Wasting Company Time...

2007-06-13T19:26:00.000-05:00

We've Moved!

Visit us now at wastingcotime.wordpress.com bitches!

2007-06-08T18:15:00.000-05:00

Please bear with us, the blog crashed yesterday and WCT still cannot sign on to his account. Hopefully we will be back up and running soon!

2007-06-07T12:16:00.000-05:00

Your Weekly Present from Us Comes a Day Early

Well, the weekend has come early here at WCT bitches! So we are serving up a heaping helping of Friday T&A on Thursday.

But first, let’s examine the 2007 NBA Finals, which begin tonight.

The official WCT pick is Spurs in six (we picked with our head, not our heart), but we will be cheering like hell for our Cavs to prove us wrong. Unlike many, we think the Cavs have a very good shot to take down the Spurs for several reasons:

This is the most poised and determined the Cavs have looked all year.

Let’s face it. This is old hat to the Spurs. This is their fourth trip to the finals in nine years. They were just in the Western Conference Finals last year they cannot possibly be as hungry as the Cavs. And in the Pistons series, the Cavs had a look about them that we did not see at any point during the year. Every time Detroit made a run, the Cavs answered. Every time the Pistons did something to try to rattle them, the Cavs kept their composure. They had a hungry, determined look about them that we have not ever seen. Even LeBron, who at times during the regular season looked like he was sleepwalking, rose to the occasion in a way that no one thought he could. The hungrier team will always win a closely contested series, and we think the Cavs are hungrier. If the series is close, we like the Cavs.

When the whole world zigs, you should zag

Everyone and their momma thinks that the Spurs are sweeping the Cavs. Everyone (us included) thinks the Spurs have too much experience in situations like this to be beaten by the upstarts from Cleveland.

Remember last October, when everyone thought the Tigers, from the stronger AL would crush the 83-win Cardinals team from the “AAAA Baseball League?” Remember the Florida team that didn’t have a shot against Ohio State in the BCS Championship game? (unfortunately, we do) Remember the Pistons team that was going to get run out of the gym by the Lakers in the ’04 finals? When you tell a team how much they suck and how they have no chance to win, it has a funny way of inspiring them.

Rest vs. rust

Most say that the ideal time a team would like to have off in between playoff series is three to five days. When game one tips off, the Cavs, who finished off the Pistons on Saturday, will have had four full days off. The Spurs will have been off for seven full days.

Better eye candy in the stands

Most importantly, and we checked with the Elias Sports Bureau on this one, the team with the women in the stands is 9-1 in the last 10 NBA Finals. The lone loss coming in 2004 of course when the Pistons beat the Lakers.

Come to a Cavs game on the right day, and you might have a seat next to Amanda

Amanda is a member of the Cavalier Girls dance team, the most underrated dance team in the NBA (who sit in the stands behind the baskets), a native of the Cleveland area, and All-Star representative of the Cavalier Girls at this past All-Star Game in Vegas.

Or, maybe Amanda will be dancing on the bar at a Cleveland area establishment, and you will be lucky enough to have a good view

On the other hand, come to a Spurs game, and you better hope that somebody doesn't forget to put on her make-up. Otherwise you might be seated next to...

Yama hama its fright night!

So there you have it. As Nick Backay used to say, everything makes sense when you break it down scientifically. We’ll try to check in with you sometime this weekend in the midst of our three-day bender. But for now, its time to grab our “WITNESS” t-shirt and our Andy Varejao wig, pull up a barstool, and settle in for game one.

2007-06-05T12:27:00.000-05:00

We Really Hate To Do This...

We really know that we shouldn’t be thinking about this right now. We know that the sentiment we are about to express smacks of an inferiority complex. We KNOW we should be celebrating the Cavs first trip to the finals in franchise history. But instead, we are being annoyed by sore losers and sour grapes from the Pistons, their supporters in the media, and their fans.

Where should we begin? Well let’s start with Pistons guard and soon-to-be free agent Chauncey Billups:

“I'm just mad we lost four straight games to a team that I felt wasn't better than us.”

This is what I call the “Matt Leinart response” to losing, after Leinart famously stated “I still think we’re better than them” after losing the 2006 Rose Bowl to Texas. It is a second cousin of the “Michael Hart response” of “if we played them again we would win.”

Chauncey, not only were you not the better team in the series as a whole, you were not the better team in any of the six games of the series. The Pistons were very fortunate to win games 1 and 2 as a result of the Cavs not being able to hit big shots down the stretch.

And one more thing: if we can get on our soap box for a second: Can we please put to bed the whole “the better team didn’t win” take as a response to losing a big game or series? We get so sick of people in sports who say this after a game. When you play a seven game series, or a big football game, the better team ALWAYS wins. That’s why you play, to determine which team is better. The Pistons are a veteran team, they knew what was at stake, if they were so much better, why did they let the LeBron embarrass them in game five and completely come apart at the end of game six?

Ok, now how about the conspiracy theorists:

“The NBA wanted LeBron in the Finals and not the Pistons.”

You know, we weren’t going to dignify this take with a response, but what the hell. Was it David Stern who left Daniel Gibson alone in games four and six and allowed him to rain threes? Was David Stern on the court setting picks for LeBron and giving him a clear path to the basket for dunks at the end of regulation in game five? Was Stern willing LeBron's perimeter jumpers into the basket as he shot the lights out in the overtimes of game six?

Don't get us wrong, NBA executives have to be thrilled to have an exciting young star like James to showcase in the finals rather than an old, whining team like the Pistons, but that is not WHY the Cavs won.

How about this one from NBA analyst Ernie Johnson:

"The Cavs got very lucky with their playoff draw"

Yes, Washington was injury riddled this year when the Cavs played them in the first round this year. But last year a less experienced Cavs team played basically this same Washington team with Gilbert Arenas and with Caron Butler and they took them out in the first round.

As for Jersey, well, when you are the second seed in the playoffs, you have earned the right to possibly play a mediocre team in the second round. That’s why the teams are seeded.

Also, when you take out the number-one seed in your bracket, how can it be argued that you got an easy draw? You had to go thorough the best team (theoretically) in your conference and win at least once on their home court, how is that an easy draw? Why is it that no one is saying that the Spurs got an easy draw because they didn’t even have to play the number-one seed in their bracket? And they got the benefit of a favorable suspension in the Phoenix series, why is this not brought up?

And last, and most definitely least, as seen on many a Pistons blog:

“The officiating was unfair.”

Do you know how many total free throws the Cavs attempted in this series? 170. Do you know how many free throws the Pistons attempted in this series? 155. That is a difference of 15 free throws over the course of the six game series, or just over two more free throws per game attempted. How about total fouls called you say? Well how about 133 fouls called on the Cavs and 136 called on the Pistons, or an average of less than one more foul per game called on the Pistons. What was the aggregate score differential from the series? Cavs by a total of 22 points. So how much difference did the refs really have in this series?

There, now that we have that off or our chest, we will focus on our attention on the Finals, and the Cavs likely losing in 5 games to the San Antonio Spurs.

2007-06-04T13:23:00.000-05:00

Last Week In Baseball! - Pleasant Surprises

If you are like us, you grew up on Mel Allen and “This Week in Baseball.” Here at WCT, we have “Last Week in Baseball!” Please don't sue us Fox!

Ok, so we were pretty negative last week with the whole “guys who are having surprisingly sucky seasons” theme. Well, we're in a good mood today, so we are going to turn that around and examine pleasant surprises. We are going to look at guys who are exceeding expectations. Most of these guys are thought of as being good, but none of us really knew that these guys were this good:

Kevin Youkilis - Before this year, this guy with nothing more than a guy with a funny name who walked a lot and was more famous for appearing in "Moneyball" than for any on-field exploits. This year, he is hitting .350 with a .982 OPS.

Chad Gaudin - Where do the A's find these guys? Three years ago the Tampa Bay Devil Rays traded this guy away for next to nothing. Now Gaudin has won five starts in a row, and is third in the AL with a 2.41 ERA.

Magglio Ordonez - If the AL MVP award were handed out today, Magglio, and not Alex Rodriguez, would get our vote. A-Rod has more home runs (thanks to his other-worldly April), but Ordonez has more hits, runs, RBI, walks, fewer strike outs, a higher batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, and (obviously) OBP.

Now, on to our LWIB notes!

- The fact that Roger Clemens had to miss his scheduled start today against the White Sox because of a “tired groin” is an ominous sign. But even more than that, it is the result of signing a 44 year-old pitcher in the middle of May, with no spring training, rushing him through his preparations, and expecting his body to be ready to go after three minor league starts.

- A few weeks back, we said that the Brewers might have a tough time in May, and felt that if they were still in first as May turned to June, then we would consider them “for real.” Well, they were pretty unspectacular in May (14-15), but the rest of the division was downright abhorrent (55-86 combined record, no team over .500). The division is the Brewers to lose as far as we are concerned, not so much because Milwaukee is that good, but more because the entire NL Central is a joke.

- When was the last time that ESPN televised a game during the week that did not involve a) the Yankees, b) the Red Sox, or c) the Mets?

Take a look at the ESPN schedule for the next few weeks:

Tonight: Yankees at White Sox

Wed June 6: Mets at Phillies

Mon June 11: White Sox at Phillies (disaster scenario: Yankees & Red Sox off day, Mets on west coast)

Mon June 18: Red Sox at Braves

Mon June 25: Cardinals at Mets

Fri June 29: Mets at Phillies

Mon July 2: Twins at Yankees

- Its really good that Lou Pinella is keeping his preseason promise of “taking it easy” this year.

* * * * *
Its our blog dammit, so we are going to talk about our team every week - Something has got to be done about Jeremy Sowers. He just cannot get it done at this level right now. The schedule gets really soft now with the Royals, Reds, Mariners (make up game), and Marlins on the horizon.

* * * * *
How ‘bout tha... er, I mean, I'll be goddamned! - Jeremy Bonderman beat the Indians on Sunday to improve to 5-0, earn a split of the four game series for the Tigers, and salvage a bit of dignity for Detroit sports fans.

2007-06-03T22:27:00.001-05:00

What in The Wide Wide World of Sports is Going On Here??

Now its being reported that Billy Donovan is having second thoughts and is trying to go back to the University of Florida? So now he goes from being a money-grabbing, disingenuous jerk, to being a flighty, indecisive whimp.

2007-06-03T10:30:00.001-05:00

A Bit Anticlimactic...

...but we'll take it. We think that the Cavs don't have much of a shot against the Spurs in the Finals, but then again, we didn't think they had much of a shot against the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals.

2007-06-01T07:36:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm Sure Glad I Decided Against Going to that Tribe Game

I really don't want to overstate things in the heat of the moment, but I think its fair to say that that people will point to May 31st, 2007 as the moment when LeBron became a "great" player. A "get on my back, I won't let us lose this game" great player. I have already heard more than one local sports talking head call last night's performance by James "the greatest postseason performance in Cleveland sports history" and I would be hard pressed to argue. A few quick hits:

(and since this is the Friday T&A post, there will be pictures of the Cavalier Girls peppered throughout the post)

- Nice to see the Cleveland teams do the Detroit two-step, with the Indians coming back to beat up the Tigers.

- I hate to pee all over everyone's parade, but the Cavs were up 3-2 going home against the Pistons last year in the second round of the playoffs. They should not get ahead of themselves.

- That being said, is it just me, or have the Cavs not outplayed the Pistons in each of the first five games of this series? They are essentially two made shots from sweeping and having the series not even reach game five.

- Everyone, and when I say everyone I mean everyone, in the bar we were in thought the game was over when Billups sank that three with just seconds left to put the Pistons up 91-89.

- Why are Detroit fans, especially the ones that were at the Palace last night, so quiet and tense? They are like Red Sox fans from a few years back. They just won the championship like two years ago.

- I really hope this quiets the idiot critics that hate on LeBron and expect him to be Michael Jordan in his fourth NBA season.

- He is Twenty-two years old for crying out loud.

- Antonio McDyess did not deserve to be ejected for his clothesline of Andy Varejao. He deserved a flagrant foul, but not an ejection. But oh well. Them's the breaks

- The Pistons complain about EVERY foul called against them! Every single one. Its really annoying

- I am by no means an NBA fanatic, especially to the extent that I am a baseball fanatic and a football fanatic, but really get irritated with NBA haters that make up reasons why they don't watch pro basketball. I hope this shuts a few of them up.

- One more thing: Billy Donovan is a douche. And a mercenary, and a Liar. I hope he is a spectacular failure in the NBA.

Well I'm at a loss for words. As a Cleveland sports fan, we don't have many nights like last night, so you have to let a guy bask in it for a while.

Have a great weekend people, and enjoy game six on Saturday night. Unfortunately, as it turns out, I will be back in New York for the game, and won't be able to go. But suffice it to say, I will be watching and will be sufficiently ~~liquored up~~ fired up for the festivities.

2007-05-31T13:15:00.000-05:00

Funny How Things Work Out

If our posts from this week have seemed more inspired, if you could feel the spirit of the Buckeye State oozing through this blog and out of your computer screen, its because we (I) am back in Cleveland for a couple of graduation parties. So instead of coming to you from ~~my cubicle~~ WCT world headquarters in midtown Manhattan, I am blogging this week from ~~my parents' house~~ the WCT midwest bureau in the Northeast Ohio suburbs.

(Quick Aside: Being back allowed me to attend game 4 of the Cavs-Pistons series on Tuesday, and come to the realization that an NBA game is no longer a sporting event, its a circus. Between the loud pumped-in music, the fire-balls, and the constant graphics on the jumbotron, or as its known here "Q-tube", you really feel like the average NBA fan must be a 14-year old with ADD.)

Anyway, tonight I will once again bathe myself in the overwhelming good fortune of our local sports teams, and their battles with Detroit (it always comes around to Ohio vs. Michigan doesn't it). We have a buddy who has tickets to the Tribe vs. Tigers game tonight at the Jake, but more likely, I will find my way to a local barstool, and have one eye on the baseball game, and one eye on the Cavs and the Pistons.

If the point of this post seems like an excuse boast, well thats because it is. It is not very often that we here in this fair city have two relevant sports teams that playing at the same time. And the fact that they are playing teams from the same city, just makes it even better.

2007-05-30T12:19:00.000-05:00

BREAKING NEWS: Pro Atheletes Cheat on Their Wives!

We know, Shocking!

YouTube Video of the Day

2007-05-29T16:07:00.001-05:00

Thanks to Our Book of Scrap

2007-05-29T14:21:00.000-05:00

Barbequed Links

(Thanks to Larry Brown Sports for the image)

Another loss and an early exit for the most overrated athlete in individual sports history. (ESPN)

As we said a couple of weeks ago, the obsession with this pole vaulting chick has GOT to stop! (Washington Post)

Shawn, the son of Ed “guns” Hochuli, is an official in NFL Europe! A chip off the old (incredibly chiseled) block! In all seriousness, finding out little news tidbits like this is exactly why we love blogs (the FanHouse)

Non sports: Lindsay Lohan - who has been through rehab, and Alcoholics Anonymous, and was picked up for a DUI over the weekend, and was photographed drunk and puking her guts out a couple of days after her DUI arrest – had a vodka company sponsoring her birthday party, but the company pulled out after her recent transgressions. I don’t have a joke here. (Signal to Noise)

Maria Sharapova, cussin’ at a chair umpire. Is that what they’re called? “Chair umpires?" (YouTube via the Hater Nation)

(quick aside: we have heard from more than one Russian-speaker that her last name should be pronounced sha-ROP-ova, not SHARA-pova.)

Evidently Ashley Judd’s husband races cars (who knew she was even married?). Not only that, he apparently won the Indy 500! We were more interested in the fact that former OSU Buckeyes and native ~~Indianapolisians~~ ~~Indianapolans~~ people from Indanapolis Mike Conley and Greg Oden were on hand. (Automotive Blogger via the Big Lead)

2007-05-28T12:21:00.000-05:00

Last Week in Baseball! - Strug-a-ling

If you are like us, you grew up on Mel Allen and “This Week in Baseball.” Here at WCT, we have “Last Week in Baseball!” Please don't sue us Fox!

Well sports fans, its Memorial Day, the unofficial beginning of summer. We are through basically two months of baseball, so it is officially no longer “early.” In other words, the people and teams that we had high expectations for and have sucked so far are officially having sucky years, and, in many cases, it will take significant movement in the other direction to reverse the momentum of the suckiness. Lets examine some of the suckitude:

The New York Yankees – this is an easy and obvious one, so we will be brief here. Consider this, the Yanks went 4-8 in the so-called “12 games to define their season.” On the last day of April we said that it wasn’t panic time yet, since then, they are 12-13 and have lost six games in the standings. But have no fear Yanks fans, John Kruk has "declared" the Red Sox the AL East champs. That should make you feel better.

Andruw Jones – Yes, his OBP is a respectable (we guess) .338, but he is batting .215, and even worse, he hit .167 in May with only one home run, so things are actually getting worse. This is his free agent year too.

Alfonso Soriano – He has been able to improve his batting average to .301 with hot May (.916 OPS), but he still only has four home runs and 12 runs batted in in two months so far. Not exactly what the Cubs thought they were getting when they got him. While we’re on the Cubs…

Carlos Zambrano – 5.24 ERA so far. How are those contract negotiations going so far Big Z? Actually…You know what? The hell with it…

The Chicago Cubs – if we can kill the Yanks for their 21-27 start, then we should kill the Cubs and their 22-26 start in a laughably bad division. There are times when it looks like Lou Pinella’s head is going to explode.

Michael Young - .281 OBP? .662 OPS??

We promise we’ll be more positive next week!*

*(probably not)

Now, on to our LWIB notes!

- Names you should start to make yourself familiar with :Tim Lincecum (P Giants), and Kelly Johnson (2B Braves)

- is there a LWIB jinx? We picked Jason Schmidt to compete for the NL Cy Young, he goes on the DL. We pick Elijah Dukes to compete for the AL rookie of the year, he threatens to kill his wife and kid. Wow.

- We have to give credit where credit is due: the Phillies are proving us wrong. We buried this team back in April, and they are now over .500. They just swept the Braves, and have thrust themselves into the wild-card race (such as it is in late-May). Ryan Howard is back healthy, and Cole Hamels seems to be the real deal.

* * * * *

Its our blog dammit, so we are going to talk about our team every week - A very nice weekend sweep in Detroit. We have lifted our embargo on Josh Barfield, after his .295 May and stellar defensive play at 2B. Also, Ryan Garko is officially now the Wasting Company Time man-crush. It doesn't get any easier though, with three at Fenway and the Tigers at the Jake for four.

* * * * *

How ‘bout tha... er, I mean, I'll be goddamned! - We knew that Jake Peavy was good, but when did he wake up and decide that he was going to be the best pitcher in the NL? 7-1 1.47 ERA so far? Yowzers!

2007-05-25T09:58:00.000-05:00

Interesting Tidbit

We don’t cover a lot of hockey here, but we actually like the sport. We consider ourselves “casual” fans that tune in when the playoffs roll around. We are definitely bigger fans of the NHL than we are fans of American Idol. That is why when we came across this story in the FanHouse, we were unfamiliar with those involved.

Evidently, somebody named Kellie Pickler, a chick who was on American Idol at some point, and, we're told by people who follow the Idol show closer than we do (losers), took the money from her first record contract and bought herself some new boobs, and at one time in her life thought it was a good idea to wear this to her prom

is dating a member of the Nashville Predators. The Predators have also been in the news recently because there is a rumor that they may move to Canada (as they should).

we will use this ridiculous story, and the lament from the fact that this stupid karaoke show is making more and more stars out of common everyday rednecks, to distract us from the fact that the Cleveland Cavaliers are now down 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals to the hated Detroit Pistons, and they could easily be up 2-0 heading home.

Have a great long weekend everyone

2007-05-23T15:46:00.001-05:00

Why Wasn't This a Bigger Story?

This has nothing to do with sports, but we just came across it - Why exactly was Don Imus fired for saying "nappy headed ho" on the radio, and Rush Limbaugh gets a pass when he plays this song?

2007-05-23T15:37:00.001-05:00

Everyone Else is Posting this Picture, So Why don't We?

Maybe if your team didn't tank games, the basketball gods wouldn't punish you

2007-05-22T22:07:00.000-05:00

Linkin' Like its Our Job

Now that the formality of the NBA Lottery is out of the way, we can get to the real fun: The mock drafts! Chad Ford is sure that the Blazers will take Oden number 1, while the Big Lead is certain that they will take Durant. We're having fun already. (ESPN Insider, the Big Lead)

Andy Katz has the Celtics taking somebody named Yi Jianlian with the fifth pick. They went from intentionally tanking games to get a chance at Oden or Durant, to ending up with Yi Jianlian. That is a precipitous fall. Serves 'em right. (ESPN)

They used to award Super Bowls to cities. Now they award them to vague regions of states. “South Florida” has the big game in 2010, and now “North Texas” has it in 2011. “ Eastern North America” is the leading candidate to be awarded the game in 2012. (dallascowboys.com)

If you were a rich teenager and your dad was the greatest basketball player of all time, what would you do on vacation? Don’t lie, you would do stuff like this. And so would we. Don’t hate. (Media Take Out via Our Book of Scrap)

If Kenny Mayne really is using SportsCenter to promote Barack Obama and piss off Right-Wingers, then maybe we were all wrong about him. But this story is still pretty far-fetched. (SPORTSbyBROOKS)

Jason Giambi failed an amphetamines test last year. Wait, Giambi takes drugs? (New York Daily News)

You may have read earlier this week about the NFL Assistant Coach who was forwarding porn around, well, we have found the culprit ladies and gentlemen. The streets are safe once again. (The Fanhouse)

Please, for the love of all that is holy, stop sticking microphones in front of the mouth of Clinton Portis. (The Fanhouse)

Was A-rod’s take-out slide in the eighth inning last night a cheap shot? We think probably not, but it did raise our eyebrows when we saw it live. (The Boston Hearald)

A.J. Nicholson’s Girlfriend now says that the recently-released Bengal’s LB didn’t hit her, SHE HIT HERSELF. That’s a new one. (WCPO.com)

2007-05-22T13:32:00.000-05:00

We Are Officially Sick of Hearing the Words "Mike," "Vick," and "Dogfighting."

We are officially sick of this story.

Don't get us wrong, we own a dog, love dogs, and feel that idea of dogfighting is reprehensible. That being said, we are sick and tired of the indignation over this story.

We are sick of the grandstanding congressman, incidentally the same guy who was grandstanding on the baseball/steroids issue two years ago, who is calling for NFL Commish Goodell to hit Vick hard, “or else.”

We are sick of idiot players like Clinton Portis coming out and defending dogfighting.

We are sick of snarky sportswriters who are saying stupid things like “I bet the Falcons are sorry they got rid of Matt Schaub now!” Please. The Falcons will not miss Matt Schaub. Matt Schaub has never won an NFL start, and Houston Texan fans will soon see why Atlanta let him go for a song.

If the authorities eventually find that Mike Vick was involved with, or at least had knowledge of dogfighting taking place on his property, then by all means, throw the book at him. Until such time, please, lets just stop talking about this whole thing.

2007-05-21T13:22:00.000-05:00

Last Week in Baseball! - Interleague Play Still Kicks Ass.

If you are like us, you grew up on Mel Allen and “This Week in Baseball.” Here at WCT, we have “Last Week in Baseball!” Please don't sue us Fox!

We still love interleague play. We think that it is one of the few good things that has changed in the game under, as Keith Olbermann used to call him, "Acting Commissioner For Life" Bud Selig. But lately there has been a lot of talk about the fact that interleague play causes teams to have unequal schedule strength and could effect playoff races. For example, Chipper Jones of the Braves complained about the fact that his team has to play the Red Sox six times, and the Indians three (.667 combined winning percentage) while the Mets play the Yankees six times, and the and A’s three (.467 combined winning percentage) both teams play the Twins and Tigers. This is true. But the unbalanced schedule that teams have within their leagues already creates larger inequities. Consider this: Lets say that the NL wild card race comes down to the Braves, and the Astros. The Braves have to play the Mets, Marlins, and Phillies, 18 or 19 times. All three of those clubs finished last year at or near .500. At the same time nearly half of the schedule of the Astros is made up of games against the Reds, the Cubs, the Pirates, and the Cardinals, none of whom are .500 clubs. The strength of a team’s schedule is determined in large part by the strength of that team’s division (particularly in the NL central which has six teams) and not by the strength of a team’s interleague opponents. If Jones and others want teams involved in playoff races to have equal schedules, they should be directing their ire at the unbalanced divisional schedules, not nine interleague games. In the meantime, we will continue to enjoy crosstown rivalries like Yankees-Mets, White Sox-Cubs, and Angels-Dodgers, and other matchups like Red Sox-Braves, and Tigers-Cardinals that we couldn't see otherwise.

Now, on to our LWIB notes!

Brewers Closer Fransisco Cordero is now 17 for 17 so far this year in save opportunities. (look for him to blow his next 17 now that we have mentioned that)

The New York Daily News called the 12 games the Yankees would play against the White Sox, Mets, Red Sox, and Angels as the 12 games that would define the Yankees season. We think that is overstating it a bit, but nevertheless, the Yanks have now lost four of the first six of those 12.

This has gone completely unnoticed because of the Yankee’s struggles, but Jorge Posada is absolutely raking at the plate. He is leading the majors with a .382 batting average has a 1058 OPS .

What the hell is going on with the St. Louis Cardinals?

Mets 3B David Wright is heating up. After going homer-less in April, he has seven so far in May (including two against the Yankees this past Saturday) and has raised his average from .244 to .282

Speaking of the Mets, who is this 2B that they have that has a 926 OPS and seven home runs in 28 ABs, and what did he do with the real Damion Easley?

* * * * *
Its our blog dammit, so we are going to talk about our team every week - Is anyone else noticing what Fausto Carmona is doing? He has been virtually untouchable since being converted from closer to starter in spring training. He threw a complete game shutout against the Twins on Thursday to complete the sweep of Minnesota. This is the guy the Indians have bouncing back-and-forth between AAA and the Majors in favor of stiffs like Jeremy Sowers and the injured Jake Westbrook.

* * * * *
How ‘bout tha... er, I mean, I'll be goddamned! - Somebody named Jesse Litsch pitched 8 2/3 innings, giving up four hits and one run for the win in his Major League debut for the Blue Jays on Tuesday night.

2007-05-18T21:52:00.000-05:00

New Poll Question

We have no idea who the 48% of you are that love Kenny Mayne, but whatever. We have turned this week's point/counterpoint debate into the new poll question.

Have at it!

2007-05-18T07:35:00.000-05:00

Greetings From Mexico*

*(not from us of course, we're still in New York)

Full disclosure: We are not really creative people. Granted. That is why we have chosen analytical lines of work rather than creative ones. As a result, right around Thursday afternoon, when we start thinking about the upcoming Friday T&A post, we often draw a blank. We can definitely empathize with writers and their problems with “writer’s block.” We could easily just post pictures of hot women that have nothing to do with the sports news of the day (hell, we’ve done it before) but that’s sort of the easy way out.

Whenever we are mired in this sort of fog, we are truly thankful when we are able to stumble upon a gem like the one we have been provided by the good folks at Our Book of Scrap. This week, Scrap takes us to Mexico, for a live look-in on the Philadelphia Eagles’ Cheerleader calendar shoot.

The Eagles’ Cheerleaders - as Scrap points out and we tend to agree, are arguably the hottest cheerleading squad in the league - have even created a blog to chronicle the shoot and their trip to Mexico.

Although it is difficult for us to hear about the Eagles’ Cheerleaders and not long for the days of the Vet, when the peeping Tom visiting teams actually drilled holes in the locker room walls to spy on showering cheerleaders. Classy.

Anyway, we hope that the girls enjoy their time in Mexico, because we certainly enjoy hearing about the whole thing.

Have a good weekend folks. And here's hoping that this calendar shoot knocks the drafting of Kevin Kolb (and the Donovan McNabb hissy-fit that followed) out of the headlines in Philly.

2007-05-16T12:47:00.000-05:00

Hot n' Fresh Links

We used to think that Ken Griffey, jr. was a miserable jerk who took himself too seriously, but this whole heckler/jockstrap incident is making us do a complete 180 on him. Junior is still having fun with the whole thing too.(Cincinnati Enquirer)

Another athlete is in trouble over lyrics on a record. First it was Greg Olsen and Miami’s 7th floor crew, now its Mets super-prospect Lastings Milledge, AKA L-Milz. (Deadspin, The New York Post via SPORTSbyBROOKS)

Carson Palmer should fire his agent for signing him up for this ad! Or who knows, maybe he is just preparing himself for a career in gay porn after football is over. (Awful Announcing)

Is Tony Romo turning into the new NFL Golden Boy? (The Big Lead)

We think that Olympic swimmer Amanda Beard is a bit of a “butter-face,” Perhaps you thinks she is do-able. Weigh in on this important topic here. (The Big Picture)

That high school (!!!) pole vaulter that everyone in the blogosphere is obsessed with…remember her?

Good. Anyways, there is a YouTube video of her, and she actually doesn’t look that hot in her interview. So lets stop obsessing. (YouTube via With Leather)

Who do the K.C. Royals have in charge as they try to turn around their culture of losing? Why, the losingest man in baseball history of course (the Fanhouse)

A college women’s golf coach is in hot water for, among other things, showing his team the Paris Hilton sex tape. Classy. (NewsChannel 32 via The Big Lead)

This has nothing to do with sports: Speaking of Ms. Hilton, her license is still suspended, but in an act of civil disobedience, she continues to drive anyway. (WWTDD)

This also has nothing to do with sports: Jared, the annoying guy from the Subway commercials apparently was at one time, the porn king of Indiana University (TMZ via Joe Sports Fan)

2007-05-15T07:29:00.000-05:00

Point-Counterpoint! - Who is the Bigger NFL Drama Queen?

A new feature has us buzzing here at Wasting Company Time World Headquarters: Introducing Point-Counterpoint! Each installment will feature two sides of an issue, scintillating arguments, and no discernable resolution! - Here is the issue: Who is the bigger NFL Drama Queen? Brett Favre or Donovan McNabb? Go!

WCT6 - There is no doubt that the biggest drama queen in the NFL, if not all of pro sports, is one Brett Favre. First of all, he goes through this charade every year of “maybe I’ll retire…maybe I’ll come back…no, wait, now I want to retire…” and that act is just getting old. Each of the last two years he has taken the focus and media attention of the last half of each season off of his mediocre play and turned it into “the Brett Favre farewell tour,” getting standing ovations and hugs and well wishes from everyone as they think this could be their last glimpse of #4. Except he never goes anywhere! And is there a player in sports who has more media members apologizing for his erratic and at times bizarre in-game decision-making? Every time he throws an interception, whatever broadcaster is doing the game spends the next five minutes talking about how much he admires Favre’s “moxie” and “gunslinger mentality” for trying to “thread the needle.” God forbid anyone criticize the great Brett Favre.

Not only that, but Favre interjects in player personnel movements as if he were the GM. Two years ago he blasted Javon Walker for threatening to hold out, inserting himself into another player’s contract negotiations. This year, he undermined his team’s ability to trade for Randy Moss this past April by proclaiming he was “certain” that Moss would be a Green Bay Packer. Then when trade talks broke down (as expected when the diva/QB opens his yap and removes all leverage) and Moss ended up in New England, Favre (reportedly) asked for a trade.

At every Favre press conference, he speaks about the end of his football career as if he has some sort of terminal illness. He is lauded when the team wins, but never blamed when the team loses. He, along with everyone around the league, acts as though the Packer organization owes it to him to continue to bring him back every year, even though it retards the development and rebuilding efforts of the team (do the Packers owe Favre more than the 49ers owed Joe Montana? Or Jerry Rice?). I don’t know about you, but I am tired of this.

* * * * *

Mickey Free - Well said sir, but you are completely wrong. No one is coddled and treated with kid gloves more than Donovan F. McNabb. First, all of Philly subconsciously feels like they owe him after booing him loudly when he was drafted. As a result, he is rarely criticized. Secondly, Jeff Garcia comes in after McNabb was lost to injury, AGAIN, and most of the sports world had left the Eagles for dead. All Garcia did was take Philly to the second round of the playoffs, and what was the main story? How Donovan (and Mama McNabb) may or may not have been cheering against the Eagles to avoid a quarterback controversy. And what kind of thanks did the Eagles give the leagues best back-up QB? Garcia was not offered a fair contract and compelled to walk after the season.

Now, the latest catastrophe: the Eagles *GASP* drafted a quarterback this year! God forbid a team prepare for its future and also protect itself against a lost season when its fragile 30 year-old quarterback has his next inevitable season-ending injury.

And what is with the constant sit-downs with Andy Reid? Why does he have to discuss his role on the team every 3 days? Why is so much made of the “relationship” between the two of them? Jeff Garcia leads the team to the playoffs, McNabb and Reid sit down to discuss Donovan’s role within the team. The Eagles draft a quarterback (from Houston of all places…in the fourth round for crying out loud), McNabb and Reid sit down to discuss Donovan’s role within the team. Is Donovan Reid’s QB or his GF? Even the damn Governor of Pennsylvania came out and condemned the Eagles drafting of Kevin Kolb this year. All in an effort to stroke the fragile ego of uber-diva, Donovan McNabb.

2007-05-14T07:41:00.000-05:00

Last Week in Baseball! - Take a Stand Bud!

If you are like us, you grew up on Mel Allen and “This Week in Baseball.” Here at WCT, we have “Last Week in Baseball!” Please don't sue us Fox!

For some reason, Bud Selig has still not decided whether or not he will attend Giants games when Barry Bonds gets close to Henry Aaron’s 755 home run mark. (we know, indecision from Selig? Shocking!) This has been the biggest lingering story of the baseball season, now that Roger Clemens is signed. Its our opinion that Bud has to go. Unlike Aaron himself, who is just a private citizen and owes nothing to Bonds or Major League Baseball, Selig represents MLB, and therefore his stance becomes the official stance of the league. If MLB had a positive test, or any other damning evidence against Bonds with respect to steroid use, then they should suspend him. Otherwise, they have to honor him as they would anyone else. Selig needs to take a stand one way or another on Bonds (we know, Selig not taking a stand? Shocking!), either a) suspend his ass for steroid use, or b) treat him like you treat every other player. Neither suspending him, nor showing up and congratulating him on passing Aaron is sitting on the fence.

Now, on to our LWIB notes!

- We knew this start of the season by Josh Beckett was too good to be true. That guy is never more than a few pitches away from his next blister.

- We think that the hot start by the Milwaukee Brewers is a bit of a mirage. Don’t get us wrong, we think they are going to be good this year, but not “best record in the big leagues” good. After losing two of three to the Mets this past weekend, they still have yet to win a series from a team that is .500 or better. Starting this weekend the Brew has three game series with the Twins, Dodgers, Padres, and Braves. If they are still in first place on June 1 then we think they are for real.

- Nice to see that King Felix Hernandez will return to the Mariners rotation this week.

- On the other hand, it really sucks that Roy Halladay, who has an injury history so bad it makes Rondell White look like an ironman, now has to miss time with appendicitis.

- We are beginning to think that Brad Penny might be one of the more underrated pitchers in baseball. He is 5-0, leading the NL in ERA (1.39), and is banging Big Lead favorite Eliza Dushku.

- As we are writing this, we just witnessed the Baltimore Orioles’ bullpen blow a five run ninth inning lead to the Red Sox to lose 6-5. Orioles idiot manager Sam Perlozzo removed starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie after eight shutout innings and 85 pitches. It must suck to be a fan of that team.

- We know that this is a baseball post, but we can’t let this go unsaid: That Baron Davis dunk on Friday night was disgusting. Andrei Kirilenko should never be allowed to don a basketball uniform again after that.

* * * * *
Its our blog dammit, so we are going to talk about our team every week - We have to give credit where credit is due: Josh Barfield is hitting .313 in May and has raised his average from .167 to .212. Maybe we were too hard on him. On the other hand, Grady Sizemore is batting .125 since appearing on the cover of SI (or since we got our copy anyway). One more thing: Joe Borowski makes us sick to our stomach.

* * * * *
How ‘bout tha... er, I mean, I'll be goddamned! - Giants rookie CF Fred Lewis had five hits, four RBIs and hit for the cycle in a 15-2 bludgeoning of the hapless Colorado Rockies. Who needs Barry?

Happy Mother's Day!

2007-05-13T17:10:00.001-05:00

Ridiculous

2007-05-13T16:40:00.001-05:00

The dunk of the year

2007-05-10T13:52:00.000-05:00

This is What We Call a Stretch.

The big sports story this week? The return of Roger Clemens

What brought about the need for the Yankees to bend over backwards to convince Clemens to come back? Injuries in their starting rotation.

Who is the highest profile and most oft-injured Yankee pitcher currently on the DL? Carl Pavano

What is his injury? Well reports are that he has and injured elbow and may require Tommy John ligament replacement surgery. We think he is suffering from a broken heart. And who can blame him, after the recent break-up he went through with her

Boys and girls, it is not easy to come up with new reasons to post pictures of semi-naked women and have those pictures relate in some way to the sports news of the day. Of course we could just be like some people and post pictures of hot high school pole vaulters.

But we are above that sort of thing.

(Thanks to Our Book of Scrap and With Leather)

2007-05-08T13:03:00.000-05:00

Hittin' The Links

New York Post Columnist Mike Vaccaro (whom we love reading by the way) gives you a quiz to prepare for the return of the Rocket. (New York Post)

Oscar De La Hoya prepared for his fight with Floyd Mayweather by sparring with….A.C. Slater?? No wonder he lost! (The Feed)

No one has the balls to say this, because she is a woman in a male-dominated industry, but Suzyn Waldman is an absolute disgrace. We have never come across anyone, Yankee fan or not, that thinks she is even an average broadcaster, and this audio takes the cake. (Newsday, Awful Announcing)

Jon Heyman’s column on SI.com is a must read. In this edition he discusses the Clemens sweepstakes and how it effects Carlos Zambrano’s contract negotiations. (si.com)

LA Angels right-handed tub-of-goo Bartolo Colon might be hurt. Again. (LA Times)

The theater of the absurd that is, the Mike and Mike show, announced that Mark Schlereth will be appearing on a soap opera. (Kissing Suzy Kolber)

It is becoming a weekly occurance to see videos of Red Sox fans acting like idiots. First they were throwing Pizza, then they were fighting with Blue Jays fans at SkyDome, now this. (Red Sox Monster)

Clips of people cursing on TV!(Joe Sports Fan)

Brad Penny strikes out 14 Florida Marlins. With his fly open. (Our Book of Scrap)

2007-05-08T12:19:00.000-05:00

Banning Beer = Missing the Point

There has been some interesting discussion in the wake of the the tragic death of Josh Hancock about banning beer from clubhouses, and once again, we think that baseball is acting hypocritical and missing the point.

First of all, Josh Hancock was not on his way from the Cardinals clubhouse when he got into the fatal crash. Reports are that he was leaving one bar, and on his way to another, at around midnight local time. He was also speeding, and talking on his cell phone at the time of the crash, again, according to reports. In other words, Hancock made some poor decisions, and ended up paying dearly for his carelessness. But let us not blame Hancock completely for making these bad decisions, when his own manager is not exactly setting the best example.

The point is this: Having a beer in the clubhouse after a game is not causing players to get into crashes, and more importantly, preventing beer from being consumed in the clubhouse is not going to stop players from driving drunk. There is a growing trend among pro athletes (and coaches, and managers) of getting behind the wheel after having too much to drink. To solve this, sports leagues have to do a better job of educating players, coaches, and managers on the dangers of drunk driving. It seems inconceivable to us that professional sports figures cannot afford to buy drinks and pay for cab rides, when we ourselves do it almost every weekend on our salaries.

Not only that, but banning beer from visitors' clubhouses, when almost all players leave visiting ballparks on team buses or walk to nearby hotels, would seem like a ban for its own sake. You know what would make more sense and may turn out to be more effective? Suspensions and fines for DUI/DWI arrests. Banning beers from the clubhouse would be a completely symbolic move and would ignore the real problem, the education and awareness of the players.

We also think that it is interesting that a team that plays its home games at Busch Stadium now wants to separate itself from beer.

2007-05-08T00:25:00.000-05:00

Hilarious Picture of the Day

Meet the new boss... Same as the old boss

(yes, we know that now that Brady Quinn is a member of the Browns all Brady-clowning will have to cease, but until he is under contract, its open season)

2007-05-07T11:49:00.000-05:00

Last Week in Baseball! - Yay! Discussions about race!

If you are like us, you grew up on Mel Allen and “This Week in Baseball.” Here at WCT, we have “Last Week in Baseball!” Please don't sue us Fox!

Why does ESPN always have to make a racial issue out of everything? This weekend, we were blitzed with a study the network created that shows that your feelings for Barry Bonds and his chase of Hank Aaron may be affected by your race. The study highlighted statistics that show that a higher percentage of black baseball fans support Barry Bonds than white baseball fans. What this study did not consider is the fact that hatred of Bonds in this chase is support for Aaron, who is also black. Nor did it consider the fact that the network where most baseball fans get there Bonds-related news, ESPN, is the network that portrays him as the surly, steroid freak that most people know. If you know us, you know that we have no love for Barry, that being said we think that ESPN inundates us with news about Barry and what a dick he is just to piss fans off. Programming for ESPN has degenerated into six months of Barry Bonds news, and six months of Terrell Owens news, with some Yanks/Sox talk mixed in for variety.

Now, on to our LWIB notes!

- Speaking of Bonds, don’t look now, but he leads the NL with 10 home runs and an OPS of 1335 so far this year.

- We said last week that it was not panic/celebration time for the Yankees, and right on cue, Roger Clemens rides in on his white horse to save the day. Clemens is obviously better than the clowns that they have been sending out there so far this year, but he isn’t exactly the innings-eater that they need. He was basically a six inning pitcher down the stretch last year, and that was facing NL lineups. The Yanks still have an average to below-average bullpen (when that bullpen is fresh, which it rarely is) and several other holes in their rotation. Not to mention the fact that no one knows quite what to expect out of a 44 or 45 year old Rocket.

- Last note on the Yanks: A-Rod hasn’t homered in two weeks! BOOOOOOOOO!!

- Maybe we buried the Cubs, who have won five in a row, eight of ten, and are now one game over .500, too early. Or maybe their stretch of Pittsburgh for three, Washington for three, Pittsburgh for three, came at the perfect time.

- When are people going to start to recognize how good Placido Polanco is? He is batting .361 and leads the AL in hits. Not only that, but he has only struck out four times so far this year. If he only took a walk more than once in a blue moon…

- People that have over a 1000 OPS that surprise us, Magglio Ordonez, B.J. Upton, Kelly Johnson, Aaron Rowand, and J.J. Hardy

* * * * *

Its our blog dammit, so we are going to talk about our team every week - We did not shed any tears when Jake Westbrook and his 7.90 ERA were put on the DL today. Also, nice to see the Jhonny Peralta and Victor Martinez of 2005 have shown up, at least so far. The Tribe was on a roll last week, but let’s see how the first west-coast trip of the season goes.

* * * * *

How ‘bout tha... er, I mean, I'll be goddamned! - What’s gotten into John Maine? The Mets starter is 5-0 with a WHIP of 1.07 and a league-leading ERA of 1.37. Weren’t the Mets supposed to have starting pitching issues this year?

2007-05-04T07:33:00.000-05:00

Do You Smell What I Smell?

(sniff, sniff) Do you smell that? Do you? That unmistakable olfactory combination of bourbon, bluegrass, and horse shit can mean only one thing! The first weekend in May is here and its once again time for the Kentucky Derby!

The day when the richest and most pretentious members of our society join the poorest and drunkest rednecks to gather and pray at the church of animal cruelty and degenerate gambling! Hoorah!

We are not horse race aficionados by any means, so if you have come to find out which horse you should pick to place, or which exacta box you should put your next mortgage payment on, we sincerely apologize. We fall into the 90% of America that watches exactly three horse races a year. We are however very entertained by two things associated with the Derby: First, we love the ridiculous names that these idiots have saddled (eh? eh?) these horses with. Imagine if you had to walk around all day and answer to “Teuflesberg” or “Scat Daddy.” That being said, because we know nothing about horse racing, every year we pick what horses we bet on based on their names. So all WCT money will be going on “Any Given Saturday,” and “Nobiz Like Shobiz.”

The Second thing we love about the Derby is of course the hot women in stupid hats.

But that was obvious wasn’t it?

Enjoy the race sports fans, and enjoy cinco de mayo. We will be thinking of you as we sip tequila juleps.

2007-05-03T12:21:00.000-05:00

How Do You Like Your Golden Boy Now?

Tip of the cap (pun intended) to Awful Announcing

2007-05-02T14:20:00.000-05:00

Honestly Ladies...

Somewhere out there exists a woman sending out dirty photographs and emails in an attempt to throw herself at this man?

2007-05-01T13:59:00.001-05:00

Delicious Links

We are feeling lazy today, so we have decided to do our very first links post.

Enjoy the delicious links!

If you watched any of the 6,234 hours of draft coverage last weekend, you probably saw the hilarious Madden '08 commercial where Reggie Bush basically says “suck it” to the Houston Texans for passing on him in the ’06 draft. Well, EA Sports has apologized for the ad. (The FanHouse)

Isaiah Thomas appears to be significantly more successful with women than he is as a basketball executive, but The Hater Nation isn't impressed.

One woman appears to be throwing herself at former ESPN gasbag, and current NFL Network gasbag Rich Eisen. (Page Six)

When I saw NASCAR fans throwing debris at Jeff Gordon last weekend, I thought to myself, they sell beer CANS at NASCAR races? I wasn't the only one who thought this. (Our book of Scrap)

This Jim Rome-Eric Wynalda (who?) feud is getting ugly. (Sports by Brooks, Awful Announcing)

This morning on Mike & Mike, Joe Theisman, ripped Brady Quinn for chewing gum. We guess he has to find new outlets for his special brand of dick-iness now that he was fired from his MNF gig, (the FanHouse)

First the Browns have the best draft in the NFL, then the Indians end the first month of the season in 1st place, now the Cavs sweep their way into the second round. Next, we expect to see four horsemen with flaming skulls for heads fly through the sky. (the Plain Dealer)

This has nothing to do with sports: We have never been big fans of “Fergie,” and to all of those that we have argued with about her hotness, we rest our case. (The Don and Mike Show website)

2007-04-29T19:55:00.000-05:00

Last Week in Baseball! - Not Panic/Celebration Time Just Yet

If you are like us, you grew up on Mel Allen and “This Week in Baseball.” Here at WCT, we have “Last Week in Baseball!” Please don't sue us Fox!

We are through a month of regular season baseball so it really isn’t “early” anymore, but we really feel like Yankee haters (like ourselves) cannot celebrate the team’s demise just yet. Even though the Yanks are in sole possession of last place, looking up at the Devil Rays, we have seen this from them before. Let us not forget 2005, when the Yanks were 11-19 in early May, then caught fire in the second half including a 17-9 September to beat out the Red Sox for the division title. The Yankees pitching staff was banged up for the entire month of April, and we think this team will stabalize once Chien-Ming Wang gets his legs under him and Mike Mussina retuns from the DL. We may end up being wrong, but we will hold off on our "the Yanks are dead! the Yanks are dead!" parade for at least another month

Now, on to our LWIB notes!

- Speaking of the Yankees, we have no idea why Joe Torre has to go through this every year. Four world series championships, six AL pennants, ten division titles, yet he is managing for his job after a slow April.

- It is really, really sad that we've lost another Cardinals pitcher. There are still guys on this team that have not gotten over the passing of Daryl Kile, and now they lose Josh Hancock in a tragic accident.

- Ian Kinsler refuses to go away.

- Now that Bartolo Colon and Jared Weaver have returned, and Chone Figgens is on his way back, we expect the Angels to take off and finally be the team to beat in the AL.

- Nice to see Julian Tavarez pick up a win for the Red Sox yesterday. We were ready to talk about how much sending him out there every fifth day is killing this team.

- Speaking of the Red Sox, so far Hideki Okajima has been a lot more impressive than Daisuke Matsuzaka. A LOT. We think the Sox have found their 8th inning set up man.

* * * * *
Its our blog dammit, so we are going to talk about our team every week - This is really scary. The Browns had the best draft of any NFL team, and the Indians are in first place in the best division in the sport. We sincerly expect to be struck by lightning.

* * * * *
How ‘bout tha... er, I mean, I'll be goddamned! - Sunday at Jacobs Field, Fausto Carmona, in what will likely be his last start since Cliff Lee makes his return this week, pitched 8 1/3 innings, giving up six hits and only a 9th inning solo home run. Fausto Freaking Carmona?

2007-04-29T12:52:00.000-05:00

The Browns are Having a Great Draft

You have to understand how scary it is for us to say, but we LOVE the Browns draft so far. The fact that they got OT Joe Thomas and QB Brady Quinn in the first round is outstanding, and we do not think they gave up too much to get Quinn. We think that Quinn will compete for the starting job immediately, and if he turns out to be the player that everyone thinks he should be, then he is absolutely worth next year's first round pick. And Thomas will hopefully provide some stability to what has traditionally been one of the worst offensive lines in the league. Not only that, but if UNLV CB Eric Wright from can keep his nose clean, then he is a steal at #53 overall. Wright has been said to have the dreaded "character issues" label, but he also has first round caliber talent.

One more thing, we don't know if anyone else has noticed this, but the New England Patriots are turning into a juggernaught. If they add Randy Moss, as is the rumor right now, and they stay healthy, they may not lose a game next year. We are not happy about this.

2007-04-27T07:49:00.000-05:00

Great Moments in Cleveland Browns Draft Day History -"Black Saturday"

One Cleveland Browns fan’s mental preparation for the team's next huge embarrassing draft day failure

This is the big kahuna folks, "Black Saturday" as we call it around here, the infamous draft day disaster that the Cleveland Browns franchise is still recovering from today. Probably the best and deepest draft in the last 25 years. The 1999 NFL Draft.

April 24, 1999. As you could probably imagine, this was one of the most anticipated draft days in Cleveland Browns history. The team was returning to the NFL after the franchise was moved to Baltimore in 1995. Everyone knows that the Browns had the #1 overall pick, but people often forget that they also had the first pick in the 2nd and 3rd rounds.

We were wide-eyed college students hundreds of miles away from the fair city of Cleveland where we grew up, but even in our dorm rooms, the electricity was palpable. We didn't sleep very much the night before, and as we stumbled out of bed, the day had a "Christmas morning" sort of feel to it.

If you are any sort of football fan, you probably know who the Browns took with that first overall pick

But the bigger story is who they passed up.

Now, in the interest of space, we will only mention the players that they passed on that actually went to the pro bowl. Because if we start mentioning impact guys who haven't been to the pro bowl like Dre Bly, Kevin Faulk, and Brandon Stokley, then we'll be here all day.

1st Round
#1 Browns - QB Tim Couch (0 pro bowls)
#2 Eagles - QB Donovan McNabb (5 pro bowls)
#4 Colts - RB Edgerrin James (4 pro bowls)
#5 Saints - RB Ricky Williams (1 pro bowl, but we can't blame the Browns for passing on him)
#6 Rams - WR Torry Holt (5 pro bowls)
#7 Redskins - CB Champ Bailey (7 pro bowls)
#10 Ravens - CB Chris McAlister (3 pro bowls)
#11 Vikings - QB Daunte Culppeper (3 pro bowls)
#16 Titans - DE Jevon Kearse (3 pro bowls)
#31 Broncos - LB Al Wilson (5 pro bowls)

If you are keeping track, that is 9 future pro bowlers (36 pro bowls total) drafted in the 1st round and the Browns passed on all of them. Lets take a look at the later rounds shall we?

#32 Browns - WR Kevin Johnson (0 pro bowls)

(quick aside - this is twice as frustrating for Cleveland fans because the name "Kevin Johnson" reminds us of the basketball player by the same name that the Cavs drafted in 1987 and then traded. He went on to become a star in Phoenix.)

#62 Browns - CB Daylon McCutcheon (0 pro bowls)
.
.
.
#73 Steelers - LB Joey Porter (3 pro bowls)

So there you have it. Black Saturday. One of the best drafts in recent memory, and the Browns do not have a single player from this draft on their roster today.

And because this is also the T&A post, we would like to introduce you to native Ohioan, former Playboy Playmate of the year, and former "Price is Right" Barker's Beauty Heather Kozar.

Or as she is known today, Mrs. Tim Couch. She is clearly not attracted to him for his fame or his football talent.

(Obviously there are also plenty of NSFW pictures of Heather...if you're into that sort of thing)

2007-04-26T14:17:00.000-05:00

Our Long National Nightmare is Over

WCT punching-bag Josh Barfield got a hit today! That brings the hitless streak to a close at 18 At-bats, or four full games. That also makes two hits since April 15, and puts his slugging percentage back above his weight.

Way to go Josh!

2007-04-26T11:44:00.000-05:00

Great Moments in Cleveland Browns Draft Day History - 2003

One Cleveland Browns fan’s mental preparation for the team's next huge embarrassing draft day failure

On April 26, 2003 our beloved Browns spent a second round pick (#52 overall) on Chaun Thompson, a linebacker from West Texas A&M.

Now admittedly, we are displaced Browns fans, living in New York, without Directtv, so we don't get to watch as much Browns football as we would like. But that being said, we have no earthly idea who Chaun Thompson is.

Now we can't really attack a draft pick that happend only four years ago, and far be it from us to question the logic of picking a guy who had eight career college sacks at West Texas A&M, but just for laughs, lets take a look at some of the linebackers who didn't make the cut on the Browns' draft board:

Victor Hobson (Picked #53)
Lance Briggs (#68)
Cato June (#198)

How about other defensive players?

Osi Umenyiora (#56)
Ricky Manning (#82)

Who who will be this year's Chaun Thompson?

2007-04-26T09:17:00.000-05:00

Morning Rumor

Was Curt Schilling's famed "bloody sock" from the 2004 postseason really bloody?

2007-04-25T12:59:00.000-05:00

That Nutra-System Stuff is Working Wonders!

Last year

This year

Apparently all it does is make his hair long and greasy.

Thanks to Joe Sports Fan for the pictures.

2007-04-25T12:25:00.000-05:00

Great Moments in Cleveland Browns Draft Day History - 2002

One Cleveland Browns fan’s mental preparation for the team's next huge embarrassing draft day failure

April 20, 2002. Imagine yourself in the draft room. It is early in the second round.

Commissioner Paul Tagliabue - "Pick #47, the Browns are on the clock"

Browns GM Carmen Policy - "OK guys, showtime! next up on our draft board is the Andre Davis! lets get him!"

Tagliabue - "with the 47th pick...of the 2002 NFL Draft...The Cleveland Browns select Andre Davis...Wide Receiver, Virginia Tech"

Policy - "Great work everyone! great work!"

(Someone forgets to cross Davis' name off on the draft board)

(Several other picks are made over the next few hours including #48 Reche Caldwell #51 Clinton Portis, #62 Antwaan Randle-El, #65 Deion Branch, and #91 Brian Westbrook)

* * * * *

(Fast forward ahead to the fifth round)

Tagliabue - "Pick number 141. The Cleveland Browns are on the clock"

(Policy notices that Davis' name is still on his draft board)

Policy - "Wait, did we forget to take that Davis kid?? What the hell is going on? Draft Davis Dammit!"

Tagliabue -"With the 141st pick of the NFL Draft...The Cleveland Browns select...Andra Davis...Linebacker... Florida"

We are not sure if this is exactly how these events went down in April of 2002, but we can only assume. The part that we did not make up was the fact that in the same draft, the Cleveland Browns selected Andre Davis, and Andra Davis (pronounced as Andre).

2007-04-24T12:08:00.000-05:00

Great Moments in Cleveland Browns Draft Day History - 2001

One Cleveland Browns fan’s mental preparation for the team's next huge embarrassing draft day failure

We were perusing the Kid Cleveland blog’s recap of the Browns 2001 draft, and they did a great job of outlining who our beloved Browns took, and more importantly, who they could have taken. Namely:

Browns overall pick #3 DT Gerard Warren

16.5 sacks in 4 seasons as a Brown. 0 pro bowls. Now on Denver.

Chargers overall pick #5 RB LaDanian Tomlinson

5 pro bowls, one MVP award, over 9,000 rushing yards, over 100 TDs, and called by some as the best running back ever to play pro football.

Patriots overall pick #6 DT Richard Seymor

5 pro bowls, 25.5 sacks (as a nose tackle), and considered by some as the best d-lineman in football.

Saints overall pick #23 RB Deuce McAllister

2 pro bowls, more than 5,500 rushing yards

Colts overall pick #30 WR Reggie Wayne

1 pro bowl (should be more), more than 5,400 receiving yards

Ravens overall pick #31 TE Todd Heap

2 pro bowls

Chargers overall pick #32 QB Drew Brees

3 pro bowls and a comeback player of the year award

Browns overall pick #33 WR Quincy Morgan

1,912 receiving yards in 3 years as a Brown. 0 pro bowls. Last seen in Denver

Bengals overall pick #36 WR Chad Johnson

4 pro bowls, nearly 7,000 receiving yards

Bengals overall pick #100 RB Rudi Johnson

1 pro bowl, more than 5,200 yards rushing

Bengals overall pick #204 WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh (Jeez this was a good draft for them!)

2007-04-23T14:31:00.000-05:00

This is a Union that We Should have All Seen Coming

If you are ever bored, feel your brain stagnating, and in need of something to make fun of, and it happens to be a Monday, click over to Peter King's column. You will not be disappointed. This week, we found this gem among the 10 things he thinks he thinks he thinks, or whatever:

“I like the way Jason Whitlock thinks”

Nice. The simple fact that you two are on the same page just reinforces our feelings on Whitlock. Also caught this one:

“We'll catch up on The Sopranos either Tuesday morning or next week. Couldn't miss Matsuzaka on Sunday night”

Thanks Petey.

2007-04-23T12:09:00.000-05:00

Last Week in Baseball! - Mediocrity Lives

If you are like us, you grew up on Mel Allen and “This Week in Baseball.” Here at WCT, we have “Last Week in Baseball!” Please don't sue us Fox!

Its dangerous to make any sort of conclusions based on records or standings at this point in the season, but it is still interesting to see who fast out of the gates, and we are through almost a month of baseball so its really no longer that early in the season.

Can you believe that 20 of the 30 teams in baseball are no better than one game over .500? We were never really big believers in the idea that there was parody in baseball, but maybe this year there will be. By our estimation, at least three whole divisions (NL Central, NL and AL West) are no better than mediocre, with the AL West having no teams over .500. It will be interesting to see how long it takes teams like the Angels, the Cardinals, the Yankees, and the Blue Jays, supposed playoff contenders who are currently at of below .500, to right themselves.

Now, on to our LWIB notes!

- Maybe the Cubs finally have the 1-2 punch that they have needed in their pitching rotation. And those pitchers are... Jason Marquis and Rich Hill of course! Last week the two were a combined 3-0 with an ERA of 0.43. Hill has been especially strong, leading the NL in WHIP (0.68) and has a 16 inning scoreless streak working. Look for one of these guys' throwing arm to fall off and the other to get struck by lightning in the next few weeks, because after all, its the Cubs.

- How about the Orioles? We thought this would be a last-place team (and they still might be) but at least so far they have been a pleasant surprise. The O’s took two of three from the Devil Rays, then swept the Blue Jays over the weekend to leapfrog the Yankees into second place in the division. We'll have a better idea about this team this time next week after they have played the A's, the Red Sox, and the Indians.

- Brad Lidge has officially lost it, and Phil Garner has completely lost confidence in him. On Sunday, he came in, gave up a leadoff double, and was taken out of the game. On Friday, he walked two batters, gave up a three-run bomb, and gave up a double after getting two outs. Thats seven batters faced over the weekend, two walks, three hits, and three runs.

- There appears to be some negative karma associated with this blog. Both Jason Schmidt, whom we picked to win the Cy Young this year, and Felix Hernandez, whom we highlighted last week, landed on the DL this past week. Oops.

* * * * *

Its our blog dammit, so we are going to talk about our team every week - Ideally we would like to just forget that whole mid-week series against the Yankees ever happend. And we know that Josh Barfield was acquired in the offseason mainly for his glove, and so far he has played a good second base, but would it be too much to ask for him to hit his weight? Or even slug his weight? He is listed at 190 lbs, and is slugging .245 so its close. We'll keep an eye on this. By the way Barfield has seven hits this year, including one in the last calendar week. He started every game but one last week.

The Tribe has the Twins, the Rangers and the Orioles this week.

* * * * *

How ‘bout tha... er, I mean, I'll be goddamned! - Everyone knows that Alex Rodriguez has 12 home runs so far this year (its only the lead story on SportsCenter every night), but did you know that Ian Kinsler has 7 home runs? Ian Kinsler?

2007-04-20T11:27:00.000-05:00

Apparently the Lure of Coaching Three More Scarlet-Gray Spring Games Wasn't Enough Incentive to Stay in School

Friday, Ohio State will hold a press conference to announce that three freshmen will be declaring for this summer's NBA Draft. Center Greg Oden (no surprise there, he's ready for the NBA), point gaurd Mike Conley (again, no surprise, he was probably the Buckeyes' MVP through the tournament, plus his dad just recently decided to become a sports agent. Weird coincidence!) And shooting guard Daequan Cook (wait, what?)

Here are Daequan's stats for the season:

19.7 minutes per game

9.8 Points

4.3 Rebounds

1 Assist

Apparently Daequan is getting advice from his older brother, former St. Johns draft bust Omar.*

*(we completely made that last part up, Daequan Cook and Omar Cook are not related)

2007-04-20T08:03:00.000-05:00

Touch 'em All, Indeed

We realize that this story has been all over the blogosphere already and we are the last ones to the party, but we don’t care. The T&A post only comes around once a week, right?

The fact that average-to-below-average-MLB-pitcher groupie Alyssa Milano has a blog makes this story a Friday T&A lay-up. The fact that she has named said blog “Touch ‘em All” makes this story a Friday T&A lay-up on a 7-foot basket.

She has even started her own line of “Touch” apparel.

Seriously, this woman sleeps with anything with an ERA over 5 (Jake Westbrook! Someone is undoubtedly asking around for your phone number!!) and now she has a deal with Major League Baseball to sell her own line of clothes? And is blogging her “observations” on the MLB season? This is becoming too easy.

And congratulations to Ms. Milano for being the first ever woman to be the subject of two consecutive Friday T&A posts!

* * * * *
Have a good weekend blog-nation, enjoy the NBA Playoffs (go Cavs) and ESPN's Yanks & Sox-pocalypse.

2007-04-19T23:19:00.000-05:00

The Coaching Matchup for This Saturday's Ohio State Spring Football Game Will be...

Mike Conley vs. Greg Oden?

2007-04-19T15:52:00.000-05:00

LOUD NOISES!

We try not to let our own fan-dom seep too much into the posts of this blog (what? what are you laughing at?) But we can't let this go:

We are thoroughly embarassed to be Indians fans today.

Embarassed. Thats the best word to describe how we feel. How would this three game series have gone differently if a AAA team had showed up to play the Yankees this week instead of the Indians? Would it have been any worse?

How would the 9th inning have gone today if we had been handed the ball and asked to protect a four-run lead instead of Joe Fucking Borowski? Could we have done better? What if we had been handed the ball to start game 1 on Tuesday instead of the $33 million dollar man Jake "I won 15 games two years ago so I'm hanging my hat on that season" Westbrook? Could we have lasted more than 1 2/3 innings?

Oh, and by the way, we know that everybody's MVP Grady "people who see me play 2 or 3 times a year think I'm the second coming of Willie Mays" Sizemore has an OPS over 1000, but he has also now struck out eight times in 40 ABs. And seemingly all of them have come in crucial situations in close games. I guess we are on pace for another 150 strikeout season. When is Wedge going to stop batting him leadoff?

And speaking of Eric "My ass is superglued to the bench" Wedge, why does he continue to leave his pitchers out on the mound 2, 3, 4, 10 batters too long? Does it take an act of God for him to take a pitcher out of the game when he has obviously lost it? Oh, right because Mark "I won executive of the year two years ago so I have this job for life no matter how much I suck at it" Shapiro hasn't gotten anyone decent to come out of the bullpen.

We know that it is only April 19, but so far is there anyone on this team besides CC Sabathia who is not a spectacular disappointment?

AAAAAAH. Thats better. Thank you that was very theraputic.

2007-04-18T11:06:00.000-05:00

The Ship be Sinkin'

In Monday's LWIB post, we said that the bullpen would be the difference between the The Phillies competing for a playoff spot and another disappointing season in Philly. We would like to amend that statement and add the following factors to "bullpen" on the list of “reasons the Phillies won’t make the playoffs:”

Starting Pitching
Hitting
Fielding
Managing
Baserunning
Pretty much everyone on this team besides Jimmy Rollins

Other than that, they're good.

Oh and one other thing, we don't wish for anyone to lose their job, but we hope that former Indians manager/failure Charlie Manuel has his resume in order. And threatening to fight this man

Excuse us. Don't know how we made that mistake. THIS man

certainly isn't going to help things. More proof of the Joey Crawford-ization of sports.

2007-04-17T13:04:00.000-05:00

Funny Picture of the day

The Fanhouse comes through again.

2007-04-17T11:49:00.000-05:00

Why does Yahoo! Sports Hate the Spurs?

Tip of the cap to The Fanhouse and TrueHoop on this one.

Check out these two Spurs box scores from Yahoo! Sports: One from March 26th

and one from last night

In case you couldn't read those, thats Robert Horry - "DNP - Old Age!" and Brent Barry - "DNP - Tummy Ache"

Does Joey Crawford write box scores for Yahoo?

2007-04-16T13:31:00.000-05:00

Last Week in Baseball!

If you are like us, you grew up on Mel Allen and “This Week in Baseball.” Here at WCT, we have “Last Week in Baseball!” Please don't sue us Fox!

The Jackie Robinson tributes Sunday were great. It was great because its impossible to overstate his value to American sports, and American history. It was also great because as much as we know (or thought we knew) about Jackie, we learned a lot about him on Sunday.

Now, on to our LWIB notes!

- The Phillies bullpen looks like it is going to be what prevents this team competing for a playoff spot. Its never a good thing when your closer, in this case Tom Gordon, has an ERA of 9, and the eighth inning last Monday against the Mets was a disgrace. We hope that manager Charlie Manuel is renting and doesn’t own.

- Stop us if you've heard this before, but the Texas Rangers have no pitching. They currently have the second worst team ERA in the American League (5.07) and allowed 9, 8, 6, and 14 runs in games played last week. When is this team going to realize you can't win without pitching?

- Did you know that Mariano Rivera doesn't have a save yet this year? We're still shocked when he blows one as he did against the A's on Sunday. The Yanks starting rotation is becoming the walking wounded, with Mike Mussina and Carl Pavano joining Chien-Ming Wang on the DL.

- If you had "April 13" in your office's "when will Lou Pinella's first tirade as a Cubs Manager occur?" pool, congratulations..

- Manny Ramirez is still without a home run this year.

- Its April 16 and Nationals still suck. We feel that this team is going to make a serious run at the '62 Mets record of 120 losses. We will follow this story all summer.

- Albert Pujols is heating up. He had two more home runs on Sunday.

- The Braves are also hot out of the gates. The Braves-Mets race in the NL east will probably turn out to be the best division race in baseball this summer.

- The NL central, on the other hand, is a joke. In our NL west preview we predicted that division would be the worst in baseball. However, through the first two weeks, it looks like the central will out do the west in terms of suckiness.

* * * * *
Its our blog dammit, so we are going to talk about our team every week - How about the Tribe winning a game with only one hit Sunday? C.C. Sabathia is on point so far this year, and it was nice to see the Indians take two of three from the White Sox and Angels (our pick for the AL pennant) in Milwaukee. Lets see how they do against the Yanks this week.

* * * * *
How ‘bout tha... er, I mean, I'll be goddamned! - "King" Felix Hernandez's pitching line so far this year - two starts, 17 IP, four hits allowed, no runs allowed, 0.47 WHIP, two wins. Yikes!

2007-04-13T07:59:00.000-05:00

The Wiff!

We made our feelings known on Josh Beckett during our preview of the AL East: we think he is tragically overrated. Apparently, according to The Boston Herald, The Fanhouse, and The Feed, there are women in the Boston who share our appraisal of the goateed right-hander.

Beckett apparently tried to pick up a girl at a bar with the always famous “hey you!” line. The girl knew exactly who he was (she reportedly told him “you pitched a great game today”) and was not impressed.

Maybe this is erroneous on both counts, but didn’t Beckett at one point or another to date both Leeann Tweeden, AND Alyssa Milano? Although to be fair, it has gotten to the point where we assume that every middling, underachieving Major League pitcher has run through Milano.

So this weekend as you hit the bars, raise your glass to whomever this chick is, and her ability to resist a Major League ballplayer, and a minor league pickup line. And when closing time rolls around, and you find yourself heading home alone, just remember, if a Red Sox player can get shot down at a bar in Boston, it can happen to anybody.

2007-04-10T20:31:00.000-05:00

In Defense of Pacman

We might be completely alone on this one, but we think that Adam “Pacman” Jones got a raw deal today.

When it was announced Tuesday that he would be suspended for the entirety of the 2007 NFL season, it raised our eyebrows. When it was announced that Chris Henry would be suspended for eight games next year, we were utterly shocked.

Henry and Jones, who incidentally both went to West Virginia (Goooooo Mountaineers!), have been thorns in the proverbial side of the NFL for the past two seasons. In that time period Henry has been arrested, pulled over, or investigated as many as four times, on charges varying from DUI, to providing alcohol to minors, to driving without insurance, to aggravated assault with a firearm. Also, and more importantly, he has been convicted or plead guilty to three of those charges. Jones, for all of the times he has been alleged to have committed this, or been questioned in relation to that, has not been convicted of a single crime since entering the NFL. As guilty as everyone (ourselves included) think that Jones is of at least some of what he has been accused of, he must be given the benefit of the legal system.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is setting a dangerous precedent by suspending a player without pay for an entire year without a conviction or a guilty plea. Isn’t this just going to invite false accusations of NFL players? If a player does not need to be proven to be guilty of a crime before he is penalized, where do you draw the line? Do you only need an accusation in order to be suspended? The Bengals are the team that has show to have a culture of lawlessness. If you were going to "make an example" of someone, wouldn't you want to choose the Bengal?

And above all, isn’t it a little inconsistent to suspend a player found guilty three times for half a year and at the same time suspend a player found guilty zero times for a whole season?

2007-04-08T21:23:00.000-05:00

WCT Baseball Preview: The Saga Continues

Baseball season is underway, and we here at WCT are psyched. In order to prepare for the season (and so that in October we can brag about how right we were in the spring) we will preview how we think the 2007 season will go.

Today: The Awards!

We swear we made these picks before the season started.

AL MVP: Travis Hafner – There are many statistical measures that would tell you that Hafner is the best offensive player in baseball. Last year he led the American League with a 1097 OPS, and even SCORED 100 runs (if you’ve seen “Pronk” run the bases, then you realize how remarkable it is that he scored that many times). We feel like the only reason he ended up eighth in the MVP balloting last year was because the Indians sucked (NOT because he is a designated hitter. But that is another post for another day). That being said, we think the Tribe will be better this year (you can go ahead and substitute “hope” for “think” if you want) and if he stays healthy, Hafner will be right in the middle of it and will garner the votes he needs.

One week in: If it never stops snowing in Cleveland, and if teammate and WCT punching-bag Grady Sizemore doesn’t stop upstaging him by hitting home runs every game, Hafner has no chance.

AL Cy Young : Chien-Ming Wang – This is one of the few guys who looks like he has a legitimate shot to toss a new hitter just about every time he takes the ball. We have never seen a sinkerballer who can control a game and frustrate the opposing team the Wang can. And with the Yankee offense scoring six runs a night, there is really no limit to his potential.

One week in: Wang is on the DL and is going to miss at least a month. Oops. Eh, Halladay, or Santana will end up taking it.

AL Rookie of the Year: Daisuke Matsuzaka – Why is it that in one breath people like Peter Gammons (who we respect, and agree with about 90% of the time) say that the Japanese league is somewhere between AAA and the majors, and in the next breath they say that if you consider Japanese players rookies you are disrespecting their league? If Ichiro can win ROY, why not Matsuzaka? Or as the Kansas City Royals Broadcasters called him Daisuke Matsui.

One week in: Seven innings, six hits, one earned run, one walk, and ten strikeouts Thursday against the Royals. Now lets see how he does against a major league lineup (Zing!). If he is as good as everyone says he is, he should win 16 games easily. There are also like five guys for the Devil Rays who could also take this award. If Matsuzaka doesn’t get the votes, look out for Elijah Dukes.

NL MVP: Jose Reyes – We actually could have gone with any of about three Mets (Carlos Beltran and David Wright being the others) but Reyes does so many things to impact a game its hard not to choose him. At the plate, on the basepaths, in the field, he is arguably the most complete player in the game.

One week in: Yes, its only been one week, but he is slugging .720.

NL Cy Young: Jason Schmidt – this is the one pick that we made that may be out of the ordinary. We see the Dodgers as one of the two best teams in the entire National League, so we think Schmidt will be another guy who will benefit from being on a team that makes the playoffs. We think he could have won this award a couple of times in the past if the Giants had been better.

One week in: Five innings, three hits, one earned run allowed. If he stays healthy, he could make us look very smart.

NL Rookie of the Year: Chris Young – No, not the 6’10” pitcher for the Padres, the 6’2” outfielder for the Diamondbacks. To be honest, we have no idea who this guy is. All we know is that Gammons loves him, and that’s good enough for us.

One week in: Young is only batting .182 so far, but he already has a home run and 8 RBI.

2007-04-06T07:46:00.000-05:00

Is Hockey Really this Starved for Attention?

The blogosphere is all atwitter with the news of the latest hockey fight.

No we aren’t referring to the fight from a few weeks ago where one goon clubbed the other in the face with his stick. No, we aren’t referring to that fight about a week ago where two goons slugged it out and one of them was wheeled off in a stretcher.

No, we are referring of course to the scuffle between this man

and them.

The gentleman at the top is New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvisk. And the ladies below are the New York Islanders “ice girls.” The ice girls, in case you haven’t been to or seen an NHL game lately (and judging by TV ratings and attendance figures, chances are you haven’t) perform the basic duties that the grounds crew performs at a baseball game. The only difference is they perform these tasks in half-shirts, tight pants, and other attire that we’re sure makes their parents very proud.

According to the report, the rivalry between the Rangers and Islanders was taken to a new height (or depth, depending on how you look at it) when Lundqvist began antagonizing the ice girls when they came to clean his crease during a stoppage. Supposedly, he refused to get out of the way of one of the ice girls, and even whacked one of their squeegees with his goal stick.

(quick aside: Dumber feud this week: Ludqvist vs. the Islander ice girls, or the war of words between Eric Wynalda and Jim Rome?)

Far be it from us to question anything done by the runaway success that is, the National Hockey League, but they may want to re visit the idea of ice girls. Clearly the idea here is to try their best to objectify these women, but is it wise to have them skating onto the ice during commercials and annoying the players? Is this really all the NHL has left to try to get fans into the arenas?

On another, non-ice girl related hockey note: What the hell is going on in the front office of the New Jersey Devils? This week GM Lou Lamoriello fired coach Claude Julien, less than a year after hiring him, despite the fact that there were only three games left in the season, and the Devils were in first place in their division and in the midst of four wins in five games. Simply amazing. Can you even imagine this happening in any other sport? Only hockey.

2007-04-04T20:56:00.000-05:00

America Held Hostage: Crisis Averted!

We take back all of the bad things we said!*

*WCT does not take back any of the bad things we said about Bud Selig. He is still a douchebag. He is just a douchebag that temporarily came to his senses

2007-04-03T12:15:00.000-05:00

And Here we Go. Right on Cue.

To the surprise of absolutely no one, the emergence of Florida dynasty has spawned the age-old argument of the inane: “can they beat an NBA team?? I totally think they can!!”

Why do we have to continue to do this? Why? I really don’t understand why this makes me so mad, but it really gets under my skin. Morons did it with USC a few years back, saying that they could beat the worst of the NFL. It happens all the time.

First of all, full disclosure: regular readers will know that I am an Ohio State fan, and not exactly in love with the athletic teams from the University of Florida right now. That being said, I congratulate them (again) on winning the NCAA tournament and on the great accomplishment of concurrently holding the football and basketball championships.

Now that that’s out of the way, let me get to my point: An NBA team, any NBA team, would CRUSH Florida. They would sweep them in a seven game series with their backups.

Just look at the Charlotte Bobcats for example. They have basically a who’s-who of college all-americans from the past five years, led by Sean May, Raymond Felton, Adam Morrison, Matt Carroll and Emeka Okafor. That’s five all-conference players, four all-americans, two different NCAA tournament most outstanding players, and a national player of the year. This is a much more decorated team than this Gators club. They have 28 wins right now. They get their asses handed to them on a semi-nightly basis.

As great as this Florida team is, and they are GREAT, we have admitted as much in the past, how many guys on this team could even crack the starting five of the Clippers or the Nuggets or another around .500, average NBA team? Definitely Corey Brewer, probably Al Horford and Joakim Noah, but who else? I’m sorry, Taurean Green and Lee Humphrey ain’t starting in the NBA next year on a decent team. These five guys are college studs and they may not even start in the League.

Not only that, but how many NBA teams can you see losing by double digits to Vanderbilt or Tennessee? How many NBA teams would lose by 10 points to a 5-11 in conference LSU team?

Can we please accept the Florida Gators as what they are, that is, a great college basketball team, bordering on a dynasty. We don’t have to elevate them to something that they are not.

2007-04-03T10:14:00.000-05:00

This is the Type of Keen Insight You Can Only Get from One Jay Bilas

Jay Bilas on Mike & Mike this morning on the prospects of Greg Oden returning to school:

"I think that he will probably go to the NBA, but there is also a chance that he stays in school."

So if you are keeping track at home, Greg Oden will definitely declare for the NBA draft. Unless he doesn't.

2007-04-02T22:35:00.000-05:00

152 Days till Football Season in Columbus!

Ok, so that went about as well as we thought it would. That is to say, not well at all. Florida was just too good, too deep, too experienced for the young Buckeyes. We fully expect things to now return to normal, and by that we mean we expect Florida players and fans to gloat for the foreseeable future, we expect Oden and Conley to declare for the draft, and we expect Ohio State to return to its status as a second-tier college basketball program.

Ohio State spring game April 21st!

2007-04-02T15:20:00.000-05:00

This is Really Getting Annoying

Boy this whole MLBtv arrangement just gets better by the minute

2007-04-02T11:44:00.000-05:00

WCT Baseball Preview of the Week

Baseball season begins in earnest today, and we here at WCT are psyched (Indians already up 9-2 on the White Sox!). In order to prepare for the season (and so that in October we can brag about how right we were in the spring) we will preview each division, and predict the order of finish of the teams.

Today: Baseball's best division, the American League Central

Detroit Tigers – We have a funny feeling about this Tigers team. They are easily the most talented team in the division, but they also remind us a lot of the ’06 White Sox. We have never understood the phenomenon of the “sophomore slump,” but if it happens to any or all of the talented rookie pitchers who carried this team all the way through October, they are going to be in trouble. Kenny “get that camera out of my face” Rogers starts the year on the DL, it will be interesting to see how well he pitches now that he won’t be able to use that mysterious brown substance that was on his left hand during the playoffs last year. The addition of Gary Sheffield will be big, because when Gary is mad, he hits the ball real hard. We see them winning the division, but not without a fight. Call us crazy, but we just have a hunch that this team won’t be as successful as they were last year, or as many experts think they will be.

Cleveland Indians – It scares us to say this, as Indians fans, but the Tribe looks very good on paper right now. The rotation, as long as everyone stays healthy (C.C. Sabathia, we’re looking at you) should be solid. They added Joe Borowski to replace Bob Wickman as the closer, and rest of the bullpen is above average. Trot Nixon should bring the veteran influence that they have needed. Travis Hafner is arguably the best power hitter in the league, and the WCT pick for MVP. If the Jhonny Perralta of 2005 returns rather than the Jhonny Perralta of 2006, then the Indians could have three young studs in the infield with Perralta, Josh Barfield, and Andy Marte. If they put it together, we see the Tribe ending up with the wild card.

(quick aside: Everybody’s darling Grady Sizemore has GOT to cut down on his strikeouts. No one ever talks about this, but the Indians cannot continue to have their leadoff hitter striking out 140-150 times in a season. We love the guy, and we appreciate the way he plays centerfield, but he should be putting the ball in play a lot more often than he does. Or they should have someone who is more of a more contact-hitter, perhaps Barfield, lead off, and bat Sizemore third in the lineup)

(Update: Grady is already 1 for 1 with a leadoff home run, a walk, and two runs scored so we take back everything we said. For now)

Chicago White Sox – We don’t subscribe to the ridiculous idea that Ozzie Guillen is on the “hot seat” this year, but we think that he is beginning to become a distraction to his team. The Sox pitching staff fell apart down the stretch last year, and it cost them in the playoff race. This team will be able to score a lot of runs, but their bullpen lacks depth, and their starting rotation needs to be more like ’05 and less like ’06 if they are going to stay in the race.

Minnesota Twins – This team’s pitching staff looks is if it was assembled with a “Johan Santana, and pray for four days of rain” strategy. Too bad they play 81 games in a dome. Fransisco Liriano cannot return soon enough. One more thing: Honestly, who names their son “Boof?”

Kansas City Royals – Don’t laugh at us, but we think the Royals are going to be respectable this year, bordering on mediocre. 3B Alex Gordon is everybody’s early pick rookie of the year, and the outfield trio of Mark Tehan, Emil Brown, and David DeJesus is better than most people would think. It would not surprise us if they ended up somewhere other than the AL Central cellar, but we have them there just out of force of habit. They’re sort of like the opposite of the Braves of the 90s, until someone else proves that they can come in last in this division, we’re still going to go with the Royals.

2007-04-02T10:49:00.000-05:00

I Hate Everything About You

Screw you

and screw you.

this is is supposed to be one of the best days of the sports caledar, and because of you two, it has been ruined. Now we have to suffer through a season of MLBtv if we want to watch Indians games in New York. Screw you both. We hate you.

2007-04-01T23:58:00.000-05:00

An Open Letter to the Basketball Gods

Dear BGs,

The first sporting even I can remember watching was January 11, 1987. It was the AFC Championship game. The game included what you probably know as "the drive." I cried myself to sleep that night.

In the 20+ years that have followed that Sunday afternoon, I have witnessed disappointment after disappointment, after disappoinment. Save for a cold January Friday in 2003, there has not been very much sports-related happiness in my life.

Not only that, but I have never won a betting pool of any kind. Never really even come close.

Which brings me to this year. If you can find it in your hearts to smile on the Ohio State Buckeyes, dearest Baskeball Gods, then four things will be accomplished: First, and most obviously, my favorite college basketball team would win an improbable National Championship. Yes I know that they have been ranked #1 this season, including the week that immediately proceeded the tournament, but NO ONE is picking them to beat Florida in the title game. Second, it would shut up Florida and all their fans, who have become intolerable since winning the football championship. Third, I would win my office pool for the first time ever, and I love money. And fourth, and most importantly, it would vault me to the win in the just call me juice sports blogger's challenge, and allow me to spew my propaganda on a second website in the form of a guest post.

I know that I will probably never live to see a Browns super bowl win, or an Indians world series. I know that I have witnessed more sports heartache than any man should be forced to endure. But it would all be forgiven if one game goes my way. As you know, I do not ask you for much, and if this wish is fulfilled, I will never ask you for anything again*.

yours,

WCT

*(WCT reserves the right to ask the Basketball Gods for other favors in the future should it be should it be in my best interests. WCT also reserves the right to solicit the Football Gods, the Baseball Gods, the Hockey Gods, the Poker Gods, the Golf Gods, and the Picking-up-chicks-in-the-bars Gods)

2007-04-01T14:06:00.000-05:00

It all Comes Down to This (again)

So its the Buckeyes and the Gators in a rematch of the BCS title game in January. A few quick thoughts:

We have a bad feeling about this game. The Florida team is too talented, too experienced, and too deep. We really hope that we are wrong, but we think the Gators are going to win comfortably. However, the Buckeyes were a big favorite in the football game on January 8th and we all saw how that turned out.

The Florida junior class of Taurean Green, Al Horford, Corey Brewer, and Joakim Noah has to be considered one of the best recruiting classes in college basketball history. Ahead of the Fab Five from Michigan. Remember, the Fab Five went to two championship games, just as the UF juniors now have, but the Michigan class never won.

Georgetown has no seniors in their starting five, so if they all come back, they should be the favorites to win it all next year. That being said, we were surprised at how easily they were beaten by the Buckeyes last night.

Billy Donovan should stay at Florida. Why would he want to deal with the scrutiny of coaching at Kentucky when he is already coaching at a school that is in a better position to compete for national championships. He has built something at Florida. He should get Florida to match the offer he get from UK and stay in Gainesville.

It is really funny how expectations vary. If Ohio State loses on Monday night this basketball season would still be considered a huge success. When the Buckeyes lost the BCS championship game in January, the football season was considered good, but it sort of left a bad taste in the fans' mouths.

2007-03-30T19:30:00.000-05:00

The Waiting is Over!

The weekend we have been waiting for has finally arrived. The anticipation is over, its showtime!

We are speaking of course about opening weekend for the cinematic train-wreck that is, “Blades of Glory.” We have already made our thoughts on this movie known. Unequivocally, this thing is going to suck.

We have also made it known that we feel that the only hope for this movie is Jenna Fischer,

Jenna Fischer, and more Jenna Fischer. We don’t know what you think about her, but we think she is not only funny, but really hot in a “girl-next-door” sort of way.

Other than her, we wouldn’t cross the street for a free screening of this piece of garbage.

As for the basketball, by our calculations we are (I am) still alive in the Just Call Me Juice sports blogger’s challenge. All we need is a OSU-UCLA final game, and we will give you one guess who we picked to win it all

By the way, since this IS the Friday T&A post, here is a gratuitous picture of Alessandria Ambrosio

Who would blow the doors off Gisele in a Big Picture-esque "who would you..." tournament of Victoria's Secret Models.

2007-03-30T10:48:00.000-05:00

Bonus Friday T&A!

Just a random thought: This is Rosyln Sanchez. She is an actress and has appeared in such movies as "Rush Hour 2"

This is Nicole Scherzinger. She is the lead "singer" of the Pussycat Dolls

One question: Has anyone ever seen these two women in the same room at the same time??

2007-03-29T20:58:00.000-05:00

That Was a Close One!

C.C. - "I'll pitch Monday"

You better. And nice interview in this week's Sports Illustrated

2007-03-28T16:23:00.000-05:00

Son of a BITCH!

This freaking team is cursed!

2007-03-27T20:38:00.000-05:00

Ohio State can Score

Lately, we have been hearing a lot of talk about how Ohio State "plays a boring brand of basketball" and "can't score." We really do not understand this sentiment. First of all, Ohio State has played in arguably two of the most entertaining games in the entire NCAA tournament. Those of course being the St. Patrick’s day escape against Xavier, and last Thursday’s epic comeback against Tennessee. But more than that, they score better than most people give them credit for, and here is the proof:

Bada-Bing! Sorry, we couldn't resist. Here is the real proof - Among the Final Four teams:

Complete Season (regular season & tournament)

Florida - 79.3 ppg
Ohio State - 74.7 ppg
UCLA - 71.5 ppg
G'Town - 69.3 ppg

Within the Tournament

Florida - 84 ppg
Ohio State - 83.25 ppg
G'Town - 76 ppg
UCLA - 64 ppg

So there you have it. Fewer than five points per game separates OSU from the mighty Florida Gators during the season. And in the tournament, less than a point.

(And incidentally, Florida scored 112 points in their first round match-up against Jackson State, so their four game NCAA tournament average is a bit misleading)

So if you want, you can say that you don't think that the Buckeyes are that good. You can say that they are "lucky" to be in the Final Four. Hell, you can say that you think that Georgetown is going to beat them by 30 on Saturday if you feel like it. But don't say that their games are boring, or that they cannot score. Because the facts don't back that up.

2007-03-25T21:12:00.001-05:00

WCT Baseball Preview of the Week

Baseball season is approaching fast, and we here at WCT can’t wait. In order to prepare for the upcoming season (and so that in October we can brag about how right we were in the spring) we will preview each division, and predict the order of finish of the teams.

Today: The totally jumbled National League Central

St. Louis Cardinals - The world champs come into the 2007 season once again as the favorites in the central division. They have a bonafide MVP in Albert Pujols in the lineup, and a bonafide ace in Chris "soul patch" Carpenter in the rotation. However, the most interesting thing about the Cards is the fact that they have decided to turn Braden Looper and Adam Wainwright into starters. Wainwright we guess we understand. He has at least two excellent pitches in his repotoire, and with the return of Jason Isringhausen, he is probably more useful to the team in the rotation rather than coming out of the pen. But Braden Looper? He was a disaster as a closer for the Mets two years ago, and average performer as the set-up man for the Cards last year. What is it with this team and bizarre position changing? Between these moves and the whole “Rick Ankiel as an outfielder” experiment, it makes you wonder if the manager of this team is drunk. Sorry, too soon?

(Quick aside: what is it with teams taking failed closers, i.e. Looper, Byung-Hyun Kim, and making them starters? What is the thinking there? “This guy can’t get hitters out when he only pitches one inning at a time, so let’s send him out there every fifth day and see if he can get hitters out pitching five or six innings at a time.” We have never understood the logic there.)

Milwaukee Brewers – the Brewers have seemingly become the trendy pick to challenge for the wild card, if not the NL Central division title. If that is the case, call us trendy. The Brewers have a lot of young players who are maturing at the same time and are poised to have breakout seasons in 2007. Ben Sheets and Chris Capuano are becoming a powerful 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation, and the addition of Jeff Suppan, if he can pitch all year the way he pitched in the playoffs last year, should add depth. Prince Fielder and Bill Hall in the middle of the lineup should be able to provide good run production, and how can we forget the “grittiness”, “guttiness”, “scrappyness,” and “grind-it-out-ness” that they acquired when the picked up Craig Counsell.

Chicago Cubs – The Cubs, or as we like to call them, the Redskins of baseball, once again won the off-season by overpaying for what we think will be an ill-conceived and ultimately disappointing lineup. Alfonso Soriano will be the everyday centerfielder for this team. We do not see that ending well. The Cubs also acquired Ted Lilly and Jason Marquis in the free agent market. Do you know what their combined records were last year? 29-29. And Marquis had an ERA over 6 and didn’t even make the postseason roster for the Cardinals. The bad new is these guys are scheduled to be the #2 and #3 starters for this team. The good news is this team's disappointing season should produce plenty of this

and maybe, if we are lucky, some of this

Cinci-Tucky, er, Cincinnati Reds – Aaron Harang has got to be the most underrated pitcher in the National League, and we think he will be a solid #1 on a surprisingly decent rotation. Did you know they are switching Ken Griffey, jr. to right field? That has got to be a shot to the ego. We have no idea who is going to close games for this team, so we can’t quite make them a wild card contender.

Houston Astros – The only hope for the ‘stros is Roger Clemens returning. Carlos Lee will provide some much needed pop in the middle of the lineup, but we just don’t think this team has enough depth in the rotation or bullpen to compete over the course of the season. They will also miss Willy Tavares.

Pittsburgh Pirates – Jeez, how many teams are in this division?! Jason Bay is a stud, and Adam LaRoche and Xavier Nady should provide good production, but this is a 90-100 loss team.

Peyton Manning on SNL

2007-03-25T15:41:00.001-05:00

MUCH funnier than when Tom "Baby Daddy" Brady was on

2007-03-23T07:20:00.000-05:00

Sweet Indeed

This weekend the entire sports world will be focused on college basketball as the sweet 16 (now 12 actually) is trimmed down to the final four. Eyes will be focused on the NCAA tournament not just for school spirit and bracket pools, but the regional semifinals and finals will be crawling with NBA scouts looking for the next big star.

Perhaps she

will be one of them. A tip of the hat to the guys at our book of scrap who have discovered Bonnie Jill Laflin, a cheerleader, turned model, turned actress, turned animal rights activist, turned sports broadcaster, turned NBA scout. Laflin is a scout for the Los Angeles Lakers and is also the assistant general manager of the Lakers developmental league affiliate. Yes, you read that last sentence correctly.

So if you are at the games, as we will be tonight at the regionals at the Meadowlands, keep an eye out for BJL.

On a different subject, Gisele Bundchen has announced that she is (not) preggo. First of all, we told you so! Well, sort of. Second of all, we are very disappointed that Mr. Tuck Rule will have only one baby’s mama giving birth this fall. Anyway, that gives us an excuse to another picture of Gisele.

Enjoy the weekend sports fans. And go Buckeyes.

2007-03-22T23:35:00.000-05:00

Wow

Thats all we can say right now. Wow. Down 20 in the first half, Greg Oden in foul trouble the entire game, and they still pull it out. Wow.

Saturday night against Memphis. Lets keep it rolling.

2007-03-22T15:07:00.000-05:00

Good For You Tubby

Orlando Smith, you probably know him as "Tubby," decided today that he was going to leave the University of Kentucky and take the head coaching job at the University of Minnesota. This is probably because if you coach the Gophers to 29 wins per year for 9 years, five conference regular season championships, five conference tournament championships, three elite 8 finishes, one perfect regular season, and one national championship, they won't hate you and call you a failure. He should have known he was never going to survive at a school where they name arenas after his most racist predecessors.

By the way, Wildcat fans, if you hire Tom Crean, and rumors are saying he is at the top of the list, just know that besides the year he had a spectacular sophomore named Dwayne Wade, he has never won an NCAA tournament game. Plus he looks like one of these days he is going to kill somebody.

Good luck with all that.

2007-03-20T22:04:00.000-05:00

Will Ferrell is in the Process of Jumping the Shark

We know, we know, this blog is usually devoted exclusively to sports commentary, and scantily clad women who are tangentially associated with sports, but we cannot stand idly by and allow this to happen without saying something.

Will Ferrell comedy movies, beginning with Old School, have gotten progressively worse and less funny. And this new skating movie, co-starring Jon “comedy suicide” Heder looks like it is going to be his undoing. Ugh.

We will probably still plunk down $11 to watch it, but based on the commercials, and our experience at Talladega Nights we are expecting the worst.

At least The Office's Jenna Fischer is in this piece of crap. We are big fans of hers, and we think she is the only hope for this movie.

OK, we promise the next post will go back to sports.

2007-03-20T12:04:00.000-05:00

There is No Crying in Basketball

Found this on Deadspin today. It is post about an embittered Xavier fan’s hate letter to Greg Oden. It mentions Oden’s mother by name and even makes mention of his parent’s divorce. Classy.

But it struck us because it points to a larger issue: blaming Greg Oden for Saturday’s loss. We don’t quite understand this. Why it is that Oden is receiving blame for the loss instead of:

The Refs – let’s suspend reality for just a second and assume that Oden’s fifth foul was indeed a flagrant or intentional one. In this case, shouldn’t the referee who was four feet away from Oden at the time and made the call be to blame? Oden made the foul, but it was the ref who actually made the call, right? Why don’t you call him out rather than trashing a 19-year old and his parents who may or may not be divorced?

Justin Cage – If Cage makes the second free throw, then Xavier goes up by four points with nine seconds left. Instead, he missed it, and left the door open for Ron Lewis’ buzzer beating three-pointer.

Sean Miller – These Cinci-Tucky crybabies are so focused on Oden that they have neglected the fact that their head coach completely fell asleep at the switch in the final seconds. He should have been SCREAMING at his kids to foul Mike Conley or Ron Lewis as soon as the ball was advanced over half-court. This would have put a Buckeye on the line with somewhere around four or five seconds left and only two free throws. OSU would have needed a miracle missed second free throw and a tip in just to tie the game at that point if Xavier had done the smart thing.

The entire Xavier team – Because lets call a spade a spade here, they CHOKED. Not only did they completely cough up a double-digit lead in about five minutes of game time, but once the game went into overtime, they folded up like tent. Xavier completely fell apart in the face of the OSU rally.

So please Xavier fans, if you are going to whine about your own shortcomings, leave Oden, and his mom out of it.

2007-03-19T13:55:00.000-05:00

WCT Baseball Preview of the Week

Today: The surprisingly uninteresting American League East

New York Yankees – Stop us if you’ve heard this before: The Yankees are stacked. Their lineup reads like an all-star team, as it usually does. But the scary thing is that they are developing the pitching to match. Chien-Ming Wang is the official WCT pick to win the Cy Young in 2007. The addition of Andy Pettite will add depth to an already solid, veteran rotation. God help us all if Roger Clemens decides to pitch for New York this year. We see the Yanks winning close to 100 games again. The whole Alex Rodriguez contract option will be a distraction that will build as the season goes on, but this team is so loaded that it shouldn’t matter.

Boston Red Sox – Maybe we are alone in thinking this, but we aren’t as enamored with the Red Sox as most people are. Yes they have added Daisuke Matsuzaka, and yes from all accounts he has been dominant in his spring training appearances, but he is still a relatively unknown entity. Aside from Matsuzaka, this is virtually the same team that completely fell apart down the stretch last season and actually ended up in third place (behind Toronto) in the division. Curt Schilling is a year older, and, by most accounts, significantly fatter. We seriously don’t see what others seem to see in Josh Beckett. He is 8 games over .500 for his career, and last year had an ERA over 5 and allowed 36 home runs. That bears repeating. He gave up thirty-six home runs in 33 starts. Tim Wakefield is a train-wreck, and how will Jonathan Papelbon fare as a starter? Not only that, but who on earth is going to close games for this team? Didn’t they try the “closer by committee” strategy like three years ago to horrific results? We know that Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz will mash as they usually do, but we don’t see this team winning more that 90-95 games and that isn’t going to be good enough to beat out the Yankees.

Toronto Blue Jays – Vernon Wells has got to be the most underrated player in baseball. He plays one of the most important positions on the field, and he plays at a brilliant, gold-glove level. He hits for power, he hits for a decent average, and he drives in runs. Why is he so anonymous? Is it because he plays in Canada? Anyway, between Wells, Troy Glaus, Lyle Overbay and Frank Thomas, who the Jays picked up in the off-season, this team will have plenty of offense. The problem here will be pitching depth. Outside of Roy Halladay, who can’t seem to stay healthy by the way, there isn’t much of a staff there.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays – Ugh.

Baltimore Orioles – Double Ugh.

2007-03-18T20:15:00.000-05:00

Hire this Woman. NOW.

This is Ivon Gaete. She has been a sideline reporter for the Little League World Series on ESPN, and done some work on ESPN Deportes. She is clearly underused by the network. We need to do something about that.

2007-03-18T16:32:00.000-05:00

Whew!

Wow, what a game yesterday.

Greg Oden and the Buckeyes danced their way into the sweet 16 by winning a game they had absolutely no business winning. WE have no idea how you OSU won a game in which they

- trailed by 11 points with just under seven minutes to play

- trailed by nine points with three minutes to play

- trailed by two points with nine seconds left with Xavier shooting two free throws

- lost Greg Oden who fouled out at the end of regulation

On a different subject, a quick memo to Dick Vitale and others of his ilk who continue to live under the misguided assumption that the ACC is the "best conference in America" every year: seven ACC teams entered the NCAA tournament, and six of them have been eliminated by Sunday evening.

2007-03-16T13:10:00.000-05:00

We Told you They Sucked.

Dumb Cheerleaders

2007-03-16T08:33:00.001-05:00

here is a video of dumb cheerleaders to get you in the mood for the games. Enjoy the basketball games this weekend everyone.

2007-03-16T08:25:00.000-05:00

Duke Loses!

Its already a great weekend, because Duke has lost in the first round.

Enjoy the weekend, and the tournament.

NCAA Tournament Memories Volume 2

2007-03-14T22:08:00.001-05:00

Let the Madness begin... Gus Johnson completely loses it at about the 6 minute mark

NCAA Tournament Memories Volume 1

2007-03-14T21:56:00.001-05:00

The day is finally here. Volume 2 coming later

2007-03-13T20:43:00.000-05:00

Thanks for Playing Florida A&M!

This is the message that the NCAA has sent you.

2007-03-13T16:58:00.000-05:00

Greg Oden: "I'm not NBA ready yet"

music to our ears.

2007-03-13T09:58:00.000-05:00

The Play-in Game

What is the deal with the play-in game?

(By the way, the fact that the NCAA doesn't want the world calling it the "play-in game" means we will attempt to say “play-in game” as many times as we can.)

Why do they even have this game? The tournament was fine with 64 teams, why did they have to add this stupid extra game in the middle of the week in Dayton between the two worst teams in the field?

Also, why do automatic bid qualifiers play every year in the play-in game? These teams have “earned” their spot in the actual tournament by winning their conferences. If we are going to have this ridiculous game, why not have the two last at-large teams play for the 64th bid? Last week Niagara and Florida A&M were celebrating their wins in their respective conference tournaments, and were getting ready to be displayed on the national stage against one of the “big boys.” Now one of them isn’t going to get that chance because they are going to lose to another small program in a random play-in game before the official start of the tournament. One day you’re dancing at center court and getting ready for your 40 minutes in the sun as you are slaughtered by Kansas, but just happy to be able to one day tell your kids you shared the basketball court with Brandon Rush, and the next your headed home, with nothing to show for your efforts besides a free trip to Dayton.

And while the NCAA continues to pee on these teams shoes and tell them its raining, the coaches are less than pleased. Niagara coach Joe Mihalich said he was "shocked," and even "insulted" to be placed in the game. Florida A&M coach Mike Gillespie (whose team will be playing in its second play-in game by the way, they won the 2004 play-in game) said tonight's losing team will feel "cheated."

Why not let Stanford and Arkansas play in the play-in game? That way the loser goes home and says to themselves, “you know, we really didn’t deserve to be in the tournament anyway.” And slot the winner in as the lowest ranked 10 seed or something.

All that said, we’ll probably still watch tonight.

(quotes:Palm Beach Post)

2007-03-12T20:04:00.000-05:00

WCT Baseball Preview of the Week

Today: The surprisingly interesting National League East

New York Mets – We feel like this Mets team is going to be a lot like the Indians teams of the 90s that we watched as a kid. They have one of the best lineups in baseball, but very few sure-things in the way of starting pitching. Pedro Martinez is STILL rehabbing his shoulder after surgery LAST WINTER. Optimistically, he is expected to join the rotation in August.

(Quick aside here: Is it just us, or is Pedro Martinez the only pitcher in baseball history to take nearly a full calendar year to recover from shoulder surgery? How is this possible? We are not saying that he is a malingerer, but people like Kerry Wood get clowned for not being able to stay healthy, but a guy like Pedro gets off scot free when he has been as injury-prone as any player in baseball since like 2004. Did you know Pedro is only 35? Should a pitcher’s body be breaking down the way Pedro’s has over the last 3 seasons this early? When the Mets signed him as a free agent they pretty much knew that he probably would not see the end of the 4-year deal he signed, and he was 32 at the time. OK, back to the preview.)

The Mets will try to get by with Tom Glavine, who will turn 41 later this month, Orlando Hernandez, who has got to be damn near 50, and a bunch of young unproven kids. That being said, their lineup is stacked with three legitimate MVP candidates. Jose Reyes is quickly becoming one of the best all-around shortstops in baseball. David Wright is streaky, but when he is on, he is one of the best clutch hitters in the NL. And Carlos Beltran is coming off of a career year, and finally realizing the superstar potential that the Mets thought he had when they signed him. The Mets bullpen is also very deep. The Mets will have to try to win a lot of games 9-7 because the starting pitching will be so shaky. We see them winning the division solely based on their ability to out-bash people in high scoring games.

Philadelphia Phillies –Jimmy Rollins threw the gauntlet down a few weeks ago when he said that he thought that the Phillies were hands-down the best team in the NL East. We admire his optimism, but we don’t quite agree with him on that one. The Phillies are a solid team, and everyone is expecting Ryan Howard and Cole Hamels to emerge as superstars this season. They have a powerful lineup but we are not sure that it is strong enough to cover up some of their other weaknesses in the same way we think the Mets’ lineup will. They have the deepest starting staff in the division, but they can’t feel too comfortable with Tom Gordon closing and Antonio Alfonseca setting him up. We think that the starting pitching will keep this team in contention for the wild-card, but the shaky bullpen will end up being the difference between wild-card contention, and division contention.

Atlanta Braves – Did you know the Braves scored the second most runs in the National League last season? When we peruse their everyday lineup, we don’t see a whole lot of guys that make pitchers shake in their spikes, but somehow they actually outscored the Mets. We can’t see this repeating itself again this year. The Braves also lost the production Marcus Giles and Adam LaRoche in the off-season. The pitching took a step back last year without Leo Mazzone, and we don’t see it holding up this season. When is John Smoltz going to finally realize that he is not supposed to still be this good? Incidently, he turns 40 this May.

Florida Marlins – They fired the manager of the year. Simply amazing. This team is comprised mostly of kids, and will be very good very soon, but not yet.

Washington Nationals – what a joke. Looking over their roster, we will be shocked if they lose fewer than 105 games.

2007-03-12T16:07:00.000-05:00

The Worst Jerry, the WORST!

We are not huge college basketball fans, but we love the NCAA tournament. The tournament is probably the best single sporting event of the year, in as much as 64 basketball games can be considered one single sporting event. But for some reason, it brings out the worst from sports media every year. Actually, we take that back. It doesn’t bring out the worst in the sports media as much as it exposes exactly how brainless most of these analysts are in a public forum. Just a few snippets:

-Why is it that as soon as the brackets are released the talking heads have to rush to the forefront and weigh in on this ridiculous notion of "which bracket is the toughest?" There are like 6 teams that seem to be legitimately above the rest of the field: Florida, Ohio State, Kansas, UCLA, Georgetown, and North Carolina. There are also a handful of teams that just pretty much happy to be there. The other 40 or 50 teams are bunched up somewhere in between and evenly distributed among the 4 brackets. That is why the ESPN.com’s analyst symposium on the brackets turned into a giant cluster-fuck with Jay Bilas calling the East the hardest and the South the easiest, Doug Gottlieb calling the South the hardest and the West the easiest, and (this is our favorite) Dicky V calling the West the hardest (incidentally, Duke is in that bracket) and the easiest as “none.” None. Thanks Dick.

- Speaking of Dicky, Shocking that he would pick an ACC team to win it all. Truly shocking.

- Speaking of the ACC, how the hell did the committee make Duke a 6 seed?? Did you know that they haven’t beaten a tournament team (we don’t count BC) since December 21st?? In case you were wondering, the other 6 seeds are Louisville (3rd in the Big East and 8-2 in their last 10 games), Notre Dame (4th in the Big East and 7-3 in their last 10, including a trip to the conference semis) and Vanderbilt (10-6 in conference and the first SEC team to beat Florida this year). Duke, as you should know by now, was 8-8 in a weaker than normal ACC, tied for 6th place, and lost in the opening round of the conference tournament to a 5-11 NC State team. Anyone else would have been “on the bubble” but Duke is a 6 seed.

- Joakim Noah acting like an ass makes it easy to cheer against Florida, and we aren't the only ones who think so.

2007-03-11T18:19:00.000-05:00

HUH??

Ohio State is the number 1 team in the nation in both polls coming into this weekend, they roll through the Big 10 tournament winning every game by at least 11 points, and win in the title game by 17 over the #4 ranked Wisconsin Badgers, they have not lost since January 9th and have only lost once by double-digits, (back in December mind you) and they are not the #1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament?

The #1 overall team is Florida, who lost games by 13, 10, and 10 points late in the season. Amazing.

2007-03-09T07:30:00.000-05:00

Who Dat is? Dats Just our Baby Daddy!

are we the only ones that remember that horrible song?

Much to our surprise, The Big Lead and Deadspin both reported Thursday that Tom Brady was apparently not quite done impregnating starlets.

The blogs cite a Brazilian report and a Boston Globe report that state that Gisele Bundchen, current squeeze of the Patriots quarterback, is now pregnant with his child.

As TBL astutely points out, this would mean that Tommy Tuck Rule would have two children born by two different celebrity women within a few weeks of each other, sometime late this summer.

Is he trying to go after some kind of record? Is he going to become the new NFL Shawn Kemp? Or is he just trying to one-up Matt Leinart? And what about the two half-brothers/sisters that will be born? What kind of fucked-up relationship are they going to have?

Anyways, in honor of our Friday T&A feature, we know present you with some pictures of Gisele.

Savor the flavor

because she is not going to be looking like this for much longer.

We still are not convinced that we aren't all being had with this whole story, so if this all turns out to be false, we would like to say "we told you so" ahead of time.

In any event, happy conference tournament weekend everyone.

And as you venture out into the nightlife, please, please, for the love of God, bring a rubber (or two) with you.

2007-03-08T20:47:00.000-05:00

America Held Hostage:24 Days

24 days 'till baseball season and still no word on the MLB Extra Innings Package...

2007-03-07T23:46:00.000-05:00

This Just In...

LeBron James is re-goddam-diculous. I would love to hear what all of those Bron-haters on TV have to say about tonights performance in Detroit.

2007-03-07T21:19:00.000-05:00

Jamal Lewis!!!

If you can't beat 'em (or if they piss on your defense for 600 yards in two games) Join 'em (or in this case sign 'em as free agents)

Welcome to Cleveland Jamal! We hope you enjoy running the ball without blockers.

2007-03-07T12:47:00.000-05:00

5 we like, 5 we don't like: SportsCenter Anchors

We do a lot of thinking on the treadmill, and we watch a lot of SportsCenter on the treadmill too. Therefore, we do a lot of thinking about SportsCenter. Today, we got to thinking about SportsCenter anchors.

5 anchors we want to see less.

Stuart Scott

Easiest one on the board by far. In like 1994 he was new, original, really a breath of fresh air on a somewhat stagnate SC anchor lineup (plus we were only 13 at the time so maybe we thought his act was cool). It is now 13 years later, and he is doing the exact same act. He mugs for attention during other anchor’s highlights, and his writing is tired and painfully unfunny and uninteresting. But enough bloggers have taken their shots at Stu, so we will move on.

Kenny Mayne

We actually forgot how much we hated Kenny until he mysteriously re-appeared to do the Sunday night SC with Stu-yah last weekend. What a combo that was. They were practically elbowing each other out of the way to steal camera time. They kept trying to outdo each other with inane blather through every highlight. He just doesn’t understand that he is there to narrate the highlights and provide little stats and tidbits to enhance the viewer’s enjoyment. He is not there to try to be funny and come up with the next stupid catchphrase. He even tries to use a dry, monotone delivery to try to be even funnier. Truly annoying.

Neil Everett

Every time SC starts up and we hear “howZIIIIIT??” we roll our eyes and check to see what else is on. What are “PF Flyers?” And why does he mention them every time a runner gets thrown out at home?

John Buccigross

What Mick Jaggar is to the Rolling Stones, John Buccigross is to annoying sportscasters. Imagine hearing analogies like that 5 or 6 times during a SC broadcast, except with much more obscure bands. THAT is his catchphrase. GUH!

Brian Kenny

We hate sabermetrics. And he has to make some allusion to sabermetrics every time he does a baseball highlight.

5 that ESPN should use to replace those flunkies

Chris McKendry

Very understated, doesn’t get in the way of the highlights, or her co-anchors, and even clever at times. She also seemed perfect for The Big Picture's “who would you do” competition. Right on the fence so there would have been good two-way debate. I think the fact that she constantly makes bedroom eyes at the camera would have put her over the top. But anyway, she is also a very good anchor.

Scott Van Pelt

Funny, but without getting in the way. It is a very delicate balance between an anchor being funny and an anchor trying to be funny and calling too much attention to himself/herself. Van Pelt he never seems like he is trying to be funny. Also, good writing during his lead-ins, and most of all, he gives you good info during a highlight.

Dave Revsine

ESPN has buried this guy because he doesn’t arouse that much passion one way or the other. Ideally, SC anchors should like sports officials, if you hardly know they are there, then they are doing a good job. Revsine does a good job of fading into the background and letting the highlights do the job, while still throwing a quip in every once and a while to keep the viewer entertained.

Linda Cohn

What the hell happened to her? Why has ESPN buried her? She is like the female Revsine.

Josh Elliot

He is new to the anchor’s desk, but pretty good so far.

YouTube Clip of the (last) Week!

2007-03-05T21:41:00.001-05:00

Sorry for the re-post, but here is the YouTube clip from last week that we accidently deleted.

2007-03-04T15:05:00.000-05:00

WCT Baseball Preview of the Week

Baseball season is approaching fast, and we here at WCT can’t wait. In order to prepare for the upcoming season (and so that in October we can brag about how right we were in the spring) we will preview each division, and predict the order of finish of the teams.

Today: The Utterly Maddening American League West

The Los Angeles Angels – This team drives us crazy. When you consider hitting, starting pitching, bullpen, defense, managing, this might be, top to bottom, the best team in all of the American League. On paper, they really don’t have many weaknesses. But they go through long stretches when they struggle, and it really must be frustrating for their fans.(Luckily for us, we are Indians fans…nothing frustrating about cheering for that team… but that’s neither here nor there) The Angels have the best pitching rotation in the division, and one of the top three in all of baseball. Colon, is either the worst ace in baseball, or the best bad pitcher in all of baseball, but either way you look at him, he is solid. Figuratively speaking of course. John Lackey is a good #2, and Jared Weaver is only going to get better. Ervin Santana and Kelvim Escobar are very underrated. The bullpen is also solid, and guys like Orlando Cabrera and Chone Figgens are guys who always seem to come up big in big spots. There is no reason this team shouldn’t run away with this division as long as everyone stays healthy. But inevitably they won’t. They will likely underachieve, again, and let lesser teams like Oakland hang around.

Oakland A’s – we hate sabermetrics (sabremetrics?). We hate Billy Beane. We hate to go all Hater Nation on you, but screw the A’s.

Texas Rangers – The Rangers seem to refuse to try to put together any semblance of a pitching rotation. They have a very good lineup, with Michael Young getting on base and Mark Teixeira and Hank Blaylock driving in runs, but their pitching staff will be, as it always is, awful. Kevin Millwood is decent, but Vicente Padilla, Brandon McCarthy, John Koronka, and Kameron Loe aren’t going to get it done in the AL. The only interesting thing about watching this team all year will be seeing if Sammy Sosa and Eric Gagne can stay healthy enough to provide any production. Look for them to finish in third.

Seattle Mariners – The Mariners are not good enough to compete, but not bad enough to be comically bad. They have a few players that make them somewhat interesting, like Ichiro, Felix Hernandex, and Richie Sexson, but in many ways they are like a forgotten team. We can’t see them finishing anywhere other than last place again.