It's National Signing Day and the Notre Dame momentum is starting to build. We've been disappointed so many times on NSD, but the Irish have gotten two huge commitments today.
Everyone knows about Manti Teʻo as he's arguably the top defensive recruit in the country and is easily the best ND defensive recruit in the last 20 seasons. He is one of those difference makers the ND defense needs more of (Ethan Johnson, Darrin Walls, hopefully Steve Filer).
And this afternoon ND got another commitment from a five-star player. Chris Martin is a five-star defensive end recruit for the class of 2010. He's from California, had a USC offer and is possibly the best defensive recruit from the state of California.
Those are two bellweather recruits that closes the talent gap between Notre Dame and SC.
So ND has three commitments for the class of 2010, two five stars and one four star. You can't over-state the effect momentum has in recruiting.
Things are turning around. I'm not on the bandwagon yet (dominating offensive/defensive line play against inferior opponents is a must), but I continue to want those guys to succeed.
Just look at the video on UND.com of the coaches reacting to the Manti Teʻo announcement.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Things have been entirely too mundane around here...
...so here's a little bit to get your blood pumping:
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Super Sunday
A big football game took place Sunday.
Liverpool defeated Chelsea at Anfield behind an eleventh hour brace from Fernando Torres (the man who led Spain past Germany in last year's Euro 2008 final to crown the Iberians as Europe's finest. I'll remind everyone that Italy are still campioni del mondo until South Africa next year.)
The Spaniard's first goal came in the 89th minute, and his double was completed just a blink of the eye later in the 90th. Today's match also saw Chelsea's Frank Lampard sent off with a straight red card following a dangerous tackle. The home victory keeps Liverpool breathing down the neck of holders Manchester United, just two points ahead.
Oh, and there's another big football game stateside in Florida, with Pittsburgh taking on the debutantes from Arizona. I'm picking the Steelers to win, but the Cardinals to cover the 6.5 points.
Liverpool defeated Chelsea at Anfield behind an eleventh hour brace from Fernando Torres (the man who led Spain past Germany in last year's Euro 2008 final to crown the Iberians as Europe's finest. I'll remind everyone that Italy are still campioni del mondo until South Africa next year.)
The Spaniard's first goal came in the 89th minute, and his double was completed just a blink of the eye later in the 90th. Today's match also saw Chelsea's Frank Lampard sent off with a straight red card following a dangerous tackle. The home victory keeps Liverpool breathing down the neck of holders Manchester United, just two points ahead.
Oh, and there's another big football game stateside in Florida, with Pittsburgh taking on the debutantes from Arizona. I'm picking the Steelers to win, but the Cardinals to cover the 6.5 points.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Kind of speechless, actually.
10 bonus point for whoever can replicate this effort.
Really makes you feel good about all that security you need to go through nowadays. Of course, this is being said by a Rockies who, during a game in early June while it's raining would probably be ejected for requesting to upgrade seats from the Rockpile to something a bit closer.
I need lessons from Lionel.
Really makes you feel good about all that security you need to go through nowadays. Of course, this is being said by a Rockies who, during a game in early June while it's raining would probably be ejected for requesting to upgrade seats from the Rockpile to something a bit closer.
I need lessons from Lionel.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Sports Nicknames
Here's a quick Top Ten:
1) 'Terrible' Ted Lindsay - Red Wing or not, don't mess with Ted.
2) Dave 'The Hammer' Schultz - The meanest member of Philadelphia's famed Broad Street Bullies teams that won back-to-back Stanley Cups in the 1970's, his nickname and these pictures speak for themselves.
3) Stan 'The Man' Musial - Had he been named Frank or Sebastian, he still would have been nicknamed The Man.
4) Wolf 'The Dentist' Stansson - "Because he has the record for knocking out the most teeth ever in the NHL." And I'm sure he still owes Gordon Bombay that beach ball.
5) 'The Galloping Ghost' Red Grange - America's first football superstar got a timeless nickname, the kind that passed by with the golden age of sports.
6) Shaquille 'The Big Aristotle' O'Neal - Maybe a stretch to make the cut, but how can you not include a man who's been such an icon both on the court and off?
7) Chris 'Knuckles' Nilan - Neither the game’s best fighter nor a skilled hockey player, he did have a killer nickname that highlighted the best part of his game. Rather than a photo, here's a video of him inciting a riot. (Real footage starts around the 4:00 mark. At 4:35 the linesman surely saves somebody's life. At 5:48 the commentator takes the role of Nostradamus, and all hell breaks loose starting at 6:06.)
8) Philip 'Joan' Rivers - You're not Bob Stoops, so stop whining to the referees. Ass hat.
9) Andre ‘Red Light’ Racicot – Not as endearing as some of the other nicknames on this list, but it aptly described what was seen behind him when he manned the pipes. However, he did get his name engraved on The Stanley Cup in 1993 as Patrick Roy’s backup. ('Red Light' is a nickname that could be used for Eugene Robinson and Denny Neagle for an entirely different reason.)
10) William 'The Refrigerator' Perry - He may be large, but he's no dumb cookie. I can't decide which is better - The Punky QB with his 1980s shades or Samurai Mike with his 1980s Harry Caray spectacles.
On the subject of nicknames, why are they being recycled?
-'Vinsanity' was first used for the high-flying dunk machine in Toronto; when a QB phenom also named Vince emerged, did he really have to get re-tagged with Vinsanity?
-Sugar is the nickname for some of boxing's greatest fighters. Walker Smith, Jr. (known as Sugar Ray Robinson in the ring) was the first professor of the sweet science to be dubbed 'Sugar,' and is regarded by some as the greatest pugilist of all-time. But later Ray Leonard and Shane Mosley (who just pummelled Antonio Margarito for the welterweight title last weekend in Los Angeles) would also have the name bestowed upon them.
-LT was the unoriginal nickname for one of the best linebackers the NFL has ever known. But now a new L(D)T is on the scene, and is being called by the same name. I understand that they are the man's initials, but when it becomes synonymous with one man I thinks it's pretty lazy to re-use it for someone else.
-Another initials ripoff if LJ, with both having the same name - here's the original, and here's version 2.0.
Speaking of the unoriginality of LT and LJ, any nickname that is the man's initials is really pretty lazy. MJ, AI, KG, and TO all have better nicknames (Air, The Answer (just not in Denver), The Big Ticket, and Soap Opera respectively). Things like 'A-Rod' and 'D-Wade' are no better.
And why is LeBron James being dumbed down to LBJ? Our 36th president has the LBJ distinction. Besides, Mr. James was given - rather early in his career - the regal nickname 'King James.'
Why give Chris Paul the bourgeois nickname CP3? It's just his initials with his jersey number tagged onto the end, and makes him sound like a droid.
But the worst has to be Red Sox ace Daisuke Matsuzaka. Dice-K? That's just an American's poor pronunciation of his actual first name. (I'm willing to bet that ESPN's Jayson Stark is to blame for this. Stark refuses to just write 'Ken Griffey, Jr' in any column. He always writes him as 'Junior Griffey.') Simply 'Dice' would be much cooler for the Japanese hurler.
In conclusion, the award for the most creative nickname goes to an English football (soccer) defender of club Queen's Park Rangers: 'One Size' Fitz Hall.
1) 'Terrible' Ted Lindsay - Red Wing or not, don't mess with Ted.
2) Dave 'The Hammer' Schultz - The meanest member of Philadelphia's famed Broad Street Bullies teams that won back-to-back Stanley Cups in the 1970's, his nickname and these pictures speak for themselves.
3) Stan 'The Man' Musial - Had he been named Frank or Sebastian, he still would have been nicknamed The Man.
4) Wolf 'The Dentist' Stansson - "Because he has the record for knocking out the most teeth ever in the NHL." And I'm sure he still owes Gordon Bombay that beach ball.
5) 'The Galloping Ghost' Red Grange - America's first football superstar got a timeless nickname, the kind that passed by with the golden age of sports.
6) Shaquille 'The Big Aristotle' O'Neal - Maybe a stretch to make the cut, but how can you not include a man who's been such an icon both on the court and off?
7) Chris 'Knuckles' Nilan - Neither the game’s best fighter nor a skilled hockey player, he did have a killer nickname that highlighted the best part of his game. Rather than a photo, here's a video of him inciting a riot. (Real footage starts around the 4:00 mark. At 4:35 the linesman surely saves somebody's life. At 5:48 the commentator takes the role of Nostradamus, and all hell breaks loose starting at 6:06.)
8) Philip 'Joan' Rivers - You're not Bob Stoops, so stop whining to the referees. Ass hat.
9) Andre ‘Red Light’ Racicot – Not as endearing as some of the other nicknames on this list, but it aptly described what was seen behind him when he manned the pipes. However, he did get his name engraved on The Stanley Cup in 1993 as Patrick Roy’s backup. ('Red Light' is a nickname that could be used for Eugene Robinson and Denny Neagle for an entirely different reason.)
10) William 'The Refrigerator' Perry - He may be large, but he's no dumb cookie. I can't decide which is better - The Punky QB with his 1980s shades or Samurai Mike with his 1980s Harry Caray spectacles.
On the subject of nicknames, why are they being recycled?
-We all know who the most famous Hammerin' Hank is. But do you know the original Hammerin' Hank? These two are true baseball legends. I've heard the blasphemy of another Hank in baseball being preceded with 'Hammerin.'
-'Pudge' is the nickname for two of the better catchers baseball has ever seen. I guess the latter (trying to save Robin Ventura's life) was tagged as a kid and it stuck, but we all know the original.
-'Vinsanity' was first used for the high-flying dunk machine in Toronto; when a QB phenom also named Vince emerged, did he really have to get re-tagged with Vinsanity?
-Sugar is the nickname for some of boxing's greatest fighters. Walker Smith, Jr. (known as Sugar Ray Robinson in the ring) was the first professor of the sweet science to be dubbed 'Sugar,' and is regarded by some as the greatest pugilist of all-time. But later Ray Leonard and Shane Mosley (who just pummelled Antonio Margarito for the welterweight title last weekend in Los Angeles) would also have the name bestowed upon them.
-LT was the unoriginal nickname for one of the best linebackers the NFL has ever known. But now a new L(D)T is on the scene, and is being called by the same name. I understand that they are the man's initials, but when it becomes synonymous with one man I thinks it's pretty lazy to re-use it for someone else.
-Another initials ripoff if LJ, with both having the same name - here's the original, and here's version 2.0.
Speaking of the unoriginality of LT and LJ, any nickname that is the man's initials is really pretty lazy. MJ, AI, KG, and TO all have better nicknames (Air, The Answer (just not in Denver), The Big Ticket, and Soap Opera respectively). Things like 'A-Rod' and 'D-Wade' are no better.
And why is LeBron James being dumbed down to LBJ? Our 36th president has the LBJ distinction. Besides, Mr. James was given - rather early in his career - the regal nickname 'King James.'
Why give Chris Paul the bourgeois nickname CP3? It's just his initials with his jersey number tagged onto the end, and makes him sound like a droid.
But the worst has to be Red Sox ace Daisuke Matsuzaka. Dice-K? That's just an American's poor pronunciation of his actual first name. (I'm willing to bet that ESPN's Jayson Stark is to blame for this. Stark refuses to just write 'Ken Griffey, Jr' in any column. He always writes him as 'Junior Griffey.') Simply 'Dice' would be much cooler for the Japanese hurler.
In conclusion, the award for the most creative nickname goes to an English football (soccer) defender of club Queen's Park Rangers: 'One Size' Fitz Hall.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Recap of the NHL All-Star Game
Moving past the immediate issue that fan voting - while seemingly noble is not representative of the quality of the players voted for starting positions (i.e. Ovechkin not being named a starter yet he's the best player in the world right now), it was at least fitting to see him secure the shootout win for the East. There seems to be concern that the All Star game is searching for relevance. Burnside makes some good points about how players are getting there, hopefully the league can work that out. Moving on, here were the highlights from the evening:
- Kovalev wins the MVP award in front of the Montreal fans
- Video montage of Top 10 plays of the year so far (ESPN had Ovie's goal against Buffalo at 10 though Vs had it at #4)
- Tim Thomas (don't like Boston, but apparently he's gotten past his lack of conditioning from his Vermont days, he was pretty amazing)
- Lundqvist getting shelled, yet he's still better than Al Montoya
That being said, if no one's going to play defense - which is fine...and this game is just for fun and to showcase ridiculous things (read: Malkin's between the legs goal), then why not just play it 4 v 4, so there's more open ice? The YoungStars game is ridiculous at 3 v 3, but is a bit like Wayne Gretzkey's 3D Hockey (for N64). Why not take out icing while you're at it, and goalies can't freeze the puck? Then you pretty much have a total "pick-up" game of the best players in the world doing the most absurd things that will make every kid want to immediately go play street hockey so he can try and make that same move.
On a side note - that was a BS call that gave the decision to the judges for the Cerrone/ Varner fight. At the very least, the Colorado guys on this blog can say that they we knew Cerrone back in the day - and I truthfully never saw this coming. Good for him, it's better than prison I guess (in the words of Lanier).
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