Reppin' the Hawkeye State!

I had to do a post after reading an article that was e-mailed to me yesterday. It is a short piece by Jenn Patterson; a very well-written story on a University of Iowa program and one if it's alums: Connie Goeb (aka Mom!).

Check it out here.

Very proud and happy for my Mom. She constantly inspires me to be a more ambitious and caring person. Even though she's considered 'retired', I'm willing to bet she puts in more hours of work in a given week than 3/4 of America.


Can't wait for my next trip out to Iowa City!

Kinnick Stadium - Always a great time tailgating and watching the Hawks!

New Look Doyers! Vamanos!

I'm doing this post for two reasons:

1: So I can say I published two separate blog posts on the same day, since I usually go about 4 months in between posts.

2: Mostly to just say how awesome Clayton Kershaw is. Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez are pretty much the only two contributing on offense so far this season, and Kershaw is the one SP the Dodgers truly need to lean on now that Bills and Greinke are hurt. And he is delivering.

That is all. Kershaw's the man...here's to another Cy Young in 2013!!!!

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Hashtag Chiefs Draft

We did it. The Chiefs finally stopped being mediocre and just went ahead and took the plunge all the way to the bottom of the NFL. It's something we have all been waiting for. Something Herm Edwards worked hard to achieve, was fired before he could, then Romeo Crennel stepped in nicely to finish the job.

Being a lifelong Chiefs fan, I'm used to mediocrity. I'm comfortable with a W-L column looking anywhere from 5-11 to 9-7. But considering how badly they sucked last year at 2-14, earning the worst record of all 32 NFL teams, I thought this was finally going to be the year the Chiefs drafted and developed a QB. But of course, the one year we pull off the first pick in the draft is the one year there is not a decent prospect....just our luck. Fitting, really. 

But given the hand they were dealt, I applaud the organization for their work so far this offseason. Clark Hunt knew he needed to clean house -and he did, getting rid of the GM and Coaching staff. New GM/HC tandem John Dorsey and Andy Reid have made several smart moves to bolster the talent on the roster through free agency and trades: They brought in Alex Smith, Donnie Avery, Anthony Fasano, Dunta Robinson, Sean Smith, Mike DeVito, and other solid role players.

I wish they would have been able to deal Branden Albert during the first round of the draft to get back a second round pick, however. It would have been nice to pick up a starting-quality ILB or offensive lineman to pair up with Derrick Johnson or Eric Fisher, respectively. But where the Chiefs really needed to step up was with their two 3rd rounders. I would argue that they got one right, one wrong. 

#63 Overall: Travis Kelce, TE - Got it right.

#96 Overall: Knile Davis, RB - Not feelin it. 

I have not had the chance to do so yet, probably because I just don't care quite enough to look it up, but I would love to hear an explanation from the organization behind the Knile Davis pick. He is athletic...that's where the positive ends. To put the negative succintly -he is an injury-prone fumble machine. With other needs on the roster, why go for more depth at RB? Can he block? Is he fully healthy now? Did they know Barrett Jones was still on the board? Or Alex Okafor? 

Or even stick with the RB position...Marcus Lattimore (also injury prone, but at least he is good!)? Johnathan Franklin was an absolute beast at UCLA too. 

SMH as they say in the social media world, which I am rapidly falling behind in due to the fact that my iPhone refuses to let me download new apps. No FB, Snapchat, Instragram. Bright side is I don't have to see pictures of Barclay's shit sent directly to my phone, down side is I'm stuck with just Twitter, and even that's barely operating. But I digress...

Now Travis Kelce... judging from my half-ass attempt at researching him, which took me a total of approximately 7 minutes, I like this pick. He seems like a very, very good all around TE. Saw some impressive film of him catching balls on just seam routes, burning the linebackers and even DBs. Then he is happy to come in and line up next to the tackles or in a wing spot and get dirty blocking. He is just the kind of guy KC needs. Someone who can contribute on special teams, as well as in a few sub-packages, assuming Tony Moeaki goes down with his annual ACL tear (becoming quite the tradition). 

As far as the rest of the draft goes, who really cares. I'm crossing my fingers Eric Fisher will live up to the hype -I'm leaning towards bust, not because I don't like him, his film looks good. But because that's just the Chief's luck. 

More Football...Emphasis on the Foot

I appreciate soccer more than the average American, but I can't say I follow it very closely. When the World  Cup comes around I love it, then my interest fades for another few years. Honestly, the majority of my soccer knowledge comes from my countless hours spent playing FIFA.

But when I see a goal like THIS, it makes me want to pack up my stuff and move to Europe so I can watch more "football" instead of American football.

The NFL Is Ruining Football

So, it's been a few months. This is me making an effort to not be one of those people who thinks it's a great idea to start a blog, write a couple posts, then abandon it -- which turns out to be very easy to do (see: this blog). The ridiculous part is when I look back at all that has happened in the world and in my life since I last published a post*, but the thing that inspired me to get on my computer tonight and rant -- The Shield (better known as the NFL to the uninitiated Clones). 

*Me being hired to my first 'real' job, me being laid off from that crappy job (ok yeah im a little bitter, but that job seriously sucked), me being hired again (liking it so far),  the 2012 election, Hurricane Sandy, etc...

It's Thursday night, and I have very little interest in the game the NFL decided to 'showcase' - the Jags v the Colts, aside from the fact that I have Rashad Jennings on my fantasy team. The game was going about as well as you would expect it to, but there was one moment that really inspired me to write this post. 

It's the end of the first quarter, Colts up 3-0. Andrew luck drops back to pass, is pressured, and tosses up a decent looking ball in spite of throwing off his back foot. Sure enough, it's picked. I'm happy. This means more potential carries going to Jennings. But wait......FLAG. The call = roughing the passer's vagina. 

This is going to sound insensitive, but I'm fed up with this player safety bullshit. I know the league can't afford to defend itself against every half-retarded ex-player who files a lawsuit, but all of these whistles are having a tremendous effect on the outcomes of these games. That Andrew Luck pass I mentioned? They of course regained possession of the ball, marched down the field and scored a TD. 

Now, I don't have enough time, nor do I care enough to lay down a coherent argument supported with more examples of this, but most people who watch football on Sundays (and Mondays...and Thursdays) realize that these new rules are affecting the game. Personally, I want to see James Harrison take someone's head off. THAT's football. If the receiver disagrees with me, maybe he should have stayed in college long enough to actually graduate and voluntarily pursue a career that does NOT pose any significant health threats. These players know what they signed up for. This is the deal: They get lots of money. We get to watch them display their talents (and get smashed every once in a while). The owners/league reap the rewards -- happy fans buying crap. 

But the product the NFL puts on the field now is absolute garbage compared to what it was ten years ago. They are solely focused on making money even if it means compromising the integrity of the sport that was once great. I want defense to matter. I want to see running backs get 25-30 carries a game. I want linebackers to not have to think twice about leveling the QB on a perfectly executed blitz. Wondering - oh shit, am I going to get fined for this? Is my team going to get penalized if I make this great football play? 

It's sickening and sad that this is what people think football is now, and even more sickening to think what it will be like ten years further down the road. Who needs pads? By then, the NFL will have strict rules requiring all players to wear team-colored lingerie instead of uniforms in an attempt to "reach that female demographic." 

Until something changes...or I just give in, I will focus much more on college football from now on (which I have always preferred anyway, but that damn fantasy football is so addicting!)

 

The Black Hole That Is: ESPN

Oh ESPN...the network where people like Mark Schlereth and Skip Bayless are considered experts. A network that can never get enough of ________ (take your pick: Lin, Tebow, Manning, Tiger, Lebron, etc.)  What is it about this "four-letter" network that somehow keeps me glued to the TV for hours at a time? Anyone who has watched a substantial amount of SportsCenter knows that if you've seen one hour, you've seen an entire day's worth of sports news. Yet, I still sit there watch NFL Live...or is it Primetime? Or wait, NFL 32?? Well, however they want to repackage it is fine with me, as long as I get a few precious seconds of Chiefs coverage somewhere in there. 

But lately my views have begun to change. I've discussed this with a co-worker of mine; that we're sick of ESPN dedicating 90% of its airtime to the NFL. I appreciate all sports, and I do my best to keep up with all of my teams, but it's hard when I can't turn on the TV without seeing the latest from the rumor mill featuring Adam Schefter anddddd Adam Schefter. The network puts so much time in to covering the gossip, that I feel like I'm watching an episode of TMZ, not something even football related. This is why I am happy that Jim Rome Is Burning didn't continue on ESPN. Seeing my favorite, west-coast biased sports host in a different format, talking about what "Rome Wants" is very refreshing. Now, normally Rome and "refreshing" aren't mentioned in the same sentence, but this is what the sports world has come to. Yes he can be obnoxious and arrogant, but at least he is a journalist. He has a good variety of interests and topics that he covers, and he asks insightful questions and usually treats his guests with respect*. The format of the new show, "Rome," is exactly the same as "JRIB"...bullets, then guest, then final burn. But it just feels good not watching ESPN for a change. 

*except for Jim "Chris" Everett

I'm not renouncing my faith as a dedicated ESPN viewer, but I am so sick of hearing about how "dynamic" Brock Osweiler "could be" that I am ready to vomit. There are a lot of sports cliches spouted on the radio and TV every day, but "dynamic" has to be the one that's used most often, and most of the time incorrectly. I don't even want to begin to start listing some of the others...it will just annoy me. 

Point is, I feel like I'm in a quarter-life crisis...after 20-some years, am I finally getting sick enough of ESPN that I will actually spend more time doing other, much more useful things with my days? I don't want to get ahead of myself here, but I think there's a real possibility I might pick up a book instead of the remote tomorrow...

LA's Back!

Got the news last night while I was at work that Magic's group had agreed to buy the Dodgers from the Devil - I mean - Frank McCourt....for $2 BILLION! I don't remember what he originally bought the team for, but it definitely was not even close to that number. So I guess he won't be broke anymore...that sucks. It made me happy knowing that Frank McCourt was unhappy. I don't usually think that way, but I bet just about everyone in LA would agree with me.

But the beauty of this whole thing is that we don't have to talk about him, see him, or think about him ever again! LA has regained it's soul with the ownership change. Fans are going to be re-energized (I just bought tickets to opening weekend here in SD), as is the team itself. The players will be proud to be Los Angeles Dodgers again, and play better as a result. Ned "the stache" Colleti will hopefully have some money to spend on bringing in some more talent to help the strong core of established players. All of that will trickle down through the rest of the organization.

I spoke with a Dodgers representative in Business Development a couple weeks ago and he told me that the uncertainty that's plagued the organization has been tough, and that deals were not getting done or being tabled. Now that the ownership situation has been settled, we will start to see more deals going through in every capacity; people will no longer hesitate to do business with the club.

It's an exciting time to be a Dodger fan. I'm not saying I expect them to compete for a pennant right away, but it's a relief knowing that the worst times are behind us and the team is headed in the right direction. Good luck to Magic, Stan Kasten, and the rest of the Dodger organization. Now, is there any way to bring Mike Piazza back?