Whadda week...

So...let's go through a few thoughts...

RSN -

Daisuke Matsuzaka is looking tired. I know that the Red Sox are trying to treat Clay Buchholz with kid's gloves, but I think it would help their chances in the post-season to maybe skip Matsuzaka for a turn or two in the rotation - cut back a bit on his throwing, so he's fresher come post-season.

Patriot Nation -

Bill Belichick did something mind-bogglingly stupid.

Not a sentence I thought I would ever find myself writing.

But Video-gate has been interesting to follow outside of Pats territory. Lost on most it seems are the following -

1. The video camera was confiscated in the first quarter along with the tape. The Patriots never had an opportunity to analyze the tape.
2. I have heard analysts talk about how a tape like this can give a team a huge advantage due to their ability to make adjustments to what an opposing defense is doing in the second half - here's the problem with that: a coaching staff would have to sync the film of the opposition's signals with game film to see what's happening on the field. Halftime is ten...maybe fifteen minutes? That's gotta be one talented analyst. So the idea that it can help in the same game is absolutely ridiculous.
3. I have heard others talk about it giving an advantage in the case of a rematch. I have heard former players talk about how teams typically change their defensive signals when facing a team for the second time in a season. So no advantage there, either.

Was what Belichick did wrong and paranoid? Yes. Did he and the team deserve to be sanctioned? Yes.

Is it going to hurt his legacy in the league? Only in the short-term. Does it tarnish the Patriots' legacy? Also, only in the short-term. The fact is that Belichick is not the first coach to do anything like this and won't be the last. Check out Jason Cole's article at Yahoo Sports. He points out that Mike Shannahan got caught by the league filming Chargers' practices - PRACTICES! That means they physically sent someone to San Diego during the week. This article from the Washington Post notes that the Broncos won their Super Bowls while out of compliance with the salary cap.

If there's anything that can give a team an unfair competitive advantage, it's spending more than allowed.

Don't get me wrong, I don't like what Belichick did, and am not defending it. My point is that Shanahan's transgressions have not impacted the esteem in which he is held around the league and in the press. This is unlikely to taint anything Belichick and the Patriots do for anything more than just the short-term.

Tiki the Beeyotch

Tiki Barber in his soon-to-hit-the-stands autobiography reportedly blames Tom Coughlin for his recent retirement.

According to multiple sources, Barber wrote, "If Tom Coughlin had not remained as head coach of the New York Giants, I might still be in a Giants uniform, (Coughlin) robbed me of what had been the most important thing I had in my life, which was the joy I felt playing football. I had lost that. He had taken it away."

He also claims that the Giants shorted him $10 million in what he was worth as a top flight running back.

Let's start with the money - as a player, if you don't like what they're offering you, then don't sign the contract. Nobody held a gun to your head and made you sign. Don't use the franchise tag as an excuse either. If you're getting franchised, you're still getting the money. So stop whining about money.

Now, let's deal with the Coughlin thing. Don't pin this on him. He saved your career.

In 2003 Barber was 4th overall amongst running backs with six fumbles lost, and near the bottom of the league in fumbles total with nine. It was his fourth straight season with at least eight, and the third of four seasons with nine. There were whispers that the Giants were frustrated with his propensity to put the ball on the ground. Scouts talked about him as a third-down back and wrote pieces that attributed his fumble-itis to the fact that he just wasn't built to be an every-down back.

It was believed that Barber, in spite of his great yardage, was likely to end up on some other team's roster as a change of pace back.

Not the most lucrative of positions - certainly not compared to starter's money.

Coughlin came in and fixed him. The coach changed the way Barber carried the ball. In the three subsequent seasons Barber fumbled the ball a total of eight times. Coughlin made Barber one of the premier backs in the league.

For that, he gets an ungrateful pissant retiree who is engaging in revisionist history to make himself feel better about retiring early.

If he can't separate facts from the fictions in his mind, I'd really prefer it if Barber just went quietly away...although, at this point I would settle for him just going away.

Feet of Clay

Breaking with tradition during September call-ups...

Traditionally, this is the time when teams that are no longer in a race - whether so far ahead that the team has run away with the division, or so far behind that only the die-hards are still watching - showcase next year's rookies. Normally, teams like the Red Sox who have a lead that can still go away will only be playing those September call-ups in blow-outs.

Seldom will those rookies get field time on a first place team still looking to put the division away...after all - the veterans got them this far, and front offices don't want to crush the sometimes fragile psyche of their potential stars of tomorrow (see Craig Hansen).

The Red Sox in particular have a habit of protecting their rookie call-ups - particularly the pitchers. Under Theo, they have traditionally brought their future starters out of the pen, easing them into their transition to the bigs.

Never made sense to me, but that's what they did.

This year they threw Brandon Moss, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Clay Buchholz into the heat of a pennant race. They've been rewarded with sterling defense, a home-run that provided the team with its margin of victory in a close game, and a no-hitter.

Not bad, considering the veteran leaders let the team down in a three game set against New York.

Other thoughts...

One -

Rodney...after two straight seasons with catastrophic injuries, I understand what you were thinking. I'm not happy about the four game suspension, nor your use of HGh that got you that suspension.

I respect that you manned up and admitted to it. I respect that you didn't try to hide behind the concept that your name was on a list, but you didn't do anything...who was the player who claimed to have ordered human growth hormone, but claimed to have never used it? I respect that you didn't try to hide behind excuses, or the union.

I know how hard it is to come back from injuries having screwed up the tendons in both my ankles after the age of thirty.

I understand it. I really do.

I also have no words for how disappointed I am in you.

Two -

I'm not a big college football guy. I'll watch Penn State and Boston College football games, but not a whole lot else.

However - how great was it to see Michigan's "easy" early season opponent, Division 1 AA's Appalachian State out play Michigan in every facet of the game, and seal the deal on a block of a short field goal attempt that would have given Michigan the win?

Chalk one up for the underdog.

Three -

How is it the Yanks can play the Sox so tough in a three game set, holding the Sox to an average of two runs per game, and then play the lowly Devil Rays, dropping two of three while giving up an average of just under eight runs per game? As I write this, they are losing to the Mariners by a score of 6-1.

Four -

I know this hasn't been a good year for JD Drew. He's been a catastrophe and a rally killer at the plate - but I have to give him props for the way he gunned down the Baltimore player at the plate to help get Lester out of the first inning. It was nice seeing the Sox right fielder channeling Dwight Evans.

Some quick thoughts...

How is it the Red Sox can dismantle a solid pitcher like Mark Buehrle and then five games later make a mediocre Roger Clemens look like he's vying for the Cy Young award?

Imponderable - If Indians fans are "on the reservation," Red Sox fans are part of "Red Sox Nation," and Phillies fans are "phanatics," does that make Padres fans "pod people?"

A couple of comments on Peter King...

Peter King this week took issue with the NFL's pre-season, noting that football's exhibition season should be shortened from four weeks to three for several reasons. On ESPN radio this week he noted that the Giants suffered severe injuries in last week's game to four players that were likely to make their roster.

In general, I like Peter King - I don't always agree with him, but he tends to put a lot of thought behind his arguments. This was not one of them.

He talked about how the pre-season should be shortened to three games in order to avoid these injuries, using the Giants as an example. Of course the Giants injuries came in the third game rendering the argument...shall we say impotent?

Personally, I'm one of the few freaks that genuinely likes this time of year. I like to see the guys on the bubble, sometimes find somebody to root for to make the team. I will have my butt parked on my couch tomorrow night with the channel tuned to the NFL network to catch that last Patriots pre-season match-up with the Giants.

Also at SI.com, King listed what he felt were the top 500 players in the NFL - approximately the top 30 percent. Interesting read - 21 of the Patriots 22 starters made the list (T. Brady, Watson, Light, Welker, Moss, Stallworth, Koppen, Neal, Mankins, Maroney, Seymour, Warren, Wilfork, Vrabel, Colvin, Bruschi, A. Thomas, Hobbs, Samuel, Harrison, Wilson). Go over there for the actual rankings.

Little more than a week to kick-off. Can't wait.

Why I haven't posted regularly for the last week...

Today I welcomed Calliope Smith (middle name to be determined) to the world.

Born August 29, 2007, 11:06 AM, 8 lbs, 5 ozs, 20 inches.

Mother and daughter are doing well...dad's still not so sure and sister Aurora (Borealis Smith...yes, that's what we named her. Wanna make something of it?) pictured below is overjoyed to have a sibling. She is currently vacationing on the Outerbanks and will not meet Calliope until this weekend.

She will begin her indoctrination into Red Sox and Patriots Nations ASAP.

Back to my regularly scheduled sports rants tomorrow...and boy, do I have some catching up to do.

TWIR...the week in review...

The Yankees won two games in a row, Friday and Saturday, and lost a half game in the standings to the Red Sox who dismantled the White Sox.

Tim Wakefield and Josh Beckett both have 16 wins on the season and Daisuke Matsuzaka has 14. That's huge in the absence of an effective Curt Schilling.

Michael Vick is likely done in the NFL. The NAACP should stop wasting their time with this and find someone whose civil rights are actually being violated and help that person.

With the exception of one lapse in pass coverage late in the first half, the Patriots looked sharp in their pre-season match-up with the Carolina Panthers. Some quick observations -

• After looking a little tentative and indecisive on his firs couple of rushes, Maroney looked good.
• I'm not sure I like the offensive line going to a zone blocking scheme - it seemed at times that too many people were coming free in the backfield on running plays. The pass blocking, on the other hand, was almost flawless.
• Tight end Marcellus Rivers is making a strong case for sticking with the team. He had two more catches including one for a touchdown, and is a decent blocker. If the Pats cut him and no one picks him up, I will be shocked. I can't figure out why the Giants cut him.
• Donte Stallworth made a hell of a play coming back on a severely under-thrown fluttering duck from Brady.
• Wes Welker appears to have come as advertised and might be the biggest impact free-agent the Pats picked up.
• Am I the only one who is wondering if Randy Moss is pulling a T.O/Terry Glenn here with the hamstring injury?
• Mike Richardson looks like a real player at corner. Hopefully that arm in the sling was precautionary and nothing more.
• For a team playing with only one of its starting defensive linemen, the guys up front did a good job of slowing down the run and of getting penetration.

One final observation (not Patriots)...

Just another example of how ESPN's product has been slipping. ESPN has a piece about baseball teams and "who's the face of the franchise." In the case of the Red Sox, Eric Young at baseball tonight said that it was the Green Monster.

While not the worst choice, it is indeed a choice that required no thought, reflection, or the realization that an inanimate object associated with where the team plays cannot be the face of the franchise. That would be like saying the face of the franchise in Toronto is the Sky Dome because there is no player who is big enough, or has a strong enough personality to be the face of the franchise.

Not surprisingly, three of the other four sources named David Ortiz, and the fourth named Mr. Red Sox, Tim Wakefield.

Ultimately, I guess you have to wonder what the criteria are for being the face of the franchise. My own criteria, and the player has to meet any three of these to qualify - is he the guy the press go to for a comment? Is he the guy that kicks the rest of the team in the ass when they aren't playing well? Is he the guy that carries the team on his back when the team needs him to? Is he the guy that the Team actively markets to get fans to games? Is he the guy that fans automatically associate with the team?

The only exceptions to this can be owners. As much as Derek Jeter is the face of the Yankees, so to is George Steinbrenner. The player doesn't even have to be the best player on the team, he just has to...well meet a number of the above requirements.

To give you an example - two of the sources named Miguel Tejada the face of the Orioles. I live in Oriole country, and I don't see it. Brian Roberts, Peter Angelos, even Kevin Millar I think all are better choices.

It's an interesting, albeit flawed list. Worth a visit none the less.

Testing the limits

According to an AP report, Michael Vick's guilty plea will not include pleading guilty to the gambling charges or the charges that he was involved in animal cruelty. He will be pleading guilty only to the interstate commerce for the purpose of dogfighting charge.

From all reports, the Feds have Vick dead to rights on just about all of the charges, so what remains to be seen - on Monday - is whether or not the judge accepts the plea.

If the judge does not, look for the Feds to move forward with the superseding indictments and for a court case that is going to only further tarnish Vick's reputation and cause greater damage to his chances to repair his image. In essence, if the case goes forward and more facts surface regarding how deep Vick's involvement in this subculture really is, the worse it will be for any earning potential or possibility of returning to football.

With the narrow scope of what Vick is pleading guilty to, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if the judge assigned to this case throws the plea out.

Can't find my way home....

It appears, in the last couple of years, that the NAACP has lost its way.

I know that football is an emotional game, and it is difficult as a fan not to get emotionally invested, but for the second time in three years, the head of a major chapter of the NAACP has made a truly bone-headed statement to the press in regards to a professional football player. With the presidents of two major chapters in the last three years taking some idiotic stances, I think the organization has lost the right to have their membership showing blind faith in its leadership (this doesn't even include issues like the embezzlement of the organization's funds by its leaders in 2002 in the smaller chapter in Frederick, MD).

The first time was in December of 2005 when J. Whyatt Mondesire, head of the Philadelphia chapter of the NAACP essentially called Donovan McNabb an Uncle Tom because McNabb no longer scrambled like he did early in his career. Of course one of the major facts that Mondesire ignored in his argument that McNabb was better before he became a pocket passer, is that until McNabb stayed in the pocket, the team didn't even make it to the NFC Championship game, let alone the Super Bowl.

The same man compared McNabb to Doug Williams, calling him, "no Doug Williams," for his failure to perform in the Super Bowl. For that, Philadelphia fans should be thankful. Williams was at best a mediocre quarterback who had one great game and a couple of good ones on his way to his Super Bowl win with the Redskins. Williams was in and out of the league, playing 1978-1982 for Tampa before toiling in the USFL until 1986 when he joined Washington. He was gone before the 1990 season, playing in only 21 games during his four seasons in Washington.

Head to head, McNabb was and is the far better quarterback =

Williams - 8 Seasons, 88 games

Att 1240  Comp 2507  Percentage 49.5 Yards 16998   Yd/att 6.8 TD 100 INT 93

McNabb - 8 Seasons, 104 games

Att 1898  comp 3259  percentage 58.2 yards 22080   yd/att 6.8 TD 152 INT 72 

Statistical comparisons aside, this attack confounded the NAACP brain-trust who openly wondered if Mondesire shouldn't have more pressing civil-rights concerns.

One has to wonder the same about R.L. White, president of the NAACP's Atlanta chapter who yesterday said, "As a society, we should aid in his rehabilitation and welcome a new Michael Vick back into the community without a permanent loss of his career in football. We further ask the NFL, Falcons, and the sponsors not to permanently ban Mr. Vick from his ability to bring hours of enjoyment to fans all over this country."

That's an easy request for a man to make that is not reliant on the general public to pay his salary. The NAACP does not get its revenues from a consumer base - many of whom are dog owners.

White compared dog-fighting to hunting. Not necessarily a stretch, but also the wrong group to attack as they are often dog owners.

He mentions that others were saying things to save their own hides. Probably true - but that doesn't necessarily mean that what they were saying were lies either - particularly in light of the video evidence that the Feds supposedly had...not to mention the fact that is seems the money trail kept leading back to Vick.

Like Mondesire, White ignored a number of facts in this case. If Vick receives a lifetime ban from the league, it won't be for dog-fighting. It will be for gambling. If sponsors do not return to Vick, it will not be because he failed to rehabilitate himself, it will be because they believe that he is no longer a viable marketing commodity and would more than likely cause sales to drop rather than increase.

Finally, being in Atlanta, home of the Genarlow Wilson debacle - like Mondesire, doesn't White have some real civil rights issues he needs to be working on?

Mid-week observations

Getting tougher in the Bronx

The Yankees have been great since the All-Star break, climbing to as close as four back of the AL-East leading Red Sox. They have cut what was once a 15-game deficit to what is now six games and are in the thick of the wild-card race, climbing from as many as ten games under .500 to 70-56.

In spite of all that, I still think the Yankees are done.

This is why -

The Bommahs are 22-25 against the East. A winning percentage of 0.468.

Against the West they are 12-15 - 0.444.

However they have owned the teams in the Central. Against the Central they are a gaudy 26-8. That's a winning percentage of 0.765.

Unfortunately for the Yankees, they only have seven games remaining against the Central. At their current paces against each division, that means we're looking at five wins against the Central and two against the West. The Yanks have 25 games remaining against the East which translates to maybe 12 wins.

Realistically, I think the Yankees finish with a respectable total of 87...maybe 89 wins. The Red Sox could go .500 in their remaining games and still finish with 94 wins.

The Yanks could still make the wild-card, but I'm guessing Seattle gets it.

Wake-up call

The Red Sox have two fifteen game winners and one fourteen game winner. With approximately seven starts remaining, Tim Wakefield has a legitimate shot at 20 wins. I think 18 is more realistic, but Wake's year could give the Sox a staff with three starters with at least 17 wins.

When is the last time that happened?

Welcome to the Bigs, rook

I've said this before and I will say it again. Right now the Red Sox have to have three of the leading candidates for Rookie of the Year in Dustin Pedroia, Hideki Okajima, and Daisuke Matsuzaka. Unfortunately for Oki, I think Pedroia is more likely to get the award.

Don't get me wrong, Pedroia has had a deserving season, but I don't think the Sox are in first without Okajima. He has been the rock in the bullpen, and the most consistent of the three. I just don't think middle relievers ever get the credit they deserve.

This ain't gonna be The Longest Yard

Vick couldn't beat the feds and now he's facing a local DA in Virginia who is going to use the Feds evidence and Vick's own confession as a cudgel in trying to convict him on animal cruelty charges. If my understanding is correct - each charge carries with it a maximum five-year sentence that can be ordered to be served consecutively rather than concurrently.

If Surry County prosecutor Gerald Poindexter convicts Vick of all charges, the soon to be former Falcons quarterback could be looking at serving up to an additional 40 years in a Virginia penitentiary after he gets out of federal prison.

What do you suppose the over-under is on when his brother finally screws up enough that he's out of the league as well?

From Don Banks -

Before he would let our conversation end, the veteran personnel evaluator made
one more point, and said it was something he thought a lot of people within NFL
circles have felt as Vick's long, sordid dogfighting saga has played out the past four months.
"I don't know what's going to happen to Michael Vick, and I don't care,'' he said, slowly and with emphasis. "The guy has embarrassed the NFL and embarrassed the game that a lot of us care about greatly. He's not worth any more time and energy and attention. It's his problem now.''

Banks in his article at si.com talked to a number of personnel people around the NFL about Vick's future in the NFL based on speculation that the earliest Vick could return would be for the 2009 season - really a best case scenario for Vick. There's a fair chance he could receive a lifetime ban from the NFL for the gambling aspect of his recent issues.

Realistically, I'm guessing a two year suspension which can only be served while he is on a roster. Assuming he remains on the Atlanta roster until June so they can minimize the salary cap hit, we're probably looking at ten games this season before he starts his jail term which will eat into next season. That means Vick will likely still be looking at 22 games - and that's only if he can get onto a roster, a team that is willing carry close to a season and a half of dead money before this guy can play. That would be after a four season layoff.

At best, he would come back as a back-up quarterback, or maybe a wide-receiver or running back. I doubt anyone would consider one of the statistically worst quarterbacks in the league for a starter after a four year layoff. But there's a chance someone might look at him for another position.

But who would take a flyer?

The following teams are unlikely to take him due to being set at QB and because Vick doesn't fit what the team does - or his reputation for not being a hard worker will also hurt him with the following -

Patriots - QB
Jets - not a hard enough worker for Mangini and probably are set at QB
Colts - QB
Bengals - QB
Chargers - QB
Saints - QB
Seahawks - QB
Packers - Green Bay just plain won't accept him
Rams - QB
Falcons - Arthur Blank will have burned that bridge
Giants - Mara family unlikely to take a flyer on Vick
Steelers - Ditto for the Rooneys

The following recently addressed QB issues and hope they won't have to address the position in four years -

Raiders
Browns
Redskins
Cowboys
Eagles
49ers
Cardinals
Texans
Chiefs
Broncos
Titans
Bills
Dolphins
Vikings

Teams that might be in most need of help at the QB position, or might address it between now and then -

Jaguars
Panthers
Ravens
Lions
Bears
Buccaneers

Personally, I think that the suspension will operate like a scarlet letter. No one is going to want to invest money in a player that can't earn the money for a year and a half. It's why no team, no matter how deficient on defense, has signed Tank Johnson.

A lot of people are speculating that Vick will one day return to the league, but I think that the suspension is tantamount to the end of his career. I wonder if he actually has enough saved up to sustain himself while he finishes his degree. If not, I think he needs to get used to the words, "would you like fries with that?"

You knew I had to comment

So Michael Vick accepted a guilty plea today to the dogfighting charges.

Surprise, surprise.

There's a lot that's sad about this -

It's sad that many of those who supported Vick throughout this will continue to maintain his innocence, claiming he was railroaded by the federal government; that they will do so in spite of the fact that, according to the indictment, there was video evidence that he attended dogfighting; in spite of the fact that there was no evidence that a single one of his cronies could have in any way funded an operation like this.

There will be those that continue to defend him, like Clinton Portis did, because, "they's his dogs, he should be able to fight 'em if that's what he wants to do."

It's sad that many of these people believe that it's because he's black that he has been targeted by the feds, in spite of the fact that people like Donovan McNabb and Robert Johnson (the founder of BET) have not. It's sad that they think this is a racial thing when in fact it's about federal statute.

It's sad that a supremely talented athlete (he has a long way to go as a quarterback, but he's one hell of an athlete), is willing to throw his career away because he needed cheap thrills from a bloodsport, and needed the added excitement of gambling on said bloodsport. This was what was more important to him during the off-season than working on his game.

Don't pity him, because this is the path he chose, but it's sad that football was just a means for him to fund something else. If he wanted to be the best in the game he would have done what McNabb, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and countless other quarterbacks do during the off-season - they work on their game, they train, they try to improve. He thought fighting dogs was a better use of his time.

And that's just sad.

Remember when...

Welcome to my little nostalgic trip down memory lane in professional sports -

Remember when covering the courts was synonymous with covering basketball, not football?

When you didn't need a degree in chemistry to follow home-run chases?

Or have a degree in law to follow the NFL and NBA?

When hockey was relevant?

When NASCAR wasn't?

When the MLB All-Star Game was a good game because players had pride in the way they played - whether the game mattered or not?

When the Eastern European Olympic squads were vilified for their steroid use while American athletes were supposedly winning cleanly?

When athlete's hat and shoe sizes didn't mysteriously increase due to using "flax-seed oil?"

When basketball was still primarily a team sport?

When Al Davis still knew football?

When Matt Millen still had an untarnished legacy in football?

When Bill Belichick was the head coach that would ever only be a great defensive coordinator?

When 49ers-Giants was the NFL's marquee match-up?

When Pete Rose was a sure-fire, first-ballot Hall of Famer?

When you heard James Earl Jones deliver this line, "America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh... people will come Ray. People will most definitely come," and some naive part of you actually still believed it?

when you could actually turn on ESPN expecting sports, MTV expecting music, and CNN expecting real and relevant news?

When the big scandal in sports usually involved Yankees pitchers swapping families?

When the Orioles were a contender?

When the term doubleheader meant that you were going to get to see two games on one ticket?

When going to the ballpark on the major league level cost less than $15.00 for bleacher seats a dog and a beer?

When it was hard to get into a Redskins game in DC?

When pitchers regularly started 35 to 40 games per season and it wasn't unusual to have between two and three starters with anywhere from 15 to 25 wins each?

When sportscasters didn't feel the need to turn every player's name into a nickname while showing highlights?

When George Michael was the man and The Sports Machine was the show to watch for the week's wrap-up of sports news?

Quick hits

Slim to none

Michael Vick's chances for an acquittal just went from Hell in a hand basket to...well, whatever could be worse than going to Hell in a hand basket. Maybe the best comparison is that his scrotum is about to get raked across hot coals by the feds.

With the news hitting that Vick's remaining two co-defendants in the dogfighting trial, Quanis Phillips and Purnell Peace are copping guilty pleas, Vick's defense just took a major hit.With Phillips and Peace copping pleas months before trial, it's probable that these two have worked out deals in which they will be testifying against Vick. This now gives the feds at least seven people that will be testifying against Vick.

Sayonara Mikey, don't let the turnstile hit you in the ass on your way out of the league.

Knuckling down

To some people's chagrin, and I will never understand why that is, Tim Wakefield right now is Mr. Red Sox. With approximately eight starts left, Wake is now second on the team in wins at 14-10, is second on the team in innings pitched 150.1, and third in ERA (4.55) among starters.

This guy has been invaluable to the team in his time here. He has started, been middle relief, closed, and even was the emergency starter two games after his scheduled spot in the rotation a few years ago. The man has been an innings eater and an absolute horse and last night, after a series in which the bullpen blew two games the team had essentially won, Wakefield silenced the Devil Rays' bats through six full innings, and finished the game with three hits over eight innings.

That's veteran presence.

Interesting tidbit from Steve Phillips

Phillips noted that Eric "Gags" Gagne, since coming to the Red Sox is throwing fastballs on roughly 62 percent of his pitches. During his streak in Texas where he was pitching so well - only 52 percent of his pitches thrown were fastballs, and his punch-out pitch was typically a change-up.

I would like to think that Red Sox scouts would have noticed this.

A common complaint...

In recent years, I swear that one thing I hear announcers talk about when I watch football is how tackling is a lost art.

Players are more concerned with the kill-shot - the highlight reel shot that gets them their fifteen seconds of fame on ESPN. They drop their heads, lower their shoulders, and smack the crap out of the ball-carrier. Sometimes they knock the guy down, sometimes they don't. Either way, it almost always seems to make ESPN.

It seems like there's only a handful of teams left that have reputations as sound tacklers - where it tends to be unusual for a wide receiver or a running back to get extra yards after first contact, because the defender actually wraps the guy with the ball. During Friday's exhibition between Tampa Bay and New England, I saw Patriots corner Randall Gay make a text book tackle of one of the Buc's wide outs - helmet on hip, left arm around waist, right around leg. It was how coaches should be teaching kids on the Pop Warner level.

As for why you see less and less of this - well, it could be because players now are what "Concrete" Charlie Bednarick describes as, "pussycats." The last of the 60-minute men, the true two-way players, Bednarick put the emphasis on, "pussy," when he made that statement.

Or it could be because of the following, as reported today in Peter King's Monday Morning Quarterback Column at Sports Illustrated -

Speaking of ESPN, a great note from Ed Werder before the Cowboys-Colts
preseason opener -- the first tackle Dallas made in the game would be their
first full-contact tackle of the summer, because Wade Phillips hadn't had the
team in any full-contact situations yet. Amazing in this day and age that
full-speed tackling is very rarely practiced in camps around the league. Even in
tradition-loving places like Pittsburgh (one practice), Buffalo (two practices)
and Chicago (two practices), I saw zero put-'em-on-the-ground tackling drills or
full-contact tackling.

It's a wonder that tackling isn't worse.

Monday morning riffin'

Stupid is as stupid does. And people paid $30.00 to watch that.

The current numbers on Eric Gagne in a Red Sox uniform - seven runs in four innings over five games. Incredibly, that means that Gagne managed to lower his ERA for his time in Boston from 16.20 to 15.75 yesterday.

The Yankees certainly got hot at the right time - getting healthy against the bottom feeders over the last month, and then having games against struggling Indians and Tigers clubs. Of course it helps that the Bommahs are currently facing off against the only division in the American League against whom they have a winning record.

Approximately eight weeks ago the Yanks trailed by 14.5 games. Today that lead is four games. Sox fans can thank the Central for that as against the East (21-23), and the West (12-13) combined the Yankees are three games below .500 - the Central (23-7) on the other hand is having trouble buying wins against the Yanks who have a gaudy .767 winning percentage against the home division of the reigning AL champs.

Note to Vince Young - you're supposed to be the team leader. Team leaders don't get suspended from exhibition games.

Props to former Cardinals pitcher and current Cards outfielder Rick Ankiel - four games played since rejoining the club. During that time - 16 AB, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 6 K's and an on base percentage of .417. While it's pretty much impossible that he could keep this pace up over an entire season, right now this is how that translates over 500 at bats - 94 HR, 188 HR, 188 K's. The man's on fire right now, but will cool off. I just thought it was appropriate to recognize the tear he's on since his call-up.

A few bright things from Friday's exhibition match between the Patriots and Buccaneers after noting that the defense - starting and back-up alike - struggled against the run. Hopefully that works itself out. As a whole, really, it's a chance to get a look at the young talent and begin guessing who has a shot at making the team and who doesn't.

In extended time the following looked good -

Mike Wright appears to be continuing his progression as a reliable back-up, finishing the night with four solo tackles and a sack for a seven yard loss.

Linebackers Justin Rogers and Oscar Lua were active and combined for 11 total tackles (four and five solo tackles respectively) and one sack (Rogers).

Willie Andrews continues to progress, and late round draft pick Mike Richardson went step for step with one of Tampa's wide outs, almost making a highlight reel interception on a jump ball put up along the left sideline by Bucs back-up QB Bruce Gradkowski.

Just a guess at this point - but I would say keep an eye on Rogers, Lua, and Richardson.

Best bullpen in baseball Gags again

Gag - verb (gagged, gagging) 1 put a gag on. 2 choke or retch.

From the Oxford English Dictionary.

From here on out - Gags is my nickname for Eric Gagne, the trade-deadline pitcher that was supposed to propel Boston to the World Series. And it ain't because he's a laugh riot or 'cause he's silencing anyone.

I'm already on record as saying I didn't like the trade. Like Paul over at Behind Enemy Lines, I'm an, "It ain't broke, don't fix it," sort of guy when it comes to sports. If there was anything broken on the Sox, it certainly wasn't their bullpen. Could they have used some better hitters coming off the bench - sure, what team couldn't. But the bullpen? Before they traded for Gagne they had the best bullpen in the league.

But Gagne? Gagne has snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Behind Enemy Lines already commented on Friday's Gag, and I was willing to let it go since anyone can have a bad day - but in his brief career with the Red Sox (and I'm not positive, but I think these numbers don't completely include today's fiasco), batters are hitting a whopping .474 off of Gags to go along with an astronomical ERA of 16.20, he has blown two hold/save chances and has almost given up as many runs (6) in a Sox uniform as he had in his entire time with Texas (8).

Given my choice, I will say it again - I would have kept Gabbard.

Gabbard gave the Sox four wins. Gags has given the Sox two losses.

Gags brings back memories of the Human Angioplasty, Heathcliff Socumb - but without that occasional ability to be clutch.

Early returns - it's looking like Theo got taken to the cleaners by the Rangers. As for myself - I'd rather have a team with Wily Mo and Kason, than one with Gags.

So much for sabermetrics.

Worth the read...

There has been a lot of blasting here, and on a number of other blogs, newspapers, and media-outlets of ESPN for their recent sycophantic coverage of the home-run chase - most, if not all of it, justifiable. However, let it not be said that I didn't recognize them when they actually post an article or two that takes cheaters to task. They're decent reads.

It got me thinking though. Particularly this paragraph towards the end of the first of the two articles -

And now when I look at the innocent face of my 5-month-old daughter, I want
sports to help her dream, too. I don't want her to see the greatest home run
hitter in baseball history and question whether he was a cheat. I'd rather she
not watch a suspiciously officiated NBA playoff game and instantly think the fix
is on. And God forbid she look at any future female sports stars and just throw
her hands up because she doesn't have their chemist.

That passage could easily apply to me and my 5-year-old daughter or my soon to be born daughter (at least that's what the ultrasound tech told us it was going to be).

It's getting hard to look at professional sports...any professional sports these days and not wonder.

There are golfers talking openly about the need for steroid testing in golf. Golf! That's ridiculous.

In cycling, Lance Armstrong - the poster boy for overcoming adversity - is constantly fighting allegations of doping, even into retirement. Some of the allegations coming from former teammates with nothing to gain by coming forward. I won't even go into Floyd Landis.

I've discussed the issues with baseball at length.

How many football players have failed drug tests this summer and are facing four game suspensions to start the season? Right now, I'm thinking around four.

I don't even follow auto racing, but I feel like I'm constantly hearing about some driver or other who's being docked points for rules violations.

Track and field? I competed in high school and college. It pains me that every time the sport makes the headlines it seems that it is because one of its biggest stars was caught doping. And those that weren't nailed decisively (Marion Jones), have consciously put themselves into doubt by surrounding themselves with coaches and trainers who have been busted as suppliers of performance enhancers.

Like Wayne Drehs at ESPN, I want my daughters to be able to look up to athletes. I want them to understand they have options - that they have the option to pursue athletic excellence on a level playing field, that a woman can be strong and athletic and not have to sacrifice anything but the time on the practice field to be that way.

Right now, my only answer can be to my daughters, should they come to me for advice in regards to performance enhancing drugs is, "you just need to work harder." Sadly, the chemists have been working smarter.

Converted

It's a great word.

Religious connotations aside - it has great meaning in sports - convert a save, two-point conversion, first-down conversion - there are any number of reasons why the term gets used. My favorite, however, has to do with players.

I bring this up because of Rick Ankiel - the one-time phenom pitcher for the Cardinals transformed from potential ace to Rick "The Wild Thing" Vaughn pre-glasses. In an effort to keep doing what he loved, Ankiel converted from pitcher to outfielder. Last night, in his big league premier at a position anywhere other than on the mound, Ankiel went deep. Not bad.

While there are always the unsuccessful experiments (Tebucky Jones at cornerback, for one), there have been a number of athletes who have seen the light, so to speak, and gone on to have greater success at a new position than the one at which they were originally drafted. Most notably Babe Ruth - a top notch left handed pitcher who went on to be one of the greatest hitters the game has ever seen. There's no way the man could ever match the myth of what he went on to become.

On a lesser note, there have been a number of others.

Tim Wakefield was originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates as a corner infielder. When told by a scout that it was unlikely that he would get above AA ball with his tools, he began experimenting until he found his niche as a knuckleballer. That change has translated into 15 seasons (including this season) in the bigs during which time he has averaged around 11 wins per season.

Former Red Sox replacement outfielder Ron Mahay has had a nice career as a left-handed specialist. After five games in the outfield for the Sox, Mahay returned to the minors and remade himself as a relief pitcher. He has spent at least part of every season since 1997 in the bigs in stints with Oakland, Florida, Chicago (NL), Texas, and Atlanta while compiling an 18-10 record with a 3.96 ERA and 3 saves over the course of 331 games and 395 innings. Overall a solid career.

Antwaan Randle-El of course played quarterback in college, as did Matt Jones - but it's still too early to determine whether or not they will be totally successful conversions, or busts. Yes, Randle-El is certainly further along than Jones, but Randle-El has also regressed the last three seasons, catching fewer passes for fewer yards each year.

The Bears are experimenting with corner Devin Hester at wide-out.

On a game to game basis, the Patriots have been using offensive linemen as fullbacks, linebackers as tight-ends, and wide receivers as corners for several years under Bill Belichick - with the most impact coming from Troy Brown who tied the team for second in interceptions with three during limited time as the nickel corner while still playing special teams and offense. Then there is Mike "Touchdown" Vrabel. Any team that doesn't make sure he's covered on the goal line at this point...well they're just idiots.

I enjoy the stories of players like this. I'm no fan of A-Rod, but what unfolded in New York when they consummated the trade for him was fascinating (keeping in mind that switching from playing the field to designated hitter just isn't compelling). I for one, will keep on the lookout for more of these stories.

Double Jeopardy

As explained at http://lp.findlaw.com/:

''The constitutional prohibition against 'double jeopardy' was designed to
protect an individual from being subjected to the hazards of trial and possible
conviction more than once for an alleged offense. . . . The underlying idea, one
that is deeply ingrained in at least the Anglo-American system of jurisprudence,
is that the State with all its resources and power should not be allowed to make
repeated attempts to convict an individual for an alleged offense, thereby
subjecting him to embarrassment, expense and ordeal and compelling him to live
in a continuing state of anxiety and insecurity, as well as enhancing the
possibility that even though innocent he may be found guilty.''

In essence, the courts can only try someone once for a specific crime. This doesn't prohibit, however, the same charges being filed in regards to the same crime on both federal and state levels - which is what seems to be the direction that Virginia is going in with the Michael Vick dogfighting case.

That is not what I am referring to with Vick.

While it appears to be likely that Vick will face an indictment from the State of Virginia in addition to his federal indictment, I am talking about something different.

I am talking about the other indictment that could be handed down in Atlanta.

From 2004 through 2006 the Falcons won 11, 8, and 7 games respectively. In each of those three seasons, in spite of passing for more yards each year, his completion percentage dropped from 56.4 in 2004 to 55.3, and, ultimately 52.6 last season. Overall, he is a career 53.8 percent passer who has piloted the Falcons to two winning seasons. The only time that the Falcons have won more than nine games with Vick at the helm coincides with his highest completion percentage - 56.4.

Joey Harrington, for all the knocks he takes in the press, is the better quarterback. Over the last three seasons playing for Detroit and Miami - two teams no one could really consider contenders, Harrington has posted completion percentages of 56, 57, and 57.5 respectively.

If after six seasons of Vick, during which the Falcons could achieve ten wins only once, what will it say of Vick - the so called "most exciting player in the game," if Atlanta wins ten with Detroit's first-round quarterbacking bust at the helm?

Isn't that just another indictment of Vick?

His defenders point to the number of dropped passes his receivers had last season. They don't point to the fact that, until this past off season when the dogfighting was about to hit the fan, Vick didn't spend anymore time around Flowery Branch than the bare minimum required. He didn't spend the extra time developing that rapport with receivers that quarterbacks like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, or Donovan McNabb do.

Whose fault is that? The receivers?

For all the hype, and the excitement he has caused on the field (and off), nothing ever justified Arthur Blank's signing of this man to the richest contract ever for a quarterback. As much as you may here players and coaches give proper respect to Vick's athletic ability - you never hear them talk about him as a great quarterback.

Why? Because defensive coordinators would rather face someone like Vick than someone like Brady or Manning. They know if they bottle up Vick, then they force him to pass. That's not a prospect that defensive coordinators in the NFL fear - not the way they fear what Brady, Manning, McNabb, Carson Palmer, Brett Favre, Drew Brees, or any one of a number of other quarterbacks can do if stuck in the pocket.

Don't be surprised if Vick faces another indictment by the end of the season - only this one will be on the football field.

Sometimes I just have to defer to The Onion

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/64929

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/64579

I think they have a better handle on things than ESPN...