Friday, March 21, 2008

Fall Seven Times, Get Up..Eight?

I just realized that this saying/slogan makes no sense. Unless you somehow get up in one instance in which you did not fall down, or maybe count getting out of bed as one of the times you got up, it is impossible to fall seven times and get up eight.

Fall, get up, fall, get up, fall, get up, fall, get up, fall, get up, fall, get up, fall, get up. Seven of each. It should be, "Fall seven times, get up seven."

Just thought I'd point that out. Take that, Nike!

PS: It actually is physically possible to "just do it."

Monday, March 17, 2008

The week of the unsolicited bracket

The NCAA tournament field was announced yesterday. I will admit that I did not pay much attention to college basketball this year. But even if this was more like past years when I did, I still don't need to see your bracket. Especially if you work with me. So please, unless I ask to see it, keep it to yourself.

With that said, Davidson is going all the way...

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Think the Steroid Era "saved baseball?" Think again...

Today I plan on arguing against a long accepted premise that until now, I simply could not form a solid enough argument against. I am going to argue against steroids. I know, "way to go out on a limb." It's not quite that simple though - I am going to argue that steroids did not "save baseball" like the vast majority of commentators assume. Rather, I feel this was the lazy conclusion and does not consider all factors.

10 years ago, the home run boom led by Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, was said to save baseball, by bringing the fans back after the 1994 strike. The way it's told, you'd think that it if wasn't for Mac and Sammy, baseball would now be played in empty stadiums everywhere, on the verge of extinction - or perhaps already extinct. But let's take a look back at 1998. Ken Griffey Jr. also hit 56 home runs that year, and for much of the season, he too was on pace to break Roger Maris's record of 61. Are we to assume that Griffey by himself chasing Maris, would not bring any extra attention to baseball? In 1998, Ken Griffey Jr. had the sweetest swing in the game, and before injuries slowed him down, he played center field with great range and grace. In my opinion, he was more likable and embraceable than McGwire and Sosa could ever be. (Even then I hated Sosa - what was the deal with that stupid home run hop of his anyway? Had he played during a different era, there would have been pitchers that would have put a stop to that type of showboating pretty quick, with the next fastball landing squarely in Sosa's back - like this guy. Or this guy.)

But let's put aside home runs altogether, since steroids or not, the long ball (and not the 'roids themselves) was allegedly the real draw. That year the Yankees, perhaps the best team ever, were working on the 2nd championship of a remarkable run during which they would win 4 titles in 5 years. They would win a record 125 games including the postseason. Incidentally, would you like to know who led the 1998 Yankees in home runs? That would be Tino Martinez - with 28. Bernie Williams was second with 26. Boy, with such a lack of home run power, it's amazing I even cared about them at all, eh?

Also in 1998, Cal Ripken Jr. continued his consecutive games played record. Truth be told, he brought more fans back to baseball long before 1998 anyway. The game he broke Lou Gehrig's record with consecutive game #2,131, on September 6, 1995, still ranks as one of the ESPN's most watched baseball games (that's according to Wikipedia - so it might be true).

Yet, we have this notion that home runs are all people cared about. I can't call it a romantic notion, because now we know the damage steroids have done to the credibility of baseball. So why do people cling so tightly to this idea? I can't figure it out. It seems like some ploy by ESPN, but the motive to do so just isn't there. But, for those who still believe it, can't we try a little revisionist history? It's no different than "That girl at the bar was ugly anyway..." Can't we try a little sour grapes? Especially in this case, where the excuse is actually true!

Looking back, who cares if Luis Gonzalez hit 57 homers in 2001? (He never hit over 31 in any other season - I'm just sayin'...) Had he only hit 31 that season, would Diamondbacks fans have said, "You know, Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling are dominating like we've never seen before, and are leading us to the World Series. But we don't see enough home runs. Let's watch Arena Football instead."

Wait a minute, you say - So it's not all about home runs, and more of them? How did baseball ever survive without cartoonish offensive numbers? For 100 years, the Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, and Mike Schmidt offensive numbers just weren't enough? We needed McGwire and Sosa to come along?

They'll have us believe that while the fans only care about gawdy home run numbers, now that the truth about steroids are out there, the fans really don't care about steroids. Well this one does. And always will. Join me, won't you?

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Welcome In!

Hi, I'm Bill, and welcome to my new blog. Some of you already know me. In fact, I will assume that all of you already know me. Who would want to read a blog that did not exist before now, of a person they didn't know? Certainly not me.

So why do I have a blog anyway? Well, for one thing it beats posting pictures of Yassir Arafat on my friends' myspace pages. Granted, not by much.

I do not quite yet know what kinds of stuff I'll be putting on here on a regular basis. But make no mistake, every blog needs a theme. A blog without a theme, is like a wrestler without a personality. Without a kind of gimmick, I'll quickly become boring, and be relegated to the position of jobber for the entirety of my blogging career - just putting other bloggers "over," with no glory for myself. Who would want that? Again, certainly not me. So I need a "bread and butter." I can't just go into this half-assed. No sir, I will be using my whole ass.

I could be like my friend Mike, who writes a weekly column for the Peoria Times and Glendale Star, and makes fun of old sports cards (and who encouraged me to start this blog - so blame him, folks). I could be like the guys at FireJoeMorgan.com, and critique/shred sports articles using logic and statistics. Or, I could be like nationally syndicated sports talk show host Steve Czaban, and simply give my perspective on current events in sports. One thing I'm sure about, is that this blog will mostly be about sports. I might not know enough about sports to blog about them consistently...but I definitely don't know enough about non-sports. So sports it will be. Sports...and fantasy sports.

For instance, did you know Caron Butler and Gerald Wallace are both set to return this week? This is huge for my team, because the playoffs take place over a two-week period in late March. After that, I couldn't care less about the NBA. Until the next fantasy draft.

Other things you should know about me, is that I love Curtis Martin and Mariano Rivera as much as it is humanly possibly for one heterosexual man to love others he has never met...and Madden 2008 is the greatest game ever. Even better than Donkey Kong. Oh, and I play a little touch football with my friends on weekends, which is most often the highlight of my week.

That should just about do it as far as introductions go. Next time, I promise to have something of more substance.