Steve Fischer's Random Blog

Category: Sports

  • It’s Baseball Season Again

    This was a very difficult early part of the season for a Yankees fan. For a while in May the Yankees were just unwatchable. If they pitched they couldn’t hit and vice versa. They seemed to find the unique way to lose a game. I was turning off the television and just keeping the game up on my computer via mlb.com because that was less painful.

    But it’s a really long season in baseball. Things change. The Yankees pitchers got healthy. Wang is back being an ace. Pettitte has been solid all year. Mussina is healthy. We now have this guy named Clemens who isn’t that bad. Suddenly the bullpen, which was lousy when they had to handle the last four innings, is looking good again. And there’s still this guy named Rivera who’s the best closer in history (I think Hoffman with the Padres is great, but until he has the post season record that Rivera has, he can’t compare).

    Abreu is back to his normal self. Cano is regaining the form that almost won him a batting title. Jeter is Jeter. And A-Rod is simply ridiculous. Matsui is back healthy and hitting over .300. Posada is having an MVP type season (ok, as a catcher his stats will decline as the year goes on, but he’s third in the AL in batting average, that’s crazy for a catcher).

    It’s funny, but just being over .500 was a big deal. So I’m back being a full time baseball fan. The Yankees are in Colorado now which kills me since the games don’t start until 9:00, but for the most part I’m in all Yankees all the time mode.

    Ah, I love baseball…

  • Back to blogging

    I’ve been out of commission lately, dealing with some personal matters. So this is my first blog in a while. I pretty much missed blogging the tournament. Florida played great and totally deserved their championship.

    And baseball has begun. The Yankees won and the Red Sox lost. A perfect day. Amusingly the Yankees had to start Carl Pavano for opening day. Here was the best line from the NY Daily News today:

    A meteorite didn’t land on him during the first inning, so Carl Pavano’s day already was a success

    The article went on to describe Pavano as “working on 643 days rest”. Hilarious. If you aren’t a baseball fan, Pavano was highly paid to come to the Yankees and then proceeded to have a series of injuries for almost two years. He wasn’t great, but the Yankees offense did the trick and the bullpen was strong. Mariano Rivera, greatest closer ever, struck out the side in the 9th. That’s how you end opening day.

  • Hoops, hoops and more hoops

    OK, I may be dying in my NCAA pool, but I still love the event. Last night (Thursday) all four games were interesting (average winning margin of 3.5 points, including two 1 point games). Southern Illinois proved that their incredible defensive reputation was completely deserved, even in a close loss. Ohio State somehow escaped once again. Texas A&M played a great one against Memphis (truly one of those games that neither deserved to lose).

    And at the same time some interesting hoops news. What does 9 straight 20 win seasons, 9 straight NCAA tournament appearances and one national championship get you? If you coach Kentucky there was a good chance it got you a free ride out of town. So in a pre-emptive move Tubby Smith takes a job at Minnesota. OK, that’s a serious step down, so he must have known he was gone.

    And Steve Alford was about to get run out of Iowa, so he takes the head coaching job at New Mexico. I’m a huge Alford fan as a player, because he was a part of the Indiana national championship team. He was a pure shooter. From the free throw line he was so automatic that the crowd would mimic his shooting routine by chanting “socks, butt, 1,2,3, swish”. He wiped his hands on the backs of his socks, then the back of his shorts, dribble three times and about 96% of the time swish the shot (the crowd would yell “swish” as the ball left his hands, we were that confident).

    But being a great college player and playing under Bob Knight doesn’t always make you a great coach. I hope Alford is good for New Mexico, because I really like him. But his record at Iowa was spotty.

    Speaking of great guards that played for Coach Knight, Isiah Thomas is managing to not get the Knicks into the playoffs, despite being in the weakest conference in NBA history. I loved Isiah as a player, but I can’t stand him as a GM and I’m not in love with him as a coach.

    But that’s the pros. College hoops is much more interesting. Vandy and G’Town in a thriller and Butler gave Florida a good run. More great games…

  • Pitchers and Catchers

    While March is primarily about college hoops, any baseball fan will tell you that March is a great month because of spring training. During the winter as you drive by Yankee Stadium the sign will read “xx days ’til pitchers and catchers”. Just the phrase “pitchers and catchers” to a baseball fan means that good things are around the corner.

    For some reason in baseball more than any sport, spring training is the time of eternal optimism. Columnists write things like “this could be his breakout season, if only he can learn to hit a curveball”. Every team thinks they have a chance, even if they lost 100 games last year.

    And in serious baseball cities, every tiny thing is reported on, discussed and analyzed. A rookie throws 98 mph in a practice session! The next Nolan Ryan! What? He threw it over the catcher’s head? He’ll work that out…

    So I am very happy to report that the Yankees won their first spring training game. Johnny Damon led off the game with a home run. Giambi also went yard. Chien-Ming Wang faced six batters and retired them all (5 ground outs).

    In their second game (also a win) Andy Pettite looked good, also retiring the six batters he faced. I’m a big Andy Pettite fan (my wife is an even bigger fan, though not for his pitching skills).

    So what does this mean? Two spring training wins? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! But who cares? It’s fun. Can’t wait until opening day…

  • March Madness Coming Soon…

    March Madness baby. The best sporting event of the year. Unpredictable. Single elimination. Hugely emotional. Lots of games. And of course, gambling.

    Wait a minute, didn’t I say previously that I don’t really gamble? True, very true. But there’s something about an NCAA basketball pool (there’s an exception to every rule). And it’s not really about the money, it’s just fun.

    So once again I will be hosting a pool. The rules are the same as every year (detailed below). I use CBS Sportsline. The URL is:

    http://fish2007.mayhem.sportsline.com/e

    The group password is fish.

    The rules are as follows:

    $10 to play

    50% to the winner

    30% for 2nd place

    20% for 3rd place

    I will collect money via PayPal. PayPal charges a small fee, so I’ll ask for something like $10.58. Don’t worry about payment up front. I’ll make the requests after people have signed up. I’ve been informed that PayPal frowns on this sort of thing, so you’ll probably get a request for payment for something like “pet grooming”. If you are in the NY office or will see me in person you can pay cash.

    The pool is weighted for picking upsets. Points are determined by multiplying the seed of the winner by the round value:

    1st round: 1 point

    2nd round: 2 points

    3rd round: 4 points

    4th round: 8 points

    Semi Final: 16 points

    Final: 32 points

    So if a 12 seed wins in the second round it’s worth 24 points. But getting the final four right is worth a lot of points also, so you can’t just go upset crazy. Typically you need to get the ultimate winner right. This is, in my opinion, by far the most interesting way to run a pool.

    That’s it. Invite your friends. Wake the neighbors and phone the kids. It’s all about bragging rights. The great thing about an NCAA pool is that it’s so unpredictable that someone who knows nothing about hoops often wins. My favorite betting strategy for someone who didn’t follow hoops involved comparing the mascots and picking the one that would win in a fight (sorry Maryland fans).

    The madness begins soon…

  • Final Super Bowl Update

    My last bet was the who would get more, Payton Manning rushing attempts or Dixie Chick Grammys. I lost that in a big way (who knew they’d get five?). So when in doubt, do not follow my wagering advice (except perhaps my advice not to wager).

    So for the record I was 5-6 in Super Bowl bets. That’s actually pretty good for me, but it won’t make me rich…

  • Wayne Craig’s Daughter is Famous

    Must be a proud papa…

  • Super Bowl follow-up II: The Ads

    Normally no Super Bowl discussion would be complete without talking about the ads. This year they seemed pretty uneventful. Many of the commercials were just ordinary commercials. Nothing wrong with that I suppose, you just expect a little something extra in a Super Bowl commercial.

    It also seemed like one long promo for upcoming CBS shows. At times I was begging for a regular commercial.

    My comments on the ones I can remember:

    Budweiser: You can always count on Bud for some good ones. I would consider this a down year for Bud, but I still enjoyed most of them. The rock, scissors, paper one was good (rock really should beat everything). The auctioneer at the wedding wasn’t bad. Some people liked the dog one, but I wasn’t in love with it. The fist bump/slap one I thought was dumb. The gorilla trying to steal the Bud Light was ok. The Bud Light hitchhiker with the ax I liked. The king crab one I thought was dumb. Jay-Z and Don Shula didn’t work. Where were the Clydesdales?

    Careerbuilder.com: I thought the whole “do more than survive the workweek” campaign was weak. Definitely sub-par for them.

    Doritos: They were one for two. I didn’t think the car crash one was good, but I liked the check out lady one.

    E-Trade: Also one for two. The bank robbery one was bad, but the “one finger is very powerful” one was good.

    Sierra Mist: Didn’t like the comb-over one. The others were ok. Overall I thought this was kind of weak.

    Snickers: Some people thought this was hilarious, but the guy-kiss, then rip your chest hair out just wasn’t that funny to me.

    Heart Association: These were just dark and spooky. A bunch of thugs beat up your heart in a dark alley. Nice. I was glad my four year old wasn’t watching. Didn’t like them at all.

    Garmin: They paid money for this one? Could have possibly been more lame? Well, maybe if it had been more lame then it could have reached the “so stupid, it’s funny” stage, but this was just stupid.

    Coke: These were all interesting and creative but not particularly memorable. I can’t really remember any of them the next day.

    T-Mobile: This was one of my favorites just because of Charles Barkley. Simple commercial, but perfect use of a celebrity. Maybe it’s just because I like Barkley.

    Emerald Nuts: Silly, but I liked it. Robert Goulet wreaking havoc in a sleeping office made me chuckle.

    Nationwide: I had heard about this one in advance so I knew what was coming. But it was still good. “Federline! Fries!”. Funny, and about all he’s good for…

    I know there were others, but nothing sticks out. Maybe I missed some good ones. Overall a weak Super Bowl commercial crop.

    ———————-

    Update:

    I was reading another review of the ads (I like to see if other people had different opinions) and two things leaped out at me. First of all, this guy thought the Garmin ad was the best of the night (I guess it takes all kinds). But he had a great line on a commercial I didn’t see. Apparently Frito-Lay had an ad celebrating the fact that there were two African-American coaches. “Who’s winning?”, “We all are”. The reviewers comments:

    The ad is low-key and likable. And wholly fitting, given the vital role Tostitos played in the civil rights movement.

    lol.

  • Super Bowl Follow-up

    First of all, I’d like to give Billy Joel credit for proving me wrong and not milking the national anthem. I lost the over/under on length of the song (1 min, 44 seconds) with the Piano Man going slightly under (with a nice rendition).

    I won the coin toss bet with heads.

    I took the Bears with 7 points and I took the over on total points (48 1/1). I was close on the over/under but I lost both of those. I was rooting for the Colts all the way (Packers fan – hate da Bears).

    My pick for longest touchdown play was Bears on a kick return. I won that, but I was thinking more along the lines of a punt, not the first play of the game…

    I took the over on total yards for the Colts (374). OK, who didn’t? They covered that after three quarters.

    I took the over for Rex Grossman touchdowns plus interceptions (2 1/2). I thought that was a good bet whether he has a great game or a lousy one. I would say lousy, and I won that (1 TD, 2 INT)

    I also took the over on total sacks (3 1/2). I lost that with only 2 (though I think when Grossman just fell down that didn’t count as a sack).

    I picked Jason Kidd to have more assists than Brian Urlacher would have solo tackles. Kidd had 11, about what I’d expect from mister double-double. Urlacher had 7 so I won that one.

    I picked Lebron James to have more points than the Colts. Lebron only had 21 so he let me down a bit. That’s a loss.

    And for the one pick that I won’t know for a week, I picked Payton Manning to have more rushing attempts than the Dixie Chicks would win Grammys. Payton had 1.

    So I’m 5-5 with one bet pending. Like I said, I’m not a gambler…

  • Super Bowl Bets

    OK, I’ll lay it all on the line. Here is every predication I can think of to make. Of course, I’m not a gambler so I won’t be putting any actual money where my mouth is.

    On the game, I’ll take the Bears getting 7 points. I think the Colts will win a close one (I always root for a close game, even though it seldom happens).

    Over/Under (48 1/2): I’ll take the over. I’m thinking 27-24 or something like that. Vinatieri comes through in the clutch again.

    Random bets:

    Over/Under on length of time for Billy Joel to sing the national anthem (1 minute, 44 seconds): Definitely go with the over. Performers always over-milk the national anthem. It cracks me up that this is an actual bet.

    Coin Toss: I’m going heads

    Team to have longest touchdown play: Bears on a kick return

    Over/Under on total punts (8 1/2): Under

    Over/Under on Total Net Yards by the Colts (374): Over

    Over/Under on Total Sacks by both teams (3 1/2): Over

    Over/Under on Total TDs plus Interceptions by Rex Grossman (2 1/2): I like this one because Rex is usually either good or horrible so I think you have to go with the over either way.

    Who will have more on February 4th? Lebron James total points or Colts total points?: Lebron

    Who will have more on February 4th? Brian Urlacher solo tackles or Jason Kidd assists?: Kidd

    Dixie Chicks total Grammy wins or Payton Manning rushing attempts?: Manning