Catching Up

By: Chad Ruter

I promise to get back in the swing of things once I get this computer situation figured out. My laptop is painfully slow, and at four years old has lasted longer than I ever imagined a wireless computer could. Since a lot has been going on in the world of sports the past couple of weeks, and I’ve been suffering through the strife of a stale computer, I’m going to bounce all over the place with this column.

Fantasy Update: I sit in second place in Terry’s Tire World, currently, but could take over the top spot once again if things fall right on Sunday night baseball (I’m typing this post during the game, and am once again sending it to Justin for pictures and posting). At the beginning of the Phillies/Mets game on Sunday night, I was sitting 5-2-3 against Team Heckman – winning by two in runs, four in homers, nine batting average points, seven strikeouts, and almost a full point of ERA. We were also tied in RBI’s, stolen bases, and saves. Sunday night baseball would have more meaning then in any fantasy baseball week ever, with Craig having Mets pitcher Mike Pelfrey gunning for that strikeout total, and Chase Utley taking care of things on offense, and Billy Wagner waiting for a save chance. I myself, felt in good position with Jose Reyes on a hot streak, and ready to drive in a couple runs, score a couple, and steal me a bag.

(Fantasy Alert… Fantasy Alert)

When Pelfrey took the mound in the first, my plan was for him to give up a couple of hits and maybe a run, but strikeout Chase Utley in the process. What does he do, strikes out the leadoff man, and Pat Burrell, and gives up a two-out bomb to Utley, giving Craig the early night lead in RBI’s. That figures! I’ll see if Justin can’t update you on the final score early in the week.

NBA Quick Hits: The Suns/Spurs double-overtime game on Saturday evening was one of the most legendary playoff games in the last five years, right up there with the LeBron schooling of the Pistons in their epic series last year. Who would’ve thought Timmy Duncan would knock down a game-tying threeball in OT, and Boris Diaw would take the final shot to try and win the game in regulation. Also…when Duncan hit that three…why in the world isn’t someone fouled on that possession? Give up the two free throws, and force the other team to foul you, and make them run it up the court again. Especially when the third best FT shooter in the history of the league is your starting point guard. Inexplicable!

(Pau is looking to take the Lakers to the promise land)

My pick out of the Western Conference is the Lakers. Kobe is playing the kind of basketball that defines a player’s career, and I don’t see him letting up. Pau Gasol can’t be stopped on the offensive end, and if this team gets any sliver of hope from Andrew Bynum, they’ll be untouchable. The Suns/Spurs will take too much out of each other, the Hornets are too inexperienced, Tracy McGrady’s Rockets can’t win a series with Yao let alone without him, the Mavs suck, Denver can’t play defense, and the Jazz can’t defend the Lakers’ big men.

I still have LeBron and the Cavaliers coming out of the East. Everyone has laughed at me for that pick, but I don’t care. When LeBron gets into playoff mode, he is damn near unstoppable. Detroit still can’t find anyone to guard him, so I don’t think they can get there. Boston is everyone’s obvious pick, and despite having the best defense in the NBA, again I ask the question, who is going to stop LeBron? It takes a good team to stop him, but you also need a great one-on-one defender to slow him down.

My MVP finish goes like this: 1. Kobe Bryant 2. Chris Paul 3. LeBron James 4. Kevin Garnett. All four guys have arguments to win. Bryant is the best player in the NBA, bar none; Paul had the best season of any point guard since Oscar Robertson; the Cavs are picking third in the lottery without him, and KG revived a legendary franchise, igniting the largest turnaround in NBA history (although he had two other All-Stars helping him out). Kobe still gets my pick though because he played the best basketball out of any of these guys, and can play a trio of roles for his team (scorer, facilitator, top-shelf defender). I could argue about this pick for hours (as Justin and I did this afternoon), but Bryant is the man, and he deserves his first MVP.

Chicago Cubs: I tell you what, these guys are playing out of their minds right now. The young kids are all playing well (Theriot, Soto, Cedeno), the older guys are being extremely patient at the dish (DeRosa, Ramirez, Fukudome), and Derrek Lee is raking (leading the league with 7 HR’s). The pitching has been shaky all around, but the Cubs just keep raising that white W flag every single day. It’s great to see them winning games despite certain individuals struggling (Lilly, Hill, Howry, Wuertz, Hart).

(Go…Cubs…Go)

I said it the day it happened, the Alfonso Soriano injury could’ve been the best thing that happened to these Cubs. He was struggling mightily at the plate, and plenty of Cubs on the bench were seeing the ball real well. One of the players that stepped in during Soriano’s absence is Ronny Cedeno. In years past, my nickname for him was “Rally Killer” because of his abundant strikeout and popup totals in clutch run producing situations. I hereby rescind that nickname until he fails to produce any runs in three consecutive Runner in Scoring Position opportunities. He ran through a twelve pitch at bat on Saturday that ranked as the best plate appearance I’ve seen all year, even getting Mark DeRosa to cross the plate on a wild pitch during the sequence. Despite a late strikeout on Saturday, Cedeno has bought himself some playing time at second base while DeRosa can move out to leftfield.

(I HATE CHASE UTLEY!! He just went yard for a three run bomb, and now the score is 4-3-3. I hate fantasy baseball!)

(Reyes just hit a triple and scored a run, giving me the lead back in that category…it’s now 5-3-2…ok, I can deal with that).

I apologize for that outburst – so let’s get back to the Cubs. I just wanted to mention that Geovany Soto is the real deal. He has flawless vision and knowledge of the strike zone, and hits almost anything he gets a bat on extremely hard. Yes, he’s a touch pull happy, but when you hit the ball as hard as he does time and time again, the ball is going to find grass more often than not.

General Update: Our Scoutware softball team is 1-0 with our second game of the season coming up Monday night at Lisle Community Park. Our team is solid offensively from top-to-bottom, and our programmer turned pitcher struck out a half dozen in his first game of slow pitch softball in his life. I’ll take it!

I’m now enjoying television in High Definition! Actually, only three channels are in HD, but still, I caught today’s Cubs game in High-def, and am extremely happy with my purchase. I went for the 42” Vizio with 720p because of the high grades and great price. Although any price of that magnitude is going to hurt the wallet, it’s a buy that is going to pay for itself many times over with the amount of games I watch.

This weekend, I’m traveling to Illinois State to celebrate my buddy John’s birthday a week and a half late, and to compete in my buddy Joe’s fraternity golf tournament. Joe, John, John’s brother Karl and myself played and were -6 after 10 holes and considered ourselves in the running. Then we found out that the top team was at -12, and we completely gave up. We stopped reading each others putts, we stopped giving club tips, we pretty much just wanted to be done. This year, the two all-stars that led that team are not playing, and with John having to partake in a cheerleading camp (don’t worry, I’ve burnt up every joke in the book regarding that), and Karl unavailable to make it, I’ve been informed that our two new playing partners are pretty good. Combine Joe’s driver and my putting with a couple of decent mid-range players, and we could go very low. My goal for any four man scramble is -10, and I sure hope we can reach that.

Sunday, Bloody (Good), Sunday

By: Justin Jacobs

Was it just me, or was yesterday on of the best sports viewing days of the year? There was something about the Lakers big victory over the Spurs, Immelman’s big win at Augusta and watching the Yankees/Sox (even if the wrong team won) that was a hell of a lot of fun to watch. That’s the great thing about sports, no matter how crappy your week was, all it takes a one great day of sports to get you back in a good mood.

Of course nothing made me happier yesterday than watching the Lakers crush the Spurs yesterday 106-85, and in doing so all-but ensuring themselves the top seed in the Western Conference. All that stands in the Lakers way of home-court throughout the Western Conference playoffs now are the lowly Sacramento Kings. The most impressive part of the L.A.’s victory over San Antonio was their tenacious defense. Believe me, as someone who has watched or listened to just about all of the Lakers games this year, when they decide to turn up the volume on D, they are almost impossible to beat. Pau Gasol and company held Tim Duncan to 6-19 shooting, which is what you have to do against the Spurs. It will be interesting to see what happens when the Spurs get Manu Ginobli back for the playoffs, but it’s comforting to know that the Lake Show will have home court advantage if/when they play in the playoffs.

(The Lakers looked poised for a deep post-season run)

As much as I love to watch Tiger Woods crush people’s dreams in major championships, it was refreshing to see a poor schmuck have to deal with pressure in winning The Masters. Yeah, I put my hatred for South Africans aside for a couple of hours and found myself kind of rooting Trevor Immelman as he nervously dealt with the final four holes at Augusta. I felt for the guy when he put his first shot on 17 into the drink, and I don’t even play golf. Immelman says he didn’t look at the scoreboard during his final round, but you could tell by the look on his face after that ugly shot that he was aware of his situation. We all know that Tiger is going to win many more majors, but for one day it was nice to see someone not named Woods get into the winning circle.

(Even Tiger can struggle in the clutch)

And while we’re on the subject of Tiger losing, do yourselves a favor out there and don’t listen to the crap some of the “experts” will say about Tiger struggling yesterday. There are sure to be idiots out there who will feel the need to put-down Tiger because he didn’t drain every birdie/eagle putt. Yes, not even Tiger can make every putt, and his struggling at times yesterday just reminds us all that golf is hard… or so I hear. And if Tiger can place second in the biggest major of the year with his B-game, God only knows what will happen when he’s on his game this year. I’ve got him down for two of the next four majors.

(Boston fans, you can’t take them anywhere)

Now to the bit of disappointing sports news from yesterday, young Yankees ace in the making Phillip Hughes struggled against those dreaded Red Sox giving up seven runs in just two innings of work in a 8-5 loss last night. Hughes biggest problem yesterday was location, Phil threw 65 pitches in two innings and only 35 of them were strikes. I know what’s going through the heads of thousands of Yankees fans out there, and no, it’s not time to panic. Even though Hughes struggled with location, his stuff was still pretty nasty. Any time you can have a young pitcher who has a mid-90’s heater and nasty curveball on the cheap you take it. I’m sure there is going to be some chatter about the Yankees not trading Hughes and Kennedy for Santana this off season, but once Hughes learns some control he’s going to be one hell of a pitcher in this league.

(You’re alright kid)

Another bright point for the Yankees yesterday was the play of the Yankees prospect short-stop, Alberto Gonzalez. Gonzalez did a fine job in filling in for the injured Derek Jeter, going 1-1 with an RBI and a walk. Young Alberto showed good poise at the plate against a tough pitcher in Dice-K. I’m excited to see what this kid will do in the future, and I’ve got my fingers crossed that he will be able to fill the void that’s left when (God forbid) Jeter steps down as the Yankees SS. Of course with Hank Steinbrenner in charge, who knows if we’ll get to see Gonzalez as an everyday starter for the Yankees squad?

(Me)

Ah yes, one last thing I almost forgot to mention; I was victorious in my match-up with Chad in fantasy baseball this week 6-4. It was a hard earned victory, but I was able to sweep all five hitting categories (thank you very much Joe Crede) and squeak out a victory in saves, thanks to a Sunday afternoon save by the struggling Trevor Hoffman. It always feels good to get a W over Chad, not just for bragging purposes, but also because his team is a bit-time threat in our league… but mostly for bragging purposes. After last week’s 6-4 victory my team is now 8-10-2. As always, I’ll keep you posted on the progress of my team.

So that was my Sunday. It was quite a lazy day in the life of Justin Jacobs, international man of leisure, but was a lot of fun none-the-less. This week is looking to be pretty interesting; we have the start of the NBA Playoffs and the big ramp-up for the NFL draft, which is taking place on my birthday no-less! So stay tuned to TOUTS for all of your off-kilter sports musings, and have a great Monday everyone!

The Big Cactus is making a big splash in Phoenix

By: Justin Jacobs

While I was watching the Suns handle the Spurs 96-79 last night I couldn’t help but notice that Shaq still pretty much owns Tim Duncan. Even though Shaq spent a good chunk of the game in foul trouble, he was able to score 16 points, grab 9 rebounds and shut down The Big Fundamental to a degree that I was actually shocked as to what I was seeing. Now, a couple of disclaimers before I move on. I realize that this was just a regular season game at a time of year when the Spurs are trying to keep their players rested for the playoffs, and I’m also aware of Phoenix needing to win this game more than San Antonio because they would benefit more from home-court advantage more than the Spurs would. That said, San Antonio did keep their stars in until they realized that any more resistance was futile in the fourth quarter. Even though Shaq and Amare Stoudemire had to sit out a most of the third quarter, the Suns were able to keep control of the game becuase Leandro Barbosa and Boris Diaw were able to take control of the game by hitting three pointers and reaking havoc on a Spurs’ defense that was starting to look it’s age. By the time Shaq and Amare got back into the game in the fourth quarter it was pretty much over. Duncan couldn’t get his hook shot over the reach of the Big Cactus, and to compound things Shaq was able to get his little five foot hook shot over Tim Duncan at will. Which goes to show you, when O’Neal wants to impose himself on the opposing defense you still need to double team him. I don’t care that he’s 36 and on the downside of his career, you still have to double him when he’s getting his defender, in this case Tim Duncan, in the paint!

So what does this mean? Well if I was San Antonio I wouldn’t want to have to play Phoenix in the playoffs. While it might have been crazy to think of at the time, the Shaq trade might have changed everything in the Western Conference. No longer can teams abuse the interior of the Suns defense or endlessly double Amare Stoudemire. This was basically what you did to stop the Suns in the past. Teams would slow down the game, take advantage of Steve Nash being a terrible half-court defender and get to the hole at will. We also went for a couple of years without seeing the true potential of Amre Stoudemire, partly because of nagging injuries, but probably mostly because of him being double teamed so much. Once you add Shaq to the equaton everything changes, as we saw last night you can’t get to the rim anymore without dealing with Big Diesel. Shaq could be 60 years old and still be an imposing presence in the paint, keeping other teams from working their inside game. It’s also easy to see what Shaq does for the Suns’ offense. Yes, it did take Steve Nash some time to adjust to their always being a 7 foot 300 pound man clogging up the lane, which led to some turnovers on Nash’s part, but the benefits of O’Neal’s presence are now manifesting themselves. Amare Stoudemire is averaging about 27 and 10 now that Shaq is in town. Not only is he seeing less double teams now, but he is also able to get to more offensive rebounds, which are leading to some spectacular tip-in dunks. Shaq and Stoudemire form what is perhaps the best frontcourt in the NBA, and it would be extremely intersting to see how they would match-up with the Lakers frountcourt of Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. As a Lakers fan I’m hoping that I will not have to see a Shaq/Lakers reunion in the playoffs, but only time will tell.

It’s a little embarassing, but neither Chad nor I have touched on Kansas winning the national championship on Monday. I was one of the many who thought that Memphis would continue to ride their tide of momentum into the big game and handle Kansas, which they pretty much did until the last couple minutes of the game. Then some of the Tiger’s weaknesses really came back to bite them in the ass. Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas Robert’s just couldn’t make a god damn free throw down the stretch. A lot of people were talking about Memphis’s lack of fouling any Kanas player when they had the three point lead with a couple of seconds left, but if they would have made a free throw or two along the course of the second half. It was also strange to see Derrick Rose off his game for most of the game. Someone asked me if Rose struggling in such a big game would hurt his draft status, to which I giggled and replied that Rose is probably the second best player in the country, with Michael Beasley being the best, and no NBA GM is going to look at that game and decide to pass on him because he didn’t have a great first half. I also really like Brandon Rush as an NBA prospect, he’s quick, he makes good decisions with the basketball, and he can hit an open jumper, nothing to hate about that. Anyways, congrats to the Jayhawks for making one of the greatest comebacks in NCAA championship history, and I’m glad to see Bill Self finally got that monkey off his back. How does it feel Illini fans?

Before I go here’s a quick update on how Chad and my battle is going in fantasy baseball. I’m currently in a 5-4-1 lead, mostly because of my batting line-up. Matt Holliday finaly decided to join his teamates this season and Joe Crede just seems to hit a home run every game. Meanwhile I don’t even want to talk about the pile of crap my pitchers have been. I due have a 1-0 lead in saves this weak, but thanks to terrible performances my Tom Gorzelanny (sp?) and some other pitchers who are currently residing on the waiver wire, my ERA is at 9 and my WHIP is over 2. Hopefully I will be able to hold off Chad in the hitting categories and pull out an overall victory over Chad. I’l keep you updated.

Well that about does it for now. I really need to get to a Humanities paper I have due tomorrow so no Masters update today. Have a good Thursday everyone and stay-tuned to TOUTS for more sports musings… not always punctual….

O’ What a Wonderful Time of the Year

Editors Note: Read Justin’s column below since we both posted on the same night!

By: Chad Ruter

Well folks, I apologize for the minimal posting. As Justin mentioned, my computer has been a serious problem for me, and I’m hoping I can suck a few more months out of it by having my buddy John wave his magic wand over it in a couple of weeks. This post is actually being typed on my computer, but loaded to the site by Justin – that’s how bad it is. The major pain of the whole thing is that I can’t surf the fantasy baseball pages fluidly, and to maintain my domination, I need a computer that is performing.

It’s not possible for me to stress my happiness level right now. Here’s ten reasons why:

1. I won J and mine’s bracket wager (requiring Justin to purchase and don a brand new Cubs hat – which I will reimburse him for later). That Cubbie blue and red is going to look real good covering that ol’ receding hairline J’s been working on. He has to wear it for one full day when I’m not there (with picture proof that he did so), and another full day when I’m back at home, or he’s into the city for a visit. The disappointing part about the tourney brackets is that I didn’t pick either Kansas or Memphis into the finals, and I have no chance at winning the monies. No worries though, winning the bet makes me smile.

(These colors look good on anyones cranium…)

2. After only a week, I sit in the driver’s seat in both fantasy baseball leagues!! I talked with Luke, my opponent in Terry’s Tire World IV during week one, on Sunday night, and it was the closest he’s ever come to crying on the phone! Ok, maybe he wasn’t on the verge of tears, but it sure was fun to win 9-0-1 and put my most feared opponent in a deep hole early. I didn’t get a huge week out of any one player. Everyone contributed. The Cincy pitching duo of Johnny Cueto and Edinson Volquez could be phenomenal late round and free agent pickup’s respectively. I grabbed Michael Bourn to get me a steal, and I traded Jeff Francis for Chris Young (the hitter) to play the bench role for me. He’s perfect. He may not hit for average, but I just want him in there once or twice a week to either grab me a steal, or hit me a homer.

I did have a few injury problems early this week that panicked me a bit. I put Randy Johnson on the DL in both leagues, and then had JJ Putz go down after his first appearance. Now I’ve used up both DL spots in Terry’s Tire World (TTW), and have to use a bench spot for the hurt Putz in my other league. Then I had Pedro Martinez and Mike Hampton go down in each league, and just decided to drop them both instead of shuffling pitchers. I’m playing Justin this week in TTW, and am hoping to go 5-5 at worst. If I can get through the first two weeks playing my two toughest competitors, and do no worse than 5-5 in either game, I’m golden. Maybe I can go wire-to-wire in both leagues?!?! I’m just joking Karma. No, I really am! I know better than to mess with you when things are rollin’!

(7IP, 1H, 1ER, 10K’s is a dream boxscore for your first Major League start)

3. The NCAA Championship is tonight, and I’ll be writing and watching the game simultaneously. I have Memphis winning this game (they are down 3 at the moment I typed my prediction). Derrick Rose is the best player in college basketball. I thought it was Michael Beasley, but being a forward, he can get lost in the midst of double-teams. Rose, on the other hand, gets doubled and proceeds to kick it to a teammate for a wide open jumper. You always have to know where Beasley is at on the court, but you always know where Rose is because nine times out of ten, he has the ball! That offense runs through him, and that’s why he a step above Beasley.

(If the Miami Heat’s tanking results in the No. 1 pick, they’ll have a tough choice to make)

4. After starting 0-2, the Cubs have bounced back to win three of four, with Derrek Lee proving that the 46 homer season he had a few years ago might have been no fluke. Kosuke Fukudome has been on a roll as well, but he’s still being misused as the No. 5 hitter in my opinion. They need to drop Soriano in the lineup. His prolonged slumps leading off can put strain the offense, and it has reared its ugly head in the first week. When he’s on, he’s on fire, but you have to get to that point first.

(.400 AVG, 3 HR, 4 RBI, that’s triple his production from last April)

5. I will be announcing and refereeing the second bi-annual Beerfest competition on Saturday at Western Illinois. Last semester, 27, 5-member teams competed. I don’t know how I made brackets for that, but I did. This year, the team restriction is set at 16, and the party should be just as fun. It’s always a great time when my buddy Doug is running the show.

(Once it hits your lips!)

6. My buddy Aaron turns 22, and we’re going to celebrate it Western style. His brother is coming, our buddy Metz is coming before he ships out for the Marines on Sunday. What can I say, we’re going to have a blast!

7. The Masters starts on Thursday, with the Par-3 challenge being shown on TV for the first time ever on Wednesday. Is there anything better than watching Tiger Woods pursuing the green jacket on a Sunday afternoon on the most beautiful course in the world? I don’t think so. Some added bonuses this year include the fact that Tiger is on a roll like no other golfer has been on since Sam Snead. Also, we get to see the famed Par-3 course that has been buried in the shadows of Augusta National for years. We always see the hole-in-one highlights, but we now get to see the course and all its beauty. Should be a fun watch on Wednesday.

(In my best British accent: Useful, useful shot.)

8. Did I mention I golfed outside yesterday?? Par-3 course across the street from my apartment is $12.50 on the weekends! Oh man is this going to be a good summer!

9. I’m going to buy an HDTV that I can’t afford at some point this week. Not sure what kind yet. Probably going to be a Sanyo or Vizio 42″ 720p. I just can’t buy into the extra $300 that 1080p would cost me when the quality isn’t any more stunning than HD is already.

vs

10. Our site now looks pretty cool! Thank Justin for that. He was sick of the bland look, and frankly, so was I. Plus, this makes it easier to see where the breaks in our posts are.

Before I go for the night, I must inform you of the exchange that just took place between Justin and myself.

Justin: Man, Matt Holliday is killing me.

Chad: Let me see what I can do for ya, my friend.

Justin: What, you’re going to call him up for me?

Chad: Nope. Brad Hawpe, Chris Young, and Edinson Volquez for Mr. Holliday.

Justin: Not so fast my friend….you’re evil.

—-Of course I am, and remember kids, it’s never too early to ask!!

Championship Monday

By: Justin Jacobs

First off, sorry for the extended break we took… again. The truth of the matter is Chad’s laptop is on the fritz, he’s looking into fixing it, and it seems like all of my term papers are do in the next couple of weeks. But guilt has got the better of me and I’m here to share some tidbits with you about what should be a fantastic sports week.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock lately, a rock that doesn’t have an NCAA office pool, you are probably getting pumped for the championship game tonight between Memphis and Kansas. Who would have thought that the teams with the most NBA ready talent would be in the championship? You know who should have thought that? The guy who now has to buy and wear a Cubs hat for two days, that’s who. How could I have let my blinding love for North Carolina get in the way of all logic and reason? Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Anyway, it should be exciting to watch Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts go up against Mario Chalmers and Brandon Rush for the title. If I had to guess a winner it would have to be Memphis, they’ve played extordinarily well over the course of the tournament. In fact, Chad and I had a conversation about how they reminded us of the team from Blue Chips. Now all Memphis has to look out for are all of those impeding NCAA violations for buying Rose a car and Douglas-Roberts a tractor… or something like that. Either way it should be a fun game to watch, we’ve got two teams that can run the floor and fill up that highlight reel.

While I’m on the subject of college basketball, I have to throw out a big congrats to ESPN’s own Dick Vitale who today was accepted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame as well as the big-time Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. For all of Vitale’s biasis towards ACC basketball, and his tendency to get annoying when he rants for too long, I couldn’t be happier for the guy. He’s shown nothing put passion and professionalism over the past years as a broadcaster, and if you’ve ever listened to him on MIke and Mike you’d know that the guy is a sports junky. His work with the Jimmy V Fund, a charity who’s proceceds go towards cancer research, has been both extensive and inspiring. So congrats Dickie-V, I say you’re awesome with a capital A baby!

The return of baseball into my daily routine is just as amazing as I thought it would be. There is just nothing better than having a beer and watching a ball game. The nice thing about living so close to Chicago is that I get to watch both Cubs and White Sox games, practically assuring me that there is giong to be a game on every day. I find that baseball is the only major sport that I can watch and also get other stuff done, which is essential during this time of year. To talk about the teams a little, did anyone else see Detroit starting the year 0-6? It just goes to show you that you can spend all the money in the world and it won’t mean anything if you can’t get good starting pitching and smart hitting. I think Detroit will figure thing out though, I think with all the new players due to trades, FA signings and injuries a lof of players are trying a little too hard to be “The Man”. They should be able to right the ship as the season trucks along.

Speaking of starting the season of bad, my two fantasy baseball teams were pretty lousy that first week of the season. A lot of this has to do with with Matt Holliday and Miguel Cabrera, who are the two anchors of my respecitve teams, but they both ended the week well so I’m not too worried. Meanwhile Chad sits on top of both Terry Tire World, our main league, as well as the public roto league we are in. He does it every year, and to make matter worse I have to play him this week. Oh well, might as well get the whooping out of the way early. I’ll let you know how things pan out between with our match-up as the week goes on.

Well that’s about it for now, I’m going to do my best to keep the site updated this week. You probably won’t be seeing anything from Chad for reasons stated above, but you never know. Enjoy the game tonight, and go Yankees!