Tuesday, June 30, 2009

My 2009 All-Star Picks

Justin Thrift

American League

1B Kevin Youkilis (Boston Red Sox)

2B Asdrubal Cabrera (Cleveland Indians)

SS Marco Scutaro (Oakland Athletics)

3B Evan Longoria (Tampa Bay Rays)

OF Torii Hunter (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim)

OF Jason Bay (Boston Red Sox)

OF Adam Jones (Baltimore Orioles)

C Jason Varitek (Boston Red Sox)

P Roy Halladay (Toronto Blue Jays)


National League

1B Albert Pujols (St. Louis Cardinals)

2B Chase Utley (Philadelphia Phillies)

SS Hanley Ramirez (Florida Marlins)

3B David Wright (New York Mets)

OF Ryan Braun (Milwaukee Brewers)

OF Carlos Beltran (New York Mets)

OF Raul Ibanez (Philadelphia Phillies)

C Brian McCann (Atlanta Braves)

P Chad Billingsley (Los Angeles Dodgers)

Sunday, June 28, 2009

American Hearts Finally Vanquished




Charlie Klein

Brazil are who we thought they were, that's why we took the damn field. If you want to crown them, then crown their ass. Brazil are who we thought they were, and we let them off the hook. Those are the words of Dennis Green, but USA coach Bob Bradley could borrow them for the post match press conference as the United States lost to the future No. 1 in the world Brazil 3-2 today in South Africa in the final of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.

Everything started so well for the United States. After battling hard with Brazil for the first ten minutes, Sam's Army netted a goal through a great cross from right back Jonathan Spector and finished magnificently by Fulham striker Clint Dempsey. The USA taking the early lead definitely threw the Brazilians off their game and yet Brazil kept coming wave after wave attacking Tim Howard's keep. It only seemed a matter of time before the USA resistance would break. And yet against the run of play the Americans took a two goal lead through a brilliant two-man counterattack of Charlie Davies and Landon Donovan. Donovan initially received the ball and timed a great pass to the pacy Davies who then on his first touch played Donovan through on top of the 18 yard box. Donovan's first touch of the ball was superb playing the ball back against Ramires and then finishing beautifully on his left foot putting the ball past Julio Cesar. It would be fair to say that the footballing world once again had its collective brow raised. What were these Americans doing leading Brazil!?! They don't even call the game football! They call it soccer!

Eventually all good things must come to an end. What must have felt like a dream to all USA soccer fans turned into a nightmare almost as soon as a ball was kicked in the second half. Brazil knew what they had to do and set about their task with ludicrous efficiency. Luis Fabiano, who for my money in this tournament should have won the player of the tournament award (which was given to Kaka), received the ball and elegantly turned and fired a shot past a helpless Tim Howard bringing Brazil back into the match.

The United States did not consign themselves immediately to defeat following that goal. The Americans were able to create a few chances but were ultimately missing that spark of creativity and energy necessary to bring their lead back to two goals. The US was undone by their inability to combine with each other on both halves of the pitch and Brazil's lionshare of possession is the primary indicator of that deficiency.

Brazil made their advantage pay once again through brilliant attacking play. As fellow Truth Blog scribe Puneet Singh mentioned in a previous post, their ability to utilize their outside backs as wingers has proven to be the deciding factor in almost every game Brazil has played in this tournament. Andre Santos, Douglas Maicon, and Dani Alves have all done a fantastic job of being in tons of space whenever Kaka, Gilberto Silva, and Felipe Melo decided to switch up the run of play. Fabiano played the role of poacher once again following a brilliant save from Howard and headed in the deflection to tie the game at two.

Ultimately once Brazil tied it up, everyone watching the match knew that the USA was vanquished. The Americans had put so much energy into their 2-0 lead and the defense of it that they had little energy left in the tank to regain their lead. Bradley's substitutions of Klejstan and Bornstein to me seemed to be the reverse of what was needed for the USA at that point of the match. One of the issues I have with Bradley is his desire to play his favourites, which include Klejstan. Why Freddy Adu did not play at all in the Confederations Cup is totally beyond me. An argument for Adu's firm place on the bench could be his lack of match action, but Jozy Altidore, who started in the final, barely played at all in Spain this year. Either Bradley does not see much in Adu or he does not like him as a player. For the man who was supposed to be the saviour of American soccer (although prematurely crowned at the age of 14) not to play a minute is very surprising indeed. Regardless of Adu's non-inclusion in the proceedings, Brazil continued to press on for the eventual winner.

Brazil were rewarded for their perseverence with another set piece goal. This one was set up by great corner taken by Elano which Lucio ferociously headed into the back of the net. The captain of Brazil stepped up and provided the critical goal in the critical moment of the match. It was at this point in the 86th minute that the United States were truly out of ideas.

For Brazil, this tournament showed not only their depth of skill but also their depth of heart. Every player with the exception of their two backup keepers played during their run to the final and the team barely missed a solitary samba beat. Luis Fabiano proved to the world what many football nerd types already knew; that man is a world class striker capable of scoring anywhere in and around the 18 yard box.

The United States showed the true grit and determination necessary to be champions in the past three matches but ultimately lacked the skill necessary to beat a team like Brazil over the course of 90 minutes. Players like Dempsey, Donovan, Altidore, Onyewu, and Howard all showed why they are viewed as match winners for their team coming up with important goals and saves that kept the USA dream alive. This tournament showed the true range of the USA Men's National team: its great potential for success but also its considerable capability of crumbling under pressure.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup is less than a year away and for both of these teams the work they have done this year will surely echo in the grounds of South Africa for the months that lie ahead.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Aardsma The All-Star? Who Would've Thunk It?!


by Puneet Singh

This next statement is shocking. You might not understand it, you might not want to believe it. It's so outrageous that Michael Jackson read it and had a heart attack. Yeah I just went there.

David Aardsma deserves to be an All-Star. Take a second to soak that in.

There was a time that Aardsma was more known for being the first name in MLB history in the alphabetical order, taking that honor from Hank Aaron. Now he is slowly becoming a dominant 9th inning force.

Now before going insane and jumping off the nearest building take some time to peep the statline:

34 1/3 IP, 15 saves, 43 K's, 1.57 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 1.25 K/inn and 11.28 K/9.

Put that up to the numbers of Mariano Rivera, Jonathan Papelbon and Joe Nathan; three pitchers considered to be elite closers in the AL. Here's a look:

Papelbon: 32 IP, 17 saves, 33 K's, 1.97 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 1.03 K/inn and 9.28 K/9.
Rivera: 29 1/3 IP, 17 saves, 37 K's, 3.02 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 1.26 K/inn and 11.37 K/9.
Nathan: 29 2/3 IP, 18 saves, 36 K's, 1.52 ERA, .81 WHIP, 1.22 K/inn and 10.95 K/9.

Here even stack him up against the NL. The Top Three closers in the NL right now are Heath Bell, Brian Wilson and Francisco Rodriguez all at 2o saves:

Bell: 31 1/3 IP, 20 saves, 35 K's, 1.44 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 1.12 K/inn and 10.06 K/9.
Wilson: 34 IP, 20 saves, 37 K's, 2.91 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 1.09 K/inn and 9.79 K/9.
Rodriguez: 35 2/3 IP, 20 saves, 38 K's, 1.01 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 1,07 K/inn and 9.61 K/9.

Tell me he doesn't belong in the discusion for not only top AL Closer but Top Closer in ALL of Baseball.
Outside of saves he is on par in terms of innings pitched, K's, ERA, WHIP, K/inn and K/9. And his case for saves? He didn't become closer until May 16th when Brendan Morrow had tormented Don Wakamatsu and the Seattle faithful enough with his erractic performances. Considering Morrow had six saves and two blown saves, its a safe bet to say that Aardsma would have at LEAST six more saves to his total, if not the full eight.


Prior to landing in Seattle, Aardsma had bounced from the Giants, Cubs, White Sox and Red Sox in a span of FIVE years. It wasn't until he landed in a rebuilding Seattle situation that he was given an extensive look and fair chance. Considering the M's gave up Fabian Williamson(who? exactly) I'm sure that the Mariner's won't be regretting this deal anytime soon.


So when filling out your All-Star ballots or picking up a closer in free agency in your fantasy baseball league, just consider the name David Aardsma. You won't regret it. Just ask Jack Zduriencik, the current GM of Mariner's.

The Demise of The Vancouver Grizzlies


by Puneet Singh

In honor of the NBA draft that has recently passed us, I thought it would be fitting to write an article on a franchise that has seemingly been forgotten about by everyone.

The Vancouver Grizzlies.

The NBA draft is supposed to be a spot where teams can build themselves up or add that last missing piece. In Vancouver that never happened.

The Grizzlies came along with the Toronto Raptors in 1995 amid the hype of " Canadian Expansion." While Toronto has made some sort of an impact in the NBA with a few solid playoff runs and good acquisitions, Vancouver is no longer even in Vancouver as they became the Memphis Grizzlies in 2001.

While on vacation in Vancouver recently my cousin(who was born, raised and still resides in Vancouver) and I were talking about the Grizzlies and how it would've been great if they could've succeeded in Vancouver. We then proceeded to go through possible reasons of why the Grizz never made it.

The answer? Poor management.

Blame this strictly on Stu Jackson's stupidity. Taking a look at their drafting during their six seasons in the NBA and while he was GM there, the team that could've been built never was.

Here's a year by year breakdown of the draft:

1995

The Grizzlies were due to pick at number six with Antonio McDyess, Jerry Stackhouse, Rasheed Wallace and Kevin Garnett all taken off the board from numbers two to five. And with their inaugural pick the Vancouver Grizzlies select: Bryant Reeves!!! Big Country COME ON DOWN!

Reeves was coming off his senior year at Oklahoma St. leading them to the Final Four while average 21.5 ppg.

While at the time this seemed like the logical pick, the more safe pick of Damon Stoudamire(who was ironically taken by Toronto at No. 7) and Brent Barry were on the board.

For the first two years of his NBA career, Reeves did his best impression of an NBA player, avg 13.3 ppg and then 16.2 ppg the following year. After year two, he was rewarded with a six year $61.8 million dollar deal. Suddenly he develops a "chronic back problem." And because of that, he plays sparingly and his numbers are mediocre at best. He finally hangs it up in the middle of the 2001-2002 season when the team had already moved to Memphis and he had collect four out of six years pay. Good Job on that one Stu.

It doesn't help that there was also a future All-Star by the name of Michael Finley falling all the way down to Phoenix Suns at 21. Oh well.

1996

This time the Grizzlies moved on up to the number three pick do to a disastrous first season. With Bryant Reeves in place at center the Grizzlies picked Shareef Abdur-Rahim at number three, with Iverson going one and Camby going two.

While never outstanding, Abdur-Rahim was solid and consistent; you can't ask for more. During his five year stint in Vancouver, Shareef averaged 20.96 ppg and 8.14 rpg; outside of his rookie year where he averaged 18.7 ppg he averaged at least 20 ppg for his remaining four years in Vancouver. He was ironically traded during the 2001 draft for a number three(who ended up being Pau Gasol) pick Brevin Knight and Lorezen Wright.

But, (and there's always a but) look who else was on the board at the time: Stephon Marbury, Ray Allen, Antoine Walker, KOBE BRYANT!!!! Peja Stojakovic, Steve Nash, Jermaine O'Neal and Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

The fans were pulling for the local boy Nash to be drafted. With a point guard in place to go with Reeves, they would've had the inside outside game instead of using Greg Anthony at the point. That Kobe Bryant kid didn't turn out too bad either.

1997

Two big men in place. NOW the Grizzlies decide to take a guard. Another bad year, another high pick. This time at number four they take Antonio Daniels. What a complete failure this turned out to be.

In his only year with Vancouver he averaged 7.8 ppg in 74 games. He was subsequently dealt that offseason to San Antonio.

While this was an insanely weak draft, a high schooler by the name of Tracy McGrady did fall to the number nine pick(Toronto getting another 1-upper on Vancouver.)

1998

Considering that whole point guard blunder of 1997 known as drafting Antonio Daniels, they realized once again that they needed a PG. This time they took Mike Bibby. Solid pick no complaints, considering they needed to start over again.

In Bibby's three years he played all 214 games for the Grizz(his rookie year was the lockout shortened year.) He'd average 14.5 ppg to go along with 7.67 apg, including leading Vancouver in assists in his all his years there. He was traded that offseason for Nick Anderson and Jason Williams aka White Chocolate.

I don't want to say drafting Bibby was a blunder, BUT there were a lot more skilled players in that draft remaining. Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, Dirk Nowitzki, Paul Pierce all went later in the first round while Rashard Lewis went in the second. While Bibby was a nice piece for Vancouver, VC, Dirk, Pierce all could've been a cornerstone for them to build around.

1999

This was the biggest disaster by Stu Jackson. Trumping everything previously written. Steve Francis openly said " I DO NOT WANT TO PLAYER IN VANCOUVER." Guess Stu didn't get that memo. Being the bonehead that he is, he went ahead and drafted him.

What ensued that summer? Stevie Franchise sulked his way throughout summer camp and then on August 28th, 1999, Francis got his wish and was traded to Houston as a part of a three team trade in which Vancouver received Othella Harrington, Antoine Carr, Michael Dickerson, Brent Price, a future 1st rounder from Houston and a future 2nd rounder from Orlando. Who are those players? EXACTLY. Stevie would go on to win Co-Rookie of the Year with Elton Brand.

What blows my mind is the fact that this was one of THE BEST drafts of all time. So why pick a player who wants nothing to do with you? That's like continually buying drinks for a girl at a bar who won't go home with you...makes no sense.

So who did Vancouver pass up on THIS time? Baron Davis, Lamar Odom, Wally Szczerbiak, Richard Hamilton, Andre Miller, Shawn Marion, Jason Terry, Corey Maggette, Ron Artest, Andrei Kirilenko and Manu Ginobili. This was a PURE disaster.

2000

This is one draft I will give them a pass in.

The 2000 NBA draft was regarded as one of the worst ever and got rated as an F by many analysts. Picking at number two they took the college phenom Stromile Swift who was coming off of a monstrous NCAA March Madness tournament.

The one season Swift played in Vancouver before the Memphis moved he averaged 4.9 ppg and 3.6 rpg. Overall he never reached his full potential throughout his career. He set career highs in every category averaging 11.8 ppg 6.3 rpg 1.7 bpg .8 apg and .7 spg. Not much for career highs.

I will say this in defense of Swift. He was never given fair time to prove himself never averaging more than 26.5 mpg over a full year.

Who else was in this pitiful draft? Darius Miles, Marcus Fizer, DerMarr Johnson, Chris Mihm, Jerome Moiso. This list of failure is endless.

For those who believe "well tons of GMs botch drafts for five to six years and ruin teams."

Well here's the difference between say the an established franchise and one thats trying to open up in a new area. Drafting for say the 76ers would be one thing because Philly has been around for so long. But a new team like what happened with Charlotte is a miracle.

Look at their drafting record since they came into the league: 2004 Emeka Okefor, 2005 Raymond Felton and Sean May, 2006 Adam Morrison, 2007 Branden Wright(who was traded to GS) and Jarred Dudley, 2008 D.J. Augustin and Alexis Ajinca and this year Gerald Henderson.

Even with the botched draftings of Morrison and May and the trading away of Dudley and Wright, the Bobcat's still have a nucleus of Okefor, Felton and Augustin and now add a gritty defender in Henderson. Just imagine if MJ wasn't so dumb and picked Brandon Roy or Rudy Gay at the #3 slot in 2006. I'll save that for another time.

Back to the Grizz. Let's re-do some of the drafts. For arguments sake, they keep Reeves in 1995. They take the Canada native Nash in 96, T-Mac in 97, Dirk in 98 and Baron Davis in 99.

Suddenly this is their lineup come 2000:

PG: Nash
SG: Davis
SF: McGrady
PF: Nowitzki
C: Reeves

You mean to tell me A.) This wasn't possible or B.) These players wouldn't have played in Vancouver?

At the end of the day this is all that's left to be said. R.I.P Vancouver Grizzlies. I for one wish you guys could've pulled through. Thank you Stu Jackson for ruining the only other team outside of the Canucks that Vancouver and British Columbia actually had

Daily Fail: Geovany Soto




Charlie Klein and Puneet Singh

Geovany Soto apparently smoked pot. SO THAT'S WHY HIS AVERAGE IS .228! Makes all the sense in the world. The news that the Cubs catcher had flirted with the illegal drug during the World Baseball Classic in March came as a surprise to many. It also led to many baseball analysts blaming Soto's poor start to the year on his burgeoning love for the burning green leaf. Could it be something baseball/hitting related? NO OF COURSE IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THAT! When one looks for a correlation between marijuana use and athletic performance it appears as though there is none. Names like Daryl Strawberry, Michael Phelps, and Doc Gooden all come to mind.

Things like this just make me chuckle. Then one of my favourite all-time managers Lou Pinella chimes in with some top class press conference material explaining Soto's experimentation with marijuana.

"Look, I have smoked dope one time in my life and didn't do a damn thing for me," Piniella said. "I never tried it again; I'm fortunate because of that. A lot of people do [use it] you can even buy it in California from a pharmacy."

Were things really that boring for the Puerto Rican team in the WBC that smoking pot became a way to pass the time? I guess the WBC has shown its true nature, one of destruction. Now it may claim Geovany Soto's first half stats in addition to the injury troubles of Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Has Dice-K's Arm Ran Up Too Much Mileage?


by Puneet Singh

Let's face it; The World Baseball Classic is a cancer to any pitcher who goes out there. Jake Peavy, Armando Gallaraga, Oliver Perez and Edison Volquez are among some of the big name pitchers who are having a troublesome 2009 after having pitched in the WBC earlier this spring.

But no matter who's having the worst season one pitcher trumps them all: Daisuke Matsuzaka.

Dice-K looks tired and depleted; something along the lines of just flat out done. Worst part is it's not even July yet. That's a cause for concern not only Red Sox nation but the MLB office. When a big name pitcher of your league is coming back from a semi meaningless tournament as damaged goods because his national team managed decided to push him and his arm like this was Game 7 of the World Series in February/March then there is a problem.

Part blame goes to the Japanese baseball manager. Majority goes to Dice-K.

Knowing that your biggest responsibility is to the Red Sox and not a national team, he should have spoken to his manager about taking less innings or a lighter work load. What did Dice-K opt for? Put it all on me, and let me carry you. While this is helpful for Japan, can he now be able to say this to Terry Francona come October? Hell we don't even know if he could be on the October playoff roster, given how fatigued his arm is.

Take a look at Matsuzaka's record and effectiveness in the majors:

2007: 15-12 with a 4.40 era in 204 2/3 IP
2008: 18-3 with a 2.90 era in 167 2/3 IP.

Notice the trend? Less innings means a more effective Dice-K. This year he is 1-5 with an 8.23 era over 35 IP. Clearly the innings from the WBC have hindered his production this year.


A healthy Dice-K mixed with Beckett, Lester, Wakefield and whomever out of Penny, Smoltz or either Masterson and Bucholz makes this rotation top quality. But suddenly take out a HEALTHY Dice-K. You know have Beckett as a number one, Lester forced into the two, Wakefield three and then there is more pressure if the two young arms of Masterson or Bucholz have to pitch or try their luck with Smoltz or Penny; both of whom look beat.

A well rested, fresh Daisuke Matsuzaka means a healthy chance at another WS title for the SAWX. But Dice-K not being there makes matters a lot more complicated. I'm not saying the Sox won't win the WS, but what I AM saying is that the road there without Matsuzaka is gonna be a lot more bumpy.

Italy - Brazil: Three Things To Take From It For Both Sides


by Puneet Singh

Italy - Brazil. No this isn't The 1994 World Cup Final in the US; rather the Confederations Cup being held in South Africa. The 3 - 0 scoreline doesn't begin to tell half the tale. Here are three things to take from each side after this game.

Italy

1.) Italy are old.

Gennaro Gattuso, Luca Toni, Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluca Zambrotta all showed their age. Simone Pepe, Nicola Legrottaglie, Andrea Dossena and Alberto Gilardino showed they are not Azzuri quality. With each of these players logging significant minutes during the 2009 Confed Cup, failure was inevitable. With the exception of Cannavaro who was under diress from his grandfather passing away, Gattuso, Toni and Zambrotta are on their last legs.

Changes need to be made. Whether Lippi wants to admit it or not, its time for the youth movement, and the Confederations Cup was the best way to get experience for the new blood of Italy. Lippi added the young phenom Davide Santon to the Italy roster, but he didn't get one solitary moment of action during the entire tournament. Same goes for Fabio Quagliarella, a young and coming striker.

Below is a list of an outgoing player with his replacement on the right.

OUT>>>IN

Gennaro Gattuso>>>Gaetano D'Agostino

Gianluca Zambrotta>>>Marco Motta

Nicola Legrottaglie>>>Mattia Cassani

Andrea Dossena>>>Fabiano Santacroce

Simone Pepe>>>Antonio Di Natale

Luca Toni>>>Giampaolo Pazzini

Alberto Gilardino>>>Sebastian Giovinco

Put this young blood with the regulars of Buffon, Cannavaro, Chiellini, De Rossi, Camronesi, Del Piero and the new comer Rossi (who is earning his stripes very well of late) and suddenly Italy looks to have a more balanced and fresh team. I would love to say Cassano deserves a place on this team and he truly does, but we all know that Lippi will never call on him due to Lippi's stubbornness and their feud dating back to the 2006 WC Qualifiers.

2.) Scrap that bloody 4-3-3

Face it, the 4-3-3 was never built for Italy and they don't have the proper pieces for it. A world class 4-3-3 requires what Barcelona only has: attacking full backs who can push heavily forward AND back track, world class wingers who can back track and create opportunities and a midfield comprised of three strong and extremely technical midfielders. During Italy's wonder run to the 2006 World Cup, they could've used this formation and it would've been a success; their players were still young and productive. But now the Azzuri are old and sluggish and it's vividly visible in some players performances such as Andrea Pirlo.

Lippi should just go back to his 4-3-1-2. He has all the proper players in place to be playing that system. With all the new additions listed in section ONE, this is what their squad would look like:

GK: Buffon


RB
: Motta/Santon
RCB: Cannavaro//Santacroce
LCB: Chiellini
LB: Grosso

CDM
: De Rossi

RCM
: Pirlo
LCM: Giovinco

CF: Antonio Di Natalie

ST: Del Piero/Quagliarella and Rossi

Proper players for the proper system. With a younger, creative, athletic squad, mixed with solid veterans and their stalwart keeper Buffon, all they would need is time to build chemistry together and they would be looking at a balanced and formidable team.

3.) Create a new identity

Lippi still seems to have his head and heart stuck in 2006, where he build a team that had a never quit attitude coupled with almost all their players in the prime or late primes of their career. Match winners and grinders along with role players was what the 06 squad was comprised of.

It's time to drop that old mindset and adopt this new one: soccer with flair. Italy is more than capable of doing it with their youngsters and now more than ever its time to move away from the stale old cattenacio football and develop an attacking identity.

Brazil

1.) The 4-2-3-1 is simply brilliant.

Three words to describe Brazil against Italy: entertaining and dominant. This was reminscint to their performance of the 2002 World Cup. Offense was creating beautiful oppurtunities and the play of the wingbacks, Maicon and Andre Santos was sheer domination. They controlled everything going up. Made life a lot easier for Juan and Lucio in the middle.

The midfield and forwards were playing as one cohesive unit, hence the huge success. With Felipe Melo and Gilbero Silva as the two deep lying midfielders, Italy were unable to get past them or conjure anything.

Moving up ahead of them were the LM-CAM-RM, played by Robinho-Kaka-Ramires respectively. The connection between those three was telepathic. From the runs, to the passing, to the 1-2 combos amongst them, this was vintage Samba football. Kaka was on point, similar to his 2007 form for Milan, the one that won him Ballon D'Or. Robinho was taking advantage of an aging Zambrotta, slicing through him similar two years ago from an El Classico.

Finally to the key component which has been working out well so far; the lone striker up forward. Luis Fabiano is replicating his form from two years ago, which made him amongst the most wanted forwards in all of Europe and prompted Sevilla to slap a 40 million euro price tag to scare off. He seems to have found his scoring touch, going on a recent tear leading up to the Italy game where he smashed in two goals within 15 min of each other.

Right pieces and right system, Dunga may finally be onto something. Lippi should take note.

2.) The squad is better WITHOUT Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Diego and Adriano.

It says a lot when excluding four WORLD CLASS players does more to help your team rather than hurt it. But this has been the case. Ronaldo is out of shape, Adriano and Ronaldinho are far from in form and Diego would only serve as a backup to Kaka at best.

As the old moniker goes; if it isn't broken, why fix it? This seems to be the case with Brazil now. With all the right pieces setup in spot there are no spots available for prima donna headcases or late night partiers. That being said, this could possibly be the adios for the loveable R10. If Ronaldinho has no spot in the squad, then it must mean one of two things: Dunga has a vendetta out against him or Brazil may be better off without him.

3.) Keeping a level head.

Brazil CANNOT afford to get ahead of themselves. They must stay focused at all cost. Drifting in and out of games though and taking it easy against weaker competition will only cause Brazil to become lazy and insufficient.

This time around Brazil needs to put their foot on the pedal and keep it there. This is the time for the World Cup the Samba Boys need to come out swinging. They have to have the hunger to regain the number one spot in the World FIFA rankings.

If Dunga can get determination, focus and drive for the next 12 months out of the Brazil squad they could be looking at World Cup title number six.


When it's all said and done you have two squads going in completely DIFFERENT directions of one another. Brazil seemed to be destined for success given their recent runs while Italy is a time bomb waiting to implode and explode. If Lippi cannot right the ship, its only a matter of time before it sinks. Dunga on the other hand is on the highway to success; if he can keep the Brazilian egos in check, he will soon own the right to have an inflated one of his own.

Miracle on Grass Part Two

Charlie Klein

Sir Alex Ferguson, manager of Manchester United, once remarked, "Football, bloody hell."US Men's National Team manager Bob Bradley can echo that sentiment today following his team's shocking 2-0 victory over number one in the world Spain in South Africa.

Jozy Altidore put the United States up one goal to nil in the 25th minute following a nice counterattack. Altidore shielded and controlled the football magnificiently and fired his shot off the outstretched hand of Spanish keeper Iker Casillas and the left post and into the back of the net. The 19 year-old's goal was truly a shock to the system of a Spanish side that had moved through the competition with the ease of an overweight man eating a whopper. It was the first goal that La Roja conceded of the Confederations Cup, but it would not be the last.

Clint Dempsey added his second goal in consecutive matches in the 71st minute by finishing off a brilliant move started by Landon Donovan. Both Dempsey and Donovan have been criticised at times for their lack of focus and failing to live up to their potential, and here they were silencing their critics once again. Donovan's cross was deflected and then recovered by Sergio Ramos of Spain, whose first touch indicated that he had no idea that Dempsey was poised right behind him to take advantage of any oversight. Dempsey recovered possession from Ramos and fired the ball into the back of the net putting the USA up two goals.

Many around the world were left completely dumbfounded by that scoreline. It is not surprising when you compare the two teams and who in their starting XI play their club football with.

1. Iker Casillas - Real Madrid
2. Sergio Ramos - Real Madrid
3. Gerard Pique - Barcelona
4. Carles Puyol - Barcelona
5. Juan Capdevila - Villareal
6. Xavi Hernandez - Barcelona
7. Xabi Alonso - Liverpool
8. Cesc Fabregas - Arsenal
9. Albert Riera - Liverpool
10. David Villa - Valencia
11. Fernando Torres - Liverpool

1. Tim Howard - Everton
2. Carlos Bocanegra - Fulham
3. Oguchi Onyewu - Standard Liege
4. Jay DeMerit - Watford
5. Jonathan Spector - West Ham
6. Landon Donovan - LA Galaxy
7. Clint Dempsey - Fulham
8. Michael Bradley - Heerenveen
9. Ricardo Clark - Houston Dynamo
10. Jozy Altidore - Villareal
11. Charlie Davies - Hammarby (of Sweden)

The gulf in class between the two teams in terms of where the players ply their trade on the club level is unquestionable. Every player in Spain's starting eleven played in the UEFA Champions League and four of its players were involved at the semifinal stage, and three of their number won it. None of the players for the United States played on clubs that even qualified for Europe's top club tournament.

It was with total effort and grit that the United States won this match. Spain came out to play and looked certain to score numerous times only to be denied by either last ditch defending or spectacular saves from Tim Howard. As a Manchester United supporter, it does my heart a powerful load of good to see him continue to succeed on a personal level after he left. The back four did a great job in deflecting and blocking shots continually frustrating the forwards of Spain. La Roja seemed angered by the USA even attempting a resistance against them. Teams like New Zealand, Iraq, and South Africa are so far removed from the quality of Spain that they had very little chance of success in sniffing a victory in the group stages. The United States was the first team to make Spain work and it showed.

While this victory will not gain the same publicity as the USA's Miracle on Ice, when the US Men's Hockey Team defeated the USSR in the height of Cold War tensions in 1980, the two games bear many similarities to each other. While the USA is no longer involved in a Cold War, and generally have decent relations with Spain, the United States finds itself in troubling times, domestic and foriegn. The economy is stagnating and we are at war. Both of these things were also true in 1980. The American people, like they did in 1980, need something about which they could be pround. Today's victory over Spain was just as unexpected against just as tough of an opponent as the USSR was in hockey. Ultimately few outside the crazy football (soccer) fans of the United States will care about this win, but honestly, who cares?

Personally for me, this gives me another reason to support the United States in a more serious manner. My national team of choice is the Oranje of the Netherlands because of my family heritage and because I love the way they play football. More plucky and fascinating victories like this by the United States will leave many like myself pumping their fists and sliding on the carpet in front of their television sets come the World Cup in 2010.

The magnitude of this accomplishment for the USA is immeasureable. As a football fan, one lives for days like these; to see the mighty toppled, the courageous rewarded, and the true wonder of the sport recaptured once again. Whatever happens in the final versus either South Africa or Brasil, the United States have made a point in this tournament that surely will be heard 'round the world. "Football, bloody hell."

Monday, June 22, 2009

How to Save Soccer in the United States: The Seattle Sounders Model




Charlie Klein

Move over David Beckham, American soccer is here to save itself. Yes, I was thrilled when I saw a hobbled Becks jog onto the Home Depot Center pitch when the Los Angeles Galaxy played Chelsea on July 21, 2007. But that date does not mark the ascendancy of soccer in the United States. Beckham's current desire is not to help the struggling LA Galaxy win the MLS, but to re-start his career in Europe.

Let's face it, American soccer fans, Beckham is not staying in Los Angeles beyond the end of the current MLS season. Beckham has dropped many hints that he seeks to return to Europe following the revival of his international career with England.
"He (Capello) will be thinking about where I will be going in December. The manager always said to me, 'Wherever you go, play at the highest level'. Most places in Europe are at the top level."
Surely the MLS will sink back to irrelevancy without Golden Balls right? Wrong. Major League Soccer does not need a 34 year-old past his prime Briton to save the sport. Do not get me wrong, I love David Beckham for his success at Manchester United, but I don't think he is the savior of soccer in the US.

There is a perceptual problem in the United States that prevents the MLS from enjoying any sort of success or praise. The problem is that people expect the MLS to be as popular as any of the major soccer leagues in Europe and the rest of the world. Furthermore, people want the MLS to be an instant success. Just insert old European superstar, and razz matazz and all that jazz, average Americans will like soccer!

Encouraging teams to sign big name older international players is a step in the right direction, but it is not the solution to the problem for the MLS of attracting audiences. If the New York Red Bulls announced tomorrow that they had signed the Brazilian Ronaldo I would be excited to see what Ronaldo had left in the tank, but there's only so much that a 32 year-old striker could do. He would generate about a year or two of interest in the league depending on his performances but after he leaves what will happen to all of the people who started watching the Red Bulls? If there are no younger players to take over for Ronaldo, the Red Bulls and the MLS will dissappear into anonymity once again.

Major League Soccer needs to switch over to the European style schedule. Soccer in Europe runs from August to May. FIFA President Sepp Blatter believes that such a switch is essential to the success of the league.
"They have to play and adapt themselves to the international calendar. If they do that, they can have success. I spoke several times and I spoke on this 10 years ago when I was still secretary general and nothing has changed in the USA."
MLS commissioner Don Garber agrees with Blatter in principle. Every team in the MLS will have control of its own facility with the exceptions of DC United, Kansas City Wizards, Houston Dynamo, and San Jose Earthquakes. Garber said in a statement,
"We regularly evaluate all aspects of our competition, including the timing and format of our season. Because of the extreme winter weather in many of our markets in the U.S. and Canada, a switch to the international calendar would pose many challenges for MLS and its fans. I am convinced that the time will come when we do adapt to the international calendar. I just don't believe that time is in the foreseeable future."
If any lost MLS franchises need a proper model of how to cultivate success, they should only look to the work that the Seattle Sounders FC have done in Seattle. The Sounders signed an international superstar player Freddie Ljungberg who sparked local interest in the team thanks to his time playing for Arsenal. The Sounders also were able to assemble a great team around their superstar, something that the Galaxy ought to learn from. Sounders FC signed local product and goalkeeper Kasey Keller and assigned him the role of captain. The Sounders have also done a fantastic job of identifying young talent. Freddy Montero, who is on-loan from Deportivo Cali of Colombia, is 21 years-old and has already notched seven goals halfway through the current MLS season. Osvaldo Alonso is a great holding midfielder and he is only 23 years old.

The Sounders also have created a great atmosphere for the sport in Seattle. Following the unfortunate departure of the city's NBA franchise, the denizens of the Northwestern city were looking for a team to replace the Sonics in their hearts. The Sounders success in addition to the atmosphere created by the team's ownership have led to the overall progress of the sport in the Northwest. The ownership decided to involve the supporters directly in the set-up and operation of the team. Organisationally the Sounders are set up similarly to Barcelona of La Liga. It is referred to as Seattle FC Alliance and all persons who are season ticket holders are members. Members in the Alliance have the right to vote on the removal of the General Manager and other club decisions. The supporters were allowed to choose the name of the team through an online poll. The Sounders have also introduced a miniature parade from a location in Seattle to each match where supporters are encouraged to wear their Sounders FC gear and especially their scarves. The parade is led by the Sounders band.

Don't believe my homer arguments? Let us look at the trappings of Sounders FC's work. The Seattle outfit is on pace to shatter the average per-game attendance record previously held by the LA Galaxy of 28,916. The Sounders have averaged 29,401 so far this season and with the club announcing that it will expand the number of seats to 32,000, those numbers are expected to rise. There are usually 6,000 single game tickets available for each Sounders game because of how many people opted to become season ticket holders at the start of the year.

From personal experience, I can honestly say that the Sounders FC experience is unlike any other I have experienced attending MLS games. There is singing and raucous cheering aplenty and people are just plainly excited by what they are watching. The teams scores plenty of goals and create many offensive chances. The stadium that they play in is also a fantastic venue in which to watch soccer. While Qwest Field also hosts the Seattle Seahawks of the NFL, it was also built with the thought that it would be a possible site for a World Cup. Limiting the amount of tickets and only opening up the lower areas has created a proper atmosphere for soccer. I'm not saying it was like going to a game in Europe, but it is not too far off.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

The Miracle on Grass

Charlie Klein

ESPN anchor Reece Davis commented before the game that John and Kate (of John and Kate Plus 8) had a better chance of writing a guide to marriage book than the United States had of advancing to the semifinals. He will now have to eat his words as the US National team defeated Egypt 3-0 advancing to the semifinals of the Confederations Cup. The US' Confederations Cup hopes appeared to be in Elysium, already dead. They needed to defeat Egypt by three goals and to have Brasil repeat that same feat versus Italy. The improbable nature of events today is due to the fact that the United States had only scored one goal in two games and had given up six. Italy, known for its masterful defensive displays of days gone by, were not likely to concede three goals to anyone. Moreover, Egypt, coming off an emotional 1 to nil victory over the Azzuri looked to be too much for the United States to handle. If Egypt managed to shut out a team with Andrea Pirlo, Luca Toni, Vincenzo Iaquinta & Co. how could the United States score not one, but THREE goals?

As it turns out, the Americans had one resilient and cagey performance left in their locker, and unleashed it against the Pharoahs of Egypt. Charlie Davies gave the US a one to nil lead after a bit of bumbling around in the box by Egypt Davies applied all his grit and forced the ball into the back of the net. At this point the Italy Brasil match was still nodded at zero and did not give the impression that many goals would be scored. Then in the space of eight minutes the scene changed dramatically as Brasil put three goals past Gianluigi Buffon and made their lead stand. Meanwhile in Rustenberg the United States was battling on, and manager Bob Bradley's son gave his father the best Father's Day present by putting the US up two to nil. Clint Dempsey then added the United States' third goal eight minutes later to put the tie beyond doubt.

The United States now improbably enter the semifinals of the confederations cup and will face the number one team in the world Spain on Wednesday. Not many, if any, will fancy the United States' chances against La Roja but the United States were only narrowly defeated by Spain in a friendly. Even if they lose on Wednesday, the national team has shown the grit and determination that empitomise the people of its home nation. How much more could one ask?

Kobe, Stallworth, and Joba Ferrari

Opinion from the Opinionated: John Quirk


Kobe Bryant could win 8 titles. I’ll allow a couple paragraphs for that to sink in.


In the meantime let’s get into Stanley Cup and how awesome it was watching NBC focus the camera on Marion Hossa for ¾’s of his procession through the team he left behind. I can’t recall ever rooting for someone I despised so much, just to see a certain set of circumstances take place. Either my sports knowledge and taste is becoming more refined, or I am going a bit looney. Whatever the case I know I couldn’t help but yearn for this to happen. No one except the motor city wanted to see Detroit repeat, and Gary Bettman would have sold his soul to see Sidney Crosby hoist the Cup. Especially if he knew it would be like a hero on a bum leg.


I watched game 7 on a fishing trip with my Dad and he remarked how he couldn’t believe that Crosby didn’t play hardly at all in the last period because of the injury. Normally I would’ve been the first to jump on board and crush Crosby (seeing as how I never really liked him to start with) but something about the way he at least tried to get out there and just couldn’t, gave me an entire different perspective. Congratulations Sidney, it is great for hockey.

That’s right, this may have been what the NHL needed. How Bettman and the owners parlay the success of a young marketable star and recent jumps in TV ratings remains to be seen.


This is how you blueprint it though for a foundering league that still has a diehard fan base,just waiting to be reinvigorated. Get two teams who play great hockey, and have the good looking, crazy talented youngster slay the big (European feeling) red dragon. To me there was something of a home town feel in rooting for the penguins. I know Crosby is Canadian and Malkin is Russian, but something about Detroit’s style of play and long hair just screams Europe, while the grinders like Guerin on Pittsburgh just look like steel mill workers. (For the record I checked, and Detroit in fact has only 3 American players to Pittsburgh’s 7) Factor all these things together and you had me clapping and yelling at the TV for the first time since Ovechkin got ousted, pulling for Mario’s boys. America watched as well, in numbers that haven’t been seen by the NHL since 1973. Maybe I can work in hockey after all.


Now on to the black mamba, what a badass nickname, and that’s truly what Kobe Bean Bryant is, a bad bad man. How daunting a task it must be to have to guard this man. If you watched a fair amount of the series, and ABC’s phenomenal coverage, you saw Bryant repeatedly hitting contested shots, the likes of which are simply bad shots if anyone else takes them. Webster should literally use a picture of him for their color version; you could use him next to the words: stud, clutch, leader, lethal, and even arrogant. For the French version, just simply take out a page and put him next to incroyable. I loved his tenacity in this series and his willingness to let ‘his guys’ be teammates and feel involved enough to the point where he could get them where he wanted to go. That is a sentence you can’t type without feeling some resentment for the guy though, I mean he literally can control how many points he and his teammates get.

And he knows it.


His post game interviews could make you puke, but we remain in awe. Every time he rises and fires with Mickael Pietrus’ hand right in his face, only to find twine, we are in awe. I’m sick of his daughters always being too close to the limelight but I’m still in awe, awe of his command over seemingly everything and everyone he comes into contact with. He gets to play the game he loves like one of us on a play skool hoop with our younger cousins. It literally seems that easy for him. His hard work is well documented, but his get-away-with everything card ascends him to a place few get to reach. HE controls the interviews he does, never the reporter. He makes people understand how awesome he is, while trying not to sound like a TOTAL pompous jerk. He literally can do no wrong as far as the public is concerned, probably right up to and including murder. I don’t know how much of it is earned and how much is luck and the right tutelage, all I know is I love watching him be better at basketball than I may be at anything in my life and if I was ever that good, I might just act like Kobe Bryant.


I was happy to hear Mike Francessa rant about the jail sentence, or lack there of, for Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth. I was at first shocked by what I had read on ESPN’s ticker, then I was sure for a half an hour I had either seen wrong, or more plausibly ESPN had made a mistake. To my dismay it was confirmed to me later that Done Stallworth got drunk, got in a car, killed an innocent person and his punishment was going to be 30 days in jail. Who knows how harsh his conditions will be, and even setting aside the fact that he probably will be in a one bunk Hilton, 30 days for a persons life is insane. I would expect to lose at LEAST one decade of my life upon committing such a foolish act. The most disturbing part is the “confidential financial settlement with the family of the 59-year-old construction worker” that Stallworth’s lawyers so expertly finagled. It sends a terrible message to other atheletes and young people alike that when you are talented the rules change for you. You can’t tell me a young talented athlete who is idolized in his school right now, and who uses ESPN as his sole means of getting news, isn’t watching this and going, ‘damn I can pretty much do what I want.’ Only Eric Cartman only does what he wants without real consequence, the rest of us live in the real world where killing another person isn’t just frowned upon and met with a wrist slapping.


Finally I just wanted to make a couple more points about the baseball season up until now and offer my stance on a couple of the real hot button issues surrounding New York baseball. First off I am not backing off my Rangers pick, but I now also think they need to add an arm to their staff to make a serious playoff push, doesn’t have to be a starter but a solid (preferably veteran and cheap) arm to help them in the second half. Pedro Martinez if he is healthy makes a lot of sense in the Texas heat.


I’ve reached my breaking point with the Mets, but for me it wasn’t the Louis Castillo drop (which has prompted my cousin to renounce his fandom, and his two sons, and seek New York Liberty tickets) for me it was watching Fernando Tatis ground into a game ending double play. A DP that came with the score 4-3, the bases loaded, off a guy who threw two balls no where near the strike zone and had just walked the previous man. I told my roommate if he didn’t at least take a pitch, and worse if he grounded into a DP, I was renouncing my fandom. And like a fairytale it played out, six, to four, to three.


Mushroom cloud…


As for the Yankees I wanted to write something about Joba Chamberlain because he is as big an enigma as I’ve seen in New York sports. I once saw a cut out of Joba standing in a Dunkin’ Donuts in Queens and I knew something was going on, this guy was the next big thing. But after having watched his last start nothing could be further from the truth. Here is a guy who has been so mismanaged Mike Tyson could feel bad for him. Looking at the recent success in baseball, and even the Yankees championships in the late 90’s, one thing is strikingly clear. Bullpens are normally a great show of how good a team really is. It says you have enough arms in the rotation, and skills and money allocated elsewhere, that you can afford to have a few guys who come out of the pen and get it done. Mo, Wetland, Stanton, these guys where as good a trio as there has been and that’s when people will remember the modern day Yankees looking their best. Those teams didn’t mash, or do magazine spreads of themselves kissing mirrors, but they fought like heck and had great bullpens. (Hence my logic on Texas) So I think moving a guy who looks to be as sure a thing as there is in the bullpen, and while you have all the arms you need to fill the rotation, into a spot where he obviously isn’t thriving... is proving to be ludicrous. 98mph and nasty as a son of a gun, has turned into trying painting corners and a pitch count. Rules and changes to this kids mechanics have rendered him a Toyota with Ferrari stickers. His pizzazz is gone and one can only hope he gets it back.(Joba fist pump)

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Beyond The Numbers: A Fun Look at Ronaldo's Madrid Contract


by Puneet Singh

Now that all the tiny tid-bits to Cristiano Ronaldo's contract are all wrapped up it's time to break down the numbers for fun.

Cristiano penned a six year contract at Madrid that will fetch him €237,000 a week in his 1st year and will increase by 25% each following year. Along with that, Ronaldo will be entitled to 60% of all his image rights.

Take a look at his contract per week every year after year one. The Euro to American Dollar exchange rate is approx €1 to $1.40; the US dollar amount is on the right below:

Year 2: €296,250/wk||$414,750/wk

Year 3: €370,312/wk||$518,439/wk

Year 4: €462,890/wk||$648,046/wk

Year 5: €578,612/wk||$810,056/wk

Year 6: €723,265/wk||$1,012,571/wk

With Ronaldinho earning about €42,000,000 a year or roughly $59,000,000 in American(found these figures on <http://www.soccer-training-info.com/endorsement_deals.asp>) just in sponsorships and endorsements, it's not hard to assume that Ronaldo would be somewhere in the same ballpark as him

Say hypothetically that Ronaldo rakes in €30,000,000 or $42,000,000 in American. Since he is going to Madrid now, it is ok to assume that his numbers will certainly increase. For the safer side though, I'll say he will earn €40,000,000 or $56,000,000/yearly.

If he gets to take 60% of those figures, he is making an extra €18,000,000 or $33,600,000 a year to go with his weekly pay, which mind you, is tax free.

Now consider this. Football in Europe is played for almost nine and a half months, going from late August to early/mid May. That's a good 40 weeks out of the year.

Take a look at his total yearly salary(given 40 weeks worth of football):

Year 2: €11,850,000/yr||$16,590,000/yr

Year 3: €14,812,480/yr||$20,737,560/yr

Year 4: €18,515,600/yr||$25,921,840/yr

Year 5: €23,144,480/yr||$32,402,240/yr

Year 6: €28,930,600/yr||$40,502,840/yr

Those are numbers WITHOUT the sponsor and endorsement bonuses. Here's a look at the totals with bonuses(given the estimate totals):

Year 2: €29,850,000||$50,190,000

Year 3: €32,812,480||$54,337,560

Year 4: €36,515,600||$59,521,840

Year 5: €41,144,480||$66,002,240

Year 6: €46,930,600||$74,102,840

In any country or currency these numbers are RIDICULOUS! Alright enough of the number crunching, onto the humor (NOTE: Starting Small, Getting Bigger and Almost There, are using figures from Year Two):

Starting Small(a little narcissistic; fitting for him)

With the $414,000 from one week, Ronaldo can buy 1,882 pairs of his signature Nike Mercurial Vapor V FG. They run $220.00 each.

With that same $414K, Ronaldo can buy 4,140 jerseys of himself from the 2009 Champions League Final off of World Soccershop.

$414,000 can also fetch Ronaldo 4,447 wallbangers if himself running at $93.10 a pop.

Getting Bigger

The average price in the US costs $212,400 (<http://www.byebyeblighty.com/1/usa-average-house-price-212400/>).

With a full weeks pay, Cristiano can buy a house in the US AND place a Bentley in front of it.

Or with that one weeks pay he can buy the Ferrari 599; the same one he crashed back in January, and have somewhere in the neighborhood of $85,000 STILL left over. Better yet, using his entire second year salary, he can purchase 155 Ferrari 599's. Yes you read that correct, ONE HUNDRED FIFTY-FIVE.

If Cristiano wants to play the role of market hero he can take his $414,000 from one week and head to Detroit and end up buying approximately 27 houses; property is running as low as $15,000 a house in today's tragic times.

Still Room For Improvement

Taking his entire salary from Year Two, Ronaldo could buy 15 low-end house's in the Hampton's in NY(ironic I know considering what is low-end in the Hampton's) and put a Ferrari, Lamborghini or Maserati of his choice in the driveway. This would be important for Ronaldo seeing that his new lady friend(Paris Hilton) is very accustomed and a frequent visitors of the Hampton's.

Or if he's missing home, he can always invest in traditional Portuguese villa's throughout Lisbon or Mount Pico. Each running for $1,000,000 for a piece of beauty.

Almost There

By saving a full years salary, Ronaldo can purchase the Montukod Island off in Malaysia. A private island unknown to most, the 17.2 acres will cost Ronnie a cool $35,000,000. Pocket change based on his new contract.

When the Taj Mahal was completed, its total cost was $1,000,000 US dollars or 32,000,000 rupee. Given today's change in cost and pricing, if Ronaldo really wanted, he could have his own Taj Mahal built. He's dominated India once dating India's own, Bipasha Bashu for a short stint.

Filthy Rich

Finally, for two last jaw dropping facts.

If Ronaldo decides to not spend one penny over the next six years he will have saved roughly €249,000,000; or enough to wipe off more than half of Valencia's €450 million debt.

Or..If he gets bored with playing, he can buy his OWN soccer team. With Newcastle United and West Ham United priced at 100 million pounds each, could we possibly see Cristiano Ronaldo playing the role of Malcolm Glazer or Randy Lerner? Only time can tell.

At the end of the day one must realize. This article is meant to be taking light heartidely. But the numbers ARE REAL. Only time will tell what Ronaldo chooses to do with his riches.

The 2010 Seattle Mariners

Charlie Klein and Puneet Singh

Since I came out to the west coast and promised more content for those not afflicted with east coast bias, I figured I ought to up the ante. The 2009 Seattle Mariners have proven to be a major improvement to the 2008 edition, which was predicted by Tim Kurkjian to win the AL West. The M's instead finished in the cellar and had the second worst record in baseball. The 2010 edition, with the correct additions, could be of a World Series calibre ball club.

The Mariners will have approximately 50 million to spend as the contracts of Miguel Batista, Jarrod Washburn, Richie Sexson, Adrian Beltre, and Erik Bedard all come off the books. Jack Zduriencik & Co. will not spend money on just anyone, but will spend it on players who have proven to be worth the money. Instead of Bill Bavasi, who signed players for their one good year and paid them as though they would duplicate it every year, the Mariners have a GM that their fans can trust.

The key needs for the 2010 Mariners will be a power hitting left fielder, a third baseman, first baseman, shortstop, and two new starting pitchers.

Key Additions

1. Jason Bay (LF) The Trail, British Columbia native will want to come closer to home after a few years away from his home nation. Seattle is only a few hours away by plane and would be a relative homecoming for Bay. More importantly the Mariners will have plenty of money to sign the AL clubhouse leader in RBIs to a long-term contract to play left field. The Mariners have been looking for a left fielder for at least the past decade. Bay would fit that role and would probably be a 4 yr/28 million dollar player.

2. Hank Blalock (3b). Mariners fans are all too familiar with the work of Hank Blalock, having watched him mash baseball after baseball throughout his time with division rival Texas. Blalock can also DH, which is another position which the Mariners have had trouble finding a suitable replacement for Edgar Martinez. Blalock is only 29 and still has at least three good seasons ahead of him. I would expect a 2 yr/12-14 million contract with a club option for a third season.

3. Re-sign Russell Branyan. The genius of Zduriencik is present for all to see in signing Branyan this past offseason. The thought by the Mariners brass was that if Branyan was given regular at bats, that his production would soar. This has undoubtedly proven to be the case. As of today, Branyan is hitting .306 with 16 homeruns with 31 RBIs and a .407 on base percentage. He has also turned in great defense which has been invaluable to the weak defensive team.

4. Randy Wolf (SP). The Mariners will need to replace at least one starting pitcher in their rotation and Randy Wolf would be an excellent addition to a rotation with burgeoning ace Felix Hernandez. Wolf has a 3.29 ERA with a record of 3-2 and 69 strikeouts. Wolf will cost the Mariners between 5-8 million a year but would be cheaper than re-signing Erik Bedard, should the club decide not to re-sign or trade Bedard.

5. Tim Hudson (SP). This definitely has the feel of a Zduriencik signing. Hudson, who is 34, is coming off Tommy John surgery and should not cost the Mariners a ton of money. It is a move that is low risk, high reward, something that Zduriencik has made into a creed with his first season in charge.

6. Brett Myers (SP). Myers will not be extremely expensive to add and has excellent potential. Surely pitching in Safeco Field will be beneficial to his ERA and he has decent strikeout numbers. A change of scenery could be just the thing Myers' career needs.

7. Fernando Rodney (RHP). Rodney would not be terribly expensive either and the Tigers may let him go considering Joel Zumaya's return to good health. Would be an excellent set-up man to Aardsma or could replace Aardsma should David not be able to continue his dominance as closer. This would also save the Mariners the temptation of moving Morrow back to closer.

Considerations: Mark Prior, Justin Duchscherer, Brandon Webb (if the Diamondbacks for some reason elect to not exercise their option), Josh Beckett (same as Webb), Matt Holliday (Lf), Chone Figgins (3b), Jack Wilson (SS), Victor Martinez (if the Indians don't exercise their option) (C/1b/Dh).

The 2010 Mariners Starting Lineup:

Manager: Don Wakamatsu

1. Ichiro Suzuki Rf
2. Russell Branyan 1b
3. Jason Bay Lf
4. Hank Blalock Dh
5. Jose Lopez 2b
6. Kenji Johjima C
7. Franklin Gutierrez Cf
8. Mike Carp 3b
9. Yuniesky Betancourt SS

Rotation:

1. Felix Hernandez
2. Randy Wolf
3. Tim Hudson
4. Brett Myers
5. Brandon Morrow

Bullpen

1. David Aardsma (Closer)
2. Fernando Rodney
3. Shawn Kelley
4. Sean White
5. Chris Jackubauskas
6. Carlos Silva
7. Mark Lowe

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Daily Fail: New York Yankees



Charlie Klein

The Washington Nationals, who have had issues with spelling and winning this season, took two games of a three game series at Yankee Stadium this week in the Bronx. Just another sentence I never dreamed of typing in my sports writing dreams. Here are the facts: the lowly gNats had not won two consecutive games since May 8th and 9th. The likelihood of any other team going that long without consecutive victories seems minimal. The Nationals are on pace to lose 119 games this season. The new Nationals closer Mike MacDougal had gone 1,066 nights since his last save. The New York Yankees came into the series 37-27 and were only a game back of the Boston Red Sox. Now they find themselves three games back of the Beantown Bombers. Joba Chamberlain proved today that his best sport is beer pong, giving up three runs to a team that hits .257 and is 20th in runs scored. With such scary hitters as Austin Kearns (whose on base percentage is over 150 points higher than his batting average) Anderson Hernandez, and Corey Patterson. What makes this such a failure for the Yankees was that they were not able to outscore a team that has fewer wins than its cleanup hitter has homeruns. Long Island's own John Lannan carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning and finished the game with 8.1 innings pitched, four strikeouts, and two-earned runs. Adding some salt to the wound is that Craig Stammen, who has an ERA of 4.76, was able to shut out a team with expensive players like Teixeira, Damon, Rodriguez, and Matsui. More importantly Stammen picked up his first Major League win against the team with 26 World Championships. The Yankees now share their newfound infamy with the Arizona Diamondbacks as the only teams to have lost two games consecutively to the Natinals. Now that is something that all of us can do Joba fist pump to.

Mickelson goes for Hollywood glory at Bethpage

Justin Thrift

Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve been watching too much Sports Center lately, but I find myself rooting rather strongly for Phil Mickelson in this year’s US Open Championship. Never before have I ever bought into the media’s ‘teddy bear/everybody’s hero’ portrait of Mickelson; in fact, I usually find Phil rather disappointing and boring as a golfer.

But this year is different. As ESPN has pointed out repeatedly for the past few days, this is a big tournament for Phil Mickelson. Not only has it been three years since this modern golf icon has won a major championship, he’s also never won a US Open. You might even say that The US Open is a kind of impossible mountain for Mickelson, as he’s come in 2nd place four times in the past. Couple that with the fact that his wife Amy is battling breast cancer and has asked Phil to bring home a new shiny trophy to her hospital room, and this whole story reaches a new level of Hollywood-esque sporting goodness. Phil has also recently said that this tournament will be his last for a while as he plans to spend time with his wife as she fights her disease. Wow. This championship really does have all the ingredients to cook up one of the most epic Hollywood endings of all time. Anyone who enjoys a feel good sports flick will surely be biting at their nails when Phil tees off today in the First Round at Bethpage in Farmingdale, NY – weather permitting.

For all these reasons and more, I’m making the prediction here and now that IF Phil Mickelson does somehow pull off a major victory in this year’s US Open, we, or our children, will definitely see a major Hollywood motion picture film produced somewhere down the line. Think about it. Some big shot movie producer in LA will be licking his chops when he looks at this three days of golf magic. He’ll embrace Phil as the perfect stereotypical good guy that the American audience goes crazy for, and candy coat what was an amazing few days for the guy who had all the odds stacked against him. He’ll smile at the perfect balance of supporting characters, with the arch rival Tiger Woods trying to win his fourth US Open and battle back from a recent dry patch of his own. The two iconic golfers will go back and forth, battling until the last round and be paired up together as the last group to tee off on championship Sunday. The film will include soppy screen shots that pan from the drenched golf course to Amy’s hospital room where she watches from a small TV, rooting on her husband with a beautiful Hollywood smile. And of course, that movie producer will relish in the opportunity to tack on the words “Based on true events” at the beginning of his momentous film. Fox will market the movie as a “triumph of human endeavor!” and all the talk show hosts will have the starring actors and actresses on to talk about the amazing performance of Phil Mickelson at the 2009 US Open.

This is of course pending on Mickelson winning the tournament. All this could be yours Phil, hit em’ like you’ve never hit em’ before.

(Coverage of the first round begins today, June 18, on ESPN.)

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

This Cup Belongs To You Mario



by Puneet Singh

I couldn't and still cannot describe my happiness for the Pittsburgh Penguins winning the Stanley Cup against the Detroit Red Wings this year.

This has nothing to do with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin or any other player on the Penguins.

This doesn't even deal with Marian Hossa losing yet AGAIN in the Stanley Cup Finals in the same matchup from last year(this time for the Red Wings).

This has nothing to do with Detroit finally being dethroned and kicked off their mantle of success.

This is all for Super Mario; his trials of tribulation and hardwork have all come full circle and deservedly so.

The only words to describe Mario Lemieux may be Messiah and Savior. He's played the role of both for the Pittsburgh Penguins franchise on countless occasions.

Whether it was scoring a key goal for the Pens or buying the team he lived and died for to save them from contraction, Lemieux has done everything in his power to singe handily save hockey for Pittsburgh and in the same time make the Penguins a contender for the long run, even through the bad years.

Lemieux led the Pens to their only Stanley Cup titles in 1991 and 1992. Up until these last two years, those were the only time the Penguins even MADE it to the Stanley Cup finals.

Upon the financial crisis of the club in the late 1990's coupled with Mario's retirement, he bought the team on September 1st, 1999; not only saving them from being moved out of Pittsburgh by any other owner, but from being shutdown and contracted.

All the while, Mario also managed to battle and defeat Hodgkin's disease and Atrial Fibrillation. Both not only career threatening but LIFE threatening.

So How Could The Pittsburgh Penguins possibly EVER Repay Mario?

Continue the winning form of this year.
By winning the Stanley Cup this year it was the ultimate and proper "Thank You" for a man that has bent over backwards one way or another to help this organization out.

The Penguins are in a great spot to succeed right now. A solid blend of young players mixed with savvy veterans tells the tale of how they've been successful the last two years. With Malkin, Crosby, Fleury and Staal all in place for the long term, the future looks bright as ever.

The Penguins delivered this postseason by helping to promote the NHL with all the marquee players and the big win.

Think about this; would this have been possible if Mario didn't step in almost 10 years ago and used the $30 million he was owned by the Penguins in deferred salary to help buy the team?

At the end of the day the point is this: Let's not all forget what Lemieux has given the Pens even after his retirement.

World Class Athletes are made every day, but World Class human beings are a rare breed. Athletes like Mario Lemieux bring more to the game. Let's just take the moment to see all he has given to not only Pittsburgh but the NHL.