Sunday, November 26, 2006

So Much For All That Luck

As the sun set on the Fighting Catholics of Notre Dame Saturday night, I was shocked by how easy the USC defense made Brady Quinn look like a very average ball player. This among with other observations as I recap my trip to the Coli, fanfare included (in honor of Petros Papadakis.)

Observation #1 -- Charlie Weiss is a really fat guy.
I'm not the picture of athelticism, however it is pretty clear that Charlie Weiss perfected his craft on the cyber fields of Madden video games and not actually playing on the field. Charlie simply does not have an athletic bone in his heavy frame, one that had slimmed down after getting his stomach stapled. I guess that's why there are no money back guarantees with those surgeries. In any case, Charlie opted for the XXL tent look last night, a good choice considering that any real pants seem to accentute his frontal ass further. The hoodie and wind breaker pants made Charlie look like a pregnant Rosanne Barr and I am sure the constant nylone mesh material sound that you get when you walk in that material could be hard all the way in the parking lots near Deadaux field. I am sure that he wanted to look spry, young, and carefree, especially lining up opposite one of the most fit guys in the NCAA in Pete Carroll, however the look only accomplished the furthering of an already known fact, that Charlie asks his players to do way more then he has every done. John L. Smith was correct on that point, one of the few things he was right about while at Michigan State.

Observation #2 -- Dr. Quinn overhyped quarterback man.
This year's Heisman Trophy award ceremony will be a showcase of Troy Smith from Ohio State and a collection of other, mainly headlined by the overhyped Brady Quinn. With tall hopes on the doorstep of Quinn, Notre Doter set out to conquer the land with their "explosive" offensive attack. Thirty five touchdowns later, sure they can be thought of accomplishing some of that. However padding the stats against Army, Navy, and the Air Force academy doesn't exactly prep you for the bone jarring sticks delivered by a top 5 team. I am sure that the group of football playing marines in the movie Jarhead, highlighted by Lucas Black and Jake Gyllenhaal, where not available or they would have been on the schedule as well for the Domers. And this was the guy who was the consenses preseason pick for the trophy? Was Beano Cook doing the lobbying and polling for his campaign? When I got home I watched the recorded broadcast and cringed at how the booth, manned by Brent 'Mushmouth' Musberger, tried to compare Joe Montana with Brady Quinn. To me, and most of the other 92 thousand at the Coli, Quinn was more Ron Pawlus then Montana. But hey, at least Pawlus beat SC a couple of times, all Brady did was go 0 for 4.

Observation #3 -- Tyrone Willingham was a pretty good recruiter afterall.
I love the spin ABC used on their telecast to try and paint Charlie Weis as a hell of a coach and a hell of a recruiter. The team on the field on Saturday, and for the season, was put together by Tyrone Willingham, current Washington head coach, and guy who got fired after losing a bowl game, much like fat Weis did last season. But hey, Weis rode Bill Parcell's and Bill Belichek's coat tails, so he must be pretty good, right? Next season will be the true test, as we get to see what Weis' recruiting chops are like and how he can build a team that will, and here I go going out on a limb again, will win maybe 7 games and visit the lovely San Antonio in their pre new year bowl game. Even with Jimmy Clausen, another guy padding stats in a do nothing CIF league, the Catholics will have a hard time duplicating the success of the past two season, and should look forward to further lop sided results against USC, Michigan, and Ohio State. As for Willingham, I'm not going to say that the reason he didn't get that 10 year extension like Weis did after essentially having identical records after their first year was because of his skin color, no this stand offish demeanor probably did him in, although I am sure the skin issue did play some part. However I will say that had he been given the chance to coach out his recruits, this season would have essentially been the same results. Less we want to forget all about that "incredible emotional toughness" that Weis brings to the Irish, that according to the turn coat Benedict Arnold in Pat Hayden at NBC. Yeah, you have to have a lot of tougness to stay away from the post game spread for the full 3 and half hours a game lasts. Going out on a limb, don't be surprised to see Weis jump ship and take an NFL job in the next season, the prospects of losing to Michigan and USC again with young talent and another couple of seasons with no chance of winning a national championship will make the honeymoon short for Weis.

Observation #4 -- John David Booty is the preseason favorite for the Heisman.
John David threw three touchdowns, took a nap for a quarter, then picked up where he left off. Had he not given in to the boredom that he was showing against the Domer defense, perhaps the score would have been 50 or 60 points and not the 44 that the Trojans put up. John David looked like a quarterback should, composed and confident in the pocket unlike his opposite number in Quinn and that other spas Nate Longshore up at Cal. John David moved the team down the field with ease exposing the Catholic secondary who had gotten accustomed to slow recievers and option quarterbacks. I only hope that Mark Sanchez can stay out of trouble for another season because for this season and next, John David is every much what Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart were, and that is saying a whole lot considering those where were Heisman Trophy winners, first round draft picks, and all around pimps on the field. There is no other quarterback right now that looks to come back with the weapons and the experience and again, that Nate Longshore idiot is no match for the complex pro style offense that Pete Caroll runs.

Observation # 5 -- The Coli is a pretty bad place to watch a game.
Yeah you get the 92 thousand, big boy football feel to the game, but the toilets are backed up, the food overpriced, and when it takes longer to drive to the game then the actual game time itself, it's a pretty bad deal. I am eased by the illegal driving that I had to pull off just to get us into a position to run to the gate, however overall, the experience was saved by the buzz in the stadium and the ass waxing on the field. Now if the higher ups can come through with BCS tickets, then that would be something else all together.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Slaving Over The Hot Stove

With the latest passing of J.D. Drew's career in right field at the Ravine, and the signing of fan favorite Nomar Garciaparra and lead off man Juan Pierre, the Dodgers are still shy the two things that haunted them last year, a power bat and a legitimate set up man. With the prospective loss of closer Sammy Saito, the Dodgers' game of pickle may come to and end real soon.

I was a fan of J.D Drew as far as the number 7 in blue was roaming the outfield, now I could care less about that greedy bastard that took the first out in his contract to get out of dodge. It never ceases to amaze me what he will do for a buck. In any case, the situation is what it is and the Dodgers will have to do something pretty dramatic to replace his aloof attitude in the club house and muscled up home run numbers, 20 last season. Carlos Lee is out of the picture, already told Ned that he doesn't want to play on the west coast, and the prospects of Barry Bonds wearing the blue is as revolting as a Rosanne Barr centerfold spread. We may be in for a long season.

There is hope on the horizon, Jayson Werth has indicated that he is 100% pain free and is planning a return to the club for the opening of spring training '07. That's good news for a guy who hasn't played an inning of baseball since 2004. He poses a great alternative to the short tempered Drew who really did not do much to win the "most inspirational award" at the stadium. That said, we will be lucky to get anywhere near Drew numbers in 2007. Manny Ramirez is doing his yearly song and dance about being traded, and if you look at the situation it makes a bit of sense. If Drew signs with the Red Sox, a team that he has been linked with for the past week, then the Sox would be in line to lose a draft pick and a sandwich pick in 2007. Being the stat geek Sabremetric scholar that he is, I am sure Theo Epstein would want to preserve those picks to build up a depleated farm system. Hanley Ramirez anyone?

If the Red Sox and J.D. can keep it in their pants for a while longer, then the Dodgers could ultimately offer Drew arbitration, which in turns gives them negotiating rights with Drew for another 45 days or so. That would probably be enough time to structure a deal that would please Boston and in turn deliver the ManRam to the Ravine. Wait it gets better. Eric Gagne has also been courted by Boston, and the same deal may be big enough to compensate for the disporportionate salaries. Throw in a player to be named, and you got yourself a blockbuster that makes everyone happy and puts one of the best hitters in the league in left field.

Of course all this is speculation, and who knows what wicked turn the free agent and trade market will take, all I know is that Alfonso Soriano was out there and took a lot of money to join a team that only won 66 games last season, and by all indications will probably win 72 this season. Has the Dodgers wanted to deal, they could have probably matched the money to put him in Dodger blue.