Maybe I should make some changes around here....

I recently received a link to a friend's blog, and realized he had linked to about 12 other people who blogged on his sidebar (yours truly included). It got me thinking how unfinished this blog look is, and with a possible opportunity to write for a larger, more established audience on another blog, I may want to clean this up. So, if it's crappy weather or I'm just in need of something to do to keep me away from doing something stupid. look for little tweaks here and there.

Of course, since it's also supposed to be 68 degrees here on Saturday, it may not happen for a little while.

P.S. Did I mention baseball has started? Ok, because it has. So if the top sports story in your local paper isn't about spring training, last night's basketball game, or last night's hockey game, call your paper and complain. This is null and void in markets where a certain brutish sport is the only game in town (I'm looking at you, Jacksonville!)

Catch up day

In the midst of being concerned for those I know who attend Northern Illinois University over the past couple days, I put off posting some of these things until today. Please pray for that campus.

• Back in the early 1990's, a young assistant coach in the Big 10 blew the whistle of recruiting violations involving Dion Thomas and the Fighting Illini basketball team. That coach went on to be one of the more popular coaches today. He is Bruce Pearl. Illini fans still don't like him, but they like him more than the Cheater In Loosierville. Well, I think my fellow Illini will have the last laugh after all, with the news involving Mr. Cheater a.k.a. Kelvin Sampson. Here's thinking Eric Gordon is the blacked out name in this smackdown from the NCAA.
  
• The sweetest words in February aren't "Happy Valentine's Day!" or "Happy Birthday Matt!" No, my friends, they are simply these: PITCHERS AND CATCHERS REPORT! The White Sox will finish at least 3rd, and the Rockies won't need an improbable run to get to the postseason. However, Mr. Dempster makes me laugh. Keep dreaming, Cubdom!

The audacity of it!

Ok, so the Obamanator and the Straight Talk Express made clean sweeps tonight in the 3 primaries held out east. So, being the news and political junkie that I am at times, I've spent most of the last hour consuming the candidates speeches on TV (along with a pepperoni pizza). And, after hearing a few initial words from the Mac Attack, stumping like someone who is campaigning for November rather than March, I had one thought:

"Hope? He's trying to run with someone else's campaign theme!"

Ladies and gentlemen, he may not get the nomination, but Barack Obama is leading the change in the tone of political campaigning. If this can correlate to his promises for change in Washington, look out, World.

I just pray that the corruption of the R.M. Daley Machine that now dominates the state he represents and the party which he is a part of in that state doesn't prove him to be in bed with those he purports himself to be a part from and destroy his campaign.

Hint to all the athletes in the world

I meant to highlight this the day I read it, but Darren Rovell's blog on CNBC has ran excerps of interviews he did with Nike execs for their hour special on the company. I found this comparison between MJ and LeBron by Nike's Charlie Denson very interesting. Have a look. It's the last Q&A.

Holy crap!

Why weren't the Packers in the Super Bowl? That's been the dominant thought in my head for 2 weeks with regards to anything about American professional football (not to be confused with the real football). But, being the sports maniac that I am, I went to a party and watched the game, expecting a massive boredom fest while the Patriots ran a coronation lap (I'm comment #1, and thanks to Joe for his excellent blog). Instead, I watched what might just be Patriots equivalent of the New York Yankees in the 2001 World Series. Let me draw the comparisons:

1. Both championships looked like there was a chance it could be competitive, but you never thought beforehand that the underdog would actually pull it off. Granted, the 2001 Yanks weren't the 1998 team, but in the wake of terror, there was a sentiment that they were destined to win and lift a city's broken spirit. The Patriots were merely staring down a perfect season.
   
2. The contest for the championship is surprisingly closer than expected after it is more than half completed. Did you expect the Super Bowl to be 7-3 at half? After the third quarter? Didn't think so. Did you expect the D-Backs to be able to win Game 6 down 3-2 after 2 blown saves by Byung Hyun Kim? Didn't think so.
   
3. At a point late in the contest, there was a sense of it's over, and the dynasty will remain on top, even though there was ample time for it to change. See #2 for 2001 WS. Tom Brady throws a go ahead TD to Randy Moss? Game over, because you know the Pats D will hold. It's just gotta happen, right?
   
4. Some amazing sequence of events right at the end enables the upset. 9th Inning, Game 7, Yanks up 2-1. Mo Rivera on the mound. Game over, right? WRONG! Tell me you've seen a wilder finish to a Series and I'll ask if you were alive for any of these games (Tip of the Hat to Hardball Times). Back to tonight: Wasn't Eli down on that one scrum? And yet somehow he gets away and completes a 45 yard pass to put the Giants within a desperate fade route of a miracle if needed. Then Plaxico Burress finally gets open like he did against the Pa.... on second thought, we won't relive that, lest I damage my monitor with the mouse hurled through it.

Now that is over and the Giants have allowed the '72 Dolphins to enjoy their champagne, I can't help but think one thing.

It should have been the Packers. But they blew it.

It's about time!

While my football interest usually revolves around 2 teams, there is one issue that has been in my craw since last year's Super Bowl. The Pro Football Hall of Fame usually gets a shrug off when it announces its inductees right around the Super Bowl, but for years the selection committee omitted a very gifted receiver by the name of Art Monk. Now, he wasn't the best receiver of his era, but that's because he played at the same time some guy named Jerry Rice played, and if I remember correctly, #80 for the Niners was pretty darn good. But, he did hold the receptions record prior to Rice, and was the key receiver for 2 Redskin Super Bowl teams.

In the mid-90's, there was another receiver who drew a lot of comparisons to Monk in his style of play. But, he was more flamboyant, annoying, and a Dallas Cowboy. He happens to work for the East Coast Leader in Sports, the Eastern Sports Programming Network, and was elected last year to the aforementioned shrine in Canton, OH. Yet, I never believed Mr. Irvin should have been there ahead of Mr. Monk. Yes, Mr. Irvin had more physical tools to help him out, particularly his size. But, in my opinion, Mr. Monk was the better receiver and should have been inducted ahead of Mr. Irvin.

So a Colbert-esque "Tip of the Hat" to Art Monk today, as he is now immortalized with his own bust in that Ohio museum.