Liriano is annoyed

Full disclosure…in 2006, I fully expected this to be the Twins year. Cy Young winner Johan Santana would be in a contract year, the bats of Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer, and Michael Cuddyer would still be going strong, and a solid group of young pitchers like Scott Baker, Glen Perkins, Boof Bonser, and Kevin Slowey would be beginning successful MLB careers. Well, Morneau and Mauer have definitely lived up to their end of the bargain, and Baker, Perkins, and Slowey seem to be on the right track to success. However, Santana is no longer a Twin (he’s with the Mets, where for the first time in years, he didn’t get to the 5th without being pulled for a non-rain reason last night. However, the real reason the Twins looked to be on the upswing was another young lefty. Kid by the name of Francisco Liriano. In the short time he spent with the Twins in 2006, he put up these numbers:

121 IP, 144 K, 89 H, 32 BB, 2.16 ERA, 1.00 WHIP

It should be noted that his season ended with him needing Tommy John surgery, and the prognosis of him being back in 2008. When he started this season, he struggled, including a pretty terrible start at Oakland where he didn’t get out of the first inning. However, since then, he has been dominant at AAA Rochester, going 7-0 with a 2.73 ERA since his return to the minors. With the craptacular Livan Hernandez still pitching, many Twins fans (myself included) are wondering why Liriano hasn’t gotten called back up.  So is Liriano and his agent. Clearly, it’s a difficult situation. Liriano feels the Twins don’t want him to come back up and make him arbitration eligible (where he probably would expect to get a slight raise, if only for his contributions in ‘06). However, He Shall be Livan will be owed $5 million, and frankly his trade value is so low nobody will take him. Some clubs could afford a hit like that, but the Twins aren’t one of them, so expect Livan to be pitching more than the Cisco Kid down the stretch.

This will, by the way, probably cost the Twins the AL Central, but oh, well, I’m surprised they’re doing this well.

Concussion in the face

It’s been a busy week in the WWE the last couple of weeks. Thanks to a draft show, Jim Ross is no longer on Raw, as he traded spots with Smackdown’s Michael Cole. After the drafting of HHH to Smackdown, C.M. Punk (with the help of Batista) brought one of the big 3 belts to Raw, beating Edge. However, one of the more surprising stars is Kofi Kingston, a proud son of Jamaica who upset Chris Jericho to win the Intercontinental Title. Oh, wait, did I say he was Jamaican? Sorry, it turns out he is really Ghanan. In an era where kayfabing (acting like storylines are real) is dead, this really is stupid. Both of his parents are academicians, and although his mother doesn’t necessarily seem to approve, his father does. However, not everyone agrees, and because of that, I now have one of my all-time favorite quotes…

But Mr Sarkodie-Mensah’s friends in Ghanaian academia, like Raymond Osei-Boadu of the University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, are horrified.

“I cannot bring myself to understand,” says a disconsolate Mr Osei-Boadu.

“Why would a person who is very capable of going to graduate school decide to jettison all that for concussion in the face?”

Concussion in the face. Sounds like fun for the whole family.

Alabama’s Johns arrested for selling marijuana

Jimmy Johns, the pride of Brookhaven, Mississippi, was arrested for attempting to sell crack cocaine to undercover Tuscaloosa Police officers, and was summarily dismissed from the football team yesterday. This has been a long, and troubling road for Johns, who was Mississippi’s 2004 Mr. Football. Johns spurned other instate schools like my beloved Ole Miss and Mississippi State for Alabama, but after a decent sophomore year as backup runningback behind Kenneth Darby, he moved to linebacker, where he struggled under the very disciplined Nick Saban system. Pressed into duty at runningback against Louisiana-Monroe, a game that ended in a 21-14 disaster for the Crimson Tide, Johns fumbled deep in Warhawks territory, giving Monroe the ball back and virtually sealing the victory. Tuscaloosa News columnist Cecil Hurt wonders if Saban could have gotten rid of Johns earlier, considering some of his past problems, but that’s mere speculation. I don’t think anyone in their right mind would have thought cocaine possession.

Another slightly disturbing element to this story is this website, which apparently shows Johns selling pitbulls online. While this may be innocuous enough, remember a certain quarterback who got in trouble for fighting pit bulls last year, and can lead to more speculation. We can only hope this is merely Johns trying to find homes for abandoned puppies, but considering his past*, it doesn’t look good.

*-The irony is that in my 2 and a half years at Ole Miss, I developed a fairly close friendship with two guys from Brookhaven, one of whom was a devout sports fan, the other one who was meh on sports. Both told of how Jimmy Johns was the exact opposite of the stereotypical jock: studious, polite on and off the field, humble, quiet, and on the fast track to success. While I guess it is possible for someone to highlight the positives and devalue the negatives of a local sports star, I think it’s inaccurate to think my friends were being anything but truthful when mentioning him to me. After all, it wasn’t like he was saving the day for Ole Miss or anything. His family is claiming that he got in with the wrong crowd, and that seems to be the most plausible explanation I can think of. He was released on bail at 4:00 pm by his family. He faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.

All criminal defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty by a court of law.

Big Day in Sports

For the 17th time in their history, but first since 1986, the Boston Celtics are YOUR World Champs. Their 131-92 pounding of the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 was the culmination of a season of dominance for the Celtics. Their struggles against the Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland LeBrons notwithstanding, the C’s were clearly the best team in the NBA, and deserved it. Congrats especially to Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce (the MVP of the Finals), 3 very good players and individuals who had gone waaay too long without winning a ring. Kevin Garnett, in particular, was fired up after the win

So congrats to Boston (and the true C’s fans that stuck with them, and weren’t into the whole “fantanking” business like some folks).

Two days after perhaps his most impressive victory ever, a 91-hole victory over a very game Rocco Mediate on one leg, Tiger Woods is finished for the rest of the year. Woods will have surgery on his knee that will require him to miss the rest of the season, which frankly shocks me. I figured he’d at least try to play the majors and then do the surgery to be back in time for the Masters next year. Then again, if I got this while I was off, I may do the same thing…

 

Also, in one of the more dispicable moves I’ve ever heard of, the Mets fired Willie Randolph…at 3:15 a.m. Tuesday morning. GM Omar Minaya, the architect behind the firing, tried to explain himself, saying

11 p.m. at night, after a game … standard procedure in letting a manager go in this game.

Of course, there was the whole part of it being 2 a.m. on the East Coast, and making Randolph get on a plane and fly cross country before doing this, but then again, this is the Mets. Not shockingly, even with the wondrous  Johan Santana on the mound, the Mets fell 6-1 to the Angels last night. The new manager of the Mets is Jerry Manuel, who was with the White Sox from 1997-2003, and won the 2000 AL Manager of the Year but was criticized for not being “fiery” enough and was fired in 2003, leading to the Ozzie Guillen era on the South Side.

Tim Russert dead at 58

I still love old country, I ain’t tryin’ to put it down
But damn I miss Duane Allman, I wish he were still around                                                                       -Travis Tritt, “Put Some Drive in Your Country”

That quote may be my favorite in any song at any time. It is the rare line that pays homage to a great thing, but also recognizes the greatness of something newer and fresher that will never come back. For many TV broadcast types, the old school is represented by David Brinkley, Chet Huntley, Walter Cronkite, and Edward R. Murrow. However, one of the best TV broadcast people of my generation, Tim Russert, best known as an NBC political analyst and host of Meet the Press, died this afternoon while doing voiceovers for his Meet the Press this Sunday. For my money, Russert has been one of the few bright spots in what has fast become a craptacular political broadcasting arena. Just yesterday, Fox got in trouble for referring to Michelle Obama as Barack’s “baby mama,” which is about as degrading as you can say for a married black woman, especially one who has been as married to one man as Michelle has . Say what you want about Barack’s politics (I’ll admit I lean slightly more right than left and don’t agree with all of Barack’s leanings), but this crap is unacceptable for 1956 in Alabama, and certainly not for 2008 America. And now this. There seems to be some symbolic meaning to this, but I’ll be damned if I’m happy about it.

Stabler gets DUI. Again

Former Alabama and Oakland Raider great Ken “Snake” Stabler was arrested in Robertsdale, AL (a Baldwin County burg not too far from his hometown of Foley) after being pulled over and cited for reckless driving and driving under the influence of alcohol. His first came in 1995, and his 2nd in 2001. Stabler, who has lately been the color commentator (and a damn good one, I must say) for the University of Alabama’s football radio team, starred for the team in the 1960s, famously leading the Tide to an undefeated, untied, and ultimately uncrowned 11-0-0 1966 season. Considering the PR nightmare this could cause, do not be surprised to see Stabler ousted in the fall. My buddy Armchair Talking Head has already made one request: no Jay Barker. Whether he’s still traumatized by the end of the 1993 Alabama-Tennessee game (the last tie in Alabama football history), or he’s insanely jealous of Barker’s fiance, I don’t know. However, having listened to him a few times on WJOX in the morning, I can say I definitely agree with him. Perhaps another former Alabama quarterback can be talked into doing it. Unless, of course, the Jets are struggling and Suzy Kolber is around.

By the way, here is the mug shot of the Snake. It’s kinda…well, sad

I’m soooo voting for this guy in November

My buddy Collin over at ArmchairTalkingHead has already written about it, but Winston County native Mark “Rodeo Clown No NCAA No War” Townsend is running for senator as a Democrat. Or, at least he was, until Mobile businesswoman Vivian Figures destroyed him (and, to be fair, the other candidate as well) in the primaries on Tuesday. However, that will not deter Mr. Townsend from from running. On his website, entitled sessionsisasissy.com, which also features his campaign manager “Sexy” Rexy Robbins (a former Bear Creek Phillips Bears kicker who could kick the ball further than anyone who ever lived, and former Haleyville Lion popcorn vendor turned Deshler Tiger fanatic), a challenge to Senator Charles Bishop to fight, and a complete hatred of the NCAA (ok, 1 out of 3 ain’t bad), Townsend says he will run as an independent in November. Frankly, this has awesome potential, and considering his strong showing in Winston County (where he is from, and where he won with a whopping 60 votes), he may have a shot at garnering 15% of the vote this time.

Tonight we’re gonna party like it’s 1959

Although my father and uncles are undoubtedly nostalgic for the NBA Finals this year, I can say I’m MORE stoked because two of my least favorite basketball teams, the San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons, are gone. However, for the first time since 1987 (coincidentally, the very first NBA Finals of my lifetime, as the Rockets-Celtics 1986 Finals finished about a month before I was born), the Lakers and Celtics will face off in the NBA Finals. This will be the 11th meeting between the two teams since the first meeting in 1959, when the Celtics demolished the Lakers (who were still the Minneapolis Lakers at that time) in 4 straight to win their second of nine consecutive world titles. My early prediction: Lakers in 6. Kobe Bryant is merely too good right now, and Phil Jackson is a huge upgrade over Doc Rivers on the bench.

Before I leave, however, one more quick thing…the ending of the 1984 Finals, the last time the Celtics beat the Lakers in an NBA Finals…

The Tigers still suck, and Jim Leyland is tired of it

Ex-Tiger pitcher Jason Grilli recently stated one of the reasons the Tigers were struggling so mightily in 2008 was because he felt the team’s chemistry was stale.

“It seems like they kind of broke up our team chemistry when they got rid of Sean Casey and good people like that. You wanted guys like that around. You wanted a guy like Inge playing behind you, knowing he would go through a brick wall.

“Talent-wise on paper, that is one of the greatest teams assembled, but the atmosphere was stale and stagnant. You kept losing, losing and losing, and everybody became distant. I have good friends over there, and I feel badly for them.”

After hearing of these comments, Tiger manager Jim Leyland responded. And thank God for that…

Sadly, they bleep all the good stuff out, but still you can figure the gist of the conversation.

By the way, now that the canyon of suck that is Jacque Jones is gone, can the Tigers PLEASE bring back Clete Thomas (the official cousin of ElGringoLoco) and put him in left. He can’t suck any more than Curtis Granderson has since the first of May.

Random Thoughts of a Crazed, Crazed Individual

For the…maybe 8 of you who read this, here we go…

The Minnesota Twins are leading the moribund AL Central as of now, with a 1/2 game lead on my AL favorite, the Cleveland Indians. While I figure that lead will not last too much longer (what with the Indians’ ridiculous pitching staff, including the vastly improving CC Sabathia), I think the Twins may be a lot better than I thought…sure, the offense isn’t producing much, and Livan Hernandez is almost certainly due for a dramatic drop-off, but the Twins have found ways to win without any power production from Delmon Young. If Young can come back, the Twins may be able to compete for a wild card berth into…we’ll say August.

Praise be to David West, CP3, and the rest of the Charlotte New Orleans Hornets for their destruction of the Spurs last night. While I have no doubt this series goes 7, I also don’t think the Spurs can win in New Orleans. The two games tonight, Cleveland @ Boston and Utah @ Los Angeles, should be excellent, although I have this feeling the TD Waterhouse Garden will be too much for the LeBrons to overcome. Early predictions: Boston by 17, Los Angeles by 4.

Spygate is over. While I do think what Belichick did was probably illegal and unethical, there is really no more to this story that needs to be done. Stripping any team of a Super Bowl title would be extrememly problematic, because God only knows that Belichick is not the first, and probably will not be the last, coach to film other team’s signals. Heck, Jimmy Johnson, who won 2 titles with the Cowboys, acknowledges that it went on, and admitted that he himself had done it. Letting the story die may not be the popular thing to do, but in this one instance, I think it’s for the best.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs look to be nearer to the Finals, as the Penguins defeated the Flyers 4-1 to take a commanding 3 games to none lead in the Keystone State Championship. Meanwhile, the Detroit Red Wings will have a chance to finish off the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center in Dallas later tonight. According to many who follow the league, a Wings-Pens series is just what the doctor ordered for the NHL. I dunno, but maybe it will be, playoff hockey really is fun to watch, but the marketing of it sucks. Getting ESPN to retake it would be a nice start, but they really, really need something to inject some life into the sport, and this may be their best hope.

Also, congrats to my friend Collin, from Armchair Talking Head for his graduation from the University of Alabama this weekend. He’ll probably attending either the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University or or the University of Mississippi’s Law School, both of which are 10000x better than any law school I could get into right now.

And, before I leave, for YOUR viewing pleasure, I give you…the namesake of this blog, as well as his nephew Chavo, at their best