Friday, February 27, 2009

Man-Ram the idiot!

Word is Manny Ramirez is turning down the Dodgers latest offer of 2 yrs/$45 mill. The offer is only $25 million first year, with the player option of $20 million on the second. You have got to be kidding, right? First off that is a ridiculous amount of cash that in this day and age, and economy. Secondly, isn't it enough to survive on and go out a play baseball everyday? That would be the second highest salary next to A-Fraud. With such high costs to attend games (see: new Yankee stadium although the Sox aren't very cost friendly either) and pay these guys, something has to change. They need to be woken up to reality. This seems like as good of a place to start as any. Let him sit.

Getting to be about that time

March Madness is right around the corner. Schedules are out for the different conference tournaments starting the next two weeks. I've kept the inclusion of The Dagger blog in my sidebar listing, despite their percieved anti-Duke bias, but they do carry some good information on college basketball....sometimes. They've got a good article with Christian Lattner and Rick Pitino re-visiting the Duke-Kentucky 1992 East Regional game. That was most likely the best college basketball game ever with probably the most famous game winning shot ever. 

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Hit to the gut

The Bucs let some veteran's go today including one Derrick Brooks. Dunn, Galloway, June, and Hillard were some of the other cuts. Brooks is the tough one for me to take. I wasn't too thrilled when the Bucs dropped John Lynch a few years ago, but Brooks is my son's favorite Buccaneer. I still have a coloring sheet that he printed out years ago off the Bucs site of ole #55. Big AD colored it finely in Red and Grey for me, matching the home unis. Its hanging here in my cube still as I type this. I guess it was inevitable, and had to happen sometime, but still, that one hurts. Even the guys are Buc 'Em are shocked. Guys, I know how you feel.

Geez! How are the Bucs going to look next year? This looks like a helluva youth movement.

Re-Upped for the start of it all

And so it begins. The Red Sox take on the Twins in an split squad game from the Grapefruit League tonight while Commander Kick-Ass gets some work in against Boston College this afternoon with the other half of the team. I just re-upped as a member of Red Sox Nation, re-newed my audio subscription on MLB.com, and I'm ready as can be. Let 'er rip!

Wednesdays this time of the year are tough already. The Dukies, and most of the ACC slate, play mid-week and that tends to interfere with the Fedurary sweeps on popular TV programs. Tonight is even more of a issue with the Sox playing. Baseball on radio at 6:05, Life and Ghosthunters at 8, Dukies @ Maryland at 8:05, CSI:NY at 9. Sure, I normally pull Life off the DVR, since I can watch it online later on, to watch the Blue Devils play, but thats getting old. Its not the same experience. Two more weeks though and it won't be a worry. 

Speaking of worry, this week has been especially tough. With the economy and the line of work I'm in, there's been the constant concern about layoffs. Thats nothing new really. I was "co-sourced" to an overseas company years ago to do the same job locally that I had done for the mother company for years. Thats helped keep me protected from alot of the corporate sector issues. This week has been very tough as the layoffs cut deeper into the employee pool that I used to be apart of. It's serial as people that have been around for a long time were let go without any heads up or severence. 

I'm reminded of the episode from "Band of Brothers" where Easy Company is holed up in a church listening to the church choir singing, having just survived hell on earth. The camera pans across the exhausted troops as the First Sgt. voice overs who they've lost for various reason. One by one, guys fade away and disappear as he talks about them. Thats what its been like. These people are no longer here.

Now those that are left, have to fight the battle still. No matter what the outside world is doing, or how stupid our leaders may be, we've got to keep plugging along. Eventually, and hopefully, it will all work out. The Prez says its going to get worse before it gets better. Well, I hope it doesn't get much more worse. These ideas he has better work, thats all I'm sayin'. I'll keep hanging on hoping my time doesn't come up to disappear and be gone. For the meantime, we've got Red Sox baseball and Blue Devil basketball to help take are minds of it all. Just in time before we lose it.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Maz calls the Sox BORING

What is it with these media types? Is the team supposed to apologize for not have a scandal or controversy in Spring Training? And suddenly Red Sox Nation is tired of their team because their bored with them. Give me a break! There's a recession going on and people can't front up the money for the high cost of season tickets like they used to. Sure there's still some available, but I bet they're gone by gameday. What a load of crap!

Monday, February 16, 2009

Bucs say "C'ya!" to Garcia

The Bucs informed Jeff Garcia that they will not look to retain his services at quarterback next season. Luke McCown was just re-signed to a 2 year contract, and Lord knows, Gruden left us with plenty of QBs to work with. Jeff did pretty good for us, but I won't miss him a bit.

Bums Court Rushing

Yeah, so I've been a Duke fan for over 20 years now, and I've seen the Dukies whip teams in the ACC over and over every year for awhile. I've also been a college basketball fan for just over those 20 some odd years and I don't think I've ever seen so many court rushes over the course of the same season happen for an upset win over a team that is NOT ranked #1. There was Wake Forest, Clemson, and now Boston College that stormed the court after beating Duke this season.

Go ahead, you can say that just because I'm a Duke fan, and these poor teams have suffered so long that they deserve it. I'm sure you can also plunk down the excuse that Duke is so hated by the basketball community that they need it thrown into their faces until the dirt is ground in, that they have it coming to them. Take that jealousy and bitterness aside, and some might contend that would be just kids having fun and celebrating their teams hard fought win over a typically better opponent.

Whatever, you want to say, I say its a lame excuse. Its unsportsmanlike and not the way it should be allowed to carry on. Its a travesty really that there is so (too) much of this negativity towards the Blue Devils and their success that no one is harping on this in the media. I guess I'm old school where when you are successful, you do it with class and dignity for yourself and your opponent. You behave like you've been there before. It isn't like these schools just showed up yesterday. You only bring out the trash talk if its brought down on you first. So, F all you college basketball posers and jealous panty-wastes. The Dukies are still here to take all comers. Remember just because you may have gotten the best of us this time, we've been there before.....and we're not leaving anytime soon.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Dukies go down

The Blue Devils lost tonight to Handsb and the Baby Blues by 12 or so points. Sue me for not documenting the actual, precise score. The boys seemed to run out of gas late and the poor shooting cost them. I'm not one to lament these days on losses too long. Life is too short. You root like hell for your team, and win or lose you want them to show intergrity and pride in their performance. The Dukies did that tonight against a team of shlubs the NBA rejected during the past off season. Oh, but not to sound too bitter, the Heels played to win tonight. I give them the credit. They brought out some defense in the second half to pull it out. We'll have to see what happens in the last conference game of the season at their place. Maybe the Dukies can deal Handjob a loss on Senior night.

Now I'm starting to get alittle pumped!



What the Dawn of February brings

Pitcher and catchers report this week which is exciting in itself, but for now, its the first matchup between the Tar Heels and Blue Devils smack in the middle of the conference season. I haven't had alot to say lately despite the last second loss to Wake Forest over a week ago, and a blowout loss by the Dukies to Clemson last week. Those were bumps in the season's journey. Now we're seeing how the Blue Devils respond and grow from those losses. The close call vs. Miami over the weekend did little to reassure fans that these Dukies will be able to come around and make a run deep into the conference tourney, or to be hopeful of a ride further into the Big Dance.

Much of that nervousness can be put aside (at least for the time being) with a good showing, and a win over the rival Tar Heels tonight. Here's a good breakdown from both sides on the matchups. It amazes me that the Baby Blues have won 3 straight at Cameron and I look for the Crazies to be in top form tonight to get the Dukies rolling. The focus on the 3s of late is a cause for concern, but we'll need it tonight. It will start and end with the defense. If the shots aren't falling, which has been the case for a couple of weeks now, it will be the defense that will have to keep the game close. It'll be a battle, as they always are.