A Straight Up Double Standard

Case 1: On January 30th 2000, Shortly after Super Bowl XXXIV ended, Ray Lewis and a whole crew of friends, employees and hangers on went to a night club in Atlanta.They were their to party and have a general good time. However, at some point in the night a fight broke out and spilled into the street.  Two men on the opposite side of the fight ended up with multiple stab wounds to the chest and heart. Both died that night. Although he was originally charged with the murder of the two men, star LB Ray Lewis ended up pleading his way to an obstruction of justice charge. The case of these two murdered men was never solved. Although we dont know who killed the men, we do know that Ray Lewis was present at the scene of the crime and right or wrong he continued his NFL career with very little visible negative consequences.  For his involvement in the altercation outside the club, the NFL fined him $250,000 and gave him a one year probation, allowing him to play the next season.

Case 2: After a October 20th game against the Chicago Bears, Washington Safety Brandon Meriweather repeatedly targeted the head of Bears WR Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery. Meriweather has drawn several penalties for targeting players hits with his tackles. The NFL is a league with a serious problem of head trauma related injuries, especially post playing career. Having a player repeated target the head of his opponents is bad for players safety and the leagues public image. So, the NFL suspended Meriweather for two games. After reviewing the situation that eventually decided to reduce the suspension to just one game.

Case 3: On Thursday December 19th, the NFL officially announced the indefinite suspension of Seahawks CB Brandon Browner for violating the leagues substance-abuse policy.The suspension is longer then normal for drug abuse issues because Browner is a repeat offender. He failed a test in 2005, while a member of the Denver Broncos and then failed to show up for several follow on tests. This made Browner a "class 3" offender. Assuming he doesn't win his appeal, Browner will now be suspended for one year and then eligible to apply for reinstatement into the league. Unnamed sources claim that the drug that Browner tested positive for was Marijuana.

You may have noticed that the punishment doled out by the NFL gets harsher in each of these cases. A rational person would assume the crime was also getting worse, but as you can clearly see it doesn't. In the first case, Ray Lewis got a slap on the wrist for being at worst a murderer and at best someone who associates with murderers. In case 2, Brandon Meriweather is basically the exact kind of player the NFL is claiming to try and distance itself from. He is the walking embodiment of what they claim to not want in their league anymore. However, case 3 is just some guy deciding to get high on his own time, in a state that says that activity is legal for adults. Which of these is worse?

When it comes to determining punishment for the negative actions taken by members of the league, the NFL commissioner is the judge, jury and executioner. Apparently, the NFL commissioner thinks murder and targeting the heads of opponents and possibly causing them long term damage is less bad then smoking a joint. Seriously, in the eyes of the NFL, smoking marijuana, a drug that you cant overdose from and is prescribed as a pain managed drug by doctors, appears to be one of the worst offenses a player can commit.

If we dive deeper into the Ray Lewis case it especially highlights the NFL's broken and confusing moral standard. After the murder at the night club, the NFL frequently chose to use Ray Lewis in their ad campaigns. Sports media, like ESPN and Yahoo Sports heralded him for his playing prowess and leadership abilities. Major brands like Old Spice, Under Armour and EA Sports paid him to endorse their products. Because of Lewis's skill on the football field he basically got a pass, when had anyone else been in that situation it would have caused major repercussions in their life. His run in with the law was basically forgotten.

Brandon Browner, who is much less marketable and interesting, got the book thrown at him. He is facing his sentence at possibly the worst time he could in his career. He was about to become free agent and get a big time pay day. Instead he will most likely sit out an entire year and miss out on any pay at all. As a 29 year old football players he is in the prime of his career and will begin declining quickly. His window of opportunity to financially enrich himself as a by product of his athleticism is closing fast. His decision to smoke ganja is most definitely not forgotten.

The NFL and the sports world is basically ignoring Lewis's massive huge life altering (ending for the two men) action and almost rewarding him. While Browner, who committed a much less heinous crime, is being asked to pay a huge price for his transgression. The NFL needs to be dragged into the 21st century and made aware of what issues matter in the modern world. They need to get their priorities straight. They also need to eliminate the blatantly obvious double standard that stardom brings.

Sources: USA Today, Sports Illustrated, Sports Illustrated again, CBS Sports

Pacer vs Heat

I have never really been a fan of the NBA. When Seattle still had a team I would watch the occasional game and I almost always watched their playoff series. Once the team left it was difficult for me to get interested. Last years Eastern Conference Finals was an exception. After just happening to turn on game 5 of that series, I was hooked. The Pacers defensive intensity and the Heat's having Lebron James on the roster, made it a blast to watch.

Going into the 2013 season, I had my usual level of disinterest. But then, Yahoo reminded me of the upcoming Heat vs Pacers regular season rematches.This piqued my interest. Would Lebron be able to overcome the pressure defense of Paul George, Roy Hibbert, David West and company? Would a single star driven team (the Heat) or the chemistry and teamwork driven team (the Pacers) prevail?

The thing is about this matchup, I still havent decided which of the two teams to root for. The Pacers appeal to me as the underdog and the small market team. They built a team from homegrown players. Starters Hibbert, George and Lance Stephenson were all drafted by the team. Their biggest strength is defense. Roy Hibbert, Paul George, Ian Mahinmi and David West are in the NBA top 10 in DRtg. They are basically the anti-Heat.

The Heat built their team by signing Lebron James, possibly the best player of all time and definitely the best of his generation. They then complimented him by signing Chris Bosh, a skilled power forward and keeping homegrown star Dwyane Wade. Their whole game is based around three really great players playing at an amazingly high level of play. Watching King James play basketball is mesmerizing.

Unfortunately the first contest wasn't shown nationally, so I missed it. But, apparently, the game lived up to the hype. Trailing by seven at half time, the Pacers battled back, took the lead in the fourth quarter and won the game. The Pacers did there team thing with their starters scoring 64 of the 84 points the team scored. On the Heat side, Lebron James scored 17 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, living up to his star billing. Sure sounds fun to watch.

I am really looking forward to the next game on Dec 18th. This time the Pacers travel to Miami. If this isn't on regular TV, I will probably go find a bar somewhere because these games are must see TV.



Sources: Yahoo Sports; Basketball-Reference.com

The dichotomy between Seattle two major professional sports teams (sorry Sounders, despite your awesomeness, MLS isn’t a major sport, yet) is stunning. The Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and General Manager John Schneider have created a high quality, fun to watch football team that looks to be a power for years to come. Because of their success, easy to root for players and their approach to the game the Seahawks fan raised my fandom to a whole different level, as I mentioned in an earlier post. On the flipside, the Seattle Mariners have experienced a decade of losing. During that time their front office has been generally incompetent. They have built a unique level of fandom for their few remaining supporters as well; one of complete and total cynicism and distrust of all the moves they make.

Take for example the recent $240 million dollar 10 year deal for All-Star second baseman Robinson Cano. Instead of being excited or optimistic about the deal, I instinctively assume it is the wrong decision and is doomed to fail. All I can think about is how Cano will be 41 years old when the deal ends and how the team will most likely be handicapped by that enormous contract during its second half. Why didn't they just make it five years? Get out while he is 36.

It isnt fair. I should be thinking happy thoughts about how my favorite baseball team (and for years favorite any sport team) just signed perhaps the best offensive second basemen in MLB history. I should be thinking about how this opens the door to other big name free agent signings. It shows the whole sport that Seattle is serious about winning and somewhere that stars should want to play. I should be dreaming of Baseball Tonight top ten lists, All-star games and playoffs. But, I am not. Instead the Mariners decade of failure has chiseled me into a sad, cynic of a fan.

Seriously, could the Mariners fan part of my mind be more different than that of my Seahawks part? I don't think so. Hopefully Robinson Cano can change that, but something tells me he won't.

A Whole Different Level of Fandom

Has anyone else reached a point yet where every time Russell Wilson throws the ball you just assume something amazing is going to happen? I know I have.

Take this week's Monday Night Football (MNF) game against the New Orleans Saints. During the game Wilson loft a huge ball up and out of the screen while being pursued by about 30 Saints players. In years past I would have assume this was a throw away pass. The QB just trying to get the ball out of bounds, minimize the damage of a failed play and move on to the next down. Instead, yesterday when Wilson threw the pass up, I just instinctively assumed somebody must be open downfield. Prepped myself to cheer before the cameras even showed us the intended receiver. Than BAM, my expectation became reality as pass hit WR Doug Baldwin in stride for about a 60 yard gain.

 I think my current confidence in Wilson became even more apparent when during a red zone trip in the second quarter, Russell again evaded the Saints rush and hucked a pass to his left. Before we could see the intended receiver I just assumed TD, but this time I wasn’t rewarded. Jermaine Kearse dropped what was a beautifully placed throw. I have become so accustom to Wilson always making the play that I was shocked when something actually didn’t go right, even if it wasn’t Wilson’s fault.

This must be what New England Patroits fans feel like. This expectation that things will go your way, have to go your way. Your team is always going to win. As a fan it is an awesome feeling and I am loving every minute of it. However, I do hope that we as a fan base can do a better job of controlling these emotions and not end up becoming like New England fans, who have an entitlement complex that causes everyone else to hate them. I hope that we can ride this high and love every minute of it, but still stay humble just like our amazing quarterback.

Regardless of how the rest of the NFL thinks of us as a fanbase, one thing is for sure though, Russell has changed the way I watch and root during Seahawks game. This new confident edge of your seat experience is awesome!

The Epic Collapse of the Houston Texans

In 2011 the Houston Texans made the playoffs for the first time ever. They were led there by a stellar defense (4th in points and 2nd in yards) and the second best rushing attack in the league. At one point during the season they rattled off seven straight wins. The season wasn't with hiccups as they lost their starting QB, Matt Shaub, in week 10 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, start running back Arian Foster continued to dominate and rookie T.J. Yates played well enough to keep the team in the hunt. They eventually went on to win their wild card round playoff game.

Going into the 2012 season, things were looking up. The team featured a two headed monster of a running attack of a 25 year old Arian Foster and a 23 year old Ben Tate. Both of these stars had near 1000 yds. The defense had no starters over 30, which is great for the NFL, and featured budding stars in J.J. Watt and Brian Cushing. Finally the team still had franchise receiving stud Andre Johnson. Houston's fans and the national sports media were riding high on the Texans.

The 2012 season didn't disappoint. The Texans finished 12-4 and won the AFC South. While the defense fell off a little, they stayed in the top ten in the NFL. J.J. Watt had a breakout year, amassing 20.5 sacks. On offense, Foster had another stellar year and Andre Johnson managed to stay healthy and play to his potential. Johnson amassed 1598 yds receiving. In a wild card rematch of 2011, the Texans beat the Bengals and moved on to the divisional round, where they lost a hard fought game to the Patriots. Going into 2013 things still seemed to be rolling.

They started the year out great, going 2-0, but then, in week three, things went bad. The defending super bowl champion Baltimore Ravens stomped the Texans, winning 30-9. Since that defeat, the team hasn't won a game. Quarterback Matt Shaub has been benched, injured, then benched again. Star running back Arian Foster got hurt and is now on IR. Linebacker Brian Cushing busted his knee and is also on IR. Basically nothing has gone right.

How did this happen?

2013 has been one of the most epic collapse for a highly regarded NFL team in recent memory. Sure the team has had a bunch of really unfortunate injuries, but that doesnt explain everything. There is definitely more going on in Houston than an injury bug.

Players all over the place have under performed. Their defense has dropped way off from the 2011 team. They are first in yards per game but 26th in points per game, giving up an average of 26.3. While the Offense is even worse. The Texans are 11th in yards per game but basically unable to score with all those yards coming in 30th in ppg. In the results driven, quick to blame and fire NFL, I gotta wonder if head coach Gary Kubiak's job is on the line.

The Texans season is definitely a lesson to all the NFL's hot teams, the Seahawks, Colts, Chiefs, etc, that success in the league isnt an entitlement. You have to earn it every single week. The spots a top the NFL peeking order are fleeting and the window of potential success slams shut quickly. But even with all that said, the Texans collapse has been exceptionally fast.

A Few Tidbits from Around the Web: Key and Peele are Funny Edition

In my opinion the funniest show on TV now days is Key and Peele. Their skits almost never miss. There best range from President Obama's anger translator Luther to some substitute teachers. These four are my favorite that have something to do with sports.

• The rookie McCringleberry goes a little too far after scoring his touchdowns. 
• Two sports fans duel over who has the better hat. 
• The classic East vs West college matchup.
• You know how everyone hates all the flops in soccer. Key and Peele show you just how extreme some players take it.

Pete Carroll Must be on the Take from Seattle Area Cardiologists

If you have ever listened to a Pete Carroll press conference you have probably heard a phrase similar to, "you cant win a game in the first quart, you cant win a game in the second quarter, you cant win a game in the third quarter, but you can win it in the fourth." That sentiment is one of Carroll's favorite. He utters different variations of it all the time. The thing is, his team appears to take it too seriously.

The 2013 Seahawks have continually gotten behind big in games.  The Texans, Titans and now, most embarrassingly of all, the  Buccaneers have out played the Seahawks for half of the game, only to lose in the fourth. So far it hasn't bit them, but you have to think, that if they keep playing this way, it will eventually. The biggest concern is it will be in the playoffs.

The coaching staff needs to get in these players heads. They need to get them ready and motivated to play the whole game, start to finish. They need to start outscoring the other team in the first, second and third quarters. The coaches need to look at themselves also. They need to come with a more complete game plan and not rely on making in play adjustments. Reacting to the other teams game plan has worked so far, but let's not keep testing it. Somebody tell these guys to try and win the first three quarters, even if it doesn't count for a win in the game.

A Break from Our Usually Schedule Programming

So, this is usually a sports blog. We have always kept our posts related and relevant to the sports world. This is important to me because, despite many many opinions about politics, religion, current events and the world in general, I dont want to bore you, the reader, and I want to develop a sense of trust on this site. I want you to know that you can always come here to read something about the sports world, without being reminded that the world is slowly but surely coming to an end.

With all that being said, this blog post is going to be about something complete unrelated to sports. Matt Swanson, a frequent contributor to this blog, has recently written a science fiction novel. The novel is self published and available for purchase on Amazon. The title is Venerable Marcus, which is also the name of the main character. Basically it is humorous adventure story centered around the titular character, which is of course set in space. All said I think it is a pretty good read.

A Few Tidbits from Around the Web: Thursday Night Football

Thursday night football is annoying. It is an obvious money making gimmick from the NFL. It only exists to prop up the basically pointless NFL network. It doesnt hold the prestige of Monday Night Football, the other non-Sunday game. Anyways, you probably noticed, I am not a fan of Thursday Night Football. So, here is a link (I guess it should be A Tidbit From the Web, since there is only one, but whatever) related to abomination of a event.

• Larry Stone recently switched over from a baseball centric columnist to an all things sports columnist.  As was expected, because of his excellent baseball work, Stone hasn't missed a beat. In a column, prior to last weeks game, he wrote about the bad football presented on Thursday Night Football and completely nailed it.

Geno Smith Looks Like I Would, If I had to Play NFL QB

So, I haven't watched a ton of Geno Smith's games as the New York Jets starting quarterback. In fact I have only watch one game, MNF on Oct. 7th. However, as the starting QB for the Jets, Smith had plenty of air time during that game. The camera kept zooming in on him while he walked up to line and while he was under center.

Each time I saw Geno, I noticed something. His facial expressions is one of fear, nervousness or general confusion. I wish I had been at home and paused the live TV, so I could have taken a picture of his face. I searched all over the internet for a picture showing what I am talking about and I couldn't find a picture. You will have to believe me.

Smith's facial expressions were especially noticeable because they were nothing like the stereotypical all business NFL QB expressions. Think Peyton Manning or Drew Brees; Their eyes, and mouth show seriousness and determination. Those QB's are super focused. Smith was probably also focused, he had a pretty good game, but his eyes screamed otherwise.

Artist's Representation

I don't know if this is standard for Geno. Like I said I haven't seen any of his other NFL games. I also never saw him play at West Virgina. I am basing everything off a sample size of one so, I don't know if this is just how he is. Whatever the reason it was definitely weird.

Stop Letting Golden Tate Return Punts

Golden Tate has explosive open field skills. When the ball gets in his hands amazing can happen. So, he appears to be a natural punt returner. The thing is Golden Tate is terrible at punt returns! Last week he fielded a ball inside the 10. Another time he brought it out of the end zone. Who does that? Sure, it went for 32 yds and set up the winning score, but that isn't the point. He took a completely unnecessary risk. Earlier in the season Tate dove to catch a punt. He could have just let it bounce, but no, he decided to make a risky diving catch to keep the ball from rolling like four yards into the end zone. Seriously, the guy is awful a punt returns. Stop using him  now. Let Christine Michaels or Jeremy Lane try. That certainly couldn't be worse.

Stop With All the Pointless Games

Last week the top 25 FBS team won by an average score of 33.74 points. The only top 25 team that lost was Arizona State and that was because they played Stanford, another top 25 team. Take a look at the four scores below. They are the first four that show up on Yahoo Sports scores and schedules page. Only Georgia vs North Texas was even close, and saying that is a real stretch.

North Texas Almost had 'em

So, why do I bring this all up? Because FBS teams scheduling FCS (NCAA Division II) teams for a free win is getting out of control. It needs to stop.

If you exclude bowl games, most teams only get three out of conference games a season. These games are the only chance for fans of top teams to see how their team stacks up against other teams from around the country. If they schedule other Division I teams, fans would get to see top talent in the country up close and personal. The games would bring excitement to the season and they are sure to sell out. It would also keep season ticket holders from getting ripped off and having to pay big money to witness a blowout, as currently happens. Basically, scheduling Division I teams is an all around win for fans.

It is not just the fans that would benefit from improving the non conference schedules. Playing a tough out of conference schedule also gives teams a chance at a signature win. This kind of a win is really important for teams that want to make it into a BCS bowl game.It sticks i nthe voters minds. It is also important to help build a teams confidence in themselves. Even in a loss, as long as it isn't an embarrassment, knowing they can stay with a great team can build confidence as well. However, a win over a top tier opponent can rocket launch a team into their conference play.

Playing big games will also bring in more revenue as both teams and help the universities. Stations like ESPN, Fox and NBC would play big money to broadcast the game. For D1 versus D2 games, only regional channels will broadcast the game, which brings in way less money. ROOT just can't pay the same as ESPN. Compared to a match up like Idaho State vs Washington, where Washington had to pay Idaho for the right to throttle them, playing other Division I teams is a definite money maker.

If teams insist on playing push overs there are always bad Division I teams. The University of Washington Huskies scheduled Illinois, a team that plays in the Big ten but went 2-10 last year. They were basically a free win for the Dawgs. Yet, the Fighting Illini still offer a little bit of prestige, especially compared to a Division II team.

Basically, using your non conference schedule to play tomato cans is a waste. Only the teams record benefits. However, playing other Division I teams is a win for the fans, the teams and the university.

I Miss Summer Olympics Sports

For years I was a baseball fanatic. The Seattle Mariners were my favorite team bar none. I looked forward to opening day and the beginning of another season. Usually, I could count on the M's keeping my interest through at least the end of June. However, after ten plus seasons without playoff baseball and a 10-3 loss to the Astros, I lost interest a lot early this year. In fact, thanks to Facebook, we can see it was on April 24th.

So, to scratch my sports fan itch, I have had to turn to other sources. For one, I have gotten much more into the Sounders this season (and was repaid with a Clint Dempsey signing and a rapid rise the first place in the Western Conference). I joined a rec softball league. I ignored sports all together and played video games (Bioshock Infinite is a short but awesome game). I also started thinking about the Summer Olympics.

Specifically, I thought about all the sports that I don't get to watch, except during the games. So, I made a list of my three favorite Summer Olympic sports. Now the last Summer Olympics took place in London in 2012. This means the next ones aren't until Rio de Janeiro in the summer of 2016. So, I wont get to readily get to see any of these sports for the next three years, But I can type up a little about why I liked them. Maybe that will scratch my itch.

1. Olympic Style Boxing
I know, I know, boxing happens all over the place year round. Heck, I could even go down to the Emerald Queen Casino and watch a live match. The thing is, Olympic Boxing is different than all that. The matches take less time. Only three, five minute rounds.  The matches almost never have a knockout, but instead are settled by points. Mostly this is because the fighters wear headgear. The points make it a much more technical  fighting and I think interesting.

2. Volleyball
Most people like the beach volleyball in the Olympics, but personally I like the traditional indoor type. The court full of players and jumping in unison to block a smash or disguise the hitter never gets old. Plus there is constant action with players diving, digging and jumping all over the place. The only negative I see here is the length of the matches.

3. Field
I enjoy the sprints and hurdles as much as the next guy, but you can see people running all the time. The NCAA championships are usually broadcast on tv and often the world championships as well. However, what I find really interesting are all the field events. High jump and pole vault especially catch my interest. Something about people running really fast and then throwing themselves at a bar is captivating.

Praise for Pretty Boy Marc Burch

As an engineer and an American sports fan I love and rely heavily on stats to provide objective evidence for my claims. It is one of the reasons I love baseball and basketball so much; you can make your case by just pointing to the numbers. Not having proof, to back myself up, makes me hesitant to make arguments. I just don't like relying on my gut alone.

Soccer, by it's very nature, forces writers into the realm of subjective argument. There just aren't very many stats for non-forwards. Some of the very best players might go the whole season without scoring a goal. Coupling my innate reservation about making arguments without stats with my lack of a deep soccer background makes me nervous to write analysis of soccer players. However, I am going to try to do exactly that.

This season the Sounders have been doing really well. They have surged from a slow start to take over first place in the Western Conference with 49 points. With the team doing this well several players have found success. However, the quality of play for one non-star player has stuck out to me and I feel like he deserves some praise. Although he hasn't scored a goal for the Sounders, Marc Burch has been a constant quality contributor to the team.

Look at that gorgeous hair!

Despite being a natural defender, Burch has spent most of the 2013 season playing left midfield. From this position he has been able to control the ball and make good crossing passes into the goal box. He has excellent touch on the ball. Even if they dont always result in goals, Burch's passes give the Sounders good opportunities, which is key to a successful team.

Like most Sounders players, Burch is always hustling. He takes good lines and gets to the ball quickly. His background as a defender shows.Very rarely do you see him get beat and I have never seen him give up on a play. These attributes are really important to helping the team win.

At yesterday's Sounders FC vs Real Salt Lake match Burch again made his presence felt by positioning himself where he could make plays and making well placed crosses into the scoring area. While Obafemi Martins and Lamar Neagle scored the goals, Marc Burch clearly helped the Sounders beat RSL. The game was a great example of everything he brings to the team. Hopefully the coaches and fans realize what they have in Burch and he continues to get playing time.

A Few Tidbits from Around the Web

Remember March Madness when FGCU went on a crazy unexpected run? Remember all the cool dunks?No, well watch them again.

Jason Collins tells the world he is gay. In case you don't know who Jason Collins is (I didn't) click here for his NBA career stats.

Yankees fans and Red Sox fans invade Safeco field every summer. Home town fans are overcome by the mass of band wagon supporters. It is awful. Now we can add one more team to that list of super annoying away team fans, the Toronto Blue Jays.

Often times in sports it is important to make lists. Lists of the greatest QB ever, lists of the best teams, lists of the funniest names. ESPN decided it was time to make a list of the best uniforms.

Mariners vs Red Sox vs Dave Sims

Bottom of the 13th, tie game, pop fly to left.
"And that ones going to be troubleeee...no its not. Raul's got it" - Dave Sims

FIFA Law 11 - A player is in an offside position if he is nearer to this opponents goal line than both the ball and the second last opponent.

Although I didnt always, I now understand the technical definition of the offsides rule. That is to say I understand when a player is offsides and when he is not. After watching several world cup, international and MLS matches, I even understand why it is a rule. Again I didnt always understand this. It seemed like by simply removing this restrictive rule the sport could increase scoring and bring in more American fans. But even with all this soccer growth and enlightment, man it can be infuriating.

Did you watch the video? If not watch it. On Sunday during a tightly contested match against Chivas USA, the Sounders Brad Evans shot and appear to score a goal that would have put his team up by 2 with 24 minutes to play. This would have basically wrapped up the game. Instead Evan's goal was negated because he was slightly offsides. When I say slightly I mean slightly. He couldn't have been more than two feet forward of "the second to last opponent."

It seems to me that in times like this when the offensive player is clearly not cherry picking, the offsides rule shouldn't apply. MLS should consider changing the rule so that it only applies to outside the goal box. This would be similar to the offsides rule in hockey. It would let plays like Evan's almost goal count. It would make soccer way more exciting.

Idiocy and Team Building

As someone who technically writes for this blog but hasn't in several months, it may seem quite silly for my first post to be about an NBA team literally no one cares about.  The very existence of this article follows none of the normal subject matter for this blog, and really doesn't make a lick of sense.  Why anyone would bother to devote time to purposefully creating such a terrible product is beyond most reasonable people, and yet here lies that article.

The Milwaukee Bucks are this article.

Absolutely nothing about the Bucks makes any sense whatsoever, even to the most casual of observers.  Last season, they were among the worst teams in all of basketball, in that they were neither bad enough to pick up any truly worthwhile talent in the draft nor good enough to make the playoffs as anything other than an afterthought eight seed awaiting destruction by the eventual champions.  Outside of Brandon Jennings' regrettable comments (a yearly tradition, along with his steadily degrading play), there really wasn't any reason to pay attention to the Bucks this year.  Going forward, the only person on the roster that is even a little exciting is LARRY SANDERS!, who is as ridiculous as any player in the league, both in his ability to create highlight blocks and his ability to be hilariously stupid on the court.  If there was ever to be a second JaVale McGee, he is it.

You Can't Escape Justice, Only Avoid it for a Time

Yesterday, Ryan Braun accepted a 65 game suspension (the rest of the season) for violating the league's PED rules. Braun's suspension comes as part of the fallout from the Biogenesis scandal. He is probably baseball's biggest name to get busted for PED, while at the height of his career.  His involvement in a PED scandal is especially damning and especially intriguing because of his previously failed, and than overturned, drug test.

Back during the 2011, MLB announced that Braun had failed a drug test. The story dominated the headlines during the season. During that period Braun vehemently denied the accusations. He lambasted everyone involved in case. The outfielder battled the allegations that he took PED and eventually overturned MLB ruling, on a technicality, during the appeal process.

After the appeal overturned his suspension, the sports writers awarded him with the 2011 MVP award. Braun than played the entire 2012 season and produced what is arguably, an even better season than his MVP campaign. His 2012 wRC+ was 161. It appeared that the whole PED thing was behind him. Than, the Biogenesis list leaked and those of us that never believed his story about tainted pee cups or prolonged exposure got to see the star fall.

Here is the thing, I wasn't rooting for Ryan Braun to fall because he took PEDs. Honestly, I couldn't care less if he doped. I was rooting for Ryan Braun to fall because he was a smug, insolent, asshole about whole thing. The guy obviously caught a huge break when the test taker just so happened to not follow the exact written procedure. 

So what did he do? He didn't count his lucky stars and quietly go back to his successful career as a major leaguer. No, he decided to take the low road. After being cleared of wrong doing, Braun continued his crusade to clear his name and villianized anyone involved in the case to suspend him. He questioned the urine sampler, the testing agency and baseball about their integrity. He basically took the least graceful path possible.

The main point I'm taking from this whole Ryan Braun cheating scandal is if you lie, cheat and steal your way to the top, you will eventually get your comeuppances. It might not be immediately or even in the short term, but some day you will pay a debt for being an asshole. I like to think that this is true everywhere in the world, but, even if it isnt, it is nice to know, that in the isolated world of Major League Baseball, eventually it all comes back around.

Gilbert Arenas...Superstar Pay

Gilbert Arenas was once a force to be reckoned with in the NBA. In the 2006 and 2007 seasons he averaged almost 30ppg. However a slew of injuries diminished his talent to the point where he now plays in China. So, imagine my surprise when I saw him listed on the ESPN Magazine list of top paid athletes in 2012. According to ESPN Magazine, Mr. Arenas made $20,807,922 last year from the Wizards. Seriously, he was the third highest paid NBA player and he didn't even play a game. Wow, just wow.

You Make Americans Hate Soccer

On Wednesday I went to the Sounders vs DC United match at Century Link Field. The match in general was fun because the Sounders won 2-0, but very frustrating as they looked bad in their victory. However, I am not enough of a soccer expert to write about the failing of the Sounders offense during this game. Instead I want to concentrate on something else, or more specifically someone else, that caught my eye during the game, DC United Midfielder Sainey Nyassi.

This Guy...This Freaking Guy

To my untrained eye Nyassi embodies every reason why many American fans struggle to get into soccer. During the first half of the game he split his time evenly between playing soccer, rolling around on the ground and complaining to the referee. Of all those times he hit the turf, maybe one was a legitimate foul. At least once he fell completely on his own according with no Sounder player anywhere near him. His response to this embarrassment was to roll around on the ground, pop up and sprint over the the ref to plead his case for a foul.

Flopping repeatedly during a soccer match is super annoying. Sure players flop in other sports (basketball, hockey, etc) but in none of those sports is it quite so brazen. Americans hate it. We hate it more then we hate the low scoring or the lack of stats to judge players on. We hate it so much that it often blinds us to all the other good things about the sport. On Wednesday, Nyassi took flopping to a whole new level and he personally emobodied everything Americans hate about soccer. I don’t know if Nyassi always plays this way or if I just caught him on a bad day, but boy was it annoying. Enough so that Nyassi has now join the list of athletes I root against (including guys like Brett Favre and Carmelo Anthony).

The Nets Take an... Interesting... Approach

The Brooklyn Nets finished the 2012-2013 season with a 49-33 records, which was good for fourth best in the eastern conference. During their teams off season discussions the front office must have decided they were really close and that all they were missing was some veteran leadership because they traded away lots of their future for the a 35 year old and 36 year old guard and a 37 year old forward. Sure these older veteran players are Jason Terry, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, players who have all been at the top at some point in their careers, but as every stock prospectus ever warns us,  past performance does not necessarily predict future results. 

These guys have been playing basketball for a long time. In Kevin Garnett's case he has 17 years of professional experience under his belt. Their bodies are getting older and their skills are or will be getting worse. To acquire these three veterans the Nets gave up five players and three first round picks. That is right they gave up three first round picks. Let that sink in.... hopefully you have properly considered it now. The Nets have essentially said that these three veteran players, who in the best of situations have 4-6 years of effective playing time left, will provide more value for their franchise then three young talented rookies. 

On top of the three first rounders the Nets also trade five other players, Keith Bogans, Gerald Wallace, Kris Humpries, Reggie Evans and some guy named Tornike Shengelia. Most or all of these guys were included in the trade because of the NBA's constant salary cap shuffling. None of them look to be big contributors to the Celtics, but still they are part of the trade. 

 If the Nets do win a championship in the next 1-3 years this will deal will be worth it. Hoisting the trophy at the end of the is the ultimate goal of all teams. However, the more likely scenario is that the Nets fall short and all three of the veterans they acquired leave in either free agency or retirement. In that case this trade would be a complete failure. 

This was definitely a bold move by both teams. If you are a fan of either team, I supposed you can be glad that you have a clear idea of what your teams plan is. The Celtics dumped the fave of their franchise and committed themselves to being bad for the next couple of years in the hopes of being better in the long term. The Nets decided to go for it all now. That is better then floundering in mediocrity like many other teams. I just dont know if I could get behind such a risk being taken by the Nets.

A Little Consistency Please

I hate how during the NBA playoffs the rules unofficially change. A foul during the regular season or the first 45 minutes of the playoff game is suddenly just good hard defense during the last 3 minutes of a playoff game. The function for defining a foul shouldn’t be time dependent. A play should either be a foul or not.

Here is the NBA rule books definition of a foul:

“A player shall not hold, push, charge into, impede the progress of an opponent by
extending a hand, arm, leg or knee or by bending the body into a position that is not normal. Contact that results in the re-routing of an opponent is a foul which must be called immediately."

See, there is nothing in the definition that says to consult the game clock when determining a foul. Why should the rules suddenly change at the end of a game? Why have a rulebook and an official definition if the referee charged with upholding it are just going to ignore it for the last three minutes? It doesn’t make any sense.

Let’s say a team plays hard the whole game. They develop a strategy to penetrate and draw fouls. This strategy has been working well the whole game, then when the clock hits 2:59 they stop getting those calls. Instead of a trip to the free throw line and a chance at points, they just get a turnover and bruise for their efforts. It is ridiculous.

Now don’t get me wrong; I am not against referees letting the players play. If I had my way they would call a whole lot less fouls. Most of the time, the fouls are so ticky-tack they just slow the whole game down. I find myself losing interest in games that spend a lot of time on the charity stripe. I am not unrealistic though. I realize we cant play street rules. A professional sports league needs clear rules. I am a proponent of some happy median. But what I really want more than anything is consistency in how the games are called. Is that really too much to ask?

                       

I Am Sure Glad We Kept Justin Smoak

Mike Carp - Fangraphs

Look at the 2013 stat line and try not to tell me this front office screwed up yet again.

It is all on you, Charlie Furbush.

Back in 2011 the Mariners had a plethora of pitching talent and a dearth of hitting ability. By July the team was headed to yet another last place finish. So, GM Jack Z decided to trade away one of his promising young starters, Doug Foster and a solid reliever, David Pauley to the Detroit Tigers. Once he arrived in Detroit, Fister turned into a great pitcher. He has a 2.73 ERA as a Tiger. As compensation for Fister the Mariners received, Capser Wells, Fransisco Martinez, Chance Ruffin and Charlie Furbush.

The center piece of this trade was supposed to be Martinez. Last week the Mariners traded him back to Detoit for cash considerations, essentially giving up completely on him. The other hitter in the trade was Casper Wells, a defense first outfielder with too many strikeouts and not enough power. He got cut by the M's this off season and still hasn't found a permanent MLB home. A reliever, Chance Ruffin, was included in the trade because he was near Major league ready and has an electric arm. After forgetting how to throw strikes in AAA last year,  he is currently in AA Jackson and isnt really considered by anyone to be in the future plans for the team. That leaves only Furbush as a contributor to the Mariners.

When he came over to the Mariners, Furbush was a starter. He is now a reliever and although he is not quite a LOOGY, he does specialize in getting lefties out. As such his potential value to the M's dropped dramatically. However, with all three other players the M's received as part of the trade providing zero value, the burden of salvaging the trade falls entirely on Furbush.  Unless Charlie manages to become the greatest left handed reliver ever this trade is going to go down as a failure for Jack Z. In fact it might even be the epitome of all Jack Z trades. They look good when they happen and than turn out worthless in the end.

At Least I'm Not an Angels Fan

No matter how bad your team is doing this year, feel good knowing they aren't as bad off as the Angels (unless they are the Angels in which case sorry). This year, at 14-24, the Angels have the third worst record in MLB. Only the Marlins and the Astros are worse and those teams were supposed to be terrible. Some experts were saying the Astros might challenge for the worst single season record ever. The Marlins self destructed yet again this offseason and lost their best player, Giancarlo Stanton, to injury. Unlike those two lowly teams, the Angels were supposed to be in a very different place as a team.

Over the last two years the Angels have led the pack in free agency, signing both of the biggest available players. In 2012, they inked Josh Hamilton for $123,000,000 over 5 years and in 2011, they signed one of the greatest players of all-time, Albert Pujols, for $250,000,000 over 10 years. That is right, both of those guys are going to be making $25 million a year. GM Jerry Dipoto essentially has a limitless budget and he has been using it. And yet still this team has gotten off to the third worst start in the whole of baseball and basically killing their playoff chances by May 1st.

Despite the popular myth that everything is Josh Hamilton's fault (wRC+ of 73!), the largest contributing reason for the Angels lack of success has been their pitching. The starters have a combined 5.04 ERA, which is fifth worst in the majors and the relievers have a combined 4.01, which is eight worst. Joe Blanton is the poster boy for under performance as he has gotten walloped to a tune of a 6.46 ERA this year. His 4.10 xFIP points to better results in the future, but based on how deep of a hole the team dug itself that probably doesnt matter. 

None of that struggling pitcher stuff should really matter though. The Angels starting lineup features, Albert Pujols (a sure fire first ballot hall of famer), Mike Trout (a 21 year old phenom and reigning RoY), Josh Hamilton (a former MVP) and Mark Trumbo (who has clubbed 29 and 32 HR that last two seasons). Combined those guys could/should hit 120 HR and have a wRC+ well over 120. Throw in above average starters like Erick Aybar and Howie Kendrick and the lineup should be capable of just flat out hitting anyone regardless of pitching performance. Instead they have gotten off to a slow start exactly when their struggling pitcher needed them the most.

Basically nothing has gone right for the Angels. Their pitchers are struggling and their hitters are struggling. Additionally their usual aggressive base running and motion style offense appears to be gone. They are 26th in the league in SB. I hate to say it but the Mike Scioscia magic seems to be gone and the rally monkey must have died of old age. At this point in the season there is no team in worse shape than the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

We Dont Have a Pick and I Dont Care

Tomorrow night the first round of the NFL draft will take place in New York city. Fans from across the country will tune in and watch as teams add players they hope can turn their fortunes around or strength a weakness. The sports media world will be focused intently on these 32 picks. Analysis of each and every pick will be offered from anyone and everyone with any sort of expertise. The Seahawks will be left out of all this hoopla and I really don't care that we are missing out.

As a quick reminder, during the off season the Seahawks traded away their 2013 first round pick to the Minnesota Vikings for WR/Athlete Percy Harvin. As such, they don't get a pick this year (unless they trade for one). Under normal circumstances this would be a big deal. Our team would be missing out on the chance at signing one of the 32 best college players in the country. This year is different. This year the Seahawks are already loaded with young talented players. They have very few holes to fill.

Going into the offseason the biggest needs were the defensive line and WR. The front office has already taken care of both of these needs. They traded for Percy Harvin, who is one of the most dangerous playmakers in the league. Next they signed Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril, who have combined for 33.5 sacks in the last two years.  The Seahawks biggest need is probably a OLB or a TE, but neither of these are usually considered first round positions.

Additionally, this year's incoming draft class is considered by many of the talk heads as one of the worst in years. There are very few projected premier, fortune changing, talents. Using that pick to acquire a player like Percy Harvin is probably a much better use of your valuable first round pick. There probably aren't any players that can make the kind of impact Harvin can. Missing out on a first round talent this year, especially considering our pick would have been so late, just doesn't have the same impact as missing out in years past.

GM John Schneider and Head Coach Pete Carroll have done an excellent job setting this team up for the present and the future. The team appears to have very few, if any, weaknesses, which means they have the luxury of being able to skip the first round tomorrow and still be set for a great run in 2013.

Next Time Just Give Them a Fruit Basket

Well that was sure nice of the Mariners, to let the Astros win their first ever series at Safeco Field as a member of the AL West. What generous and polite hosts our Mariners are. They showed the weak scared little Astros a great time. Unfortunately in the world of professional baseball giving away gifts like this doesnt gain you anything. Every series counts. The key to the playoffs is not winning every game but winning more series then you lose.  The Astros arent going to intentionally return the favor when the M's go to Houston. I would have much rather Jack Z just handed every Astors player a fruit basket and given them a professional and courteous handshake.

P.S. Stop sucking at baseball Mariners!

Please Mariners Dont Fail Me Again

I think the Mariner’s lack of success has finally gotten to me. Eleven years without a playoff appearance and nine years of being outscored by the opponents has left me entering the 2013 season with the lowest level of excitement I can remember. I am struggling to see how this year’s team has a chance to compete. 

I know there are better players this year and the fences have been moved in, but we have had signs of improvement in the past only to finish on the outside looking in again. Remember 2004 and 2010? Both years we expected to compete and both years we lost 99+ games. All the years a disappointment and terrible personnel moves has put me teetering on the edge of becoming a Mariners pessimist. All it will take is another disappointing last place finish and I will be over the cliff. And once I go there it will be an unbelievably difficult task to pull myself back into the world of optimism or even realism. 

So, as a preventative measure, I ask the 2013 Mariners to not fail us again. Don’t waste ten Felix Hernandez pitching gems by only scoring one run. Don’t wait until July to cut a struggling old veteran just because he might turn it around. Don’t trade away a promising young player for a reliever on the hopes he will help you make the playoffs.  And whatever you do don’t let the Astros surprise the league and finish ahead of us.

Getting to Know the New Neighbors

 

This year, for the first time since 1994, the American League West is going to be getting a new team. It will no longer be a four team race. The Houston Astros will be joining the Mariners, Athletics, Angels and Rangers to challenge for the coveted playoff spot. As Mariners fans and longtime members of the AL West we should celebrate the arrival of our new rival. Unless something goes total terribly disastrously wrong, for the first time in years the M’s won’t be the worst team in the division. We should also spend some time getting to know our new opponents. After all, we are going to see them 18 times this year.

So, first let’s state this simply, the Astros are terrible. They have lost 105+ games each of the last two seasons and haven’t had a winning record since 2008. During that time the team has consistently traded away all their players that show potential (Michael Bourne, Hunter Pence, Wandy Rodriguez, Jed Lowrie, the list goes on and on). This has basically left them with a roster absent of major league talent.

So, what about the players? There must be some of them that are worth knowing. Well maybe one. Last year their lone all-star representative was 2B Jose Altuve, who had a wRC+ of 104 and played pretty mediocre to bad defense. That performance is very exciting, but like I said before, the Astros have basically traded away everyone worth knowing. However, as a fellow AL West member, we should still take a look at the roster.

In the starting rotation the most notable names are Lucas Harrell and Bud Norris. Harrell is the better of the two, with a lower ERA and xFIP, but Norris gets more of the press. This is because Norris does a good job striking people out, while Harrell doesn’t.  They also signed Phil Humber, the guy that threw a perfect game against the M’s last year and ended the season off a major league roster. So, who knows what they have in him. After those three they are definitely going to have other players starting games.

In the bullpen the situation is no better. Last year’s best reliever, Wilton Lopez, is now with the Colorado Rockies. Like I said before everyone leaves Houston. The best players left is Wesley Wright, who strikes people out at a good rate, minimizes walks and minimizes home runs. So, hopefully he will be a bright spot. In other hilarious news, Bill Bavasi draft bust Josh Fields, is on the roster.

The position players finish up this terrible roster the way it began, with a bunch of nothing. The aforementioned Jose Altuve should be solid enough and probably an All-Star again (because of the every team has to have one rule). After him the team does have Chris Carter and Carlos Pena (both former A’s, weird) who should provide Homers and strikeouts in abundance. Infielders Tyler Greene and Marwin Gonzalez, managed to compile 0.0 WAR last year in a combined 500+ PA, so that is something. Not just anybody can play at a perfectly replacement level for an entire season, and the Astros have two such palyers!

There you have it. The Houston Astros are the new team in the AL West. I would call them a competitor, but that might be too strong of a word. Unless something changes or some players pop in an unexpectedly good way they look to be awful yet again. Take comfort Mariners fans there is finally somebody worse off than us!

Sources: Fangraphs, Baseball-Reference, Astros.com

What is the deal with James Loney?

What is the deal with James Loney? Back in the mid 2000’s, along with Matt Kemp, and Andre Ethier, he was one of the young players that was supposed to help turn the Dodgers into a perennial contender. Kemp and Ethier turned into the stars they were projected to, while Loney didn’t. Sure, he hasn’t been terrible, he has a career wRC+ of 103 and is considered a solid defender, but he has been a far cry from what was expected. He is especially frustrating if you consider he is a first baseman, a position that traditionally has good or great offensive players.

At 6’3” and 220lb, Loney definitely has the body of a good player. He is tall and appears to be in good shape. He has just never been able to transform that physicality into success at the major league level. He is a great example of a jeans salesman (watch Moneyball, you’ll get the reference). It just looks like he should be a good player.

There is definitely more to the perception that he should be good then just his athletic body. Loney’s minor league career seemed to indicate major league success. As a minor leaguer he had a triple slash of .296/.363/.430. His potential landed him on the Baseball America top 50 prospects list three of his five seasons (if you don’t count 2007 when he was no longer a prospect). In 2006, during a half season with the Las Vegas 51’s, Loney hit .380/.426/.546. That was enough to get him called up to the big leagues where he hit .284/.342/.559. The future certainly looked bright.

Looking at that major league career there are positive signs as well. During a strikeout crazy era Loney owns a career K% of 12.2%, which according to Fangraphs is great. Over the three season span of 2010-2012, Lonely was seventh in the league in line drive percentage (LD%). Normally a high LD% translates into on field success. Some of the other leaders are Joey Votto, Joe Mauer and Freddie Freeman. Additionally, he makes contact at an above average rate, 87.9% of the time he swings. The numbers tell us he avoids strikeouts, makes contact at a high rate and the type of contact he makes is good. All this should lead to success.

So, he looks like he should be good, he did well in the minors and his peripheral stats show signs of promise, why is he bad? Maybe James Loney is just unlucky. The thing is, in baseball, even luck can be measured. BABIP does exactly this. According to Fangraphs, an average BABIP is .290-.310. James Loney has a career BABIP of .305, right around average. I think this is enough to discredit that he is unlucky. That leaves us still lost as to why he isn’t good.

Not being able to figure it out with body type, minor or major league stats, the best guess I can offer is a lack of bat speed. Big toned muscles don’t generate power alone, basically, bat speed generates power. People generate bat speed in all different ways (quick wrists, huge pecs and arms, powerful hips, etc), but without it you just don’t hit for power. I am not a doctor, a physical trainer or a professional scout, so I couldn’t tell you exactly about his bat speed. However, I can tell you having low bat speed is the most likely reason why someone cant hit for power.

So, why isn’t James Loney good? Unfortunately, I can’t tell you for sure. All I can do is offer guesses, which is a pretty disappointing outcome for a blog post (especially sense you had to read so many words to get here). However, based on his ability to consistently land on major league rosters I am not the only who confused by his lack of success. The professional evaluators continue to see something in him. James Loney’s lack of success will continue to be a mystery.

Sources: Fangraphs, Baseball-Reference

A Few Tidbits from Around the Web

As a reminder that I still love my readers (hopefully plural) here are a bunch of links to interesting sports things around the web. Click away.

• They're back! The always fun Seattle Mariners TV commercials have been released for 2013.
• A great read about one of the best pitchers of the last ten years, Roy Halladay.
• John McGrath's take on Percy Harvin, the Seahawks newest WR.
• Alex, from Seattle Sportsnet, does a great job of outlining everything wrong with ROOT (except he forgot to highlight Dave Sims)

Is Andrew Andrews Good?

Overall this season the University of Washington's Men's Basketball Team has failed ot draw me in. They have played a sloppy low scoring style that has resulted in  largely disappointing games. The starters have been streaky. Some games they will play like future NBA players and the next they will shoot 1-11 with more turnovers then assists. Despite all this one thing about the team has sparked my interest, red-shirt freshman Andrew Andrews.

Andrews is a 6'2" PG from Portland Oregon. Gohuskies.com describes him "as a tough, fearless point guard." That is definitely something the huskies could use. Especially after having Abdul Gaddy start for a whole season (Gaddy appears to be terrified that entire game.). If you watch Andrews you can definitely tell he does not cowar at the prospect of contact or big shots.  He is always looking to score and often plays out of control. Watching him it doesnt take long to realize he pocesses the skill to get to the bucket. You will also notice that he often takes ill advised shots or attempt passes that have no chance at succeeding. He reminds me of a young Isaiah Thomas.

All of this has resulted in him averaging 25 mpg and scoring 7.7 ppg. That is a solid performance, but when you see his 35.6 FG% is a red flag that stand out on the stat line. I cant help but wonder, does Andrews play actually help the team win or is he just another player whose flare out weighs his benefits (Ala Stephon Marbury)?  My hope is he can refine his game and turn into a strong PG like the Huskies need.

Sources: Yahoo Sports, GoHuskies.com

Eric Wedge is Annoying

Something I have noticed over the last two seasons of Mariners baseball is that whenever Manager Eric Wedge gives an interview all that he says is just super cliche and pointless. He never offers any real insight, just phrases like "respecting the game", "giving it all" or my personal favorite "playing the right way" (what the heck is the right way?). What is the point of even uttering these quips? Every sports fan has heard them a million times; Players must have heard them a even more. Can they really motivate anyone anymore? Is Justin Smoak suddenly going to turn into the next Mark Texeria because someone tells him "he just needs to play within himself", I doubt it.

Outside of the world of news quotes Wedge seems to live by these tire old mantras. He favors players like Kevin Millwood and Miguel Olivo who "provide veteran leadership". In fact no players better exemplifies Wedge's passion for gritty old school guys than Miguel Olivo. The former M's catcher could hit for average, draw a walk or catch a pitch (the CATCHer's primary job), but he constantly stayed in the Manager's good graces. Why, because he "played hard every play" and "had a fire to win". Personally I wish subdued that fire a little so he could concentrate on getting base more and screwing up less.

Basically what I am trying to say is Eric Wedge is super annoying and I doesnt appear to add any real value to the Mariner's chances of winning baseball games. So, is it just me or is Eric Wedge's old school cliche and stereotypical management style really pointless and annoying to anyone else?

Time to Prove It GMZ

Hired in 2008 to replace the incompotent Bill Bavasi, Jack z is about start start his fifth season as the Seattle Mariners General Manager. So far the team has had limited success and I think this is definitely GMZ's prove it year

Throughout his time in Seattle he has been lauded for his ability to build a strong minor league system through the draft and trades, but so far none of those prospects have turned into good major league players. Sure several of them are still young and have showed some promise, but for every Kyle Seager there is a Justin Smoak to counter him.

The General Managers other job is to decide which players to keep, which players to let go and which players to add. Although a lot of his trades and signings were heralded at the time as deft moves almost none of them have panned out. The biggest and most obvious example was the disasterous Chone Figgins deal, but other moves like the Cliff Lee trade and/or the Brandon Morrow trade have also been failures.

The best thing gMZ has going for him is him not being Bill Bavasi. If some of the young guys don't finally step up and show that all the praise for drafting them was deserved or Michael Morse and Kendrys Morales don't hit bunch of Hr, Jack Z 's job is definitely on the line.

Some of My Thoughts on the Sonics Potential Return.

The potential return of the NBA to Seattle has created a sense of euphoria around the Seattle sports community. Memories of Shawn Kemp dunks and Ray Allen threes are racing back into the subconscious of people all over Washington State. Old Sonics fans are ecstatic to hear that a team is most likely coming back (and that they will most likely be called the Sonics). However, I for one cant seem to get on the band wagon. My excitement remains suppressed

First, let me be clear that I was never the biggest Sonics fan. I mostly watched when they a) were good or b) I was bored and they were on TV. That right there dampers my enthusiasm for their return. Even so, I was hurt when they left and I felt bad for all those die-hards. I could imagine the sadness I would feel if my favorite team, the Seattle Mariners, was stolen from us. 

This feeling of sympathy is one of the main reasons I am struggling to get excited now (the other being the Maloofs are weasels and mind still find a way out of this sale). By taking the Kings from Sacramento, Chris Hansen and his investment group are inflicting much of that same pain and sorrow Sonic's fans felt onto another fan base. Kings fans didn’t do anything to deserve this, just as Seattle fans didnt deserve to have the Sonics stolen. The NBA and its broken system of managing it teams, revenue and fans is what causes these teams to pack up and move, but the NBA doesnt face any consequences. However, the King's fans are still going to feel the consequences of the move and the NBA will just get new revenue from a new market.

Additionally, I feel conflicted because Sacramento is a one team city. The sports fans in the California capital dont have a football team or baseball team to fall back on. If the Kings leave, the fans are stuck rooting for Bay Area teams, something I think most Seattle fans can agree is less than desirable. It really feels bad knowing we will be taking away something so important to a sports community.

Now, dont get me wrong, I am not suggesting I dont want the Sonics to return. I feel worse for the Seattle area fan than I ever will for the Kings fans. I just wish there was a way for the wrong of taking the Soncis to be righted without us diving into world of sports villains (which is exactly what will happen). The way that we have to go about getting a team just makes me a little uneasy. I dont want our fine city to be associated with Clay Bennettesque team stealing.

The best way I have heard to rationalize this whole team swapping deal is that in order to have a NBA team you have to play within the system that governs that league. We are less stealing this team and more taking it. The new owners have been very open this whole process about their desire to move whatever team they acquire to Seattle. They aren’t playing with some other city’s fan’s hearts like Clay Bennett did. Basically the old saying, "dont hate the player, hate the game" fits these team movement situations to a T.