Let's go camping!

Hey! It's finally here! Our boys are smacking it around again, and camp opens with good news. The picks are almost all in (I told you there was nothing to worry about). Only Santi (a 6th rounder is unsigned). I heard rumors he was hurt, so the Colts may not sign him until he's healthy just so they can use the roster spot. Meanwhile, the Star leads off today with the promise that Dwight Freeney will be healthy enough to start week 1. I've said it over and over again, this is the one issue that really matters.

I wish I was going to get down to camp, but a business trip to Germany for 9 days starting next week makes that a little dicey. It still might happen, but I wouldn't count on it.

LINKS: We've known for awhile that Mike Floria is a tool. This post pretty much proves it. It's possibly the dumbest thing anyone has ever said. The Colts sign Quinn Grey and that means Peyton Manning is hurt really bad. Wow.

ESPN statistically (sort of) ranked the prestige of NCAA basketball programs since 1984. IU comes in at #13. I feel sick.

FO lists the best RB performances since 1995. Three different Colts make the list. We really have been blessed with an almost unbroken run of amazing RB play going back to the late 80s.

Trade Adam Dunn? For Huston Street?

The most insane rumor is currently running around MLB sites. It has the Reds dealing Adam Dunn (who now is tied for the NL lead in HRs), for Oakland closer Huston Street. This deal makes absolutely no sense. Dunn is due to walk at the end of this year. The Reds SHOULD resign him, but apparently Cincy fans are too stupid and want to run him out of town. Even so, Dunn will yield two top picks if signed by another club. He is insanely valuable both as a player and as a token.

Huston Street is an arbitration eligible closer. He will never be more overvalued than he is right now. Surely...SURELY this can't possibly true.

Walt Jockety should be shot if he makes this deal.

Among the best

Michael Silver, who continues his exile from public consciousness by writing for yahoo.com, has released his annual owner rankings. This time he gives a lot more love to Jimmy Irsay. I still can't fathom his love affair with Dan Snyder, but being in the top 6 is a good start. Irsay has been everything a fan could hope for in an owner.

Who's the worst? Look to our brothers in the AFC South...the Jholes! Yes folks, Wayne Weaver was ranked as the worst owner in the NFL. The write up on him is hilarious...

"He’s totally and completely out for his bottom line, and the league’s best interest is not in his mind at all.” Echoed a second owner: “He’s been actively trying to sell for a year-and-a-half, and he’s totally checked out. He knows it won’t work in Jacksonville."

Links: CHFF lists the best coaches of all time. The results prompt them to call the Colts/Pats rivalry perhaps the greatest ever. The 49ers and Cowboys of the 90s might argue with that, but if one of those two teams takes home another title or two, the debate will be settled.

Tuesday Links

We are currently working on some more articles so here's some links to hold everyone over.

Jeff Chadia picks the 10 most indispensable players in football. Anyone want to guess at #1 and #2? Yeah, you nailed it.

CHFF reprints the over/unders from Vegas. In regards to the Horse Shoe, take the over.

There is no less relevant story than this one. The Colts always sign everyone at the last minute and almost never have hold outs. This simply is no big deal. I wouldn't sweat it.

Marvin is going to show up to practice. Sweet. This season just got a lot brighter.

Manning and Brady share the top QB slot according to USA Today. Other Colts dot their list.

What? Now Manning might well play in the preseason? He might not miss regular season games??? GASP! I hate the media. How is this even news?

Check out this FO piece about Red Zone picks. The comments are worth reading.

Remind me again why this city has a franchise?

ESPN Power Rankings Passes the test

So I mentioned the "Am I a Smart Analyst Test" last night, and low and behold we have our first 'pass' of the test in awhile. ESPN has the Colts ranked second, but more importantly than the ranking is the reason. They've figured out exactly why all the injury talk is way overblown.

In other news, FO ranks the best QB seasons in the DVOA era. Our boy does pretty well (#1 overall, 4 of the top 8, 6 of the top 20). Yeah, he's pretty good.

Demond Sanders: Humor me for a moment and let me bask in the glory that is Danica. An average racer who, by virtue of having two X chromosomes, is the only known human who can get Indycar precious seconds on Sportscenter and CNN in the same day. Here's the latest international incident featuring the beautiful and talentless Milka Duno:

Sunday links

After enduring another brutal loss by the Reds, who are playing fairly well otherwise, I decided to surf a bit. Here's what I found:

CHFF doesn't seem to like anyone in the AFC. Actually, the Colts injury situation is pretty overblown despite what scouts say. The Jags losing Jerry Porter, who won't have preseason to work with a new QB and offense, is a much bigger issue than any of the Colts veterans being out. I think that writers get bored and keep hoping to beat the curve on the Colts finally not winning the division. They'll regret it come December. We might be sniffing the key question for the annual "Am I a smart analyst? test". (For the record: 2006 test was "Will the Colts miss Edgerrin James? 2007 was will the Colts miss June/David/Rhodes ect? The answer to both questions was NO!) We'll see how big a deal writers and pundits make of it, but this is running neck and neck with "Will Jags make the leap?". Injuries are ALWAYS an issue in the NFL, but with the Colts unhappy about the 80 man roster limit, it's not surprising that they are holding out more and more key veterans. Move along folks, there's nothing to see here.

The Skins getting Taylor for a second round pick is a great deal for both teams. It just shows how bad the Jholes screwed up by not getting him when they had the chance.

Apparently, Tony's quiet strength came in handy. (link found on CHFF)

Whitlock gets it right on Favre

How I Felt About the Dark Knight

I'm almost speechless. What can you say about a movie who's only flaw is that it was awesome for so long that I was almost exhausted by amazement? Whatever you've heard about TDK, triple it. Demond threw me a quote earlier this week comparing this movie to the greatest movie ever made: The Empire Strikes Back. And it is. It so thoroughly and completely perfects and redefines the comic book genre that quite simply nothing can compare to it. If there is a better film this year, I'll be amazed (and that's coming from a guy who sees most every significant movie every year because I love film).

To start with, they might as well just nominate Heath Ledger for Best Supporting Actor five times, because no one else will win. He could be alive and well and making Casanova 2-Casa is the Nova, and I would still say that. His performance was creepy and funny and brilliant. He could play gay cowboys from now till the end of time and never come close to a performance like this again. The fact that it most likely killed him adds an odd voyeuristic quality to what was already a disturbing and brilliant character.

All the supporting roles were well cast, and I love Maggie Gyllenhall (Donnie Darko, Stranger than Fiction) as a serious upgrade over Katie Holmes. Gary Oldman's Jim Gordon was rock solid again, and one of my favorite parts of the film. I had heard lukewarm comments about Aaron Eckhart, but found them to be unfounded as he nailed Harvey Dent.

As for action, I tire with most movies. I've seen every conceivable car chase and fist fight. I liked Hulk until he started to smash stuff. This movie though...this movie was sick. Car chases, fights, Batman flying around the city...everything was fresh and new and amazing. It was note perfect.

There were so many amazing laugh out loud, cheer, groan, and just flat "HOLY CRAP" things in that movie that I couldn't even absorb them all. Don't even get me started on the ending, which miraculously and unexpectedly managed to pay off the previous 2 hours and 20 minutes in an amazing way that I simply didn't expect.

Again, this movie is so good and so long, that I feel that it isn't a stretch to say that Batman Begins and The Dark Knight are the best comic book trilogy every made, and fit to stand along side the very best of triple features in movie history. What? There's only two movies? Didn't feel like it. They could have cut this one in half and made two movies out of it. Instead, they hammered us with one of the great accomplishments in popcorn cinema. I hope Lucas and Spielberg study it before making Indy 5 (The Search for Shaia's Lebouf). THIS is a movie that pays off on the promise of Star Wars, Jaws, Indy Jones, Superman 2, and every other movie that threatened to swallow a summer whole.

Counting the babysitter, I just dropped $35 dollars to see this with my wife. I spent the whole movie holding her hand and hugging her because we both knew what we were seeing was special. Every penny was spent.

So yeah...I liked it okay, I guess.

Demond Sanders: "I spent the whole movie holding her hand and hugging her because we both knew what we were seeing was special." Wow, you are a dork, but you're right about the movie. Ten minutes into the show I leaned over to my wife and calmly told her it was the best movie I've ever seen.

No Jokin'

I figure that no one is reading blogs tonight because everyone is too busy going to see the Dark Knight. I wish that I would have seen it at midnight last night, but babysitters are notoriously hard to find at that hour. Demond and I will both be taking our respective wives out for romantic nights of comic book heroes. Ah, but we are so very suave. Oddly enough, as excited as I am about this film, I more a'tingle over the return of Mulder and Scully next Friday. My wife and I are taking a weekend away to Canada to check out cultural extravaganza of the X-Files on Friday and the Stratford Shakespeare Festival on Saturday. Chris Carter and the Bard all at once. Be still my heart.

Before I turn completely into Harry Knowles, check out coltcast.net home of Big Dave's Horseshoe Haven podcast. His guest this week is yours truly. He has a very solid podcast that merits your subscription. Enjoy.

Paul Tracy: Dead or Canadian?

Well he's not dead. And he's back behind the wheel. The aging would-be winner of the controversial 2002 Indy 500 will, ironically, drive for Tony George's Vision Racing team for at least one race. It sounds like he'll drive at his home race in Edmonton and anything else will depend on his ability to not kill the other drivers. Also, you gotta love the weird Canadian music.

Why go to all the trouble?

Those who aren't regular readers or don't read the comments may well question why I went to the trouble to rebut a four year old article. One reader put it like this in his email entitled "Are you an idiot?":

The article is 4 years old. You go up to 2007 idiot. Yes, I can refute everything George Bush did 4 years ago. I have some other things you can investigate that have the same currency:Are the "Swift Boaters" right? Is the invasion of Iraq justified?Since it take 5 years for the oil from new drilling to get to market, shouldn't Bush want to open up closed areas for drilling now? Will the Red Sox ever break the curse of the Bambino? What about the White Sox? (Who cares about the Cubs?) If the Academy didn't create the "Animated Feature Film" category could "Million Dollar Baby" hold off "Shrek 2" as easily as "Finding Neverland?" Will Jamie Foxx win for his performance in "Ray" despite or because of past snubs of black actors? Gee, will viewers miss cartoon network's Toonami?

Thanks for your email, William. My best response is: just because a lie is old and out of date, doesn't mean that people don't still believe it. And yes...I'm an idiot for spending about ten hours on something just because JC baited me. I'm sort of like Marty McFly in that respect. One of these days someone will goad me into some reckless blog race, and I'll crash into a truck, injure my hand and never be able to type again. Will I ever learn?

Links:
Dungy comments on the Favre situation. Mike Floria thinks that's weird. I'm sort of torn about this. Honestly, it is a little weird. On the other hand, the media keeps calling to ask him about things, and I've long thought the whole 'no comment' thing was weird. In general, I think people should go ahead and express what they think. It's more weird that someone would call Dungy to ask him about the situation than it is for him to comment on it. Ultimately, if someone asks you a direct question, you should answer it. It's the responsibility of the questioner to question the relevance of the question.

Really Easy, Really Hard

Thanks to prompting of one of our loyal (re: obnoxious) readers, I undertook a massive endeavor. For too long, the ridiculous Cold Hard Football Facts article entitled The Complete & Unabridged Guide to Why Tom Brady is better than Peyton Manning has been allowed to stand unchallenged.

The article was crap. In fact, it was so poorly reasoned that it actually caused me pain to read it. So I took it apart. Piece by crappy piece. Doing so was easy on the one hand. The arguments were thin, the logic was inconsistent, and the facts wrong. On the other hand, there was so much wrong with the article, that by the time I was done, I had a 13 page document.

This is the final result. I want to thank Shake and Stan for their contributions. I intend to alert CHFF to the piece soon, but it would be best if some of you take a look at it when you have time. You all know my penchant for typos. I invest so much time in writing the articles, that my eyes glaze over when it comes time to proof them.

Let me be clear, this article doesn't set out to prove that Manning is better than Brady. I believe it to be so, but consider it impossible to prove one way or the other at this stage of their careers. The point of this article is to show that CHFF did a horrible job in comparing the two QBs. Their numbers were skewed, their arguments were weak.

Enjoy.

Manning has knee surgery...yawn.

Yeah, so you never want to hear that your franchise QB just had knee surgery. I'm sure this is probably no big deal, and if anything reduces the possibility that something horrible will happen in the preseason. In fact, if there was ever an argument for the uselessness of preseason football, this is it. The Colts are basically saying, "Sure, wait till the last minute so you can have a reason to ensure that everyone who pays for preseason tickets will spend the whole time checking out the new digs at Lucas Oil and not have any reason at all to watch the field." Manning is expected back in 4-6 weeks, basically just in time for the last preseason game.

Sigh. It's SORGI TIME!

Links:
God bless you, Hambone. That was some kind of night. You may be gone, but I'm still wear your jersey.

Demond Sanders: Hambone is something else. After homer #10 last night I called DZ and told him I think we (the Reds) may have traded Babe Ruth. 18 home runs later I'm pretty damn sure of it. I like his game so much it almost doesn't matter he's not in Cincy any more.

Links

I'm still traveling and now working on a pretty big piece for the site, so I'm just throwing up links today:

Floria gets something right. The AFC North will have a rough season. I say 10-6 wins it.

Seifert is correct as well. The whole season hinges on the question he asks about the Colts. We've been saying for weeks...it's the one and only issue with this club. Good news and we hoist Lombardi in February. Bad news and we win 12 games, the division, and exit the playoffs early.

Doug Farrar of FO looks at the Jags. He rightly sights their D (not their O) as the issue standing between them and the next level. I would love to see them move to a blitz crazy D. Sounds like a recipe for big games from Manning.

How not to end a career

I know Peyton is way to classy to ever pull this crap, but let the Favre drama be a lesson to all future HOF quarterbacks.

Like all good Americans, I like and appreciate Brett Favre because there are certain plays only he can make. But the madness needed to stop a long time ago. Don't get me wrong I think the Packers are crazy not to make another run with Favre, but I can't blame them for wanting to tell him to get lost.

Still, if this was Peyton (and again it never would be) your only option is to let him come back as often as you want. If Green Bay fans love Favre as much as I think they do they will be furious with the organization for years to come.

More videos from the "ryanparkersongs's channel" channel at Heavy.com

He only lies when his lips move

...said Pokey Reese of Jim Bowden (ex Reds and current Nats GM). Now he's under investigation by the FBI for stealing money from poor Dominican kids. Yikes. It's distressing to see Jose Rijo involved in the scandal as well. I hated Bowden already for being a weasel, but it's sad to see a man who brought the Reds a World Series get wrapped up in such things.

I've been insanely busy this week, but here's a list of links that have come up:
FO explains in more detail about the switch from DPAR to DYAR. Personally, I'm all for anything that is more accurate. I think DPAR was misleading because as Schatz points out, 'points' weren't equivalent between positions. For instance, you couldn't add up the WR, QB, and RB points given out in a game and get the total points the team scored. I think DYAR will work out well in the long run.

CHFF lists the most overrated QBs. The list is crap. They kill Elway for having wins with no stats and Aikman for having too much talent around him and Fouts for playing in a system. I know they wouldn't put Brady on the list, but explain to me how he's any better than Elway or Aikman. He had less talent on offense (save one season), and his stats were crap, but he won. I thought that's all that mattered to those guys. But now, they kill Elway for not having stats and just winning. At least they got #1 right. It's Namath and it's not close.

This piece on HoFers in football is great. I found it through SI, but it made a great point that I've been banging on for months. A lot of 'names' retired recently. They aren't all going to the Hall at all, and maybe one of them will get in on a first ballot (the suddenly a-holish Favre if he stays out). And just who is mentioning Steve McNair for the Hall? Give me a break. He barely ever made the freaking Pro Bowl. He's the Fukudome of football (just kidding).

Great job Kravitz. I can't believe I'm not being sarcastic. I appreciate him defending Jermaine O'Neal. JO took a lot of heat for things he didn't do and has been called a whiner for enduring one of the worst collections of miscreants to grace the Indy sports scene ever. This was a nice piece by Bob and shows that maybe he does have a heart and not just a penchant for irritation.

I hate the NL Central

It's bad enough to have to play in a 6 team division, but now that the Brewers and Cubs have both improved their starting rotations, it just got that much tougher. The Cubs pulled off a great trade for Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin today. I'm shocked the A's parted with Harden for so little, but since he's on my fantasy team, I have noticed that he hasn't gone past 5 innings too often recently, which makes me wonder how sound his arm is. Still, this is a great deal for the Cubs who apparently agreed with my assessment that they needed more pitching. The only part that surprises me is that they were able to acquire it.

Links:
Tony appeared on Mike and Mike.

Making things harder than they really are

I have one question for the Packers:

Do you have a better chance to win the Super Bowl with Brett Favre or Aaron Rodgers?

I think they have zero chance to win with Rodgers. I think they have a puncher's chance with Favre.

So why cry if Favre wants to come back?

They are better with him than with Rodgers. They should be dancing in the streets.

Is there something I'm missing?

Why do Cubs fans hate the Cubs?

It's a fair question, but one that lacks an easy answer. Be it through goat-cursing or ball snatching, Cubs fans have systematically worked to undermine and weaken their team's chances of winning for going on a century now. This year, the Wrigley faithful found a new way to sabotage their team's Series hopes. They voted for Kosuke Fukudome for the National League All-Star Team.

Seeing as how the Cubs road record stands at 6 games under .500, you'd think the Cubs fans would want to have home field advantage in the World Series. They don't. If they did, they would have tried to elect the best possible team to face the American League next Tuesday night. Instead of voting for any of a number of superior players, however, they made the club killing move of voting for the guy with average stats and a profane last name. The NL All-Star is now dramatically weaker than it would have been, thus reducing the Cubs' opportunity to host Game 7 of the World Series.

If, by some miracle, the Cubs end up losing game 7 in Tampa in October, then the geniuses in blue will have no one blame but themselves for undermining what could have been a joyous season. Nice job, Cubs fans! Some clubs get a winning boost of energy or crowd noise from the home town faithful to put them over the top. The Cubs? They get fan-aided disaster.

Enjoy Fukodome's .287 average and mediocre power on Tuesday night, oh loyal Cubs fan. You'll be hating that hastily punched ballot on Wednesday morning.

Links:
FO gives its numbers an overhaul. Read it when you have some time.

A Great Way to Spend the 4th

Or the 3rd, actually (but we didn't get home until the 4th). Despite the general crapulence around the Verizon Music Center, it's impossible to deny that the man can write some amazing music. My wife and I took in Tom Petty and Heartbreakers last night, and in addition to sweet memories of XLII during "Free Falling", we were thoroughly pleased with the entire show. Petty didn't pull any punches, and didn't hammer us with "now let's endure something my new album". It was all his best all night long. I don't think I'll go back to Verizon for a show again because the atmosphere was toxic with all the smoke, and most everyone around us was loaded and baked an hour before the show started, but none of that has anything to do with the quality of the performance (ok, he does have a half dozen songs about weed, so maybe it was Petty's fault). Anyway, the show was great. The encore was electric and fireworks in the distance made it a great way to start the holiday weekend.

Most Important Wins Article is up...Contest Still Open

I have posted our Most Important Wins in Indianapolis Colts' History article. We have two winners in the contest already. Congrats to Josh and Justin who will both be receiving an XLI Program in the mail soon. You can see that the list is complete, but not all the games have full write-ups yet. If you want to win a program, just choose one of those games and do a little research. I would suggest starting with pro-football-reference.com for game box scores. We can still have up to 5 more winners.

If you don't like the games we chose and want to pick another, feel free, but be sure to include why the game you chose is more worthy than one already on the list. Again, submit all entries to 18to88@gmail.com along with your address.

Links:
Here's a great FO article that (among other things) explains the problems the Colts line had with the Steelers in the 2006 debacle in the dome. I do take exception with the fact that claim is made that the Colts struggled with the Chargers 3-4 in the playoff loss this year. The offense dominated the Chargers D, put up enough points to win on a normal day, and should have had many more except for three tough turnovers which weren't really 'caused' by the Chargers D (unless they are somehow responsible for Kenton Keith's horrible hands). Still, the article is great.

Today's open-wheel moment of Zen

Dario Franchitti has learned the hard way that if you don't race for one of the top four NASCAR teams don't bother. I know Dario was essentially taking a cash-grabbing victory lap in NASCAR and isn't a pure traitor like Sam Hornish. Franchitti is 35, married to Ashley Judd and understandably wasn't interested in cheating death for another Indycar season. Still, I'm not sorry to see him fail miserably. I'm just that kind of fan.

It's not that I think open-wheel drivers can't compete in NASCAR. I know they can. I shouldn't need to remind anyone that the best driver on the planet, Tony Stewart, is a former IRL champion. I root against guys like Hornish and Franchitti because they are happily taking a paycheck to finish 38th. Take a look at last week's results. Notice anything? The bottom fifteen is littered with former open-wheelers: Carpentier, Montoya, Franchitti, Hornish, Allmendinger. What would make these former 500 winners and F1 stars be so willing to finish last week after week?

1.) Money

2.) EJ Viso

More Contest Suggestions

We've gotten in a couple of solid first attempts in the Import Wins Contest (see two posts ago). Keep them coming.

Two more games I definitely want to see someone write up are the Colts throttling of the Bucs on the last day of the 1987 season to secure a playoff bid. I'd also like someone to take on the win over the Vikings on Christmas Eve of 2000 that helped secured a second consecutive playoff bid. The Colts looked like they wouldn't make the playoffs midway through the season, but closed strong and beat a good team in the Dome to slip in.

Go easy on the 2006 games. I've already had a couple (not counting the Super Bowl) entries there. Right now the best way to win is to do one of the four games I've suggested in these posts.

Links:
I'm reposting it from the comments section, just because it's awesome. My Rik Smits fixation has been satisfied for today.

Prisco picks the 30 players most likely to break out. Our own "Junior Seau Junior" Freddy Keiaho made the list.

CLEVELAND SUCKS!

Hey, it's been a rough year. I'll take what I can get. A hollow victory? There is no such thing when Cleveland is involved.

THE OHIO CUP IS OURS!

Announcing: The Most Important Wins Contest

I'm sure most of you have perused the Greatest Games list on 18to88.com. You may also be aware that we picked those games based on the quality of the wins and the game played, not on 'how important' the game was. 18to88 reader Cambell has suggested we start a 'Most Important Wins' list as well. I think it's a great idea, but both Demond and I are too busy right now to do all the research.

That's where you come in. The list starts with: Super Bowl XLI (of course). Also on the list has to be the playoff win over KC in 1996 and the Monday Night Massacre over Denver in the first MNF game. So here's the deal: we are looking for at least 4 (I'll do XLI) good write-ups of games that could be considered for the Most Important Wins list. Someone has to do the KC game and the MNF win over Denver, but the other slots are open. Up to 9 people can win (the list is capped at 10). The game must be significant for Colts history. It CANNOT be a game that appeared in the Greatest Games list or Peyton's 4th Quarter wins. Don't submit a write up on any of those.

Here's the prize: A genuine official game program from Super Bowl XLI. Submit all entries to 18to88@gmail.com. Only one prize per person. If we choose your write up, you get a program. Grammar and spelling count. If multiple people write up the same game, we'll choose the best written one. Write-ups should be brief, but informative. Game details are important, so get the facts right. Re-read our write-ups of the games on those other lists to get an idea of what we want. If we get at least 4 good game writeups, then we will award prizes. If not, then sorry. If you are selected and want to be sure the article gets written and the programs are awarded, then feel free to do multiple write-ups.

If you are unclear about anything, write us. I'd like this to be done in about 2 weeks, so the sooner you write, the sooner you can win.

Thanks for being a part of 18to88. The programs really are cool, and worth winning.

Greenspan Gone

With all the Pacer draft stuff, we plumb ran out of time to comment on IU A.D. Rick Greenspan resigning in the face of a new NCAA charge. Aside from our elation over his head being placed squarely on our silver platter, I'm still mystified about something. I'll never understand how Indiana can be held responsible for what Sampson did when THEY CAUGHT HIM AND TURNED HIM IN. Yes I realize that it was a couple of months late, and it was by an independent auditor, but THEY HIRED the auditor to do the audit. This wasn't turned up by the press or by a player or angered coach. The administration was checking up on things like they are supposed to and found that Sampson was not compliant (not with regular NCAA rules) with the terms of his probation. Frankly, that sounds like they did their job to me. Ultimately, this whole mess shows the insanity of hiring a coach and accepting sanctions that a different school should have had. IU still hasn't broken any normal NCAA rules, just a higher set that was imposed on them only because they hired Sampson.

Links:
Simmons' faith in Larry Legend is shaken by the Bayless trade. Yeah, Bill, that makes two of us.

As noted in the comments, Chad Ford loved the moves.

More trade breakdown

Foxsports.com calls Bird's dealing 'asinine'. They give the Pacers a C+

DJ gets his 3 guaranteed years

Congrats to true warrior (though hopefully not a Tru Warrior) DJ White for getting drafted in the first round. He gets to be an NBA millionaire for sure. I couldn't be happier for him.

I'm not sure why the Pacers drafted Nathan Jawai. I know nothing about him, but it seems like he's a bit undersized for the NBA. Ah, now I hear he's headed to Toronto. I guess I'll scrap my plans for an awesome Jawai jersey.

Larry Bird makes his move

Huge, huge, huge trade. The Pacers send their eleventh pick, Jerryd Bayless and Ike Diogu to the Portland Trailblazers for Brandon Rush (drafted 13th), guard Jaret Jack (10 ppg, 4 apg) and local boy Josh McRoberts (Carmel, IN).

I'm dizzy. I think everyone was pretty psyched about getting Bayless at #11, but on the bright side Rush is 6' - 6" and has the body to play a long time in the NBA. I'm assuming Jack will compete for the backup point guard position. Josh McRoberts (drafted 37th last year) may not even be an NBA caliber player (D-leaguer most of last year), but it's a nice publicity throw-in. The guy is the latest in a long time of punk losers who leave the state to go play for the likes of Duke. Dude's an a-hole.

I guess what strikes me about this trade is that Indiana has picked up four players with pretty high name-recognition. This doesn't count for anything in reality, but maybe it will placate some of us surly Pacer fans for awhile. I'm witholding judgment on this trade. Just like with the JO trade, I'm just happy they did something. And as a bonus: It should be awesomely awkward watching Brandon Rush compete for pt with his brother.

Raptors (Pacers) draft Roy Hibbert with #17

You can't coach size. Hibbert is 7' - 2" tall. I'm not sure how this pick fits into the Pacers desire to get up and down the court, but did I mention he's 7 foot 2?

DZ Comments: Hey, worst case, he plays 10 years in the league as a backup center. You are dead on that you can't coach height. Right fit or not, this makes me feel better about the JO trade. Maybe it's my Rik Smits fettish (eww), but I love the tall centers.

Pacers draft Jerryd Bayless with #11

Simmons and Ford agree: This is a steal.

DZ Comments: Too bad they immediately traded him.

Brady gets top spot by virture of "not wanting any more"

Prisco has his NFL Rankings out. He gives Brady the top spot and Manning the 2nd. Whatever. Let's not go down that road again over something as trivial as the opinion of Pete Prisco. His argument that Manning had an off year statistically is patently insane. Manning had his best year on the field last year, and anyone who watched football could see that. Other Colts on the list: The Zombie comes in at 7, Wayne at 22, and Freeney at 25. Also in the 'curious' category is that he lists Mario Williams at 6 (um, Pete he didn't even make the Pro Bowl), the widely overrated Champ Bailey at 5 (Pete, he got beat 1 on 1 with a TE last year), Fred Taylor at 49 (Pete, it took him 10 games to rush for his first 100 yard game last year).

Actually the more I look at this list, the more I marvel at how bad it is. Yikes.

Enjoy the free health care, JO!

Jermaine O'Neal and his bad joints are on their way to Toronto. The initial reaction of the (remaining) Pacer fans will most likely be mixed-positive. Jermaine has simply missed too many games the past few seasons. You can always count on O'Neal for a mid-season and then late-season injury. This pattern began soon after the palace brawl and has gotten progressively worse.

JO had the greatest upside of any Pacer I can remember. There was a moment when it seemed like he would help get Reggie his elusive ring and maybe a ring or two just for himself. David Stern made sure that did not happen. First, by overseeing the absolute nadir of NBA officiating: the 2004 playoffs. No gaping head wound, no foul. Stern followed it up by ham-stringing one of his most reliable franchises in the Artest affair.

I am a fan of the trade, but only for financial reasons. TJ Ford will probably suck. His numbers suggest he's not nearly as good of a pure point guard as Tinsley. At least Ford is cheap relative to O'Neal. Nesterovic appears to be worthless, averaging about 8 points and less than 5 rebounds per game. But his contract expires after this year which brings us to the crux of the argument.

The huge amount owed to JO hampers Larry Bird's ability to make moves in free agency. This begs the question: Is cap room that important in the NBA? Just like in the NFL, the good players are signed to long-term contracts before becoming free agents. The hope has to be that the team can build a solid core of role players around Granger and Dunleavy. The 17th pick in the draft doesn't hurt either.

Will the Pacers be a little worse in the short term? Possibly. But, Jermaine only averaged 13 points per game. He's a twelfth year vet who misses a ton of time. Even though he's just now turning 30, I don't see any reasons for optimism as far as his health. Let's not forget the fact that O'Neal doesn't at all fit the up-tempo game the team has been aiming for the past two seasons.

We'll see what happens. This much I know: Larry Bird did something to make us talk about the Pacers. Impressive. Now all he has to do is somehow steal Eric Gordon with the eleventh pick.

DZ Comments: Most of my thoughts can be seen in the comments from the previous post, but here is a positive breakdown of the trade. I would take issue with it on several points:
1. They got something for JO-really? An expiring contract, a pick with next to no real value, and a point guard with spine damage. Yeah, color me uninspired.
2. They got a point guard-seems like they were going to draft one anyway
3. They can trade Tinsley-Uh, really? To who? And for what? Sorry. Tinsley isn't going anywhere. This is utterly false.
4. The draft-Really? The 11th pick on a very rare occasion yields a player. But they already had that pick. How many times in the last 20 years has the 17th pick yielded a decent player?
5. Cap Space- "They can pursue a big free agent (or take one in a trade) to team up with Ford, Danny Granger and the draft picks, and they'll have the next generation of Pacers up and running"
ah, the mythical cap space. Again, WHO IS EVEN AVAILABLE? Note: he doesn't suggest a real player. Just the phantom F/A.
If the Pacers sign someone good next year, this is a good trade. Otherwise, it does nothing but make the team cheaper, not better. Since I don't think there is anyone worthy of signing who is likely to come to Indiana, I don't see that this deal helps us. It helps the Simons, and that's cool. I love the Simons. It doesn't help the fans or the product on the floor.

In summary: this isn't a bad deal or a good deal. It's a deal. It saves money. It's unlikely to improve the club. It's about as exciting to me as staring at tax forms. The Pacers are in the NBA's no-man's land. The only hope is to seriously tank a whole season so as to move up into the kind of draft territory where they can either get a player who is good or trade for a player who is good. This is exciting news? 20-62 here we come. Pardon me while I throw up.

Lazy again

Actually the opposite. I'm swamped with work stuff, so I'm throwing down some more links:

Don Banks talks coaching trees. Tony has a fairly prolific one. I'm still not sure if it's better to count Del Rio or not.

SI lists the 10 best athletes from IU. I would have added Alford and Ted Kluzewski (we are talking about all time best athletes and big Klu was a beast). Mike Smith wouldn't have been a bad choice either.

A college girl is the new Jags blogger. (Insert punch line). Seriously, though, best of luck to you Jeanne, that's quite the franchise you have to promote there.


I have no words for how improbable this photo is.

A Couple of Links

I've been traveling and working the last couple of days, so I don't have too much in the tank except for a couple of links:

ESPN Fantasy Football previews the Colts

Stampede Blue links to a facinating article about the best QBs ever. Our boy does pretty good.

(Something witty or alliterative) Pedro

Rather than sit here and search for the right word that begins with P, I'm going to be lazy and get right to the point. I saw Pedro Martinez pitch last night. Thanks to a family friend who hooked us up with free Rockies/Mets tickets, my wife and I were able to take in a pleasant night at the ballpark in Denver. I was particularly stoked because future Hall of Famer (and no, I won't debate this. His numbers are Kofaxian) Pedro Martinez was on the mound. I go out of my way to try and catch future Hall of Famers as much as possible. My grandfather regaled me with stories of living in New York in the late 40s, and he saw just about everyone who mattered. I'm trying to do the same, despite living two hours from the closest big league team.

Of course, watching Pedro today isn't what it was 8-9 years ago when he had perhaps the greatest stretch of any pitcher in history. But last night, for one night, or at least for four innings, he was dominant. He actually hit 92 on the gun, a feat which I had been convinced he was no longer capable of. He made Matt Holiday look awful by freezing him with a 68 MPH curve. It was a like that hook bent time itself transporting us all back 10 years and several DL stints. The years and the damage to his wire thin right arm peeled off him, even if just for a few innings.

Unfortunately, his great four frames most likely had much more to do with the sun than his arm. The game had started early in the Colorado evening, and when the mound and the plate were at last both engulfed by the shadows, the magic died with the light. In the start of the 5th, the Rockies came to bat for the first time that day with ability to actually track the Great Pedro's stuff.

The result? Back to back home runs to start the inning. 5 more hits and 4 more runs later, Pedro was gone, and we were all left to cheer the home team, but maybe just a little sad that we saw one of the great pitchers of our time reduced to just one more shadow on mound.

It's official: Jeremy Green is the dumbest man alive

The World Wide Leader has a couple of new articles out featuring the Colts. In the first, the Professor looks at the status of the Colts coming out of mini-camp. Nothing we don't already know, but he does mistakenly use the phrase "at the least" when he should say "at the most" regarding Harrison's situation in Philly.

In the second and more hilarious piece, Scouts Inc. looks at the AFC South. In it Jeremy Green insists that the addition of a man who caught all of 45 balls the past two seasons will elevate the Jags to the number one offense. Needless to say, no one else agrees with him. Three of the five man staff also think the Colts have the best defense in the South.

I've killed Jeremy Green in this space more times than I care to count, but this this may be the single most comedic thing he's said. The man knows nothing about football. His entire experience comes from working in one of the all time worst front offices in history (the Browns of the early 00s), and from his dad, deposed coach and Coors Light star Dennis Green. He apparently equates Porter leaving Oakland to Moss leaving Oakland. Uh, I think there were some differences too, but if those aren't painfully obvious to everyone with a brain, then me explaining them won't help.

Links:
The Blue Jays are half crazy, but I'm glad Cito Gaston got another job. The guy has a winning record as a manager, AND two World Series titles and never got a sniff a second job. Odd. The Jays GM was right to apologize to Dunn. He is a lumbering ox, but he plays hard. It's hard for a man that big to play the outfield, and Dunn does the best he can.

For the hearty few that have encouraged me to post more movie reviews, I saw the Incredible Hulk today. Essentially, it's light years better than the previous incarnation, mostly due to presence of Ed Norton. Ultimately, it falls victim to the same trap that most comic book movies do: some idiot assumes that after an hour and a half of fine acting and complex character development what we really want is to see two CGI monsters wail on each other for 15 minutes. Memo to screenwriters and studios: WE DON'T. IT'S BORING AS HELL. I also could have done with Jennifer Conley instead of Liv Tyler as the girl friend. In short, the move back to the Bill Bixby version the Hulk mostly pays off. The movie was marginally better than I expected despite a lackluster finsih (Ho ho! He says, "Hulk SMASH!" I never saw it coming!), and ranked somewhere between the uneven X-Men 3 and the excellent Iron Man. For me, the best part of the movie was watching the trailer for I Want to Believe again. Mostly, I'm sick of Marvel...bring on The Dark Knight.

I'm ready

for football season. The Reds are beyond done. Their bats have once again gone silent. Tiger is done. The NBA playoffs are done. There is nothing to do but wait.

The thing about these Colts is that there really isn't anything to talk about. There is one issue that will decide the success or failure of the 2008 Colts: the health of Dwight Freeney. With all due respect to the good guys over at Stampedeblue.com (who I enjoy), I'm not interesting in parsing out who will be the 5th receiver. I'm not curious to see who makes the roster. I'm only very mildly interested in who wins the right guard slot. These things are nice distractions, I guess, but they aren't very satisfying. I'm ready for football season.

This NFL season is like waiting for a present to be unwrapped. I think the Horse is stacked. I fully expect to win the title that should have been ours last season had not fate played nasty games with the healthy of half the roster. I can't wait for the Jags to be exactly the same team they always have been (maybe even a little worse). I can't wait for Lucas Oil to open. I can't wait for Joe Addai to rip off 1400 yards behind a healthy O-line that doesn't feature Charlie Johnson at tackle. I can't wait for Dungy to walk victoriously off the field in Tampa. I'm ready for football season.

Football season isn't ready for me though, and that leaves me in a quandary. I'll enjoy the rest of my vacation and finish some books (I'm Right on Time and The Glory of Their Times). I'll continue dominating my fantasy baseball league and posting links on 18to88. Eventually, I'll try to figure out how to get down to training camp, and I'll whine about how horrible the preseason is. And then just before I pack up to head back to Argentina, I'll finally slip into Lucas Oil Stadium for week one, knowing that I might not be back there for another few years at best. Still, I'm ready for football season.

Links:
USA Today profiles the Colts.

A couple of things I missed

Foxsports has a couple of articles of note. Pete Schrager answers some questions and predicts another Manning bowl come January.

Whatifsports.com thinks the Colts will win the South, and their numbers actually like a big win total from the Horse. They question the Colts running game, which is pretty funny. The run game struggled because of the makeshift line last year. Of all the areas on this team, this is one I worry about the least.

I can't tell you how happy it makes me...

that the only thing standing between Boston and the greatest sports year ever for a city is...

the Patriots wetting the bed in the Super Bowl.

Sorry Tommy. You just weren't good enough.

God help me. It never gets old.

Tiger Woods and social change

The world will soon overflow with the digital ink expended in the quest to describe Tiger Woods performance over the past three days. I have never seen a golf tournament that managed to sustain the level of drama we've seen over the (long) weekend. Since I'm on vacation this week, I watched every gripping hole Monday, and found it as thrilling as golf could possibly be. All of us had the same lingering question during Tiger's grind-it-out playoff Monday, "What if he jacks his knee up forever?". The thought that this could be the last time we ever see this dominant iteration of Tiger only added to the glory and the pressure of the moment. Couple in as close to a real life 'Rocky' as you can get, and the sum total was something I'll tell my kids about.

I'd like to by-pass all that for a moment and comment on one of Earl Woods grandiose statements about his only son that made us all chuckle or at least cock our heads in disbelief. When the father said that the son would have a bigger impact than Gandhi, we wondered how crazy he could possibly be. Now, a decade later, we have a major party nominee whose ethnic background is at least similar to Tiger's, and there is a good possibility that Barack Obama will be president. I think that Tiger Woods has had something to do with that.

I don't want to overstate the case, but I don't think it's coincidental that millions of white Americans have grown to be massive fans of the best golfer in the world and a scant few years later a similar looking man of deep eloquence is garnering millions of votes for president. I believe that most people in the US are not racist but rather 'culturists'. I think there are many people who discriminate not on skin color but rather on cultural trappings like corn-rows, tattoos, names, and speech patterns. Many of those cultural affects are closely connected to African-Americans, but a dislike of those doesn't make someone 'racist'. Many Americans would accept a 'Cosby Show' black guy ("Hey! I have black friends"), while they would still feel uncomfortable with African Americans who conform to a different cultural pattern. Certainly, there are still many pure racists who see skin color and nothing else, but I think that many have traded one prejudice for another. Being a culturist is still wrong, and it has its roots in racism, but it is dramatically more accepting (I don't care what you look like as long as you act like me).

Setting aside the whole issue of whether Tiger or Barack are actually 'black' (an issue which is largely irrelevant since for the purposes of analyzing their societal effect because for our purposes, they are what people think they are), I think that the sea change that is well coming in this country has been accelerated by Tiger. Millions of white Americans have grown used to Tiger and comfortable watching his dominance and excellence in an overwhelmingly pale faced environment. I think many of those same people are now approaching Barack Obama with a different level of acceptance than they might have had they not become Tiger fans.

I can't prove this. I have zero polling data or evidence connecting rooting with Tiger to voting for Obama. My point here isn't to endorse Obama or criticize people who don't want to vote for him (I voted for him in the primary, but will wait to endorse any candidate until they debate head to head), so let's not allow the discussion veer in that direction. I just have to believe that rooting for Tiger for 10 years has affected the way people think. It may well be that this is a connection that others have made more eloquently than I did, but I think it's a valid suspicion that Earl Wood's boy might have already had a much greater impact on society and the history of the United States than we realize.

LINKS:
Colvin signed for the money. I don't blame him. He's got rings. It's his last chance to get paid.

Scouts Inc. has the Colts at 5 in their O-line rankings. I hope so. Injuries really hurt their production last year.

Short Night

I tried to come up with some sports related reason to review The Happening, but there really isn't one, so I'll dispense with the pretense. For those who haven't heard, the new M. Night Shyamalan movie pulled down a putrid 20% on the tomato-meter. The new Hitchcock has been accused of unleashing a 'career-ender' on the movie going public. Early buzz has been bad, and some of the acting (I'm looking at you Marky "I can't be believable as being from Boston in the Departed despite actually being from Boston" Mark) was rumored to be awful.

In the interest of full disclosure, I love Shyamalan movies. Signs is one of my all time favorites. I thought Unbreakable was genius. I thought Lady in the Water was beautiful. I really liked the Village and 6th Sense. I know the critics killed some of those movies, but they were all right in my wheelhouse (especially Signs which might be the most personally emotionally resonant movie I've ever seen). M. Night is one of my favorite film makers, and as a huge Hitchcock fan, I freely admit that I like this genre more than most people.

With all that out of the way, let me start by saying that The Happening is a good movie. It isn't a flawless movie. It's certainly the least impressive of his slate to date; but it is a good movie. The concept was original, the film making was excellent as usual. The lead actors were good (notably an under-used John Leguizamo), and even Zooey Deschanel (who single-handledly killed the Sci-Fi mini-series Tin Man) was more than competent. The movie was suspenseful throughout, with moments of humor and the typical Shyamalan brand of horror (the idea of what was happening was scarier than the execution). Quite frankly, if this movie had been made by anyone else or if it had been an under the radar release like 6th Sense, it would not have gotten the negative press. Shyamalan savaged the critics in Lady in the Water, and they have not been kind in return. If you are a fan of his movies, you may not count The Happening as your favorite flick, but you won't hate it either. If you've been disappointed by previous M. Night trailers that promised horror and gore, but gave suspense and introspection, then you'll be similarly upset with this entry in his canon.

I have my criticisms, mostly that there was the opportunity to have a truly creepy 'point' set up by a class room speech in the first 10 minutes. Shyamalan abandoned the more mature, vague point for an overly preachy one which drained the last 10 minutes of the film of some of the really scary consequences of the sort which made The Village a truly disturbing movie if you thought about the implications. There were minor things that could have elevated this film to the same level as his others, but in all it was much closer to a brilliant film than to a bomb. Despite not being my favorite work of his, the writer/director/best boy grip/makeup artist/animal handler Shyamalan gave us a movie with some surprisingly haunting images that are unique and lasting and a movie that leaves you waiting for the bomb under the table to go off. If you like the kind of movie where the waiting is more the point than the explosion, then you'll enjoy this film. If you just want the carnage, then forget it.

And sports...um, Mark Whalberg is a huge Celtics fan...um, Game 6. Uh, yeah, I still got nothing. Sorry.

LINKS:
Colvin is set to sign with Texas. This is why I didn't get all that excited about this months ago. It always seemed like a long shot for him to come to Indy. I don't think the brass feels they need him. The link originally came from Profootballtalk, who I won't hyperlink to because I'm still protesting Floria's moronic handling of the Harrison situation.

The DA wants more evidence collected in the Harrison case. Oh ok. Seven weeks later go back and get more evidence? This case is stalled out and this is the first sign it's going away. Essentially this means that as of now they don't have enough for any kind of charges to be brought. Somehow I doubt that's going to change at this late date.

Happy Father's Day

I don't think there can be a more appropriate place to talk about Fathers than a sports blog on Father's day. Our own Father, who affectionately nicknamed himself "Big Time", is nearly singlehandedly responsible for our love of sports. Whether it was taking us to Butler games and schooling us in how to scream at the refs, or curb jumping the parking field and screaming across the open space in his truck with us in the back on the way to the 500, Dad always managed to enhance the experience of going to sporting events. And don't even get me started on the endless hours he spent coaching my teams when I was kid. (His Bobby Knight style of coaching 4th grade basketball just seemed natural to kids growing up in Indiana) If there was a game, Dad was there. If I wanted to shoot hoops, Dad would shoot hoops and deride my two hand set shot (which I embarrassingly still use).

I love my dad for many reasons, but sometimes I wonder if he couldn't have been just a tad more laid back about sports, I wouldn't have suffered so much Vanderjagt related misery over my lifetime. Of course, then I wouldn't be watching my son scamper around in his Griffey shirt while I try to cement his future baseball nickname (Scooter) on his psyche. He's not even two, and he doesn't have a prayer.

Thanks Dad.

Yeah, JC. Harang does suck

Just saying.

Showing Humility

I've been listening to Bill Simmon's podcasts recently, and I have to say the experience has been particularly gratifying. He's been bouncing between big Lakers and big Boston fans talking about the Finals. The best part was when he discussed the importance of this finals to the Boston fans after they got debacled in the Super Bowl. This has been fun on two counts:

1. Listening to them talk about losing that Super Bowl. It never gets old. Never ever never.

2. Listening to them talk about how depressed Spygate made them. Honestly, it's refreshing to hear some Pats fans honestly admit that it does bother them that the Pats cheated (and that it really was cheating). I think what bugged me so much about the whole Spygate thing was this inexplicable wall of defense put up by the NE fans. Instead of responding with a little humility and anger at the club and Belichick, they acted like freaking martyrs and started barfing up all the lame "everyone does it" defenses, when everyone most assuredly doesn't do it. Hearing that in Boston there is very little Pats gear being worn is hilarious. It actually makes me like Boston a little bit more because it means that maybe there are a few decent people out there with an appropriate sense of shame.

Check out the BS report with Mike O'Malley and the one from last week with "Bill's buddy Hench". They are well worth the time.

Oh, and by the way, can we all agree after this series that Kobe Bryant is not and never will be Jordan? I see it during every game. It's eerily similar to how Tom Brady is not and never will be Joe Montana, without the whole, "He also also raped someone" angle.

Links:
Polian, Irsay, and Dungy go into the Indiana football Hall of Fame. Yeah, I bet that's real crowded. There's um...some dudes from Notre Dame...and uh...

The final minicamp report is good. The thought of Dungy winning the Super Bowl in Tampa and then retiring is a happy one.

OUCH! This one hurts...

Anyone want a scholarship to play at IU? Enduring all the transfers was really no big deal, but now that Jordan Crawford is leaving as well, I have to say that I'm a tad despondent. He's a serious talent, and I was holding out hope that he could improve enough to help the Hoosiers hang around .500. Now apparently anyone with a pair of Chuck Taylors can make the squad.

Links:
Simmons mentions the 4 point play as one of the fishiest moments in NBA history. That's a mild understatement. I don't get how the NBA gets away with this crap. People can rip Tim Donaghy for being a felon, but when you look at tapes and stats from those games it's almost impossible to doubt him. Also in this piece, the Sports Guy's line about Vince Carter made me laugh out loud. I still can't believe I've been reduced to rooting for Boston. I figure in the seedy underbelly of sports that is the NBA, Boston fans are generally positive about the Pacers because of Larry Legend, so I can be gracious as well.

600

Well, Jr did it and thus ruined my plans for an ill-timed but absolutely unavoidable trip to Cincinnati this week. I'm happy for him. My hope is that he can still cobble together enough seasons to at least pass Mays at 660, or even sniff 700 HRs. It probably won't be with the Reds, but I hope it happens anyway.

Links:
Tim Kurkjian talks about how great Griffey was 15 years ago.

I'm not the only one who hates the comportment of the Cub fans. Reds announcer Marty Brennamen's wikkipedia page is hilarious. Scroll down and read the quotes under "Controversies". He's dead right.

Sam Perkins is back. It's funny; I was just thinking about him the other day. Now he's going babysit the Pacers players.

Here's another Griffey celebration.

People in North Florida are smarter than I gave them credit for

At least they aren't wasting money on Jags tickets. God bless the Jags. They are always good for a laugh. Here's a link to where I originally found the article.

Links:
Mike Hart is pretty mouthy for a dude who hasn't made the team yet.

Really? I thought it was just because he's a white dude.

Tom Brady says he's slow and can't jump. He blames it on his ankle injury. If Peyton Manning had come out with a line like this a couple of months after losing the Super Bowl, everyone in New England would kill him for being a wuss. Soooooo.

Tom Brady is a wuss who makes excuses.

Links:
CHFF does their all-time franchise rankings. The Colts come in a very respectable 11th. It's frankly amazing considering how many horrible years the franchise suffered. Johnny U is rightly the face of the franchise and Dungy pulls down the 'best coach' amid really strong competition.