Random Thoughts - 6/25 - Indians come crashing down

And the beat goes on . . .

Shhhh, what’s that noise? . . . listen real close, you can hear it . . . it’s all the Indians bandwagons rolling out of town after the Tribe’s nine game winning streak came to a screeching halt this week . . . they now have a four game losing streak . . .

Like I said last week, the Indians have improved, but that nine game winning streak was an aberration because it came against inferior opponents . . .

When will the Indians front office come to the realization that Chi Chi Sabathia is NOT a number one starter . . . time after time this season, the "ace" has come up empty when he had to come across with a win . . .

Sabathia is not a pitcher – he is a thrower . . . he rears back and tries to pump the ball in there 100 mph . . . and once someone taps him for a home run, he becomes increasingly frustrated and loses his control . . . Sabathia has to learn to be a pitcher, not a thrower if he is ever going to live up to his potential . . .

The one current pitcher who comes to mind who transformed from a thrower to a pitcher is Pedro Martinez . . . back in the day, Pedro used to come with the gas . . . but now he has an entire repertoire of pitches . . .

Another pitcher who has come up empty when needed is the Small Unit - Randy Johnson . . . even though the Yankees came back to win the game 20-11, Johnson got shelled by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Tuesday . . .
After sweeping the Pirates and Cubs, the Yankees had an opportunity to make up even more ground as the lowly Devil Rays and Mets rolled into "The Stadium" . . . instead the Yankees have lost four of five . . . it just ain’t happening this year . . .

Did anyone see the great catch Nationals outfielder Ryan Church made on Wednesday in Pittsburgh? . . . Church, a former Mahoning Valley Scrapper, is my new "boy" . . .

Talking about the Steel City, the Pittsburgh Steeler games will not be the same anymore after longtime analyst Myron Cope announced his retirement this year . . . opposing fans, especially the Browns, detested Cope’s screeching rants about his beloved Black and Gold . . . but Cope was something special . . . whether you liked him or not, he was funny and entertaining . . .

What most people don’t know is that he was an accomplished sports journalist . . . before jumping into the broadcast booth, Cope was one of the premier writers for Sports Illustrated . . .

Guys like Cope do not come around everyday . . . I will miss hearing him . . . Yoi, it won’t be the same . . .

Tonight is the battle between Arturo "Thunder" Gatti and Floyd Mayweather Jr. . . . Mayweather is a heavy favorite to win the fight which will take place in Atlantic City . . . Gatti is most famous for his exciting bloodbath fights between Mickey Ward . . . Gatti was like Boom Boom Mancini - a brawler, not a boxer . . . but that has changed . . . in watching Gatti fight over the last year or so, I have noticed that he is now a boxer . . . his fights are not that exciting anymore, however he has learned how to fight with his brain instead of his face . . . I say Gatti pulls an upset tonight and beats Mayweather . . .

Whatever happened to "The Hawk" Aaron Pryor? . . .

I’ve been watching the College World Series this past week . . . there have been some very good games . . . the championship series begins tonight between Texas and Florida in a best of three . . . Hook ‘Em!!! . . .

I just love the Red Stripe beer commercials . . . Hooray Beer!!! . . .

Sunday, August 28th is the day . . . my annual fantasy football draft . . . did I tell you I have the first pick? . . .

I almost was correct about the Detroit Pistons . . . . when will teams learn never ever leave Robert Horry unguarded in the last 10 seconds of a big game . . . NEVER!!! . . .

I can’t believe how down the media were on the Spurs after losing game six . . . the national sports shows were like, "the Pistons will win game seven" . . . "Tim Duncan looks lethargic" . . . "the Spurs don’t have the momentum anymore" . . . blah blah blah . . .

The Spurs don’t have the momentum anymore????? . . . so, they lost game six – big deal!!! . . .

I took Maria Sharapova to win Wimbledon . . .

This is the best time of the year to just sit back and read all the pro, college, and fantasy football magazines . . .

Sometimes you have to rattle the cage when you are at work . . .

I bought that new men’s body spray, Tag . . . I haven’t had any women jumping on me like it shows in the commercial . . .

Well, until next time . . . the beat goes on . . .

Random Thoughts - 6/19

And the beat goes on . . .

The Cleveland Indians have been hot and it hasn’t taken the Cleveland media long to once again show its lack of class . . .

On June 4th the Tribe fired hitting coach Eddie Murray . . . since his departure the Indians have been swinging a hotter stick - and The Plain Dealer is making sure the public knows it . . . they now have a box inside the sports section showing the players batting average under Murray and since Murray was fired . . . yes the statistics have improved, however it has been only 15 days since Murray has been gone . . . are the Tribe hitters going to keep this up for the remainder of June, July, August, September, and of course October when the Tribe goes to the World Series? . . .

My only question is this – when the Indians bats begin to cool down, will The Plain Dealer run a special box showing the decrease in batting averages? . . . I highly doubt it . . .

Here is something else to chew on, bench coach Buddy Bell left around the same time as Murray to take over as manager of the Kansas City Royals . . . maybe the Indians are playing better ball now that Bell is gone . . .

Take it easy Tribe fans . . . the Indians have won eight in a row and are the hottest team in baseball . . . however, the majority of these wins have come against a weaker opponent such as San Francisco Giants and Colorado Rockies . . . starting Monday, the Indians begin playing teams a few levels higher, such as Boston, Detroit, New York, and Cincinnati, than the roadkill they have just splattered . . .

Back in May, the Yankees went on a hot streak however it was a bit deceiving as they piled on the wins against the likes of Seattle and Oakland . . .

Now don’t get your wigwam all upset Indians fans . . . I will say, the Tribe has improved since April . . .

By the way, whatever happened to Albert Belle? . . .

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers open its season on Tuesday night at Eastwood Field . . . the Scrappers are the defending New York-Penn League Champions . . .

One former Scrapper who is playing some good ball is Ryan Church . . . Church is now with the Washington Nationals . . .

Like I said last week, even if the Pistons go down 2-0 against the Spurs, they were still not out of the series . . .
Phil Jackson could spin it all he wants, the fact is that he rejoined the Lakers because of: 1) money; and 2) Jeanie Buss . . .

Why isn’t the NBA as exciting as it was during the 1980s and 90s? . . .

Michael Jackson is one lucky person . . . he was fortunate enough that the alleged victim’s family was not credible . . .

What are the odds of the NHL playing next year? . . .

John Madden hit for the cycle this week when it was announced he will be the analyst for Sunday Night football on NBC starting in 2006 . . . Madden has worked for CBS, FOX, ABC, and now NBC . . .

How many days until the start of the NFL? . . .

I rolled into the City of Brotherly Love this past week for a conference . . . nice city but poor service at restaurants . . . we waited, on average, of at least 25 minutes from the time we placed our order until we received our food . . .

The best service was at Pat’s Cheesesteaks . . . Pat’s has been in business since 1930 . . . in fact, the establishment appeared in Rocky . . . the scene - Rocky just signed to fight Apollo Creed . . . so Rocky meets Gozzo outside of Pat’s and Gozzo gives him $500 to use for training . . .

Looks like William Rehnquist is going to announce his retirement next week . . . the Washington Post has a story of the three possible replacements . . . Washington Post

Finally, Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there and especially to my dad who is the best . . .

Until next time . . . the beat goes on . . .

Remembering Tom Holden

This past weekend the Mahoning Valley lost an icon -- Tom Holden, news anchor for TV-27 died on Saturday night . . . Holden may have been one of the most, if not the most, respected man in Youngstown . . . he anchored the news desk for 30 years . . .

I was fortunate enough to have him for a journalism class at YSU . . . he was an outstanding teacher and like everyone has said, he was a nice guy . . . think about it, how many of today's news people act like their "crap doesn't stink" when out in the public . . . not Tom Holden . . . Holden would talk to anyone and always had a smile or nod when passing by . . .

As a young kid, my family always watched TV-27 news with Tom Holden and Don Gardner on sports . . . Holden was one of the "good guys" who stayed loyal to the Valley . . . he was a staple of this area . . . there was no doubt that he could have moved on to a bigger city, but he was content doing the news at TV-27 and living on the southside of Youngstown . . .

I interviewed him for an article and he said that he was fortunate to have a good job . . . think about it, most people today want to keep moving up in the job market in order to show they are successful . . . Holden wasn't like that -- he was a simple person . . . he loved his Mahoning Valley and especially his Youngstown . . .

What I also think made Holden unique is that he had his flaws just like the rest of us . . . it was widely known that "back in the days" Holden would like to have a nice cold one or two . . . but that is what made him real . . . he was not some plastic glamour wonk hired to attract viewers . . . he wasn't too good to sit next to the average Joe and have a beer . . .

This Valley needs more people like Holden in order to improve . . .

Tom Holden will be missed . . .

Random Thoughts - 6/12

And the beat goes on . . .

Will Mike Tyson just go away already . . .

Anyone who spent $50 to watch the Tyson fight on Pay-Per-View has to be either: a) filthy stinking rich; or b) a moron . . .

Tyson was done after he lost to that tomato can in his last fight . . . but the hype continued for last night’s fight . . . during the pre-fight conference, Tyson was talking how he was going to "kilt (instead of kill) Kevin McBride . . .

After reading the post-fight story, Tyson was a cheap shot artist in the fight . . . he blatantly head butted McBride and then tried to break his arm out of desperation . . .

The sports world needs to turn its back on Tyson . . . it’s over for him . . . and the media should no longer cover his fights . . . .

If it wasn't for that third place finish in the Kentucky Derby, Afleet Alex would have won the Triple Crown . . . this horse would have taken the nation by storm if he would have won the Derby . . . yesterday's Belmont Stakes was a beautiful ride by jockey Jeremy Rose . . .

These are the hardest working teams in baseball: Washington Nationals, Detroit Tigers, and Pittsburgh Pirates . .

Pirate manager Lloyd McClendon has taken his share of flak over the last few years, but he always has his team playing hard every game . . . and don’t look now, but the Pirates are at the .500 mark . . .

Sports Illustrated reported this week that Jim Leyland is interested in returning as a manager . . . the magazine reported that Leyland may end up with the Rockies or Indians . . . hmmmm, what’s going on within the wigwam up in Cleveland . . .

Did you know that 10 current Major League Baseball managers never had minor league managing experience? . . . they are: Dusty Baker (Cubs), Phil Garner (Astros), Ozzie Guillen (White Sox), Lloyd McClendon (Pirates), Bob Melvin (D’backs), Lou Piniella (Devil Rays), Willie Randolph (Mets), Frank Robinson (Nationals), Joe Torre (Yankees), and Alan Trammell (Tigers) . . .

Who should be the manager of the United States team next spring in the first ever World Cup of baseball? . . . early favorites are: Bobby Cox, Joe Torre, or Ron Gardenhire . . .

Which team would Manny Ramirez play on? . . . Baseball America lists him as part of the Puerto Rican team, but Ramirez is now an American citizen . . . so shouldn’t he be playing for the U.S. team? . . . where’s the rule book????

Supposedly Phil Jackson is going to announce if and where he is going to coach next season . . . all reports indicate he will go back to the Los Angeles Lakers . . . I guess Phil’s girl, Jeannie Buss, (who’s father owns the Lakers) has a greater pull if Phil is wanting to put up with Kobe Bryant once again . . .

Whatever happened to Paul Westhead? . . .

Even if the Pistons lose tonight and go down 2-0, I still think they have a good chance at winning it all . . .

Pre-draft rumors indicate that the Milwaukee Bucks may take former North Carolina six man Marvin Williams with the first pick in the draft instead of Utah’s Andrew Bogut . . .

Donald Trump turns 59 this week . . .

Everyone remembers Joe Namath’s famous guarantee before Super Bowl III . . . however, during the regular season, Namath threw only 15 touchdowns and 17 interceptions . . .

Until next time . . . the beat goes on . . .

Quick hits

- The Michigan softball team became the first Big Ten team to win the title . . . the Wolverines upended two-time defending champion UCLA on Wednesday night

- I have never been a big fan of Angelina Jolie, but dang, she looks incredible in her new movie with Brad "Arm" Pitt

- If Natalie Gulbis ever starts winning consistently on the LPGA, she will be a huge star

- Imagine if Anna Kournakova ever won the U.S. Open or Wimbledon . . . her star power would have tripled

- Former Chicago White Sox Ron "Ma and Pa" Kittle has a new book out . . . in the book, Kittle claims that Barry Bonds refused to sign some merchandise that Kittle was going to put up for auction at a charity event . . . Kittle claims Bonds said, "I don't sign for white people" . . . true or not, imagine if someone claimed that a white star such as Tom Brady, Peyton Manning or Roger Clemens said, "I don't sign for black people" . . . hmmmm, imagine the uproar

- Talking about Tom Brady, how about his new contract . . . Brady didn't squeeze every last dime out of the Patriots . . . instead he gave the Pats some wiggle room with the salary cap in order to sign another player or two to keep winning

- Imagine if Ohio State had a freshman quarterback who went 9-3 and led the Buckeyes to the Rose Bowl in his first year . . . Ohio State fans would be clamoring that this kid is a Heisman Trophy front runner . . . hmmm, didn't Chad Henne do that for Michigan last year?

Quick hits

- Tonight is the deciding game in women's softball between UCLA and Michigan

- I'm still undecided on my prediction for the NBA title . . . I like both teams and their emphasis on "team" play

- The Yankees may be done this time . . . after a losing streak early in the season, the Yanks erupted in early May behind the hot stick of Tino Martinez . . . suddenly the Bronx Bummers are 2 games under .500 and have lost nine of ten . . . if this continues the ax may fall on Joe Torre which is something that I dread

- A great site for Ohio high school football is www.jjhuddle.com . . . however, let me warn you right now -- if you log-on to the college football forum section, DO NOT WRITE ANYTHING REMOTELY CRITICAL OF THE OHIO STATE FOOTBALL PROGRAM . . . trust me . . . even the slightest hint of questioning St. James and his band of hoodlums will get you a one month boot . . .

Random Thoughts - 6/5

It's been a while, but here are some thoughts that have been going around in my head . . .

Kellen Winslow Jr. made a boneheaded mistake by goofing off and getting hurt on a motorcycle . . . okay, the kid made a mistake -- it's time for the media to lay off him already. . .

I sure wish the Cleveland media would get after the criminal activities going on with the Buckeye football program with the same gusto they have with Winslow . . .

I still say Winslow is going to be a beast in the NFL . . .

It was disappointing to see former Buckeye standout Mike Doss get charged with various violations including discharging a gun outside of Canal Park in Akron . . . Doss was the leader of the 2002 National Championship team. . .

Face it Ohio State fans, the Buckeye football program has the criminal reputation of the Miami Hurricanes of the 1980s . . .

Speaking of the Canes, if you ask me, I think head coach Larry Coker needs to have a big season . . . I don't have any inside information, but I get the feeling the pressure is starting to mount on him . . .

Does the island of Hawaii have any slums or housing developments? . . .

If the baseball playoff began today, here would be your match-ups:
American League
Anaheim vs. Chicago
Minnesota vs. Baltimore

National League
Atlanta vs. St. Louis
Chicago vs. San Diego

Before the season began, how many people predicted San Diego, Baltimore, and the White Sox in the playoff race . . ..

Honestly now, how many people predicted that the Yankees and Red Sox would not make the playoffs? . . .

Derek Lee for the Triple Crown? . . .

The Cleveland Indians finally dumped Eddie Murray as a hitting coach . . . Murray better change his attitude if he wants to get back into Major League Baseball . . .

The Michigan softball team may be the first Big Ten team to ever win the college softball World Series . . .

NFL training camp is coming up fast . . .

I got the first pick in my fantasy football draft . . . I leaning toward LaDainian Tomlinson . . .

Great article in last week's Washington Post sports section about Redskins rookie quarterback Jason Campbell . . . he is a good kid . . .

Calling coach Tressel, it's 9:46 a.m., do you know where your star players are? . . .

Whatever happened to former Buckeye tight end John Frank? . . .

I know there are people out there who don't like Shaq, but when was the last time you heard his name in the news linked to drugs, DUI, assault, rape, etc. . . . it was reported that the Big Aristotle is going to pay for the funeral of former Minneapolis Laker great George Mikan . . . Shaq is a good person. . . you gotta love the giant . . .

My money is going on the Miami Heat in Monday night's game seven battle with the defending champion Detroit Pistons . . .

Is Mike Brown the real deal as a head coach? . . .

I say Giacomo will win the Belmont Stakes on Saturday . . .

Remember Thunder Gulch? . . .

What has Smarty Jones been up to lately . . .

Until next time, the beat goes on . . .