QB of the Future

Once again Cardinals QB Matt Leinart displays the maturity and common sense that we need in our leaders. The Dirty has the scoop on Leinart partying with underage women at his house. Again. This guy is an idiot. Count me as one vote to start Kurt Warner.

Leinart needs to grow up and act like a leader instead of a frat boy. Moreover, I'd give him some slack if he had demonstrated on the field that he knows what he's doing or that he is taking the time to really understand the offense. But so far he's been a disappointment.

Update: Columnist Dan Bickley agrees with me here.

"Golfer Clap!"

This isn't the first time that Tiger Woods or his fierce kiwi caddy have taken action against the dreaded --wait for it-- photographer, but is demonstrates that golf is out of touch. As the NY Times reports here, Woods and his caddy lost their temper because a photographer was snapping pictures as Woods prepared to swing. The caddy kicked the camera because he had lost his patience. Woods defended his caddy's actions saying basically "that's stevie being stevie." Woods himself made a profanity laced threat after a camera click "disturbed" him during a swing.

And not the first time. Back in 2002, Stevie threw a fan's camera into a lake.

The problem isn't Tiger or Stevie's temper. The problem is their expectations. This idea that everyone must be "funeral parlor still" is just silly. As if Golf was some precision sport in comparison with, say, tennis or baseball. Those games are hard as hell and require excellent coordination and concentration. Yet we can yell and scream all we want. It is only effete, gentile golf that requires our silence. Stupid.

Tiger wants us to buy his products, yet he insists we treat him like a gifted pianist. Its time for this crap to stop. Grow up Tiger. Keep your caddy under control and hit the ball while we talk or cheer or take pictures. Just like the big boys in tennis, baseball, basketball, football etc etc etc.

More on China v. Tibet

This says it all:

Arena Football Rankings Week 5

The Rattlers were awesome this week --they destroyed a woeful New York Dragons team. Jeff Smoker turns out to be decent when given time to throw. Whether he has time in the future will determine how the Rattlers do.

Grand Rapids, usually woeful, plastered an amazing 92 points on KC. The Brigade are just terrible. Did they not realize that this isn't AF2 or touch football? After all the progress of last year, its like they returned to expansion team status. Changes must be made --starting with QB. But better for KC to suck than the Rattlers.

RANK Last Week Team W/L Comment
1. (1) Philadelphia Soul 4-0 Destroyed LA
2. (2) Dallas Desperados 4-0 Winning without QB Dolezel.
3. (3) Chicago Rush 3-1 Bonner looked great in blowout.
4. (5) Tampa Bay Storm 2-1 Big game v. Soul this week.
5. (10) New Orleans Voodoo 3-1 New QB Wimprine is playing great.
6. (4) Cleveland Gladiators 3-1 Blown out this week.
7. (7) San Jose Sabercats 2-2 SJ looked good in loss to Dallas
8. (11) Arizona Rattlers 2-2 Smoker decent if given time.
9. (8) Colorado Crush 1-2 No longer an elite team.
10. (9) Georgia Force 1-3 Disappointing Season
11. (13) Orlando Predators 2-2 Two wins in a row.
12. (6) Los Angeles Avengers 2-2 Blown out again
13. (15) Columbus Destroyers 1-3 BeLong way to go in tough division
14. (17) Grand Rapids Rampage 1-2 92pts v. KC
15. (12) New York Dragons 1-3 Awful loss to AZ
16. (16) Utah Blaze 0-4 Blaze need to find some Defense. Still.
17. (12) Kansas City Brigade 0-3 Changes must be made.

On the turning away

There comes a time when we are all faced with moral challeges. When we do something we think is necessary even though we will be criticized for it. It takes guts, courage, and moral conviction. That time has come for me. I am a casual fan of a few college hoops teams. Dayton, Ohio State, Wright State, and ASU. The first three are the local teams of where I grew up and of course ASU is my current local team. That said, I also root for UofA when they aren't playing one of my teams. I'd love to see Arizona's woeful football program get better. But its hard to root for the hoops team. They have been so good for so long that their fans have a sense of superiority that is both annoying and yet pathetic.

But their gloating and sense of entitlement in regard to the Wildcats' selection into this year's NCAA tournament put me over the top. They actually believed they deserved to be in more than ASU. Give me a break. ASU beat UofA twice and finished ahead of them in the PAC-10. That should be the end of the discussion. Had Joe Wildcat said "That sucks, I'm glad we're in, but the Sundevils were robbed" then I'd be fine. But no, they pointed to their long record of success and domination over the Devils and claimed that that somehow justified this years outcome. What a crock.

Regardless I'm done. I'm rooting against the Wildcats hoops team from here on out. Wildcat fan, I hope you're happy.

What to Boycott?

[Guest post]

In 1949, Mao's communist peoples army began its so-called“"liberation"” of Tibet. Over half a century has passed and after the flight of the Dalai Lama, tens of thousands of people are dead or missing. This includes Gendun Nyima, the 6 year old successor to the Dalai Lama who was kidnapped by the Chinese in 1995. To mark the anniversary of the occupation, there have been recent protests in Tibet. There have been calls for an Olympic boycott to highlight the suffering in Tibet as well.

But the US Olympic committee spokesman said that a boycott will accomplish nothing and that it ranked among the worst ideas ever conceived. However, talks of an "atheletic boycott" are misplaced. A boycott will not accomplish much more than punishing young athletes who have spent a lifetime preparing for their moment in the spotlight. (Remember the US boycott of Moscow in 1980?) Instead, what about boycotting corporate sponsors who are in a position to do something about the tragedy in Tibet but will be profiting from the Olympic games instead? If consumers decided to boycott Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Visa and GE, a message would be sent about corporate responsibility. The greatest way to strike a blow for freedom is not to prohibit some 20-year-old in a Speedo from swimming 50 meters in a pool, but to ensure that corporate sponsors who remain silent on the issue of Tibet don’t profit from the games. [editor note: I totally agree. US companies who participate with China are complicit in its abuses in Tibet]

The Straw.

Arena Football Rankings Week 4

The Rattlers were awful again. I have nothing good to say, so I'll just post the rankings. Here's a nice picture of the Cleveland-Columbus showdown.

RANK Last Week Team W/L Comment
1. (1) Philadelphia Soul 3-0 Soul Roll.
2. (2) Dallas Desperados 3-0 Winning without QB Dolezel.
3. (4) Chicago Rush 2-1 Michna played well. QB controversy?
4. (6) Cleveland Gladiators 3-0 Beat Columbus! Three narrow wins.
5. (3) Tampa Bay Storm 2-1 Ugly loss to Voodoo raises questions.
6. (5) Los Angeles Avengers 2-1 Thumped by Georgia
7. (7) San Jose Sabercats 2-1 Nice win over Arizona.
8. (8) Colorado Crush 1-1 No longer an elite team.
9. (9) Georgia Force 1-2 A quality win over LA.
10. (11) New Orleans Voodoo 2-1 New QB Wimprine is playing great.
11. (10) Arizona Rattlers 1-2 QB J. Smoker remains awful.
12. (12) New York Dragons 1-2 Dominated by Philly from the start
13. (17) Orlando Predators 1-2 Off the schneid.
14. (15) Kansas City Brigade 0-2 Most disappointing team of 2008.
15. (13) Columbus Destroyers 0-3 0-3 is ugly.
16. (14) Utah Blaze 0-3 Blaze need to find some Defense.
17. (16) Grand Rapids Rampage 0-2 QB McPherson was awful.

New Video Game!

Arena Football Rankings Week 3

The LA-AZ game was a disappointment to say the least. LA picked on tiny AZ DB Trufant all night. The guy had quickness and great technique, but as Dan put it: "At the end of the day, the guy is too short." The program lists Truffant at 5'8", but I'd guess he's closer to 5'5". Brutal night for a guy who busted his ass. Either the Rattlers need to get someone taller in that spot, or the line needs to improve the pressure on the QB so that Truffant isn't left out to dry.

Worse, starting QB Lang Campbell got injured, and in came backup QB Jeff Smoker of Michigan State (in)fame(ous). Too put it bluntly, Smoker sucked. He held the ball too long and missed too many open receivers. A full week of practice should help, as Smoker has played well in arenaball on occasion, but here's hoping that Campbell (ankle) returns soon.


RANK (Last wk) Team Name W/L
1. (1) Philadelphia Soul (2-0)--Many thought Chicago was top dog. Oops.
2. (3) Dallas Desperados 2-0 --Winning without QB Dolezel.
3. (4) Tampa Bay Storm 2-0 --Storm is for real.
4. (2) Chicago Rush 1-1 --Bonner made too many mistakes.
5. (9) Los Angeles Avengers 2-0 --Nice win over Rattlers on Monday.
6. (10) Cleveland Gladiators 2-0 --Two narrow wins to start in new City.
7. (7) San Jose Sabercats 1-1 --Unimpressive win over Grand Rapids.
8. (9) Colorado Crush 1-0 (bye) --Dallas game next week will show a lot.
9. (5) Georgia Force 0-2 --By far the worst drop off from 2008.
10. (8) Arizona Rattlers 1-1 --Backup QB J. Smoker was horrible against L.A.
11. (15) New Orleans Voodoo 1-1 --Nice win for home opener.
12. (17) New York Dragons 1-1 -- Backup QB Davey playing well.
13. (11) Columbus Destroyers 0-2 -- Tough schedule is no excuse.
14. (13) Utah Blaze 0-2 -- Blaze need to find some Defense.
15. (12) Kansas City Brigade 0-2 --2nd most disappointing team of 2008.
16. (16) Grand Rapids Rampage 0-1 --QB McPherson played well in loss to SJ.
17. (14) Orlando Predators 0-2 --Loss to Voodoo means Predators suck.

Ray Hudson, world's greatest color commentator

While John Harkes may be America's worst soccer announcer, transplanted Brit Ray Hudson may be the best. The fun starts at about 30 seconds into this video. Preview: he is not a fan of Tom Cruise.

Arena Football Rankings Week 2

A lot of great, close games this weekend. I'll be attending the Rattlers home opener this week against Los Angeles. It should be fun. Long-Time Rattlers QB Sherdrick Bonner looked great in his first game for the Chicago Rush. Congrats!

Ranking (Last week's Ranking)

1. (2) Philadelphia Soul- (1-0) Statement win over Orlando.
2. (5) Chicago Rush (1-0) Bonner is back in a dominating win over the defending champs.
3. (1) Dallas Desperados (1-0) Quality win in week 1, but Dolezel's injury drops them to #3.
4. (6) Tampa Bay Storm (1-0). Nice win over KC.
5. (4) Georgia Force (0-1). No shame in losing to Dallas.
6. (3) San Jose Sabercats (0-1) Grieb looked so-so in a bad loss to tough Chicago.
7. (9) Arizona Rattlers (1-0) Beat Utah without Burley.
8. (10) Los Angeles Avengers (1-0) Nice game by QB Cumbie.
9. (11) Colorado Crush (1-0) Nelson is a solid replacement for Harrell.
10. (12) Cleveland Gladiators --(1-0) QB Raymond Philyaw delivered as promised.
11. (7) Columbus Destroyers (0-1). No alarm bells yet.
12. (8) Kansas City Brigade (0-1) Played well in Loss to Storm.
13. (14) Utah Blaze (0-1) Still no defense in 2008.
14. (13) Orlando Predators (0-1) Offense struggled against the Soul
15. (15) New Orleans Voodoo. (0-1) Horn didn't make enough difference.
16. (17) Grand Rapids Rampage (0-0. Bye week.)
17. (16) New York Dragons. (0-1) Garcia was bad and then got hurt. But backup Rohan Davey should be an okay fill-in.

Arena Football Time!

Yes, you can smell it in the air. Arena football time! My Rattlers open vs. Arch-Rival Utah Blaze and I predict a narrow victory for Arizona. No doubt Danny White and Joe Jermaine have some tricks up their sleeve, but we have... uh... NEW UNIFORMS!

Anyway, here's my take on the relative strength of this year's teams. For a more enjoyable preview, check out the Its Still Football blog.

1. Dallas Desperados -An amazing regular season record over the last
two years, but choke in the playoffs. I hate 'em, but I don't see why they can't make a run.
2. Philadelphia Soul- Acquisition of Jackson makes the talented Soul
the team to beat.
3. San Jose Sabercats- Defending champs could easily repeat, but QB
Grieb isn't getting any younger and they lost WR Ben Nelson to Denver.
4. Georgia Force -Outstanding offensive team will miss Chris Jackson,
but still have other weapons and outstanding QB Chris Griesen (former
AZ Cardinal).
5. Chicago Rush -The Rush are back with a new QB/WR combination, after
losing stud WR Bobby Sippio to the NFL. Bonner to Harrell looks good
on paper, but as much as I love Bonner, he is certainly not the QB he
once was.
6. Tampa Bay Storm -QB Brett Dietz proved he could get the job done as
he took the Storm on a roll to the playoffs. Tampa is the team to beat
in the South.
7. Columbus Destroyers Outstanding at QB with Matt Nagy, but the
Destroyers need more offensive firepower if they plan to catch
lightning in a bottle again during the playoffs.
8. Kansas City Brigade -KC finally has a QB in Raymond Philyaw and they
are slowly building a solid team. They have a good shot at the
playoffs.
9. Arizona Rattlers- New Owners, new coach, new QB and almost all new
players. The Rattlers have promised full refunds if they don't make
the playoffs. With Burley back, they have a shot so long as they get
decent play from their new QB.
10. Los Angeles Avengers --Very solid, well-run team that will make a
playoff run, but doesn't have enough firepower to win it all.
11. Colorado Crush --The former champs lost their best receiver but
locked up QB Dutton to a long term (for AFL) contract. I think we'll
be seeing lots of camera shots of an unhappy owner (John Elway) this
year.
12. Cleveland Gladiators --Led by GM Bernie Kosar, the Gladiators
have completely retooled the team for their new home city (formerly Las
Vegas and New Jersey). They could be good out of the gate.
13. Orlando Predators- QB Shane Stafford is solid, but Orlando has
completely rebuilt the predators and it may take a year for them to
fully adjust.
14. Utah Blaze- Best offense in the league has lost their best WR. But
they still have little defense and will struggle to make it to .500
this year.
15. New Orleans Voodoo. I love Steve Bellisari --as he has worked his
way up from the bottom of the indoor football leagues. But New Orleans
doesn't have enough speed or skill unless they are able to bring in new WR (former Rattler) Chris Horn. In that case they will be much improved.
16. New York Dragons. If QB Garcia stays healthy, the Dragons could
challenge for the playoffs. If not, they're the worst team in the
league.
17. Grand Rapids Rampage -The Rampage have brought in new leadership
and new players but it won't be enough.

Good Soccer

Granted, since MLS is in early pre-season, Houston and LA will not be at their best. Or even close. But its about time MLS started pushing the international tournments as they do in Europe.

Update (2/19): ESPN is reporting on David Beckham's arrival in Hawaii for the "Pan-Pacific Championship" games here.

Update (2/26): LA Times reports here that the future of this tournament is in doubt. Lousy crowds and awful field are just a part of the problem. Its a cool idea to bring teams from MLS, Japan, and Australia to Hawaii for a Pacific Ocean Tournament, but alot needs to be done to make it work.

"Nashing" our teeth for soccer...

The LA Times reports the following:

By Grahame L. Jones, Los Angeles Times staff writer
February 20, 2008
Steve Nash could walk into any Major League Soccer
club today and make the starting lineup within a few weeks, but the
soccer-loving NBA star's passion lies across the sea, like so many others.
He might play basketball for the Phoenix Suns, but Nash's soccer heart is
with Tottenham Hotspur, the English Premier League club better known simply as
Spurs. Talking to England's Guardian newspaper, Nash predicted that he one day
would have a role toplay with the 126-year-old London club.
It won't be
about trying to make money, Nash said, separating himself from American
investors who have taken over several of England's leading teams.
"Unlike
them, I've been a passionate supporter all my life," Nash said. "My parents are
from North London and so it's not like I'm some Yank who wants to make a profit
out of football. I don't care about making money. I just want to see Spurs
succeed. If I can help, that's great."
Nash, a Canadian who recently
invested in the Women's Professional Soccer league that launches in the U.S.
next year, is a close friend of Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy and director of
soccer Damien Comolli. "They know how much the club means to me," Nash said.
"But at this point it's more a friendship than a business partnership."

COME ON STEVE! We need MLS Soccer in Phoenix. You make your money here and you live here half the year (we know your heart is in Canada and NYC, but throw your desert fans a bone), so BRING SOCCER HERE! It would take a tiny portion of your vast wealth to bring a MLS team here and put up a stadium (say at the Fairgrounds --wouldn't that be cool!).


via videosift.com

Champ Car Dead

It appears the 10 year split of open wheel racing is finally over. All indications here are that Champ Car is about to declare bankruptcy --leaving Tony George and his Indy Series as the sole survivor.

Too bad. George is the greedy ass owner of the Indianapolis 500 who split the series over the decade ago in a snit about money. It appeared that a merger was likely, but the bankruptcy will end the merger and permit the Indy series to emerge as the winner. Champ Car was the better series with better drivers and great road races, but Indy had Danica Patrick, the Indy 500, and the cash to stay aflot. Hopefully this will lead to better racing. Remember, before the split Indy racing was bigger than NASCAR. Now both leagues were losing drivers left and right to NASCAR because there was so much more money for drivers to make.

I don't like how it was resolved, but thank God the split appears to be over.

Click on the picture of George & Kalkhoven for recent photo of an IRL Driver.



UPDATE: Good news! speedtv.com is reporting here that the two series will merge. This means we will see the Long Beach race continue and more roadcourse races. Plus at least 10 Champ Car teams will race in the IRL this year.

NBA Europe!?

Very interesting news reported by Sports Illustrated here. NBA sources say that David Stern (apparantly tired of screwing the Suns out of NBA Title hopes) is planning for a European Division of the NBA in the next few years. Because NBA-style arenas are finally being built in Europe, now is the time to expand. Proper arenas will be available in London, Berlin, Rome, and Madrid and so those will probably 4 of the 5 or 6 teams in the division. Lots of details to be worked out, but given the total mess that is European Pro Basketball, this appears to be a good thing.

Suns: Crazy Like a Fox

Suns fans are furious about today's blockbuster trade between the Suns and the Miami heat for Shaq. Read about the trade on ESPN here.

I'm a long time Suns fan (and partial season ticket holder) and at first I hated this trade. I mean Shaq is going to KILL KILL KILL our cap room with his crazy contract and bad knees. But... As I thought about it I liked it more and more.

Factors:
1. Marion wants to be the Man. He and Amare don't get along and someone has to go.
2. Marion is an amazing athlete, but his skills don't help us much a playoff time. The Spurs just don't give up that many uncontested ally-oops. Marion too often disappears in the playoffs.
3. I was at our last games against Spurs and Hornets (two leaders in the West). In both games we couldn't hold off the other team in crunch time and Amare played the "Ole" defense at Center. Conclusion: WE ARE NOT going to win a championship with this lineup and fastpace offense.
4. Amare HATES playing center and shows it with his lack of effort on defense. A better coach could motivate him, but with what we have now, something has to change.
5. Banks is a good player but is NEVER going to get playing time w/ D'Antoni. We needed to move him and his cap space. I wish him the best in Miami.
6. Marion's cap room is huge (almost as big as shaq's). It would be a mistake to resign him for what he wants. I love watching the guy play but he isn't the difference maker he thinks he is. We'll miss his excellent defense much more than his exciting but inconsistent offense.
7. Shaq is a huge risk. But now we have a chance to win against Dallas/Lakers/Spurs. We are actually going to struggle more against Golden State, but I'm more worried about the teams that knock us out of the playoffs every year.

Conclusion: Take the risk, roll the dice, and do this trade. We aren't going to win with what we have now --our best chance to win it all was two years ago and we came just short. Last year, Stern knocked out our best players so who knows. Let's make this trade so that we have a chance to have the inside presence we need against the Lakers/Hornets/Spurs/Mavs. If it doesn't work we're screwed for years cap-wise. But I think its worth the risk. Amare will be much happier playing power forward and Diaw can play small forward. We still have outstanding guards and we'll still be a solid team. We can't run w/ Shaq so we'll look a bit like the '80s "showtime" Lakers -- four guys running and gunning w/ Kareem (now Shaq) trotting down the court to join the offense if the fast break doesn't work.

Red Card to ESPN

Latest News on ESPN and Soccer:

Wynalda dumped from telecasts
Posted: Friday February 01, 2008 07:46AM ET
ESPN announced a new broadcast lineup Thursday for its Major League Soccer and U.S. national team telecasts -- and it doesn't include Eric Wynalda. Wynalda did himself no favors last season after derogatory comments he made to a soccer blog about a fellow ESPN personality who's also a notorious soccer critic. ESPN suspended the former U.S. national team forward for the MLS season opener.

Basically, Wynalda said (while drinking a few beers with a soccer blog guy) "Jim Rome Can Suck My Dick!" He was suspended by ESPN because the comments were published. He later went on Rome's radio show to apologize. That should have been the end of it, but basically ESPN fired him and replaced him with John Harkes (the same John Harkes who allegedly "slept" with Wynalda's wife just before the 1998 World Cup in France. Ouch!

Wynalda is the best thing for ESPN soccer --he is actually critical and makes insightful comments. Yes he tends to pop off, but that's why we love him. As for Jim Rome (who makes a thing of hating soccer), Wynalda simply said what every soccer fan was thinking.

Bring back Wynalda ESPN! Where do I sign the (futile) petition?



UPDATE: ESPN Sucks.
Wynalda loses network job
Posted: Wednesday February 06, 2008 07:42AM ET
Just weeks after ESPN made the decision to remove Eric Wynalda from its broadcast team for MLS and U.S. national team games, the network has completely severed ties with the controversial analyst. Sources have told SBI that ESPN and Wynalda have parted ways after weeks of negotiations to find a new role for Wynalda. The original plan was to have Wynalda work on Champions League broadcasts but the network and Wynalda could not agree on his role. It is believed that ESPN bought out the remaining year on Wynalda's contract.

2018? USA!!!!

Soccer America (and others) are reporting here that US Soccer is deciding whether to bid on the right to host the 2018 World Cup of soccer. WTF? Hell yes they better bid! Under the old rotation system, North America was up to host in 2018 anyway. FIFA just scrapped it under pressure (and influence) of Europe. What a crock! Right now the US plans to bid but it wants to wait and see if it has a chance. This is a change of heart from a year ago --when the USA federation voted unanimously to bid on 2018. Summary here and here. Back then ol' Sepp Blatter was saying it was hard not to give it to USA. The Sepster is strangely quiet now (post the vote to scrap the rotation system).

I understand if USA has to step in for the 2010 World Cup (South Africa) or the 2014 World Cup (Brazil), but otherwise USA should get the cup. We should bid on principle alone. Sadly, experts, like this guy on espn are saying USA's bid is a longshot.

Bitter Twellman: Don't Dwell, Man!

MLS runner-ups New England Revolution (owned by Bob Kraft of Patriots fame) has an outstanding player in Taylor Twellman. Too bad Taylor re-upped with the Revs for $300k a year --as now Europe has come calling with offers of big transfer fees. To Taylor's frustration, MLS/Revs (depends on who you ask) keep turning down the millions for the rights to Twellman's services as a striker.
Espn covers it here.

I feel bad for the guy --rare is the opportunity to play for big money and big glory in the English Premiere league. I almost don't blame him for whining about it. Almost. The Revs showed faith in the guy by signing him to a big (for MLS), longterm contract last year. Now he wants out. But too bad. Good for MLS for keeping one of stars it developed ---the league needs to keep guys like Twellman in order to build its product. If only my Columbus Crew had done that years ago when they let Brian McBride go to Fulham...

Anyway, ol' Taylor needs to quit whining and concentrate on playing better for the US National Team (where his performance is up and down).

1/15/08 UPDATE: Soccer America says basically the same thing here in comparing Twellman's plight to Eddie Johnson's relative "freedom" to pursue Europe. Did Twellman have a "trigger clause" in his contract that would have set him free?