Instead I want to talk about a few different things going on in the sports world and then my world series prediction.
Here you go:
1) Dodgers Ownership - This is really getting interesting.... Frank McCourt (the owner) and his wife have split up. He claims the split (and any future possible divorce) won't affect his ownership status however some interesting parts to this story you may not have heard about. First off, his wife Jamie is, or at least was, the CEO of the team and surprise, surprise, Frank fired her last week once they were eliminated from the playoffs. What's the old saying about a woman scorned?? Apparently according to her attorney she's "disappointed and saddened by her termination" and will address these issues "in the courtroom". How much you want to bet she's also pissed off??? This will get ugly and being in LA, will be played out in the media. Should be fun!
2) UFC 104 - I didn't get a chance Saturday to watch the Machida / Rua fight but have read quite a few write ups and seen clips from the championship fight. All three judges scored it 48 - 47 for Machida allowing him to keep his title, however most people that watched the fight had Rua (pronounced Hu A) winning. Most thought Rua won at least one of the first 3 rounds and clearly won both the 4th and 5th. Dana White (President of the UFC) in the post fight conference said he thought Rua won and will immediately schedule a rematch. Two talented fighters at the top of their game. I'll be tuning in for the next one.
3) NFL in Los Angeles - Famed developer Ed Roski has completed his environmental studies and plans and for all intensive purposes has approval for a football stadium in LA. It will be in the City of Industry which is located about 30 minutes east of LA (depending upon traffic) where the 60 and 57 freeway meet. Still a few local hurdles to approve but by the looks of it, it's a done deal. He says he won't start digging until he has ownership in a team so that's the next step to bringing the NFL back to Los Angeles. The short list of teams frequently mentioned about relocating to LA are the Chargers, Jaguars, Rams and Vikings. As always with anything LA, you have to throw the Raiders in the mix. For more info here's a good write up on Roski's plans: NFL Stadium
4) Out of The Box - There's been considerable discussion about the "Wildcat" formation by people for and against it. Here's the thing I've been noticing. By far and large, "experts" that are against it are either 1) defensive players or 2) former NFL QB's (Dan Marino and Dan Fouts have roundly knocked the formation). Of course those QB's are against it, as in essence, it doesn't require some uber talented QB at the helm..... Don't be surprised to see this formation becoming more and more popular as teams that don't have that marquee superstar QB, can use "average" QB's in this formation and don't have to pay franchise money for him. Here's another "out of the box" question as it relates to baseball. Why do the small market clubs keep trying to compete with the large market teams for the same players? If you're the Kansas City Royals (or someone like that), instead of going out and spending a large portion of your payroll on one free agent like a Gil Meche, why not try something different like cornering the market on soft lefty pitchers or knuckle ball pitchers that you could pick up at a fraction of the cost. Why not try something different, because as it stands now, no way they can compete with the big spenders on guys that throw 97.......... Just a thought. How much worse could they do?
5) Employee #8 - I'd heard Antoine Walker was having some money issues and had bounced some checks at Harrah's in Tahoe (which led to him being arrested and booked last month), however I've been reading some articles and apparently it's more than a little trouble....... He made roughly $110 million in his basketball career (figure $55 million take home after taxes) yet he's blown most of it. Here's an article from the Boston Globe detailing his financial situation - Antoine Walker's Troubles
6) UCLA - Only fair I was talking about them when they started 3-0, now the losing streak is at 4 and I'm still on the bandwagon. They lost this past Saturday to Arizona 27-13. They still haven't had a QB step forward and their defense continues to under perform. It's gut check time for the Bruins. Will they battle through this and finish the year on an uptick or will they pack it in and chaos will rule.... It'll be interesting to follow.
7) World Series - I hate the Yankee's. No getting around that. And the thing is, I like the Phillies. However Philly won it last year and I don't like them enough to be hearing that they're some dominate team (because I don't think they are), so for multiple reasons I'm picking and (this kills me to say) rooting for the Yankee's.......... Let's face it, all year long, the Yankee's have been good. They should be good. They have a $200+ million dollar payroll.... My prediction is Yankee's in 5.
Bill
No comments:
Post a Comment