The holiday weekend technically started for me last night. The Atlanta Braves swept the Philadelphia Phillies for their 4th win in a row and are now just 2 games back in the division. Hell yeah! My adult men's rec baseball team destroyed the Tigers last night thus improving our record to 5-2. I missed my first homerun of the season by about 3 feet off the left centerfield wall. Yeah, I think it's time to start juicing old school like Brady Anderson so we don't have to worry about those stupid doubles anymore...I want dingers plus chicks dig the longball. I hope you and everyone around you have a spanktacular 4th of July weekend.
Image HT: Kardashian picture would be hotter if she had sausages on the grill but you get the picture. I think those are Bubba Burgers on the grill...can you say trailer trash? WWTDD via Startracs
Lou Gehrig, whom I consider to be the greatest first baseman of all-time, gave his famous speech on Lou Gehrig's Day at Yankees Stadum two years before he would pass due to ALS...
Gehrig was one of my heroes growing up even though he died nearly 40 years before I was born. I did a book report on him in elementary school and was amazed how much of a pure athlete he was and yet how he managed to play in relative obscurity in New York due to the overwhelming shadow of Babe Ruth. The Babe was bigger than baseball and Gehrig accepted it. Gehrig was a great teammate who played every game, 2130 consecutively till ALS took him out. He would have hit well over 700 career homeruns and driven in 2500 plus runs if he didn't go down with the disease. Gehrig is a legend who was born and bred in New York and eventually passed there. I'm no Yankees fan but I am a huge Lou Gehrig fan and just wanted to recognize him on this 4th of July weekend when he gave his famous speech in front of a packed New York crowd, fighting back tears. Much like when I hear Martin Luther King's speech I get the chills just hearing Gehrig speak. Gehrig is an icon too who will live forever.
This idea was sent in to us from a Notre Dame grad student. These are the kind of ideas you get when you go 10-15 in two seasons under Charlie Weis. Touchdown Jesus has become a lush who won't get off his cheetos flavored couch unless he is getting a beer but we all know 2009 is when Notre Dame football returns to glory. Show your love for tailgating with this classic t-shirt which costs only $17. We are talking cheaper than a 30 pack here my friends. Plus a portion of all sales goes to a great cause known as the American Cancer Society. Be sure to spread the word. Don't disappoint Touchdown Jesus.
Last night started off with scoring some free seats to the Atlanta Braves game. These weren't just normal seats. They were a few rows behind the Philadelphia Phillies dugout. We were so close to the action you could actually smell Cole Hamel's lower labia. Don't ask me how the upper one smells because it is way too long of a story. The first great sight was to see neither of Yunel Escobar or Kelly Johnson in the starting lineup. As you know both have contributed mightily to bringing down the Braves with their bonehead decisions of late and both needed to ride the pine and feel what it is like to watch the game next to Bobby Cox.
My dad sent me a text message right after the first pitch. "Prado is starting...finally." I replied to him to not worry, Bobby would find someway to bring in Johnson before his first AB. See I have major issues when it comes to Escobar and my dad has the same inner demons when it comes to Johnson. We are on the same wavelength that both of these guys bring down the Braves worst than Jeff Francoeur swinging at pitches at his eyes. At least Frenchy appears to be trying at all times. We are old school and that is really all you can ask for.
But anyways, on to starting second baseman Martin Prado. Prado finally got the start and showed he belonged. 4 hits and 4 RBI's including a homerun and the walk-off RBI single in the 10th frame. The Ted was rocking and Braves fans were going nuts. I high fived my wife and everybody around me as soon as Matt Diaz crossed home plate with the game winning run. It was a much needed victory over the rival Phillies and moved them within 4 games of the division leader. I looked back to my buddy Doug who was sitting behind us and gave him the thumbs up. We both were happy yet exhausted. The Braves haven't had many easy games this season and after Mike Gonzalez came in the 8th and gave up two solo homeruns it looked like the Braves were again going to be on the wrong side. It's been their story for 2009. Good to great starting pitching was provided once again by Derek Lowe only to see 3 runs put on the board before the 8th inning. Come to think of it 3 runs is about all the Braves scored in the series against the Red Sox. But enough of the negatives. They won and Prado's teammates came rushing out on the field to congratulate him. Great win for the Bravos.
As I was leaving the field I managed to look up at the out of town scoreboard. Red Sox 10, Orioles 1 in the 7th inning. FUCK! The Boston Bandwagoners have had the Orioles number for some time now. In fact the Orioles had yet to beat the Red Sox in 2009 thanks to blowing a 7 run lead earlier this year in what became known as the Mother's Day massacre. My hope as I walked out of The Ted was that the Orioles would manage to score some runs to at least make the final outcome look respectable. I wasn't going to let the Orioles ruin my happiness that the Braves just provided. But of course being the degenerate I am I followed the game on my wife's iphone as we drove back home on the SportsTap application. Soon enough it was 10-5 as Oscar freaking Salazar hits a 3 run homerun as soon as we pull in the drive way. I'm telling myself we got a chance and yet still I don't want to set myself up for the disappointment of another loss. Fuck it, I run upstairs and turn on the game. It's now 10-9 Red Sox and Camden Yards is rocking with leaches of Red Sox fans and Orioles die hards hoping to pull off the miracle. Nick the Stick Markakis comes up against Jonathan Papelbon. Markakis is 0-7 against Papelbon. Doesn't matter. Nick rocks a fastball to left centerfield for a game winning 2 RBI double.
The greatest comeback victory in Orioles history. 9 runs down in the 7th only to comeback and have George Sherrill aka Flat Breezy close it out by striking out Jason Bay in the 9th. HELL YEAH! Papelblown looks confused. The Orioles look ecstatic. I'm bouncing off the fucking walls.
A great night to be a baseball fan for this guy. Can't wait to do it all over again today.
If you don't recognize the movie then just get the hell off of this damn blog I tell ya. I think Urban Meyer has had enough of Lane Kiffin already and the little blondie kid has yet to even coach an actual game in Knoxville. Now Kiffin is recruiting 13 year olds to come join him. Who does he think he is...Michael Jackson?
Last week we profiled Bruce Manley and his ability to hit ridiculous behind the back shots from anywhere on or off the basketball court. This week we take a look at Josh Womack, an independent league baseball player for the Long Beach Armada, and his wacky ability to make a bat do things that don't seem possible. The 25 year old outfielder's career is pretty much in the shitter these days. It doesn't appear he will ever make it to the Big Leagues as a player but that doesn't mean he can't be on the field someday. This guy would make a hell of a bat boy. Could you imagine him doing these tricks before handing the bat to Ichiro? Hell, I would pay to see it. If that doesn't work I'm sure the porn industry could find a long lasting career filled with broken dreams and lost self worth.
I've gotten a few emails from Atlanta Braves fans saying I've been over reacting to shortstop Yunel Escobar's play and how he carries himself on the field. As I have said before I think Escobar is a good shortstop. The problem is he comes off like a spoiled brat when things don't go his way. He pouts, he doesn't hustle, and he sure as hell hasn't made a great impression to his teammates and/or opponents. Escobar isn't mature enough and doesn't possess superstar talent for Bobby Cox to put up with his shit. He zones out and makes bone head plays much in the same way Kelly Johnson did yesterday against the Red Sox. Both Escobar and Johnson are extremely lucky they play in Atlanta. If this kind of play occurred in New York, Philly, Boston, or Chicago they would be booed off the field for the lackadaisical mental errors. It's too bad for Atlanta because the Braves have a championship-caliber pitching staff but they got a bunch of guys who seem to be going throw the motions. The heart isn't there. Or brains for that matter.
Forget about a flu-stricken Tommy Hanson extending his scoreless innings streak to 20 yesterday at The Ted, if you were at the Braves-Red Sox game yesterday this was the highlight of the game you couldn't see on television...
It appears Jeff Francoeur's older, fatter brother had a few too many in Hotlanta and decided charging the field with two outs in the 9th was a fantastic idea. Decent take down by security. I give it a 7. With only 9 combined runs in the entire series between the two teams this got the crowd the loudest.
1. Tim Tebow, Florida-One Heisman Trophy and two National Championships later while playing in the toughest conference in college football it's hard to argue that Tebow isn't the best quarterback of his generation. Everyone knows he can run the ball (673 yards rushing with 12 TD) but his arm was deadly too with an accuracy rate over 64% while throwing for 30 TDs and only 4 INTs. He should have another great season with an experienced offensive line back in Gainesville and plenty of weapons around him.
2. Colt McCoy, Texas-Hard to believe but it seems like Colt McCoy is a forgotten man when it comes to QB talk in college football. Last season he led the Longhorns in rushing with 561 yards and scoring 11 TDs. Very Tebow-like. Passing he surpassed Tebow with an incredible 77% completion percentage while throwing for 34 TDs and only 8 INTs. Texas returns a ton of experience so expect huge numbers again from The Real McCoy.
3. Sam Bradford, Oklahoma-It's almost insane to think that the reigning Heisman Trophy winner is only the third best QB on my list. It's not a knock on Bradford by any means it's just that Tebow and McCoy faced a lot more pressure last season than Bradford. Bradford threw for 50 TDs while amassing a Dan Marino-esque 4700 yards passing in helping the Sooners reach the BCS National Title game. It was very rare last season to see Bradford get hit but this year they replace 4 starters on the line so it could be a difficult season for him. And by difficult I mean don't expect him to throw for 40 or more TDs. But then again he does play in the Big 12 where defenses go to die.
4. Jevan Snead, Ole Miss-Snead grew into his own last year as he helped lead the Rebels to a 9-4 record including very impressive wins over Florida and Texas Tech. The Texas transfer will have the full spotlight on him this season in Oxford as the Rebels are expected to compete for a SEC Championship. With an out of conference schedule consisting of Memphis, SE Louisiana, UAB, and Northern Arizona he should have plenty of opportunities to pad his stats against inferior competition. Ole Miss will only go as far as Snead leads them this season. 30 plus TD passes will be a given but he needs to improve his accuracy and cut down on the INTs like he showed the last quarter of the season in 2008.
5. Jimmy Clausen, Notre Dame-Thunderlips as I like to call him is expected to have a huge junior campaign on par with Brady Quinn's 2005. Clausen spent most of his first two seasons in South Bend running away from defenses and getting picked up off the ground after being hit numerous times. Largely this was due to an inexperienced team taking their licks. 2009 there will be no excuses. Clausen throws a tight spiral and is deadly accurate from 20 yards and in. With the best set of receivers in the country (Golden Tate, Michael Floyd, Duval Kamara, Kyle Rudolph, etc.) returning along with a stable of quality backs and the most experienced offensive line in the country it should be an incredible season for the youngest Clausen. Expect Clausen to put up over 3500 yards passing and 32 TDs. He will be judged on how he performs against USC on October 17th. If he performs well along with the rest of his teammates and leads the Irish to victory then he will be a legitimate Heisman frontrunner.
6. Zac Robinson, Oklahoma State-A lot of people have ignored Mr. Robinson, myself included, the past two seasons and I'm not sure why. Zac has 24 starts under his Cowboys belt and has been very impressive with a 62% completion rate while throwing for 51 TDs and only 19 INTs. He has also managed to rush for over 1500 yards. He gets overshadowed in the Big 12 conference because of McCoy and Bradford but with WR Dez Bryant returning along with 1st Team AA RB Kendall Hunter he should have plenty of weapons at his disposal. The Cowboys have won 13 straight season openers and to make it 14th Robinson is going to have to have the game of his life against the Georgia Bulldogs in Stillwater. If Robinson can lead them to victory then the next 3 opponents are Houston, Rice, and Grambling State before they start conference play.
7. Dan LeFevour, Central Michigan-The 2-time 1st team All-MAC quarterback is back and ready to go for the Chippewas in 2009. The 6'3 senior QB is a highly touted NFL prospect and is only the second QB all-time to throw for over 3000 yards while rushing for 1000 (Vince Young the other). He will have his 3 leading receivers back but the O-line is questionable with a lack of experience returning. Playing in the MAC conference he should put up some huge numbers and don't be surprised if he rushes for over 800 yards this season.
8. Max Hall, BYU-The Cougars senior QB returns in what could become a storybook season. Last season Hall was impressive, completing nearly 70% of his passes for close to 4000 yards and 35 TDs. This season they are the leading preseason favorite to win the Mountain West Conference and perhaps play in a BCS Bowl game with TCU and Utah both coming to Provo. Hall and the Cougars open up with Oklahoma in Arlington in what should be a very entertaining battle between two high scoring offenses.
9. Robert Griffin, Baylor-"Track Guy" as his teammates call him earned All-American honors in the 400 meters last year as a true freshman but what was even more impressive was his stats as the starting QB. He ran for 843 yards and 13 TDs while throwing for over 2000 yards, 15 TDs and only 3 INTs all season. Griffin took a ton of hits last season but always bounced right back up despite playing for the worst team in Big 12 history. With his two leading receivers back along with him and RB Jay Finley in the backfield we could be looking at Baylor making their first bowl appearance since 1994. If you like to watch fast guys, or "Track Guy" play QB then watch Griffin tear it up this year. You won't be disappointed.
10. Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State-The true freshman held his own last year leading a senior laden Buckeyes team to their 4th Fiesta Bowl trip in the past 7 seasons. He was the second leading rusher on the team behind Beanie Wells with 631 yards and 6 TDs. His passing stats were also impressive as he threw for 12 TDs with only 4 INTs and completed over 60% of his throws. This season he will be the lone focal point of the offense as Beanie is gone along with their top receivers. Many people compare him to Vince Young and for good reason. He is tall, black, fast, and throws like a girl and perhaps like Vince has never kissed one. He will get his chance to destroy some Trojans on the football field in Columbus on September 12th. Win that game and the kid will already be a legend.
Honorable mentions-Ryan Mallett, Arkansas; Jake Locker, Washington; Todd Reesing, Kansas; Joe Cox, Georgia; Daryl Clark, Penn State
Wayne Ellington starred for 3 years in Chapel Hill as a guard who could take it to the hoop, penetrate and score with the best of them. Ellington is from Philly and was hoping his hometown Sixers would take him so he could stay close to home and his girlfriend Amanda Altschuler who attends Drexel.
Of being passed on by the 76ers, Ellington said: "My girlfriend [19-year-old Amanda Altschuler] goes to Drexel, so she wanted me to stay local, as did my family. I'm not upset at all, though. This is a blessing."
Usually I'm the first to say why would a guy who is about to make millions want to hang on to his girlfriend at such a young age. You should be going out and experiencing the world (brunettes, blonds, redheads, Asians, midgets, etc) till you see what you like and want to stick with. Hell the NBA is full of crazy sex parties offering up the latest and greatest. But after taking a look at Ellington's girl Amanda I can now see why getting drafted by the T Wolves and leaving Philly is going to be really tough...
I got this email today from one of our blog readers. You be the judge, is this real?
Hey Matt, I'm a long time reader of the blog I just wanted to give you a heads up on an interesting recent Internet occurrence. About a year ago Bruce Manley submitted a video into the Gillette Search for the next contest, Bruce was awarded the second best prize which was given by Gillette, the Grand Prize winner was voted on by the fans and some guy won for his beer pong shots, which I'm sure Gillette wasn't too please about. Here is Bruce's entry video:
As you can see Bruce is incredibly accurate at shooting balls behind his back.
Bruce then released a high quality production video:
Bruce also hooked up with a great slam dunker to film an alley oop session:
Ok, so for all that back story but I wanted to get it all in there, so the real story starts with this video:
This video was seen by Shaquille O'Neal, Shaq then proceeded to Twitter a challenge, calling out to Bruce, to a game of horse for $1000
Bruce is now planning on going down to Florida early next week to accept this challenge, the horse game will be filmed and put online, this has viral video popularity written all over it.
Just wanted to give you the FYI if you feel this is news worthy of Sportscrack, I guess it's time to add that Bruce is a personal friend of mine that I have known since we were about 10.
Thanks Matt
Well there you go, you got your wish, it is Sportscrack material. I'm a pretty big cynic when it comes to shit like this especially after seeing how David Blaine and others full the public with video tricks and CG. So I will let the Sportscrack readers chime in. Do you guys think it is real? I'm going on record as saying yes.
On 9/18/1979 I was not even 8 months old when Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett made guest appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, which was co-hosted by Ed McMahon. All 3 of them of course have passed away this week. They say death comes in 3's. Who they are I have no clue. But maybe this is some weird Final Destination shit going on. Death got Johnny Carson first five years ago but then managed a long vacation of knocking out people at God's on deck circle, otherwise known as Florida till taking out McMahon this week. He then said fuck it and knocked out Farrah and then hit a staggering left with the King of Pop. Come to think of it the Pittsburgh Pirates won the World Series over my Baltimore Orioles a month after Michael and Farrah appeared on The Tonight Show. The Pirates have been pretty much dead ever since. See, I tied yesterday's sad news about the passing of a Hollywood sex goddess and an icon who "touched" so many young people's lives into a sports analogy. Bob Costas could only dream of such a seamless transition. Anyways I hope the Pittsburgh Pirates, Ed McMahon, and Farrah Fawcett rest in peace. Feel free to insert inappropriate and insanely humorous jokes below.
Subway foot longs to be exact. Here is a video of Griffin playing S-U-B-W-A-Y, known as HORSE to everyone else, against pitchman Jared Fogle in the mean streets of New York City. I say mean because Jared is a mean mofo and I see more black people than white people in this video...
Tonight as you probably know is the NBA Draft. There should be plenty of trades and speculation leading up to it. Apparently Shaq is going to Cleveland to play with Lebron which would be significant if it was the Shaq from a decade ago. The Atlanta Hawks are getting Jamal Crawford from Golden State and quite possibly, fingers crossed, they could pick up UNC guard Ty Lawson with the #19 pick. Lawson is by far my favorite player in this draft and I don't even like the Tarheels. I hope the Hawks get Lawson so they don't have to resign Mike Bibby. Knowing the Hawks luck Lawson will be picked at #18 and they will go with Tyler Hansbrough who will have a career on par with Adam Morrison. Wait a second, Morrison just won a ring playing the bench for the Lakers. I could dig that.
My main man MacG has this entertaining video of Triumph the Insult Dog paying a little visit to the hippie music fest that is Bonnarroo. On a completely unrelated note I got the chance to see Eddie Vedder play live last night. He played some old classics like "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town" while also playing more recent tunes such as "Rise" and closing it out with "Hard Sun." It was a fantastic experience and it was actually the first time I got to see Vedder live. Yep, I have never seen Pearl Jam play live. Should be criminal to admit this. Any way the show was awesome except for the two smelly shitbags sitting to the right of me. I call them shitbags because they smelled like a mixture of fresh baby pooh, stale cigarettes, and the Chattahoochee River in a hot August summer night. They smelled like hippies. Triumph would have had a field day with those two. They couldn't ruin it for me and my wife though. Hearing Vedder jam the mandolin was on par with seeing the Sistine Chapel for the first time. Pure genius.
Coming back to The Flats this fall is Georgia Tech junior runningback Jonathan Dwyer. The returning ACC Player of the Year is only the third Yellow Jacket to accomplish the honor, joining Calvin Johnson and Josh Hamilton whom were both serious Heisman Trophy candidates. Dwyer should be one too this season. Last season he rushed for 1395 yards while averaging 7 yards a carry. Expect huge numbers from him this season as Paul Johnson puts in more plays utilizing Dwyer's speed and power.
Check out these highlights from 2008:
Absolutely running over the Miami Hurricanes...
Running past their hated rival Georgia Bulldogs...
Showing off his strength, determination and power against Duke...
And here is another one against Miami showing off his Barry Sanders-like jukes...
So keep an eye out this fall for Dwyer of Georgia Tech. He most certainly deserves the attention and the pub. I'm having a hard time finding a more complete back in the college game right now. I guess most could say Cal's Jahvid Best has more speed which can't be argued but I think if I had to pick a back in college right now to give the ball 20-30 times a game and help carry my team to win it would be Dwyer. Who would you want toting the rock this season?
Tommy Hanson extended his scoreless innings streak to 14 as the Atlanta Braves beat the New York Yankees 4-0. It was the Braves second consecutive shutout and kept them within 4 games of the division leading Phillies. What else can you say about the kid Hanson? He is already dominating major league hitters and yet he still hasn't pitched like he is capable of according to himself.
"I was pretty pumped up," Hanson said. "I felt like I made some good pitches, and I felt like I made some not-so-good pitches. I definitely battled the whole game. It just feels good to come out of here with a win."
Hanson is going to be nasty. If only the Braves could find some offensive pieces not named Chipper and McCann then this team could go deep in the playoffs with their pitching.
