Something I learned from ESPN today...

Peter Gammons likes the way Evan Longoria holds his bat.

No. I'm not dead.

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Random Thoughts Not About Football Necessarily

Peter King style!

1. I think the pitch for the most recent Old Navy ad campaign was this: It's Christmas at Zoolander's apartment. Too bad a gas fight didn't break out.

2. Radiohead's In Rainbows is their most enjoyable album since OK Computer.

3. I still think there's a sociology thesis to be written on the role of race and the demographics of the audience in the selection of America's Next Top Model. But let that not cloud my congratulations to Poor-Man's Rihanna!

4. This weekend Shannon Sharpe told me the weather in Cleveland was "treach-you-us".

5. Speaking of terrible speaking, on the E! True Hollywood Story for "Hip Hop Wives", an editor for Jet magazine used the word "jury" multiple times when I believe she meant "jewelry". It's good to know that editing a major magazine with a wide circulation doesn't require pronunciation skills.

6. It took me two weekends, several hours, and three trips to Target to complete the job of hanging Christmas lights. It was here that I sensed the following conflicting/in perfect harmony emotions:

(a) dammit, why do these lights break so damn easily with just a single staple through the main line!

(b) great! these lights are on sale for just $2 a box!

I'm an idiot.

7. Cheers to Sam Adams for brewing a mass-produced cranberry lambic. OK, not exactly a true lambic, but it's kind of/sort of close. And at least the attempt gets some points in my book. Thumbs up for their cream stout, too.

8. If there's one thing in this world that is true, it's that it wouldn't be a Lemon party without old Dick.

9. Brett Favre is SI's Sportsman of the Year. Here are better options:

(a) Glenn McGrath. If the choice is an aging statesman, why not choose this guy (who plays in the sport with the largest worldwide audience this year)? In his final international cricket appearance, the 2007 Cricket World Cup, he was named Player of the Tournament, led the tournament in wickets (setting a record for most wickets taken in a single World Cup), topped the record for all-time wickets taken, and just so happened to lead his Australian team to their (another record) third-straight World Cup victory. He was named World Player of the Year at age 37 (quite old for the sport). If Favre is having a great autumn, McGrath was inconceivably great.

(b) Roger Federer. OK, let me just say this: It is absolutely ridiculous what Federer has done in the sport of tennis over the last few years, and this year very well might've been his best. Look at this year what he did in the major tournaments. Australian Open - defended his title, and DIDN'T LOSE A SINGLE SET IN THE ENTIRE TOURNAMENT (let me put that in perspective - the last man to do that in a Grand Slam event was Bjorn Borg in 1980). French Open - on his worst surface, he still made the final, losing in 4 sets to the best clay court player of this generation, Rafael Nadal. Wimbledon - won his 5th straight title (equaling Borg's record for the Open Era) in one of the best single game sporting events of the year, the 5-set beat-the-hell-out-of-each-other classic with Nadal. US Open - won his 4th straight title (a record for the Open Era), dropping only 2 sets the entire way (and beating world ranked 5, 4, and 3 consecutively, all in straight sets). In 2007 Federer set the all-time record (male or female) for consecutive weeks ranked #1 (he's topped the rankings since February 2004!). He's played in 10 consecutive Grand Slam finals, winning 8 of them. He won a second straight (and 4 of the last 5) Masters Series (year-end championship),. He also broke his own record for earnings in a season, becoming the world's first $10,000,000 earner. I think it's utterly ridiculous that Federer has never been named Sportsman of the Year. Nobody (yes, even Tiger Woods) is as good at his sport as Federer. I'm serious.

(c) Younis Mahmoud. Read the link.

10. I watched Hot Rod a second time, just to make sure I wasn't crazy about liking it. I think I may have even liked it more the second time (the dance punching in the woods is even funnier than I first thought, and the march/riot killed me). I pose this question to you: why isn't the band Europe held in as high regard as some of the other bands of the era? Do they not totally rule every bit as much?

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Something I Meant to Write About

A few months ago, I wanted to write about the Chris Benoit family murder-suicide. I'm not a big wrestling fan, but I definitely had about a 3-6 month run where I followed it. And Benoit was one of my favorite performers, mainly because he didn't seem so character-ish. He was just kind of a guy that could do cool looking things. He didn't rely on charisma or looks (he really couldn't). Seemed to me like he was one of the few wrestlers who was real. Of the matches that I remember actually watching, there are probably 3, and Benoit was probably involved in 2 of them. The murder-suicide was just terribly sad.

But there was one thing that always kept in my mind right after the details of the crimes came out. While a lot of the coverage focused on his doctor and ilicit use of steroids or human growth hormone (thinking the murders occurred as a result of "roid rage"), I had a sneaking suspicion that his mental problems that led to the crimes may have had more to do with repeated and frequent concussions than steroid usage.

It hasn't had the big expose that it probably deserves, but the correlation between concussions and mental illness among NFL veterans is a story. Andre Waters commits suicide at 44. Ted Johnson battles depression and has early onset of Alzheimer's Disease at 34. Mike Webster died at 50 after suffering from dementia, amnesia and depression. Terry Long commits suicide at 45, having suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy ("punch-drunk syndrome"). Justin Strzelczyk leads police on a 37-mile high speed chase at 100 miles an hour, leading to a fiery wreck that cost him his life, with no alcohol in his system, after being diagnosed with depression, psychoses and manic behavior. Head injuries and concussions may have affected all of them.

And now there's Chris Benoit. This morning, I read the same sort of study was done on Chris Benoit's brain after his suicide, and there are similarities. Similar early-onset Alzheimer's. Multiple concussions in his medical history.

Concussions are an unknown area. We just don't know how bad they are. And it's terrible that there may be other athletes and former athletes who suffer from the effects of concussions, and whose mental health has been endangered.

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Things I always wanted to write down for posterity

I have been far too busy/lazy over the last few months and I know I've missed a few brief posts about sports related things... I'll put it behind the fold because it's all dated now.

1. Hawks' draft. I liked it a lot. If they couldn't trade the pick for a superstar (and now I kind of wonder whether Amare was ever an option), and I don't think they'll be able to make any trades until the ownership situation is resolved, then they had to get the best two players they could. Assuming (and Billy Knight and others told us this) that the Hawks had to get a frontcourt player and a point guard with their two picks, I think they did as well as they could have. Horford and Law are a good pair, and I think Horford has a shot to be very good. Some might've argued that Conley has more upside than Horford. Perhaps. But had the Hawks picked Conley instead of Horford (and assume Memphis took Horford and the rest of the draft went to form), the best available PF/C would've been Sean Williams (talented, but major question marks and a huge reach at 11) or Jason Smith (not as talented as Williams, and an even bigger reach), and the only other frontcourt player drafted in the first round was Tiago Splitter. Basically, had the Hawks grabbed the PG first and hoped that a PF fell to them, they would've been bit in the ass (forced to reach or draft for an unneeded position). So the draft was good for the Hawks. I'm not sure they'll be great next year, but they will be better, and if they can find some money to extend Smith, the next yea they could be very good. ADDED: I forgot to mention it... yes, my analysis of the Hawks' draft is subject to attack from this angle - what if Law had gotten drafted earlier. My view is that there were a couple of other PGs available who wouldn't have been a terrible dropoff from Law (namely Belinelli and Crittendon). Also, I thought it not so likely that Law would've been drafted earlier. Perhaps if the Hawks had taken Conley, they could've gotten lucky by having someone else take Law earlier and had Spencer Hawes or Joakim Noah dropped, but I think that would've taken a lot of prayer (from memory, I don't recall Law being ahead of either of those guys on any mock draft).

2. I am oddly disturbed by the visage of Jerome Jurenovich on the Braves' post-game show. I remember his bodiless voice reading the sports highlights :19 after the hour on Headline News, way back in the day before ESPNews and the internet and constant tickers. When I needed sports news in my early teens, he provided it. And now that I see him, it's kind of like the Wizard of Oz.

3. Like I wrote in the Teixeira post, I read Baseball Between the Numbers, by the editors of Baseball Prospectus, and I recommend it highly. It's heavy math, but very much worth it. I should've been writing posts nightly on what interested me as I read it. Now I'm having trouble pointing to the right spots. The chapter on usage of relievers was fascinating to me - recalled Michael Lewis' article (can't find the direct link) on punting in ESPN the magazine from last December. Basically, it seems like every manager uses relievers inefficiently - and one just wonders when someone will actually challenge conventional wisdom and try something different. Chapter 6-2 is probably my favorite chapter of all, because I've always had an odd interest in stadia. If you don't mind challenging your brain in a sports book, read this.

4. I'm no die hard follower, but I will say that the doping scandals didn't prevent me from paying that much attention to the Tour de France this year. I watched parts of probably 5 stages (all in the mountains and on the Champs Elysees) and the whole of the final time trial - which was awesome. My personal feeling on doping is that its deplorable, but as long as usage/testing/prevention across the board (as in, if they're going to stop it, they stop everyone and if they can't they're not only stopping some) and that the competition is relatively close, I don't know if I can tell the difference. I'm a dilettante at it, so what do I care. I watch for some of the action and the interest in the way the racers exert themselves, but I probably watch more for the views and the crowds. And speaking of the crowds, on the last day in the Pyrenees, did anyone else see the dude in the last few km dressed in a massive penis costume? Hilarious drunkenness on those slopes. I need to go there some summer.

5. I love the current Braves' lineup. Love it. And for once, the Braves will be the annoying team to face late in the season in important games. You know... that team that fouls off a ton of pitches and works counts deep. Guys like Kelly Johnson, Matt Diaz, Willie Harris. And Chipper is having one hell of a year.

6. Not old, but I think Eric Byrnes' contract extension was insane. $10M a year for a 31 year old guy who is pretty much an average major leaguer over his career, and has a career year this late. Bad idea. And worse... if Eric Byrnes is worth $10M, every other decent outfielder free agent is going to get paid. Bad news for the Braves.

7. I watched a good part of the MLS match between Toronto and the Galaxy the other day. Toronto's fans are so damn cool it makes me terribly jealous. They're not very good right now, but if I had to guess what team will end up the best franchise in the league in a decade, it's them. And in my own personal battle of trying to choose an MLS team to follow/halfway support, Toronto took the lead from Houston.

8. I don't have much to say about it, but the Wimbledon mens' singles final was incredible. A special match. Federer is such a beast. And as much as I hate Nadal's fashion sense, he's a really good player.

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Half Volleys

Time is not on my side, so here are thoughts in short form...

1) Matt Schaub trade: not as good a deal as the Falcons could probably have gotten a year ago, but also far better than paying that much for a backup who can walk for nothing in 10 months. The two spot move this year means the Falcons will get one of the following players, each of whom would make a serious impact: Gaines Adams, Jamaal Anderson, Levi Brown, Joe Thomas, LaRon Landry. Here's hoping one of the tackles drops to 8. The #39 pick will not be a bad pick either. There will be first round talent at that spot (Winston Justice last year went 39; Lofa Tatupu went around there in '05; Bob Sanders went around there in '04). Another option would be to flip that extra second rounder and another pick to move into the late first round - and maybe steal a guy like Reggie Nelson. Another second rounder next year makes the deal even better. This trade was a decent play. A better play probably would've been to sell Schaub a little higher a year ago, but as of right now, I don't know if the Falcons could've gotten a better deal (nobody was signing Schaub and giving the 1 and 3).

2) Like, a third of the world's population only cares about one thing right now: the Cricket World Cup. As a nonconformist and internationalist, I've tried to follow it a little. A bit of background: a decade ago I spent the summer in England, and tried for 6 weeks to teach myself how the rules of cricket operate via county cricket in pubs and box scores in the Guardian. Needless to say, I don't think I did a good job at it. The World Cup is a bit simpler to understand, since it's one-day internationals and the rules seem a little simpler, to me at least. Anyway, there's a host of odd storylines coming out of the Cup. Namely, major upsets. Pakistan and India are two of the better teams, and both have lost to teams with weaker reputations. Despite an upset loss to youthful Bangladesh, India still have a chance to advance to the knockout next round with a win over Sri Lanka (thanks, mainly, to a rout of Bermuda). A loss to Sri Lanka probably means India are heading back to the subcontinent. But at least they still have hope. India's neighbors to the west, Pakistan, are already heading home. The big story has been the death of manager Bob Woolmer under suspicious circumstances. But that was all after Pakistan had already been eliminated by the Irish on St. Patrick's day. We Americans might not know better, but Ireland isn't exactly a huge hotspot for cricket. The Republic kind of doesn't like to act like a good colony. So the win over Pakistan was a massive, massive upset. And with Pakistan's win over Zimbabwe today, the Irish have clinched advancement to the knockout next round before their match against the Windies. The bad news is that Ireland will face either England or New Zealand in the next round be likely the worst team left in the tournament and will face all the other good teams - meaning probable elimination before the final four. Still it's been a great cup for Ireland, and a total disaster for Pakistan. And that'll probably be the last I mention cricket on here. But it does give something to follow along during the day for the next few weeks.

[I edited this because I realized it was messed up.]

3) Part One of LD's theories without statistical support or serious research backing it up...

An idea I noticed last year and maybe the previous year in the NCAA basketball tournament hasn't come up again this year, until this weekend. Domes and their effect on games. I've been to watch games in the Georgia Dome, and I honestly believe it has an effect on the game. There is a difference between the background players shoot against in domes from that background in a smaller NBA-type building. Teams that rely on three point shooting for their offense might have problems when they start playing in domes. Teams that rely on frontcourt power, rebounding and high-percentage shots are less susceptible to that kind of effect. I noticed it last year in the regionals. Last year two regionals and the Final Four were held in domes. In the two regionals held in domes (Atlanta and Minneapolis), the highest rated seeds had major strengths in the perimeter (Duke and Villanova). Both those teams eventually lost to teams with far stronger emphasis on frontcourt play (LSU and Florida). Duke in particular seemed to struggle with shooting in the dome - J.J. Redick went 3 for 18!

Now, this year there haven't been any games played in domes so far, but they start doing so tomorrow, in the Alamodome and the Edward James Dome in St. Louis.

In St. Louis, my guess is that the dome helps Florida, who has probably the strongest frontcourt out of Butler, UNLV and Oregon. Butler in particular appears susceptible to dome-related poor shooting - their best two players are guards, and Graves, their best player is particularly reliant on 3-pt shooting. Oregon is one of the most frequent shooting teams from behind the arc. Many pundits have said that Florida has an easy path in terms of the other teams in the region, but with the effect of the dome on outside shooting (which I have little concrete evidence to back up my assertion), Florida might have an even better chance at defending their title.

In San Antonio, the dome is a little smaller, and it's an NBA arena already it was an NBA arena for a decade or so, so the depth and angles might not be a perfect fit for my theory. Regardless, Ohio State probably has some advantage, even though they have strong guard play. Oden upfront provides a better option than just about anyone in the nation in the middle. Their first opponent, Tennessee, features an offense that takes a ton of threes and whose best players rely on outside jumpers. Memphis plays uptempo, and is pretty balanced. Texas A&M runs a lot of high screens for 3-pt shots. The Aggies have good shooters - but if they went cold the offense could suffer.

Basically, I'd guess Florida and Ohio State have some advantage because their regions are played in domes. Then the next week in the Georgia Dome, who knows how it'll be, depending on the other teams that advance. Perhaps I'll actually have to update my blog again this month.

4) Part Two of LD's theories without statistical support or serious research backing it up...

The University of South Carolina wants to ruin international soccer, or at least cause headaches for lots of players involved in it.

First, a few weeks ago some college football dudes noticed the trials and tribulations of the hair-apparent (booo...) to Steve Taneyhill's legacy for the Cocks, Stephen Garcia. Dude was arrested (the first time, not the keying) for public drunkeness and not responding to a cop. How was it that Garcia got so drunk? He was pounding away at a birthday party at Columbia's Knock Knock Club for West Ham United defender Anton Ferdinand. Anton, the not as talented but equally as obnoxious brother of England and Man U international Rio Ferdinand, for some reason wanted to celebrate his 22nd birthday with some of his friends who play for the Cocks' soccer team in Columbia, rather than, on his own continent, during the season, etc. In fact, the story is that Anton lied to the club about his whereabouts. He said he was visiting a sick grandmother or something, not going to Columbia to get drunk. I gotta tell ya... I find this whole story weird. Stephen Garcia and Anton Ferdinand in the same news item? Odd.

Then this week there was a bigger name involved in a fracas concerning someone related to the USC athletic department. This week Inter Milan and Brazil stud Adriano got into a bar fight with Rolando Howell, a basketball player for Varese who played his college ball at, yep, South Carolina. Howell's a 6'9" Center in the Italian league. Evidently the fight was over a woman, some Italian celebrity.

So in a span of a few weeks, not one, but two international soccer players have incidents with legal implications, and both are somehow connected with the University of South Carolina. Coincidence? How could this be a coincidence. Clearly USC has it in for the entire international sporting community.

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