Larry Robinson

Recently I was able to acquire a Larry Robinson autograph as he was playing in a golf tournament in the area. This coming on the heal of him being named as coach of the Devils for a second time. Perhaps some readers of this BLOG are familiar with another excellent new BLOG http://ninetoninethirtysports.blogspot.com/ where there is an entry about one of my co-workers and his cowardness in approaching goaltender Fred Brathwaite outside The Beer Store. Well lucky for me one of my other co-workers was covering the golf event and had the presence of mind, as well as the "guts", and thoughtfulness to procure this autograph for me. Perhaps in the future there will be no Fred Brathwaite fiascos and when opportunities arise autographs will follow.

Around The Horn On Sports

Hockey

~ 301 days later the NHL is back....Willl the fans come too?
~ Total draft lottery? Good idea, everyone has a shot at Sidney (as long as it is not the Leafs)
~ Next step..Ruleule changes how will this change the look of the game? We can only hope it allows the good players to actually shtheirier talents

MLB

~ This one counts!.Why.why do you not get rewarded for having the best record over the course of a 162 game schedule?
~ All Star gamNot. not very exciting, maybe with all the new faces this year it took away a little from the enjoymenAt.. at least Andruw Jones Poundmammothamoth blast off Sean Penn wannabe Kenny Rogers
~ Red Sox -V- YankeeLet.. let the fun begin, they started the season facing each other, start the second half doing the same and the season will end with the two teams facing off once agaNot.. not very subtle what MLB is trying

NBA

~NBA All Star Game in Las Vegas? Sure they don't have a team, but you can bet they will put on a good shGood.. good thing Shawn Kemp won't be playing, he may not make it to the actual game
~ What is up in Makewn? make up your mind, make Larry Brown stay or get rid oThism...this has been going on long enough and with playing in the media while your team is in the finals, this whole thing ridiculousdiculous, Joe Dumars must be almost loosing his mind
~ Charlie Villanueva seriously???. ... Rob Babcock is playing a back ally game of Dice with his job as Andkes...and as we all know...dice games usually end poorly

NCAA Football

~ We went a full day without a college football player getting in the news for all reasonsong resons... should we try for two? or is that getting greedy?
~ Go Blue....Michigan looks for their first national championship birth since the inceptawful the awfull BCS System.... time to start fresh after last Januarys Rose Bowl.....dirty, dirty Longhornes

Golf

~ Swan song for the Golden Bear, this years British Open will close the book on one of the best golfers ever....what an amazing career
~ Michelle Wie, your good... we get it, bshouldyconcentrateud concentrat on actually winning an LPGA event before hitting the PGA, if you can beat Annika Sorenstam then maybe wUntiltalk...untill then work on being just aconsistentre consistant

NASCAR

~ JR raceis first reace of the season... wow, errr, chasever
~ A chace with no JR or Gordon, that could be interesting
~ Why is Jimmie Johnson in a great position to be the bridesmaid agconsistent most consistancircuiter on the circut to date and yet with that brutal points system now in place, a 3/4 season of dominance can go down the drain in 1 race and have idiots like Biffle sneak in

NFL

~ Will Randy Moss Make it in the Back Hole, or will he fall in it...either way should be very interesting
~ Is Mike Vick the best QB in the league? NO... maybe the best runner or best athlete, not the best QB, although he is known for being a good "passer"

NHL lockout almost over

After today's announcement that an agreement of a new CBA, it is very apparent that the new landscape of hockey is upon us. It will be interesting to see when all the information is revealed but it looks like there will be more player movement then ever before. With now a definitive upper, middle and low class of players, there will be many inter-changeable parts. With most teams averaging around 10 players signed and more then 200+ players as free agents, coupled with the prospects of some higher range players possibly being bought-out, it stands as almost a free-for all dispersal draft. Who will land where and who gets let go? When play resumes most fans will have to do their homework in order to know where players are now and what the make-up of their favorite team is. This will effectively kill the trade deadline frenzy that we have been accustom to, but over the next month leading into training camp it will be a very exciting time for most fans as they watch their teams build for a run for the cup.

Who is this Ramon?

Nomar Garciaparra has got to be one of the most over rated players in all of baseball today...If we can even say that, as he has missed the better part of the last 2 seasons with injuries and has a history of getting hurt. The best move the Red Sox made last year in their quest for a World Series was to dump what was thought to be one of the cornerstones of the franchise, a fan favorite. But it just seems that he can't stay healthy enough to stay in a lineup and produce the way he is supposed to. The Cubs may have been fold into thinking that he was better and more reliable then he has been so far. He is thought to be back within 2-3 weeks, but we shall see how long he can stay in the lineup and how productive he will be. I guess wife Mia Hamm's chicken soup doesn't heal a torn groin...Actually let him deal with that joke of a sport soccer and put Mia up the middle, she probably has better range.

Home Run Derby

Leave it to Major League baseball to decide to fix something that wasn't broken. This years Home Run Derby has had a facelift. Instead of having the actual home run hitters participate they have decided to try and make the game more international and have a players represent 8 different countries. With players like: Bobby Abreau (18HR), Jason Bay (16), Hee-Seop Choi (13), Andrew Jones (27), Carlos Lee (22), David Ortiz (21), Ivan Rodriguez (6), and Mark Teixeira (25). At best only half of this field should have the honour of participating in this even. Basically the fans of this one are getting the shaft. People want to see the proven stars and players worthy of being in this competition. Where are the Alex Rodriguez's, Many Ramirez's and Albert Pujols'. Why try and make this international, it stands to make little or no benefit in the eyes of international fans, and as for American and Canadian fans...Who wants to see Choi strike out in a derby? The effort was there the rational not so solid. If you want to Grow the game concentrate on the World Cup of Baseball and let that do the job, it has more potential then batting practice for a bunch of double style hitters.

Tough day for Gordon...Decent for Hendrick

Jeff Gordon may now have to start seriously worrying about is quest for another NASCAR Cup Championship. After being knocked out of the USG Sheetrock 400 and with the strong finnish of teammate and employee Jimmie Johnson, Gordon is now in the 15th position and 502 points back of Nextel Cup leader Johnson. Gordon is known for putting together a string of wins and top 5 finishes, but he is running out of time to climb back into the top 10 or be within 400 pts. A chase without Dale Earnhardt Jr (winner of Sundays race in Chicago) and Gordon may look strange but at this point, very possible. As for other Hendrick drivers Johnson finished 3rd, Brian Vickers 4th, rookie Kyle Busch 14th and Gordon 33rd. As for 2nd place overall Greg Biffle he finished 11th, but really who cares because Biffle is an idiot!

Tough offseason for FSU

It is very hard to prepare for a college football season at the best of times, however very few programs have to deal with as much as the Florida State Seminoles. Between domestic violence charges against a starter for this program and other legal problems within the system, not to mention a player doing push-ups in the street and claiming to be a religious incarnate. Now the Seminoles have lost their quaterback for the season. Wyatt Sexton has been diagnosed with Lyme Disease. Sexton will miss the upcoming year of football. Looks like coach Bowden may have his work cut out for him this season...both on the field and off.

All Star Break is upon us

It is the half way point (or there about) of the MLB season at there are many interesting stories.

The emergence of an idiot pitcher Kenny Rogers. Rogers assaulted 2 camera men prior to a game earlier last week, which was caught on video. If that wasn't bad enough, it took him a weeks to address the media to "apologize" for his actions which were "out of character". Perhaps it was just his true colours coming to the forefront. Rogers was also during this time named to the Al All Star team. There was much speculation on weather or not he would accept the invitation, many figured he would decline in lou of what had transpired. But it looks like he will go to Detroit because he "earned it". This should have never have been an issue as MLB officials should have acted swiftly and properly...a 20 game suspension was handed down, perhaps just, but only equaling about 4 starts. Rogers appealed which is well within his rights, but the head boys in the commissioners office elected to hold the appeal until after the all star break, leaving it in Rogers hands. Doubtful that Paul Tagliabue would allow this in his league.

As Roy Halliday goes so do the Toronto Blue Jays. So with Halliday's recent injury after being hit on Saturday will miss at least four to six weeks with a fractured tibia in his left leg. Halliday will miss his appearance in the All Star Game obviously and has been replaced buy Matt Clement (Who should have been selected based on his solid start to his first season in Boston). After having a Cy Young caliber 1st half to the season, the already over-achieving Jays will have a rough road ahead. When Halliday goes to the mound every 4th or 5th day, you know what you are going to get, a lot of innings, a lot of strike outs and more often then not a very high percentage for a win. It will now be in the hads of an inexperienced rotation that will have to carey the load until Halliday returns, and can hopefully regain what he has to this point of the season.

The Washington Nationals are somewhat of a surprise, but then maybe not, they did have a decent core and with some quality moves in the off season have taken well to their new home. With over 30 wins at RFK Stadium so far it appears that having a stable home is what they needed. Manager Frank Robinson has been relying on closer Chad Cordero a lot so far so it will be seen if this may come back and bit them come August and September.

The Atlanta Braves continue to impress. The hit the Break trailing the Nationals by 2.5 games while rolling a line-up with a significant number of rookies in it and a pitching staff decimated by injuries. Team leader and cornerstone Chipper Jones, and starters John Thompson, Mike Hampton, and Tim Hudson are all on the DL and have been there for some time. It is good that the Braves have a healthy farm system and have been able to fill in so far. The second half should be interesting in the NL East in the second half.

How do they do it time and again?


Over the past 14 years the Atlanta Braves have been the cream of the crop of the baseball world. Sure many will bring up the fact that they have only won 1 World Series title during the unbelievable run of consecutive Division titles from 1990-Present, but at least they won one....No Buffalo Bills syndrome here.
All the credit has to go to three men:
1) John Schuerholz General Manager - has done what can only be deemed amazing. Year after year there is always a good degree of player movement (as with most clubs). Where Schuerholtz differs from other GM's is that it seems every year he will replace a star player with a less proven commodity, and it always seems to work out. Ether the player leaving has an off year, or the replacement in-turn has a break-out year.
2) Bobby Cox Manager - just look at what he has been able to accomplish in his time not only with the braves organization but also with the Toronto Blue Jays, not only as a coach but also and a GM. He seems to have a knack for motivating players, both veterans and rookies. By far one of the most under-appreciated managers in the game...Bobby always seems to get knocked for always having good pitching and good players to work with. How this lessens what he has been able to do is mind blowing. In professional sports it is usually harder to get a consistent effort from quality or star players then journeymen just trying to hang on.
3) Leo Mazonne Pitching Coach- Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz et al...Sure it is a luxury that most pitching coaches do not enjoy, and true Schuerholtz does continually make pitching priority 1, but to do what he has dome with the ever evolving staff is very impressive. Every young arm that comes in has the benefit of his teaching and has made them a better major league pitcher even after they move on (like Jason Schmidt and Kevin Millwood). Kyle Davies is no exception this year.

With these 3 pieces still in place you have to like the chances for another division title. Even with the high percentage of rookies on the roster ( with the recent call up of Jeff Francoeur) which now sits at 10.