Archive for June, 2009

Larry Harrison is one of those guys who can talk about anything.  I have seen him talk to management, coaches, fans, kids, media, and members of his Mahoning Valley Thunder team.  The fact that he can adapt his conversation level to suit who it is he is talking to makes him one of the most charismatic members of the 2009 Mahoning Valley Thunder team.  Larry is one of those people who has the gift of communication piped into his blood.

Harrison is enjoying his time spent in the greater Youngstown area, “I love it here, Youngstown is a football town and the people have been supportive.  I wish we were winning and this place would be full for home games“.  The Thunder are not winning, but Harrison is buying into the “never quit” attitude being pushed by new coach Chris MacKeown.  He has had an impact as a defensive lineman for Mahoning Valley.  I now expect to see him hurry quarterbacks the rest of this season the way he has in the last couple of weeks.

Interestingly, Harrison says his football role model is Reggie White, another charismatic guy that the fans liked.  Larry said he could only hope to be the kind of person Reggie White was both on and off the field.  I see the Reggie in Larry.

Larry watches Sportscenter and CNN.  He has a PS3 and is currently playing the newest Grand Theft Auto game and says he is addicted to first person shooter games.  Harrison admitted to me that his favorite thing to do to relax is sleep.  “I don’t watch that much TV, the best thing to me is a nice nap and a good night of sleep”.

Because Harrison grew up in Detroit, he has to have some Motown in his diverse musical preferences.  “When you grow up in Detroit, you gotta have Motown on at some point”.  Larry also likes Gospel, Blues, Hip Hop, and Rhythm & Blues.

Harrison said he likes to eat at Jeremiah Bullfrogs.  “We have meal card allowances, so the food is free, but it is delicious“.  Larry liked Bullfrogs so much that he said if family or friends came in to visit, he would take them there because it is a nice crowd and they would like the food too.

Hopefully Larry Harrison is a Mahoning Valley Thunder player for a long time.  He, like Quorey Payne, is one of those guys who politely leads by example and smiles when he gets it right.  He is polite and well-spoken and the kids love getting his autograph at the home games.

Watching Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods play in a skins event on the Golf Channel was fun stuff to see.  All the proceeds went to charity and it seemed as though all eight golfers playing at Nicklaus’ course in Dublin had a pretty good time.

Since Jack Nicklaus is the prototype that Tiger Woods is busy trying to overshadow, isn’t it  ironic that Jack would tell Tiger to man up and “quit babying the leg“.  I was stunned when I heard this for a number of reasons. 

First of all, if you want to keep any of your records Jack, be silent and let him baby the leg for awhile.  No need to pour fuel into the car running close to empty during the race.  Poor timing.

Secondly, tell him in private.  Don’t show him up, even if your intentions were pure and good-hearted.

I would bet money that Tiger will make nothing of this out of the respect he has claimed repeatedly for Nicklaus.  Not only that, but he will keep his mouth shut until he breaks all of Jack’s records.

Pirate fans, meet Andrew McCutchen.  McCutchen has been the Pirates #1 offensive prospect over the past couple of seasons.  His time is now.  With the departing of Nate McLouth, McCutchen will have a chance to play every day in the Pittsburgh OF.  Here are some stories from other great sites:

•  Major League Jerk takes a look at the upcoming MLB Draft titled Bud Selig Wants You!
•  Steady Burn pumps the new Lil’ Wayne single called, “Kobe Bryant”.
•  Ballerblogger previews the NBA Finals.
•  A Stern Warning has found the new Vitamin Water commercial starring Dwight Howard. Intentional Foul offers another post on the Dwight Howard Vitamin Water commercial.
•  My Sports Rumors debuts a new feature called the Twitter files, in which some tweets are featured from around the twitter world.
•  Rootzoo posts a great interview clip with Darryl Strawberry speaking about Pete Rose and steroid abuse in the majors.
•  Zoner Sports gives us the scoop on Sammy Sosa saying he will soon formally announce his retirement from baseball.
•  PSAMP invites us to watch a Pittsburgh created dinosaur chow down on an octopus before game 3.
•  Josh Q. Public brings a video clip of Randy Orton wigging out and swearing at a Mexican wrestling commentator.
•  Hugging Harold Reynolds shows us the warning signs that you need to look for to know you need to take a few days off.
•  Pacman Jonesin’ finds the tension between Janice Dickinson and John Salley on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here.
•  NESW Sports Thursday version of The Interweb: Featuring a funny video of how Shaq is paying for his MMA lessons.
•  Detroit4lyfe found Matthew Stafford decked out in Tiger gear in the broadcast booth at the Tigers vs Red Sox game Wednesday.
•  Total Pro Sports writes about how Floyd Mayweather has no idea who David Beckham is.
•  Sports Rubbish brings us a fight between two Russian womens handball teams.

Nate McLouth has been sent to Atlanta for three minor-league players.  I am not thrilled about the trade as I see it as another dumping of payroll by the Pirates cheap front office.  McLouth was an All-Star and the closest thing Pittsburgh had to offensive consistency.

Internet traffic has mixed reviews.  The Pirate fans are split in the sense that Andrew McCutchen now can be called up and will play very very soon.  Look for that to happen tomorrow.  Some people saw McLouth as an overachiever with a Gold Glove and an All-Star appearance. 

Who’s next?  My guess is either Paul Maholm, or a catcher when Ryan Doumit returns.  I think the Pirates are trying to push Jaramillo’s stock up and will keep Robinson Diaz to back Doumit up.  Then again, who knows if Doumit is safe? 

For the people who liked the trade and think it is wise to take in three 20 and 21 year-old Braves farmhands:  Have you learned nothing since 1990?  Everything good goes away and gets better elsewhere.  Has the Jason Bay thing been forgotten?  Sharpen your pencils, Bonds, Bonilla, Bay, and now McLouth?  Sorry, I don’t buy it unless McCutchen absolutely sets the world on fire when he gets to PNC Park.

The three players the Pirates got in the deal are pitchers Jeff Locke and Charlie Morton, and OF Gorkys Hernandez.

The third leg of the Triple Crown of Horse Racing runs this Saturday.  I really don’t think anyone can overtake Mine That Bird, especially with Borel going for the first ever jockey Triple Crown on different horses.  The question is what horse should you put with Mine That Bird in your Exacta and Trifecta picks?

Here is the field, jockey, and early odds for the 2009 Belmont Stakes :

1. Chocolate Candy (Garrett Gomez)   10-1
2. Dunkirk (Juan Velasquez)   4-1
3. Mr. Hot Stuff (Edgar Prado)   15-1
4. Summer Bird (Kent Desormeaux)   12-1
5. Luv Gov (Miguel Mena)   20-1
6. Charitable Man (Alan Garcia)   3-1
7. Mine That Bird (Calvin Borel)   2-1
8. Flying Private (Julien Leparoux)   12-1
9. Miner’s Escape (Jose Lezcano)   15-1
10. Brave Victory (Rajiv Maragh)   15-1

Calvin Borel is in touch with these horses.  He knows Mine That Bird is a closer running a mile-and-a-half and should blow the field away in this race.  Charitable Man is the same kind of horse as Mine That Bird in the sense that he closes too.  The difference is clearly that Alan Garcia is no Calvin Borel.

Predictions For The 2009 Belmont Stakes

WIN: Mine That Bird

Exacta Prediction: 7-1

Trifecta Prediction: 7-1-6

Big win for Pittsburgh over Detroit last night.  Sergei Gonchar wears the hero costume for a day.  Here are some stories from other great sites…

• Was a softball coach from Maine fired because she is a lesbian or because she made her team walk through sheep feces, submitted by Sports Rubbish.
• Major League Jerk takes a look at this years worst MLB uniforms.
• PSAMP salutes Max Talbot, another Pittsburgh Penguins hero of Game 3.
• The Zoner poses the age old question of whether or not it is ok to boo and to what extent.
• Steady Burn posted a neat piece.  Danica Patrick, in a recent SI interview, said using performance enhancing drugs is only cheating if you get caught.
• Fansided takes a good hard look at how to get involved in sports blogging, and the time it takes daily for anyone wanting to start blogging.
• Sharapova’s Thigh analyzes Maria Sharapova’s run at Roland Garros and eventual exit from the French Open.
• Fanhouse posted today that Tony LaRussa is suing Twitter over a Tony LaRussa wannabe imposter.
• My Sports Rumors tells you that Mickael Pietrus is worried about which shoes to wear in the NBA Finals, Kobes or Jordans.
• Hoop Doctors give the three keys for Orlando to win the NBA Finals.
• FOX Sports reports that NBA Commish David Stern is going to meet with Lebron James about his post-game snubs and show of sportsmanship.
• Heels On Hardwood lists 10 paperbacks to help NBA fans get through the end of the season withdrawls.

Admittedly, I suck at golf.  I am one of those guys who for the past ten years played about once a week and could never get better.  I always had a few shots that would give me the false sense that I was getting better, making me want to go back for more the next week.  By the time the next week was over, I might have gotten lucky enough to par a hole, and couldn’t wait to come back the next week. 

What I was overlooking in this pattern was that if I did par or birdie a hole and still shot 54 for nine holes, how bad was I botching the other eight holes?  54 for nine holes is not a good score, but it was a decent round for me.  It really gets bad when you are in a foursome and Dan scores 38, Glenn scores 42, and Buddy shoots 44.  You are automatically the weak link, the person everyone is supposed to beat.

I don’t understand why I’m so bad.  Both of my parents have had a  hole-in-one, so it is in my blood somewhat.  My mother still plays three days a week and shoots low-to-mid 40’s.

I have not played golf this year thanks in part to a hip surgery which has limited my physical abilities in the bending department.  Over these first two months people have been playing golf, I have made several observations about why playing golf annoys the hell out of me.

1. Everyone else scores lower than I do in my circle of friends.  If I were to resume playing golf next Spring, I would have to find a couple of 92 year-old men to beat every time out.  This might boost my confidence.
2. You have to play at least three times a week to get better at it.  I can’t see myself obeying that demanding of a schedule from week-to-week unless the Golf Fairy blessed me with an abundance of natural talent overnight, which is highly unlikely.
3. I am left-handed at most everything, but I swing the clubs right-handed.  The only other thing I do right-handed is write, and my writing is sloppier than my 7 year-old Nephew Dante’s.  Maybe Mrs. Drummond shouldn’t have slapped me with that ruler for trying to write left-handed in second grade.
4. It gets expensive when you suck.  You don’t lose many balls when you don’t hit them good.  I would say 80% of my long tee drive attempts hooked right and were gone.  The expenses add up just to play.  $30.00 out of my pocket could be spent in more constructive ways.  Not to mention, almost every group I have ever played with does a sidegame with at least skins and greenies.  Usually at least $10 to add to the total.
5. One really bad shot causes so many more.  Once I took a rip at a ball and topped it watching it bounce 20 feet in the air off of the ground and stopping about 30 feet from where I hit it, I was doomed.  It subconsciously lives everytime you hit the next shot. 
6. But I putt good.  So I am resigned to the fact that I should probably stick to putt-putt.  That only costs $7 to play and everyone has a chance to win. 
7. Clubs do not matter.  Most of my buddies who golf go spend $300 a year on a new driver.  I fell into this trap a couple of years ago and spent $240 for a new Calloway driver.  I could have swung a rake and hit the ball better and further than most of my drives with the awesome new club.
8. Aim for trees.  If you suck like me, outsmart yourself.  Instead of trying to avoid the big elm tree 100 yards in front of the green, aim for it.  You wont hit it because you are aiming for it.  If you do hit it, than you are improving and better start playing more.

Don’t get me wrong.  I am not downgrading the sport of golf.  Most guys that have the time and the money to play often usually improve over time.  It is a great sport, I just suck at it.

Paul Maholm took another one on the chin Sunday.  He pitches well enough to win almost every time he takes the mound.  Unfortunately for Paul, he is a Pittsburgh Pirate.  Being a Pirate pitcher means that if you give up a run in the first five innings, there is a good chance you will take the loss in the end.  Simply put, the Pirate offense cannot generate any run support, especially when Maholm is pitching.

Sunday vs Houston, Maholm pitched seven strong innings, scattering eight hits, walking two and giving up only one earned run in losing to Houston, 2-1.  The guy has a 3.82 ERA and a 3-2 record.  Can you imagine what kind of numbers he could put up with a good offense? 

This whole scenario didn’t just creep up this year either.  In 2008, he went 9-9, but his ERA was still under 4 runs per game, and he had 13 no decisions. 

To give you an idea of just how bad the Pirate offense really is, they got their 29th quality start this season when Maholm was tagged with the loss on Sunday.  In those 29 quality starts, the Pirates only have 23 wins.

If ever there was a gem in the rough, it is Paul Maholm and the undeserved mediocrity he receives thanks to a shaky set of batters on his team.

• Blake Powers broke his left collarbone and is out indefinitely.  In AF2, a player put on the disabled list must be inactive for at least four weeks.  Unfortunately for Powers, collarbones usually take six to eight weeks to mend.
• Davon Vinson has been named the starting quarterback.  “I have all the faith in the world in Davon, he is having a great week of practice “, said new Coach Chris MacKeown.
• Chris Schubert, Joe Kleinsmith, and Derrell Carlton were released by the Thunder.
• Jermaine Moye and Jon Loyte have been brought in.  Loyte is a lineman who played at Boston College, and Moye is a DB from U of Cal. in PA.  Loye will double up as the teams backup quarterback for now.

Unique in comparison to any other personality to ever play the game of football.  That would be my way of describibg the great Jack Lambert.  Lambert, at last report, was a Pennsylvania game warden sitting in trees, waiting for the hunter who cheated.  Here are some great stories from other sites.

• John Salley is a PETA hypocrite.  The sworn vegetarian eats a rats tail on reality television as caught by Hugging Harold Reynolds.
• Brady Anderson is pissed at Sports Illustrated for naming Peter Angelos the worst owner in MLB as found by Steady Burn.
• NESW Sports presents the first installment of this weeks Interweb.  This weeks interweb features some pretty cool clicks such as Lebron not being the only player to avoid shaking hands, a Beatles Rock Band Trailer, as well as much more great stuff.
• Total Pro Sports provides footage of the great catch turned in by Joba Chamberlain in last nights Indians vs Yankees game.
• In a related story, Detroit4lyfe shows how Joba fought off insect attack #2 in his second consecutive Cleveland appearance to pitch the longest outting in his career.
• Ben Roethlisberger is not as popular as Lebron James and must accept his defeat as presented by PSAMP.
• Sports Rubbish found some internationally disturbing footage of a boxing match from Finland where one of the boxers fathers attacks the referee!
• Major League Jerk has the proof in a great article about Arizon’a Chris Young being the worst hitter in baseball.
• Pacman Jonesin’ takes a hilarious poke at Tom Brady’s knee, calling it the best knee of all times and even suggesting Lebron wanting the knee to sign with the Cavs.
• Remember when the Cubs gave up on Rich Hill last year?  The Orioles seem to have figured out what it was troubling him that the Cubs could not, from Josh Q. Public.
• My Sports Rumors dives way into the future to take some shots at the 2010 NFL draft.
• The Fifth Corner, omniscient of all activity involving current, former, and even future Tar Heels tells us why Ty Lawson’s stock is dropping.
• The World of Isaac takes a shot at Pittsburgh’s media calling them “whiny” and saying he knows now where Crosby gets it.