with some wide receivers and a better offensive line. Cutler might have to get a good pair of running shoes because he will have to scramble a lot this year. Lovie never show's emotion no matter if the Bears are losing or winning. Like Dennis Green said "The bears are who we thought they were" except this year no one will let them off the hook. Sorry Chicago fans but if Lovie does not lead his team to the playoffs, management probably will fire him. His successor might be one of his hand picked coaches Marinelli, Tice, or Martz.
2nd down- The bears d-backs are some of the worst man defense players in the NFL. They DB's are use to playing that cover 2 scheme defense and not covering their man all the way down the field. Major Wright could be the Bears best draft pick on defense since Brian Urlacher. Hopefully the Bears can utilize their potential here with him, and make him a force soon.
3rd down- when will Lovie Smith realize that his ten year old defense is not that effective no more? The Tampa bay Cover 2 has run its course already, it was great ten years ago. The bears need to go another way with their defense, maybe a little more man coverage will help. Blitzing more can do some damage, since Peppers demands a double team every down and Briggs and Urlacher hits the holes fast.
4th down- Lastly, the bears need to fully utilize Mike Martz and let him throw some trickery into the offense. A bunch of fake passes and more imagination can really help the offense. The defense needs to stay off the field as much as possible, this will help them for the latter parts of the season.
Prediction against the Cowboys- The Bears can possibly win this game if they minimize their turnovers, keep the defense off the field for long periods and pressure on Tony Romo. Plus the Cowboys are coming off a lost on Sunday night football to an impressive Redskins team. So this is a very winnable game.
The Bears can drop the "Monsters of the Midway" theme and just call themselves the Bears... simple.
Until next time sports fans......BOOOOOOOMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jets Vs. Pats
In recent years, the Jets vs. Patriots game has been a game to laugh at if you are a Patriots fan or the Patriots personnel. But times have changed now; the Jets are legitimate Super Bowl contenders and so are the Patriots. The AFC east crown should come down to these two teams, will the Patriots prevailing in the last few weeks of the season.Lets talk about the playoff implications this game will have in only Week 2. The Patriots are coming off a pretty impressive/easy win against the Hollywood Cincinnati Bengals. The jets however played the worst football imaginable. Rex Ryan put a big target on his team back with his statements about his team going all the way this year, and how they are the team to beat in the AFC...Unleash the bull in Ray Lewis ''Big Mistake". Not only did Ray Lewis and his team Defense make the Jets offense non-existent, they did it with style, intensity, trash talk, and intimidation. If your Rex Ryan you should worry more about your teams dismal offense and not women in the locker room or trash talking other teams..
Enough of week 1's antic's, back to the game that matters now Jets vs. Pats. Darrelle Revis calling Randy Moss a "slouch" was a eye popper, but true Statement. Revis has owned Randy Moss the past two seasons; but look for Tom Brady/Belichick to counter that with many short yardage plays for Moss. This could easily send Revis back to his island that he was own all summer or better yet another island. On the other side Mark Sanchez will need to find a way to score this week, unless they will start the season off 0-2 and 0-2 in their new home.
Keys to the game
Jets- Offense needs to play with a since of urgency, to many weapons on the field to only have 9 points last week. Santonio Holmes can not be the savior Rex Ryan wants him to be once he returns from suspension. The offense has to progress, New England could win this game handily if Mark Sanchez still wants to recall his USC days with to much fun in the sun. Sanchez is the key to a Jets victory.
Defense- Antonio Cromartie has to play with some kind of awareness this week or Wes Welker, Randy Moss, and Julian Edelman will have him turning all game. Although, he did have a interception last week, most of the game his head was in the air looking at brown birds instead of the brown football. Revis will be okay with his match-ups, but Cromartie and the rookie corner-back need to play better. Cromartie is the key to the success of this defense.
Patriots
Offense- If Brady and gang can duplicate their offense from week 1 on the Jets star studded defense, they will come out victorious. This is a simple recipe for success for the Pats offense, just flat out score. Run the ball up the middle, use Rex Ryan's Jets approach against him. Kris Jenkins is out for the year with a torn ACL again. They will be soft up the middle.
Defense- Study the Ravens defensive schemes from last week "Blitz" and blitz some more...Putting pressure on Sanchez can easily rattle their offense and cause problems....keep LaDainian Thomlinson in sight, LT in the flats causes problems, monitor the little guy. Do not get beat deep.
Lets just see if Rex Ryan big Hollywood summer with "Hard Knocks" and predictions for the Jets pays off in week 2. Lets not forget the respect level he has for Bill Belichick, the puzzled look on his face clearly says he was more scared of Bill then what his statement said.
Until next time--------BOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Current Rotation: 5 CDs/ Mixtape worth listening to
These are five current Albums/ Mixtapes that I have in rotation. I’ve always had a love for music and I am a very diverse person. Go check these CDs/Mixtapes out, and you might like what you hear.
Sean Garrett- The Inkwell
Notable Songs: “She Geeked”, “Feel Love”, “Oh My God”
Dondria- Dondria vs. Phatfffat
Notable Songs: “Shawty wats up”, “Where Did We Go Wrong”
Marques Houston
Notable Songs: “Pullin on her hair”, “Noize”, “Kickin’ & Screamin”
Wale- More about nothing mixtape
“The trip”, “The Break up song”, “The guilty pleasure”
Big Sean- Finally Famous Vol.3: BIG
*Editors note: I tried to stay away from the CDs that everyone knows about (i.e. Trey Songz). And also please check out Marsha Ambrosius 'yours sincerely' and 'yours truly' mixtapes (their a little bit older but you will enjoy them)
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Weekly Heisman Rank (updated 9/15/10)
1. Kellen Moore QB, Boise State
2. Denard Robinson QB, Michigan
3. Terelle Pryor QB, Ohio State
4. Ryan Mallett QB, Arkansas
5. Ryan Broyles WR, Oklahoma
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