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29 April 2010
You wouldn't think it, but we get hundreds (if not thousands) of emails a week from StadiumDrives.com readers. Some of them tell us how great we are, others how bad we are. Often, we'll get tips of stories. Sometimes, sites will even let us know that they stole our work, it was a hit on their site and thank us. Others just write in for advice or have questions about their life. I decided to give the old inbox a cleaning again and pick out some of the best (and worst) emails.* If you can't decipher our e-mail address from the sidebar and would like to send something in, send it via Twitter to @JoshCohron.
Good effort. Seriously, good effort. You stood no chance ever, but you gave a valiant effort. Now, please never contact me again. - (Name withheld), (Location irrelevant)
Ah, the tradition continues. A female writes into the inbox and makes me feel bad to get things started. And people say that tradition is dead.
Fact or fact? The Stanley Cup Playoffs is the greatest postseason in the sports world. - @scott_ish (Actual reader submission!)
Normally, if someone made a comment like that about hockey, I would ban them from the site forever. But, if you've seen the number of hits we've received lately, you know that we shouldn't be banning anyone.
It's no secret, I don't enjoy hockey. Similar to why I don't enjoy watching soccer, I like scoring. (Obligatory scoring/sex joke).
The only time you'll catch me watching hockey is if the Stanley Cup Playoffs go to a Game 7. If the score is close going into the last period, I might tune in. I just can't commit to something like that right now, though.
As much as most people hate it, the BCS is the greatest postseason in the sports world. The two best teams in the sport play one game to determine the champion. How many other sports can say the same?
The GM of the Dolphins asked Dez Bryant if his mom was a prostitute in a pre-draft interview. Surely you have some thoughts on this. - Mike, Huntsville, AL
Of course I have thoughts on this. First off, Jeff Ireland shouldn't have to apologize for the question. This isn't a job interview, this is a pre-draft interview. Ireland should ask whatever he deems necessary to judge Bryant's (already questionable) character. Second, that's not even that bad of a question. I can think of many questions that would be a lot worse to be asked in an interview. Let's use bullet points to look at some:
- "Are you a prostitute?"
- "Do you know where Jerome Bettis is from?"
- "Do you know where I could get any meth?"
- "Is your dad a prostitute?"
- "Taylor Swift is hot. Do you think she's a 9 or a 10?"
- "Can you bend over?"
- "Want to come over and watch Monday Night Raw with me?"
- "Do you have a copy of the new Lady GaGa album?"
- "Is your grandfather a prostitute?"
See, it's all about context. Plus, did anyone ever get Dez Bryant's answer to the question? Maybe his mom is a prostitute. And I don't blame her. It's a rough economy, people have to put food on the table any way they see fit.
Click Read More or I'll post another hockey question.
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26 April 2010
After a blistering 17-5 start in non-conference play, the University of Kentucky baseball team has been slowed in SEC play. The Bat Cats are 6-12 in conference play with a series win over Alabama and losses to Ole Miss, Vandy, Arkansas, Florida, and Auburn. Sunday's doubleheader with Auburn (due to a rain out Saturday) started off with an exciting 8-7 UK win, but ended in an even more exciting walk-off 6-5 win by Auburn. The loss to Auburn put Kentucky into a fourth place tie with Tennessee in the SEC East division.
Leading the way for the Cats at the plate are Keenan Wiley (.354), Chad Wright (.354), Gunner Glad (.344), and Chris Bisson (.326) who are all hitting over .300 on the season. Wiley, Wright, Glad, and Andy Burns are all sporting over a .900 OPS and Burns leads the team with 11 home runs. On the defense side, the starting pitching has been a little light for the Cats. None of the starters have an ERA under 5.00 on the year. Relief pitching has been a little more solid with Matt Little (2.54), Mike Kaczmarek (3.24), Braden Kapteyn (3.29), and Walter Wijas (.375) all having less than 4.00 ERAs.
UK has a big stretch coming up in the next two weeks. They visit in-state rival Louisville on Wednesday and then travel to Knoxville for a weekend series with Tennessee. South Carolina comes to town next week and then the Cats will travel to Bloomington to take on Indiana. If UK can get some improved starting pitching and start getting some production out of the bottom of their lineup they can make a move up the East standings. With perennial powerhouse LSU and an unimpressive Georgia team remaining on the schedule, Kentucky could potentially move up to third or fourth in the East prior to postseason play. That's an important position to be in, and UK will need to capture some of their early season magic to get there.
All stats courtesy of UKathletics.com.
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26 April 2010
The 2010 NFL Draft is finally behind us and now the fun part starts...ignoring football until September or so.
But until then, here's a few thoughts to wrap up the weekend that was the draft. Due to an immense amount of rain and an embarrassing lack of a social life, I actually watched more of the draft than I care to admit. Therefore, I am anointing myself as an expert. So to the delight of at least one person who reads this site, I will use bullet points to give some draft thoughts.
- Mocking Mel: I'm not normally one of those guys who loves to point out how many picks Mel Kiper missed. Any rational fan understands the draft is always a crapshoot, and I
doubt anyone could accurately predict more than about 50% of the picks correctly in any given year. But this year, there were just too many misses to be ignored. Here's a list of players that, at one point, were predicted by Kiper to be first-rounders; Everson Griffen (98th overall), Bruce Campbell (104) Aaron Hernandez (111), Ricky Sapp (131) and Johnathan Dwyer (179). Ouch. And this isn't just taking predictions from Kiper's early predictions. Griffen was a first-rounder in all four of Kiper's mock drafts. As was Sergio Kindle, who went 43rd overall, and Taylor Mays, who went 49th. Navorro Bowman, who would go 91st overall, was at one point picked by Kiper to go 24th. But the real story has to be Tyson Alualu, the DE from Cal who went 10th to Jacksonville. Kiper quickly said he wasn't too surprised by the pick, apparently neglecting the fact that he never once predicted this guy would go in the first round, let alone #10. For a guy who has one job - to predict the draft - you would think Kiper could do a little better. 
- Poor Jimmy: About the only thing funnier than seeing Kiper's mock drafts explode was seeing the reaction of all of the analysts to Jimmy Clausen's drop to the 48th pick. You would have thought Peyton Manning was still on the board to hear the utter shock in their voices. Clausen has good size and a strong arm. His mechanics are apparently perfect (according to an ESPN The Magazine article that was arguably the greatest waste of four pages ever), and he played in a pro-style offense. Fine. Great. He also was a guy who went 16-19 in his career, won a grand total of one bowl game, and has serious attitude issues. He may very well turn out to be a decent NFL quarterback, and he landed in a good situation with Carolina and their running attack. But let's not go overboard here. Clausen is hardly a can't-miss superstar, and the fact that so many teams passed on him, some of them doing it twice, should come as a surprise to no one.
- Error on ESPN: Personally, I enjoyed the new draft format, splitting up the rounds and allowing people (not me) to have a life and still keep up with the draft happenings, as opposed to devoting 10 consecutive hours on a Saturday afternoon. But the one downside was three days of ESPN's broadcast, which as Chris "Mad Dog Russo" put it, "set broadcasting back 100 years." It's bad enough to have five guys on one set, where apparently the only rule is that you can never let another person finish a sentence before interjecting your point. But this was also a poor combination of people. Chris Berman and Tom Jackson have a very creepy chemistry together, probably rooted in their ability to speak almost continuously without really saying anything. Kiper...well we've picked on him enough, but suffice to say, his reputation as an "expert" took quite a few hits. But at least he wasn't Steve Young, who provided the comedic relief, albeit unintentionally. Young started the vast majority of his sentences without any clear idea of what he was saying, and because of that, he would sometimes drone on for two or three minutes as the others watched in amazement. Even better, you could tell he didn't even know what he was going to say. It was almost as if his switch would get stuck in the "Talk" position, and no one could figure out how to shut him off. It was enough to make you feel bad for Jon Gruden, the one analyst with any real knowledge of the game. Gruden was simply too good to be included on that broadcast. It would be like LeBron James showing up in my backyard to play pickup ball. As good as he is, he would be dragged down by the utter stupidity of all of us around him. Next year, I'll be watching the NFL Network coverage, if I'm not out on a hot date.
- Tebow talk: Of course there will be a Tebow section on here. You saw who wrote this post right? For the record, I do believe Tim Tebow can be a solid NFL quarterback one day. I also believe that he is not ready to be one next year, or maybe even the year after that. If you want to argue that it's a questionable move to spend first-round money on a player who might not see meaningful snaps for two years, that's a fair point. But most of the criticism directed at the Broncos and Tebow has centered around his throwing motion, and the belief by some people that he will never be an NFL quarterback. Admittedly, I am a Tebow fan, and therefore not objective. But I find it a little curious that people are convinced he is incapable of altering his throwing motion. I mean, it's not as if Denver drafted the drum major out of the band and is attempting to teach him how to play the position. Tebow did throw for 88 touchdowns in the SEC over his career. He may not be the next Tom Brady, but he is capable of throwing a football. Will he be able to change his mechanics? Will he be able to be effective in a pro-style offense? Maybe he can, maybe he can't. No one really knows. But I do feel that it's a little early to entirely write off the possibility that he could become a starting QB.
- Browns' blues: I would imagine the excitement of draft day for an NFL prospect is overwhelming. You're on the verge of becoming very wealthy, you're fulfilling a lifelong dream, and you're waiting to find out in which town you'll be enjoying loads of female company. But if I were a prospect, I think I would be more than a little upset to get drafted by the Cleveland Browns. Not because of their general ineptitude, or because Cleveland might not have the best nightlife. No- I would hate to go there because of their uniforms. There is not a worse combination of colors, maybe in the history of sports, than brown and orange. It's awful. At least with other bad teams, be it the Lions or Rams, you can at least get some cool gear. You may lose 12+ games every year, but at least there's the possibility of some good-looking apparel, be it the uniforms, practice shorts, or even just a hat to wear on the sidelines. With the Browns, you have none of that. I have yet to see a single piece of Cleveland Browns' apparel that didn't immediately turn my stomach. You could just see it in Colt McCoy's eyes when the Browns selected him in the third round. Even someone who wore burnt orange for four years was less than thrilled to be heading to a place where the main color is often found at the bottom of a toilet. Look for McCoy to demand a trade soon.
- It's the draft, not a game: Finally, to the fans who show up to the draft, sporting face paint, and carrying flags...stop. It's one thing for people to have the draft on TV in the background as you're doing something else, pausing occasionally to sit and watch a few picks in a row. It's another thing to get dressed up and sit in an auditorium for hours on end to watch people walk across a stage and shake hands. I understand people get excited about the draft, and for at least a few nights in April, nearly every team can have some optimism for the season. But when you're painting your face and carrying around replica helmets, you need to re-evaluate your life decisions.
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22 April 2010
Tonight is the NFL's 75th player draft. With plenty of speculation going on, I thought it was time for me to weigh in on what I think should and will happen when Commissioner Gur-dell takes the stage tonight. Well at least the first 10 picks or until it gets boring.
On to the stage!
Gur-dell takes the mic and says "I would like to make one request before this gets underway here at Radio City Music Hall. Adam Jones, stop trying to write me letters. They are incomprehensible drivel and you are doing yourself no favors. Just stop. Please. That said, on with the shit show!"
With the first overall pick, the St. Louis Rams select
A tie. After all, one little tie would be an improvement over last year's 1-15 record. And it'll make a nice sling for Sam Bradford's arm come week 3.
JUMP! (41.5 inches, good job)
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14 April 2010
You wouldn't think it, but we get hundreds (if not thousands) of emails a week from StadiumDrives.com readers. Some of them tell us how great we are, others how bad we are. Often, we'll get tips of stories. Sometimes, sites will even let us know that they stole our work, it was a hit on their site and thank us. Others just write in for advice or have questions about their life. I decided to give the old inbox a cleaning again and pick out some of the best (and worst) emails.* If you can't decipher our e-mail address from the sidebar and would like to send something in, send it via Twitter to @JoshCohron.
I heard you're coming to my city soon. Please don't call/text/email/tweet/Facebook message/contact me. Let it go. - (Name withheld) (Location irrelevant)
Sweet! Another female I've scorned wrote in. Maybe she does want me since she knew I was headed her way. No matter what, I will continue to believe that.
Whenever I come to StadiumDrives.com, at the top of my browser, it refers to your site as, "A College Sports Daily Blog." Almost none of those things are true. - (multiple readers)
You are all correct. My suggestion for a new header would be, "Stadium Drives: A Sometimes College, Sometimes Sports, Rarely Daily Blog." It seems catchy to me. I would wear a t-shirt that had that slogan on it.
I am not a big Kentucky fan. Even more than I dislike Kentucky, I dislike John Calipari. It does make me feel good that he couldn't get to the Final Four with five first-round picks, so it's likely that Calipari will never get to the Final Four at Kentucky. - T. West, Lexington, KY
I can see your point, to a degree. Kentucky is arguably the most talented team (along with the '96 Kansas team) to never get to the Final Four. They looked absolutely confused and befuddled against West Virginia. They kept shooting 3s when they couldn't make one. They stood around against the zone. They... Okay, I need to stop before I get all worked up again.
But, I must say that Calipari will be in the hunt every year to get to a Final Four. He was at Memphis, and Memphis sucks. Kentucky and Calipari are a great match when it comes to recruiting. Kentucky has the best facilities, best fans and some of the hottest females in the country. Calipari could get top players to go to Memphis which has none of those.
Take today, for instance. Brandon Knight, the #1 PG in the country for 2010, is expected to announce he'll be playing for the Wildcats next year. Normally, that would be all the good news a Kentucky fan would need. Calipari will also get a commitment from the #1 player in 2011, Michael Gilchrist (who many say was the best high school player in the country this year).
The Kentucky faithful can exhale, as the 2010-11 year is starting to look like another winner. After Knight commits, another #1 recruiting class for Calipari seems like an attainable goal.
The Kentucky haters may want to think about getting out of town for a week or so, things are going to get blue again real quick.
Click Read More or I'll keep waxing poetically about Kentucky's recruiting classes.
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12 April 2010
I know it's been a while since you've heard from me. Baseball is underway and I'll be checking in on the division races throughout the summer, despite Cohron's best efforts to convince you that the sport doesn't exist. For now, here's some baseball poop humor for you, via Gage.
Thatsa whatcha wanna know?
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07 April 2010
You wouldn't think it, but we get hundreds (if not thousands) of emails a week from StadiumDrives.com readers. Some of them tell us how great we are, others how bad we are. Often, we'll get tips of stories. Sometimes, sites will even let us know that they stole our work, it was a hit on their site and thank us. Others just write in for advice or have questions about their life. I decided to give the old inbox a cleaning again and pick out some of the best (and worst) emails.* If you can't decipher our e-mail address from the sidebar and would like to send something in, send it via Twitter to @JoshCohron.
Ha. That was fun. And awkward. See you again in 18 months. - (Name withheld) (Location irrelevant)
Hey, another female wrote in! She is right on all accounts. Except the fun part.
I know you pride yourself in being a contrarian. But, you couldn't have wanted to go so against the grain that you cheered for Duke in the National Championship, right? - A. Banks, Indy
When it comes to college basketball, I don't "cheer" or "root" for any team but Kentucky (the lone exception: gambling). But, I was at a crossroads trying to figure out which team I preferred winning. On one hand, Duke is Duke. They're obnoxious and pretentious. No one likes them. On the other hand, a mid-major like Butler winning a title makes the title less legitimate.
When it came down to it, I just didn't watch. It was a crappy game. I don't watch crappy games unless Kentucky is involved. Family Guy was on TBS, so I watched that. If I want to watch bad white players missing 3s, I'll get a video of my last rec-league game.
The Final Four just ended. I hate baseball. What the hell am I supposed to watch until college football starts??? - (multiple readers)
First off, everything will be fine through June. The NBA Playoffs are fascinating television, whether you watch the NBA regular season or not. This summer won't be too bad, actually. I can't think of a better way to explain all the things to watch than with bullet points!
- The Masters: People aren't going to treat Tiger well all weekend. At some point, some mouthbreather will yell something. It will be inappropriate. It will probably also be hilarious.
- The Kentucky Derby: I'm not even going to make a "fastest two minutes" sex joke. They're just too easy at this point.
- The Preakness: It's a horse race like the Derby, but it's in Maryland, so the people in attendance will be uglier.
- Memorial Day Weekend: Who needs sports? Find a friend with a pool and move in with them for the weekend.
- The World Cup: Sure, it's soccer, but it's the best kind of soccer. Plus, soccer groupies are hot.
- The US Open: This will be less strict than the Masters, plus more on Tiger's scandals will have come out. The mouthbreathers should be out in full force.
- The NBA Draft: See where half of Kentucky's team will be playing next year! Interviews with European players are always entertaining as well ("I liking to play the basketballs. It making me to have the good times.").
- Wimbledon/The (British) Open: Neither are that interesting, but making fun of British people's teeth is always an easy way to spend an afternoon.
- The World Basketball Championships: It's like Olympic Basketball, but none of the players care after they qualify for the Olympics. LeBron, Kobe and Carmelo should all be there, so highlights of US players dunking on players from third-world countries will be in abundance. Feel good America!
- The Little League World Series: This is my favorite event of the summer. Will there be another team that grabs America's attention like the team from Chula Vista did last summer? We can only hope.
If you don't like any of those, you can always watch NASCAR. Or, you can just drink beer until football returns.
Click Read More or I'll spend the rest of the mailbag breaking down the Padres' pitching rotation.
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05 April 2010
Scene: Cameron Indoor Stadium. Thousands of Duke students cheering wildly fill the stands, while the 2009-10 national champs* sit sit quietly on a stage on the floor. Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski, wearing a smug smile, steps to the podium. The crowd quiets, waiting anxiously to hear him speak.
There's just so many people to thank for this - I hope I don't leave anyone out.
First and foremost, I love this team. Sure, it's a bunch of unathletic white guys, most of whom couldn't get laid in a women's prison, but they have really embraced the proud Duke tradition this year, with things like flopping, whining, and smirking. They've also mastered our offense as well as any team I've ever coached, learning to launch three-pointers at every available opportunity and, if anyone is in the same zip code while you're shooting, you flail about as though you've been shot at close range with a hunting rifle. Even better, they've really grown as a team, to the point where a no-talent loser like Mr. Zoubek (nods toward the bearded senior, who is picking his nose with suprising intensity) over here thinks he can bark orders at teammates to inspire them. At no other place in the country can a clown like this consider himself a leader, but that's why we're special here at Duke.
We can take a goofy, lumbering oaf and turn him into a bearded, goofy, lumbering oaf who has secured a place in history, alongside other greats like Cherokee Parks and Erik Meek.
Next, I really have to hand it to the Selection Committee. Thanks guys -this wouldn't be possible if it weren't for you. Giving us a region with a Hummel-less Purdue was brilliant. Making Villanova our #2 was also very much appreciated, considering they have no player taller than 6'3. And Baylor as our #3 seed? You guys really outdid yourselves this year. Thanks so much fellas - it means a lot. By the way, I mailed out those "documents" you requested. You should be able to cash them...ahem...I mean look over them, by the end of the week.
And while we're on the subject - a special heartfelt thanks to the officiating crews this year. Thanks guys. Your thank-you cards (giant wink) will also be arriving this week. (pauses to hold back laughter) Block? Charge? Who the heck knows? (crowd laughs. Former guard Greg Paulus, seated in the crowd wearing a hat to hide the imprint of Danny Green's nuts on his forehead, nods his approval).
Also- a real shame about the injuries this year. No Robbie Hummel. No Truck Bryant. Da'Sean Butler goes down with nine minutes left in the game. Matt Howard playing with a slight concussion in the title game. Gosh darn- a real shame. Isn't it weird that those are all teams we played too? Must be a coincidence.
And I would be remiss if I didn't thank the Indianapolis Star for their mock drawing of me with devil horns and a target. That gave me a chance to really promote what we do here at Duke. You know- how we do things the right way. How our players take school seriously and graduate- just ask William Avery where he'd be today without that Duke degree. And how we play hard, but never dirty. I mean, you would never catch one of our players throwing an unwarranted elbow at someone.
But most of all, I was able to point out how we recruit the right kinds of kids. Kids who aren't caught up with the sleazy underworld of amateur basketball, and aren't just using college as a quick stop to the NBA. You know- kids like Corey Maggette. So thanks to whichever reported cooked that one up- you just gave me a chance to show off what a great school we have here. Hey, and even the girls are cute too!!
Now I can already hear the critics. They say we had a favorable path to the title. That we got lucky. That we won in a year where there were no great teams. That we're the worst team to win a national title in quite some time. Well...screw all of you. We won the title, and we paid for it...excuse me...played for it, fair and square. Did I say paid? (nervously chuckles) Why did I say that? I didn't mean it- I swear. I meant that we won by playing hard. Yeah, that's it.
So to all of you out there that hate us..well I really have nothing to say to you. Clearly, you're just jealous that we found the perfect combination of white guys, bad officiating and favorable seeding. So let's hear it for these guys! (Crowd roars. America collectively throws up).
* 2009-10 was deemed a down year for college basketball, and basketball fans have agreed that the championship meant quite a bit less than in years' past. It was also agreed that Kentucky, Kansas, Syracuse and possibly even a few teams from the local YMCA would handily beat Duke in a game if given the chance. So technically, yes they won. But realistically, no one believes they're that good.
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05 April 2010
Tonight the lowly Butler Bulldogs will take on the mighty Duke Blue Devils for the 2010 NCAA basketball championship. At least that's what everyone wants you to believe. Butler spends $10 a month on their basketball team while Duke spends $250 million. Or something like that.
What everyone seems to be forgetting is that Butler didn't sneak up on anyone. How's that? Well, let's look at two preseason basketball polls. The AP Top 25 preseason poll shows Duke at #9 and Butler at #11. The ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll had Duke at #8 and Butler at #10. So everyone's Cinderella, a team that's not supposed to have a shot at taking down blue-blooded basketball royalty was supposed to be pretty good this year.
That's right, Butler was ranked only two spots below the Blue Devils in both preseason polls. They weren't an unranked and "come from nowhere" team. Everyone knew Butler had players before the season started. They were nearly a top ten team in both preseason polls.
So enough with the Cinderella stories. What everyone should be talking about tonight is how two good teams will be squaring off in the final game. Not two great teams, but two good teams that have played well in the tournament and deserve to be where they are.
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28 March 2010
Well the 2010 Final Four is set, and I think I speak for everyone when I say "Ugh".
Nothing against Butler- it's actually a pretty neat story to see a team from a small school that wins with hard-nosed, tough defense and opportunistic offense. And good for Michigan State, because getting back to the Final Four without your best player is quite an accomplishment. Heck, even West Virginia isn't that bad of a team to watch, given their defensive intensity and the theatrics of Da"Sean Butler. And Duke...well I'll just stop there.
But let's be honest. Are these really the teams we want to see here? I'm not a diehard fan of either team, but I have to admit the thought of a Syracuse/Kansas clash had me excited. And I was pretty pumped to see how UK's fabulous freshmen would matchup with the experience of Villanova's Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher. Then, I was pumped for what was sure to be a terrific title game between the Jayhawks and the Wildcats. I was even planning on surprising the Stadium Drives crew by heading to Lexington that night to watch the game and join in the celebration afterwards. Hey- I've got plenty of vacation days left this year - might as well use one to sleep off a national championship hangover right?
Instead, we're left with a Final Four that, let's face it, lacks a ton of luster. Michigan State and Duke both have rich traditions, but you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone outside of Durham or East Lansing who thought they would be title contenders this year. West Virginia is a very good team, but I don't know that anyone thought a team led by Bob Huggins that had trouble scoring would be two wins away from a national championship. And Butler? Well if you tell me that you picked them to come out of the West Region...you're obviously lying.
But regardless of brackets, expert analysts and preseason predictions, the field is set. We'll get to some predictions in a moment (and I know you're anxiously awaiting my predictions, seeing as how I did such a stellar job on my brackets to this point). But first let's recap how we arrived to this point.
