THE DOMINOES ARE STARTING TO FALL: NEBRASKA TO THE BIG TEN BY FRIDAY?

With all the rumors and innuendo going around the college football landscape about conference realignment it's hard to distinguish what is actually got validity and what is bull shit. This report from the Omaha.com seems to have an element of truth...

An executive at a Big 12 school relayed to The World-Herald on Tuesday that he expects Nebraska to become a member of the Big Ten as early as Friday.
NU Chancellor Harvey Perlman has declined all interviews about conference realignment and expansion. He is expected to address the topic with the Board of Regents at its Friday meeting in Lincoln.

Direct confirmation from Nebraska of a conference change for the Huskers wasn't immediately available. Sources at two other Big 12 schools told The World-Herald that their athletic directors have instructed them to be ready by week's end for a briefing on probable Big 12 changes.
Nebraska A.D. Tom Osborne offered implicit confirmation Tuesday night that the timetable on national conference realignment has been accelerated.

On his monthly appearance on the Husker Sports Network, Osborne said:

“I think before too long — I don't know exactly what that time frame is — we'll be able to put this to bed,'' then he jokingly added, “because I'm getting tired of it.''

Fuck yeah! I'm excited about change in the college football world. The Big 10/11 will now have 12 teams and will surely look to add 4 more after Nebraska switches. My hope is Notre Dame follows suit and switches to the conference. Give it up ND folks. It's beyond time to join a conference because the schedule will get watered down with shit opponents. Then every conference goes bat shit crazy and looks to swoop in and get schools before they fall like Roman Empire. The SEC should get Texas and Oklahoma from the Big 12. Make it happen. The PAC 10 should try to get Texas A&M, Utah, BYU, Boise State, TCU and Colorado. The Big 10 can go after Kansas and Pittsburgh among others.

Nebraska will get the ball rolling on Friday...hopefully. Everything else will fall in place. Now we just need a playoff system.

STRASBURG FOR PRESIDENT!

With keeping in the StrasburgCrack.com theme we got this week this story was sent in to us by loyal reader John McPeters. I thought it was worth the read. Check it out....

OK, look, maybe President is ridiculous, but I wouldn’t put it past ESPN to endorse it. Call me a cynic, but let’s get one thing straight, Stephen Strasburg’s debut was impressive to say the least, but come one, how much hype can one kid live up to. Yes, his fastball topped at 103 MPH and he was consistently clocked at 95 MPH and above. Strasburg’s change up was clocked as high as 91 MPH and his “slurve” (slow curve for those of you who are not hip to the baseball lingo) dropped another 10 MPH to 81 MPH. Simply stated… sick. Here’s my issue, the kid has had 11 professional appearances before being promoted to the Majors. He’s had 1 start. Let me repeat this, 1 start which was his first time pitching past the 6th inning as a professional. His first major league start was against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the perennial cellar team in the NL Central, known more for trading franchise players than hitting above the Mendoza Line. Even before his start, ESPN was practically giving away the Rookie of the Year award when he got drafted. I’m all about giving credit where credit is due, but dubbing this kid the future of baseball before his first start is a bit much. Let’s be realistic for a minute, barring injury, Strasburg no doubt has the tools to become one of the greatest pitchers of all time, but what if he doesn’t. I can think of quite a few “busts” with all the hype in the world who have seemingly fizzled out of the limelight.

How about “the Natural” Jeff Francouer. Atlanta’s own beloved “Frenchy” was a high school legend in both football and baseball, the hometown kid tore up the minor leagues. After a big league call up, Jeff batted .300 with 14 homers and 45 RBIs in his first 70 games. Not bad for a 21 year old, actually, not bad for anyone. In his first full year, “Frenchy” played in 162 games, batting .260 with 29 homers and 103 RBIs. In his second full year, Jeff hit .293 with 19 homers and 105 RBIs seemingly cementing the hype surrounding his nickname and proving his high school legend was all but a fluke. In 2008, Jeff was sent back to the minors by his beloved hometown team to get his head right and finished the season batting .239 with 11 home runs and 79 RBIs. His poor plate discipline got him traded to the New York Mets where he has seemingly had somewhat of a resurgence, the “future face of the Braves organization” was quickly “shaved clean” after not living up to his enormous billing.

“King” Felix Hernandez was dubbed the Lebron James of baseball. Called up in 2005 after being billed as unhittable, went 4-4 with a respectable 2.67 ERA. Since then he’s had one, I repeat, one dominant season. In 2008, Felix went 19-5 with a 2.49 ERA and 217 Ks in 238 innings. His combined record in just over 5 major league seasons is 61-46 with a lifetime ERA of 3.48. Not bad numbers, but my definition of unhittable would not include 3 losing seasons with ERAs in each of his season hovering around 4.00. I’m not faulting Hernandez at all, he’s definitely become a solid pro pitcher, but his career numbers do not live up to the hype that was.

If you want to cross sports, let’s talk football, Jamarcus Russell, Ryan Leaf, Heath Shuler, Lawrence Phillips and Brian Bosworth, just to name a few consensus busts with all the hype in the world. How about Alexandre Daigle, the #1 overall pick in the NHL draft in 1993 who tallied a whopping 74 goals in 200 games before being traded to a less than stellar career. How’s that for the next “Great One”? Darko Milicic was the #2 overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft. I’d be willing to bet a lot more than my life that the Pistons wish they wouldn’t have passed on Carmello Anthony, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, or Josh Howard, instead of taking Milicic who rode the bench for an incredible career span of 3 years. I would go into Tennis and talk about how Anna Kournikova was the #1 Women’s Junior player and has never reached further than the semi-finals in any grand slam event, but she’s so hot that no one really cares about her athletic ability. Besides, I bought a Cannon, and I can assure you, it wasn’t because of the talking dog in the commercials.

For every single Lebron James, there are at least a dozen Kwame Brown’s. I’m not saying Stephen Strasburg isn’t going to have a stellar pro career and be an exception to the rule, simply saying before we dub him the next coming of Jesus Christ, at least let the guy fill every cup in a sold out stadium full of beer for an entire 9 inning game from a single keg, hover to the mound effortlessly without his feet touching the ground, and throw lightning bolts from his finger tips as the ball is released from his hand. Did the Nationals provide baseball with a shot in the arm when signing Strasburg? Of course, and hopefully, “the Phenom” will attract more fans to the sport I’ve come to love. Let’s just hope Strasburg doesn’t give baseball fans everywhere the “Barry Bonds treatment”, opening everyone’s eyes in the immediate future and letting a nation of devoted fans down once reality sinks in. So before we concede the Cy Young, MVP, Rookie of the Year, All Star, and Hall of Fame achievements to Strasburg, all of which he will seemingly accomplish after his second start in the MLB, let’s let the kid enjoy his time and actually earn all of the praise. As a final thought, I’m casting my vote for Bryce Harper on my 2010 Heisman ballot. After all, isn’t Harper’s immense talent the real reason why Tebow was crying during his final game at Florida?

Honestly I could not have said it myself better. Thanks John for the email! Oh yeah, I hope everybody is ready for the "Terrelle Pryor for Heisman" hype that ESPN will be spouting off this college football season. I mean after all he was the #1 prospect out of high school so we have to hype him as the next great phenom right?

FURTHER PROOF AMERICA'S HAT ARE NUTS

First they unleash Bryan Adams on us. Then Celine Dion. And if that wasn't enough now this garbage in regards to sportsmanship...

A Canadian youth soccer league is taking heat after introducing a new rule that says any team that wins a game by more than five points will actually lose by default.

The rule, intended to foster sportsmanship, replaced the Gloucester Dragons Recreational Soccer league’s former five-point mercy regulation, which said any points scored beyond a five-point differential would not be registered, the National Post reported.

But some players and parents say the new rule will only keep these children from reaching their full potential as players and coddle sore losers.

“They should be saying anything is possible. If we can get five goals really fast, well, so can the other team,” player Kevin Cappon, 17, told the Post. "People grow in adversity… I think you’ll see more leadership skills being used if a losing team tries to recuperate than if they never got into that situation at all.”

Coppon’s father, Bruce Cappon, agreed.


“Heaven forbid when these kids get into the real world. They won’t be prepared to deal with the competition out there,” he told the Post.

The league has 3,000 children ranging from four to 18 years old.

According to the new rules, coaches are encouraged to take measures like making players kick with their weaker foot, moving players out of their usual positions, or taking players off the field entirely if they have a strong team, the Post reported.

Club director Sean Cale told the Post the league is simply trying to make the game fair and that the new rule will eventually be replaced by a pre-season skill assessment to make fair teams, the Post reported.

I mean come on Canada. This is beyond ridiculous. It's called a sport because you have to compete to win it. There are losers in anything with competition and all you are doing is fostering future pansies. No wonder you guys almost lost to us in hockey. Sack up and give these kids some motivation to excel. I swear to God one kid is going to get hit in the head with a ball and soon all the kids will be wearing bike helmets on the soccer field.

I think it's time for America to take over Canada. Don't worry. They won't fight back. It's unsportsmanlike.

Article HT: Dave

STRASBURG ELECTRIFIES IN DEBUT

Video courtesy of TheBigLead

Ignore everything I said yesterday about Stephen Strasburg. The kid looks like the real deal. His 14 strikeouts in his major league debut was one short of a Major League record and it set a Nationals team record for K's in a game. His fastball was touching 100 mph. His "slurve" was buckling kneecaps and brought back memories of Kerry Wood in 1997. His changeup was in the low 90's. THE LOW 90'S. Absolutely fucking ridiculous.

I know the Pittsburgh Pirates are about as far away from being a juggernaut hitting club but what Strasburg did was come into a game in which he should have been feeling overwhelmed from all the attention and hype and simply took all that energy and mowed them down with relative ease. The way his pitches moved in the strike zone was similar to Pedro Martinez back in the late 90's. He puts a lot of torque into his motion and gets a ton of movement. If he stays healthy and it appears the Nats are intent on keeping him on a strict pitch count than he can be one of the best. If he stayed in the game last night he might have struck out 20 guys the way he was coasting. I have little doubt he could be up there with the Jimenez, Lincecum, Halladays and Greinkes of the pitching world this year.

But then again it was just one game. Let's see how hitters do against him now that there is some what of a scouting report on him. He will face the Cleveland Indians next which shouldn't be a huge problem but I would love to see how he does against the Braves, Phillies, Dodgers, and so on lineups who have more balance from 1-8 in the order.

In short: Strasburg is fucking legit! Now everyone get on your knees for him.

HEY EVERYBODY, DID YOU HEAR STRASBURG IS PITCHING TONIGHT?

Holy shit I get it ESPN! The kid is the greatest thing to hit the majors since Jason Heyward, Tommy Hanson, Mark Prior, and Ben McDonald combined. I don't give a shit! Let him pitch a fucking game before you start calling him Jesus (which has been trademarked by Strasburg's attorney no doubt). Listen, I think he is going to be good. But right now he isn't Ubaldo Jimenez. That is the guy you should be doing specials on. He has been lights out all year in the MAJORS. Not minor league ball.

Stephen Strasburg may be the greatest thing since Jimenez or Lincecum or Greinke or whatever but can we please wait and see what he does against the lowly Pirates before putting him on a pedestal? I admit I get a little caught up in these prospects. As you know I got caught up with some kid who hammers pitches out of the ballpark with their first swing. And guess what that got me? Well you know what it is because I'm afraid to even mention his name without being served.

Will you be watching Strasburg pitch tonight? I love baseball so I most certainly will but I'm doubting 90% of the rest of the country even knows who he is. They think it's a German town. Hell Hitler didn't get this much coverage.

But then again he can't throw 103 mph.

Sigh.

*image courtesy of TrueBall

WHAT A SWEET MET'S FAN

I tell you what, this guy clearly has a heart of gold. David Wright was obviously throwing the ball to the grown man's kid and not the little kid with the oversized glove it was going directly to. Because if you have watched Wright this season you would know how far off his intended throws have been so far. It's like he has vertigo.



Video HT: Extra Mustard

PHILLIES FANS DRINK AT AN EARLY AGE

Not only do they taser each other and vomit on young kids but now they even let their little kids slug back beers at the fucking games. No wonder the Phillies are sucking ass this year. They let David Eckstein drink when everyone knows the little guy can't hold his shit together.


What the fuck is next Phillies fans? You going to piss on an old lady? How about Dirty Sanchezing Utley's wife? Or you can slip Charlie Manuel some Viagra so we can see the old guy rock hard while arguing about balls and strikes. Go on. Do it. It's in your DNA.

Sincerely,

Bravos fan who is enjoying first place.

NEWS REPORTER BLOOPER

See how easy it is kids? All you need is a hammer, a camera crew, a junkyard, an unlocked car, and a gashed hand and you too could be a thief this summer. Happy stealing!

THE IRON SHEIK IS NOT A JIM JOYCE FAN

BarStoolSports has this video of The Iron Sheik laying it out on umpire Jim Joyce. Back in the day I use to love watching Hulk Hogan make the Sheik look like a little bitch. I even had the action figurines and the ring. Yep, I was pretty much a loser who played wrestling with guy dolls. By the way, are those skis in the background? I never took the Iron Sheik as a skier. He seems more like a Turkish wrestling type of guy.

NOTRE DAME LINEBACKER STEVE FILER IS ATHLETIC, CAN JUMP OUT OF POOLS

Notre Dame starting* outside linebacker Steve Filer displays his amazing athleticism by not only jumping out of a pool which appears to be 5 feet deep but also doing it while somebody holds the camera sideways. Seriously, how hard is it to hold the camera upright? Filer clearly has NEO like skills and hopefully his freakish athleticism will translate to the gridiron this fall. With Filer, Manti "Hawaiian Hitman" Te'o, Darius Fleming, Anthony McDonald, and Brian Smith all looking like potential starters this season the Fighting Irish should have a solid group of LB's with a ton of experience and most importantly speed. You can't teach speed and I would venture to say this could be the fastest if not most athletic linebacker core since the mid 90's in South Bend.

*=I'm guessing he will start this season over Brian Smith or Darius Fleming

YOU WILL BE MISSED KEN GRIFFEY JR

Ken Griffey Jr. announced today that he has retired. "The Kid" is now 40 years old which makes me feel old. He had the sweetest swing in the game and I believe is the greatest player of my generation. He never got his World Series ring but he did finish his career with 630 home runs which is 4th on the all-time list (Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, and Willie Mays count; Bonds doesn't) and he played the game hard for most of his career before injuries started to plague him.

He ran into walls. He wore his hat backwards. He swung effortlessly. He smiled and enjoyed playing the game better than anybody. He had the most famous baseball card of the past 60 years. His swing was emulated by kids who wanted to be him. He's a first ballot Hall of Famer and without a doubt a living legend. A bronze statue needs to go up immediately in Seattle.

You will be missed Kid. See you in Cooperstown in 5 years.

ARMANDO GALARRAGA GOT HIS PERFECT GAME STOLEN BY HANDLE BAR MUSTACHE GUY

This should have been the 21st perfect game in Major League history and yet it all got taken away as handle bar mustache guy stole it from Armando Galarraga. Even if the runner ties there you call him out. I'm literally shaking as I type this. I can't believe the umpire just stole a perfect game by making one of the shittiest calls ever.

This further proves that umpires aren't people. They are heartless pricks with bad facial hair. And they go by the name of Jim Joyce. I would be shocked if he makes it out of Detroit alive. It would be on par with a girl surviving a date with Joran van der Sloot. Odds are you're dead.

By the way Don Denkinger says "Thank you!"

JIMENEZ IS STRAIGHT NASTY

IMAGE FROM GETTING IMAGES

Ubaldo Jimenez threw his second shutout of the season by out dueling The Freak Tim Lincecum 4-0 to become the Major's first 10 game winner. He just lowered his ERA to 0.78 while extending his scoreless innings streak to 26. This Dominican hurler is bringing back memories of Pedro in his prime.

At just 26 years old Jimenez has completely come into his own while pitching half his games in Coors Field which has been known to kill many of young pitcher's confidence. He already has a no-hitter and is on pace to win 32 games (yeah I know there is no way he wins that many but it is still fun to look at the projections) and has been by far the best pitcher in the game this year despite the exploits of Doc Halladay. Opponents are only hitting .172 against him.

The kid is fucking nasty. Plain and simple. Just give him the Cy Young now.

FIRST PLACE LOOKS AND FEELS GOOD

AJC PHOTO BY JASON GETZ

It's June 1st and the Atlanta Braves sit in first place for the first time at this stage in the season since 2005. They finished off a 20-8 May with a convincing 9-3 victory over the Phillies thanks to the bats finally heating up.

Bobby Cox and Frank Wren deserve some credit. Usually I give them more shit than they probably deserve but I figured why not point out some of the great things they have done this season. Wren's signing of Troy Glaus to a one year contract for pocket change has to be one of the best moves in the offseason. Glaus hit his 8th homer of the season, a 3 run shot in the 8th, which proved to be the final nail in the coffin. He now has 8 homers and 37 RBI's and is starting to resemble the prototypical cleanup hitter he was in Anaheim. For $1.75 million this year I would say Wren has knocked it out of the ballpark with this signing.

Bobby deserves some credit too for shuffling his lineup. The Braves started scoring more runs when they realized they should put their most consistent hitter all season in Martin Prado at the leadoff spot. Prado isn't going to steal you bases but he is going to get on base at an extremely better rate than Melky and Nate would. He has been a doubles machine this year and I believe without a doubt he deserves to make his first All-Star appearance.

Bobby also put Heyward at the top of the lineup. We all know about how great Heyward has been this season ever since his first swing. The kid is a beast and has earned his way the right way by crushing the ball pretty much every game. He also is deserving of getting an All-Star selection and hopefully the fans start to punch his name on the ballot by the millions since he has been the story of baseball (with a hat tip to Ubaldo Jimenez) through the first 50 games. As a 20 year old The J-Hey Kid has lived up to all the heavy expectations bestowed upon him in Spring Training and for the most part him and Prado carried the Braves offense through April. The good news is he can go 0 for 5 and yet the Braves can still manage to put 9 runs on the board now. This wasn't the case 3-4 weeks ago.

Cox has also gone with the hot hands in Eric Hinske and Omar Infante. Hinske has crushed all season and deserves to start in left field. He might not have the defensive range as Melky in left but with McLouth covering so much ground in center the trade off in minuscule. I've become a big Hinske fan and Wren all deserves credit for picking him up for cheap. The players seem to really like the guy and you can see why he has been a part of a club who has made the last 3 World Series.

The bats of Chipper, McCann, and Escobar are heating up. All of these guys are way too good to be struggling like they have through the first 40 games of the season and if you look at their career seasonal averages then you would expect them all to have great second halves. I'm still not giving TP any credit though. Sorry.

Also got to give credit for the Tim Hudson resigning. Hudson has been the ace this year. I've always been a big Huddy fan and it's great to see him back healthy for once and resembling those A's days when he would mow down some of the best hitters in the AL at alarming rates. With Huddy, Big Red Hanson, and the eventual return of Jair Jurrjens you have three of the best pitchers in the National League. Lowe could still be a money pitcher especially if they make the playoffs. Kawakami is questionable but his performance on Sunday was outstanding and as a 5th starter you won't be able to find many others who can match his stuff even though the 1 victory is cause for concern.

Overall I would say Cox and Wren have done an excellent job of piecing together this club. I know it's still early with 111 games to go but I like the way this team is meshing together. They seem to all be on the same page and pulling for each other and have a good collection of veterans (Chipper, Huddy, Lowe, etc.) and young studs (Heyward, Hanson, Escobar) that have one common goal in the end: Send Bobby back to the playoffs for one last hurrah!

Go Bravos!

RON ARTEST WITH THE WINNING SHOT

I think about 99% of the Lakers crowd that Kobe was going to nail the winning shot and that is the reason why Ron Artest was left open with the rebound and game winning putback. The Suns knew Kobe would take the shot. He makes them most of the time anyways. But the gritty Artest pulled a little Dennis Rodman out of his hat and got in position for the board and the put back. Money. Now we got to wait and see if the Lakers and the Celtics can close out these Conference Finals and give us a rematch of the NBA Finals from two seasons ago. I personally want to see them play even though I usually root for the underdog. I like the Suns. I hate the Magic. But there is little doubt the Lakers vs. Celtics would be fun to watch for most of the nation.

Video HT: TheBigLead

GOLDEN TATE SINGING TAYLOR SWIFT

It would be tough to argue that Golden Tate was the most exciting player to wear the blue and gold since Rocket was returning kicks for TDs back in the day and as you all know I'm a huge fan of Golden. The football player. The singer not so much. It's still killing me that the Atlanta Falcons passed up the chance to take a playmaker like Golden and now I got to hear him sing Taylor Swift. Why don't you just go ahead and dig that fork in me a little more.

Oh yeah, I'm going on record now stating that Golden will absolutely crush it in the NFL. The kid flat out makes plays when the ball is in his hands and in my mind he plays identical to Carolina's Steve Smith. He might not be the tallest wideout but his speed, hands, balance, and toughness make him stand out on the football field. He will be a football star in Seattle.

PASSED OUT DRUNK

You know it's bad when some fat dude in an Old Navy shirt is making fun of you. If that were me and God and plenty of my friends know I have been there before and this was caught on tape and shown to the world then I would never pick up another beer. For at least a couple of days. Because once chubbies start making fun of your drinking then you know it's time to take a break from the booze.

Video HT: BarstoolSports

HAIL TO THE VIOLATIONS

Rich Rodriguez might just want to tuck his tail and run for cover. Things in Ann Arbor continue to get worse under DickRod's watch. They apparently bend the rules and still can't produce anything close to a winning season for the Maize and Blue...

The school admitted Tuesday to a series of violations by its storied football program and said it had reprimanded seven people, including third-year coach Rich Rodriguez. Another staffer was fired and the school released more than 150 pages detailing a breakdown in communication within the athletic department as well as self-imposed sanctions that include two years of probation.

The school now has to hope that its explanation and sanctions will satisfy the NCAA, which will hold a hearing on the case Aug. 13-14 in Seattle. A final decision isn’t expected for 6-10 weeks later, perhaps sometime during the Big Ten season.

Athletic director David Brandon said he doesn’t believe the problems related to practice time and coaching activities are enough to warrant the loss of scholarships or extreme disgrace.

“I don’t think this is a black eye,” Brandon said. “This is a bruise.”

As if an 8-16 record is not horrid enough now you have the NCAA investigating because you practice a little too much. This isn't a black eye for the football program it's more like a black eye on DickRod. How can you have more coaches allowed and more practice time and yet still suck balls? Michigan was a perennial winner before Rodriguez got his filthy West Virginia hands on the program and now they are a laughingstock.

Well it is true that I'm not the biggest Michigan fan but I want to see Michigan at least compete and do it the right way. Nobody likes cheaters except the USC AD. The Michigan football program has a tremendous tradition of always coming in second place to Ohio State in the Big Ten and I think for the good of the conference that needs to come back. In the meantime let's hold hands and sing "HAIL TO THE VIOLATIONS!"

DO NOT TOUCH ME AGAIN

Who knew hospital meetings could be so riveting? The director of community relations aka PR guy for the hospital has a real hands on approach when it comes to dealing with the media. I'm actually shocked the news reporter didn't just flat out slug the guy after he told him to stop. The PR guy continues to come at him like he is some fresh choir boy meat at a Catholic church. If some guy molests you like this PR guy does you have the right to flat out punch him right? The drama in this scenario flat out kills that garbage called Grey's Anatomy.

Video HT: HotClicks

MUST BE A PHILLY FAN

I guess they started letting in those crazy Philly fans into international basketball events. With the Flyers in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1997 I'm just waiting to see a fan jump over the glass and start harassing one of the Chicago Blackhawks on the bench. It's honestly the only way ESPN will show a highlight of hockey.