New Decade's Eve

"We all have our time machines, don't we. Those that take us back are memories... And those that carry us forward, are dreams." - Jeremy Irons from The Time Machine

Well, it Decemeber 31, 2009. The final day of this year and decade. I can't believe 10 years again, it was 2000. A lot has changed. 10 years ago I, was a freshman at CCP, worked at Bisirri's, weight about 100 lbs less than I do now, lived with my parents and I had a lot more hair. Since then, i've cut my hair shorter, live on my own (mainly because my parents wanted to move to NJ), had a drink every now and then, decided to work rather than finish school and then lost my job, and finally became an uncle and godfather. Sure its been an eventful 10 years. At the end of 1999, I was 18 years old. I remember that New Year's Eve. Played Clue with Duke(who was known as Jim at the time) at my parent's house. It was the last time I was home for the clock striking midnight on a new year. Since then i've spent the last 8 new years in varying locations
2001 - Tim's House
2002-04 Spicer's Shore House
2005 - Asher's Place
2006 - Jay's House
2007-08 Work

Nothing worse then spending New Year's night working night shift. At least in 2007, Baron let me go early so I could still go to Jay's house. In 2008, I spent the first hours of 2009 working and watching The Presidents. This year, i'm going to do something I haven't done in 10 years. I'm going to spend New Year's with my parents, Duke and Bandit. It will be our first New Year's in my parents new house. I will be watching the Three Stooges marathon on AMC. Ed's Blog asked about how do we say 2010? Twenty ten or two thousand ten? I guess thats something i'll have think about. As for new years resolutions, maybe to get back to work and get back to my playing weight. That will do for now. Happy New Decade. Ha, threw you a curveball there.

It's the Halladay season

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know by now the Phillies have traded for Roy Halladay. You know they traded Cliff Lee to Seattle. You're wondering, why couldn't they keep both and go into 2010 with the ultimate 1-2 punch to dominate the National League and win the pennant for the 3rd straight year? Its a good question. I'll try to address that for you.

Let's start with why this deal happened. Its no secret Ruben Amaro always coveted Halladay. He wanted him last July. Toronto's asking price was a little too rich for the Phils. Amaro opted for the next best thing. Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco for 4 prospects. Each team got something they needed. Cleveland got prospects for rebuilding and the Phils got the ace they needed and a right handed bat off the bench. But after coming up short in the World Series, the Phils needed to send a message to the National League that they are still the 2-time league champs. By acquiring Halladay, they essentially kept him from their biggest challenger, the Dodgers. Toronto fired J.P. Riccardi in September, opening the doors for the Phils to try again to see what it would take to acquire the '03 Cy Young winner. But why go after Halladay when you already have Lee at $9 million next season?

Cliff Lee's salary seems a bargain for the 2010 season. But the Phils wanted him to sign a long term deal, which Lee didn't seem interested in. He wants to test the market after next season in the hopes of netting a CC Sabathia type deal. Amaro had a tough decision to make. Lose Lee after next season or acquire baseball's best pitcher, who is willing to sign a contract extension. I don't blame Amaro for doing what was in the best interest of the Phillies. He gets a workhorse pitcher in Halladay, who is equipped to battle the Yanks or Red Sox if they meet in the World Series. It cost him 3 decent prospects, including top prospect Kyle Drabek. By trading Lee to Seattle, Amaro was able to replenish the minor with Seattle's top 3 prospects. The Phillies may have actually set themselves to be a competitive team for the next 5 years. First, Halladay agreed to a 3 year $60 million extension. Second, the 3 prospects from Seattle are actually projected to be better then the three they gave Toronto. Third, the made this trade and did not have to give up J.A. Happ or Dominic Brown.

I know Cliff Lee became a hero in Philadelphia during the World Series. Its tough to part with a player of Lee's talent. But Lee would have walked after 2010, and the Phils would have certainly been outbid for him by the likes of Boston or New York. With these deals, we now have arguably the best pitcher in baseball signed for 4 years (possibly 5 with a 2014 option)and a bright future with very good prospects who in 2-3 years will be ready to prove it was worth it to trade Lee. Lee gives Seattle an amazing 1-2 punch along with Felix Hernandez and makes them the favorite in the AL West. We wish Cliff the best in Seattle and will never forget perhaps the greatest pitching performance in Phillies history. The Phillies are once again the NL favorites. There is no moves the Dodgers, Mets or Cardinals can make that can make them look better then the Phils look now. If Cole Hamels returns to '08 postseason from, J.A. Happ pitches like he did in 09, and Brad Lidge can regain his "lights out" form, the Phillies will, for the 3rd straight year, be champions of the National League. Not bad for the losingest team in all professional sports.

Lists, glorious lists

I'm sorry, Ed. I know the end of the year lists were your idea. But its too good to pass up. Here are some more lists of 2009 and this decade

Top 10 shows I watched in 2009 (based on episodes watched)
1. Days of Our Lives
2. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
3. That 70's Show
4. Family Guy
5. King of the Hill
6. The Office
7. How I Met Your Mother
8. The Simpsons
9. My Boys
10. American Dad

Top 5 Worst Moments of 2009
1. Being laid-off
2. Yankees beat Phillies in World Series
3. Pittsburgh's Super Bowl and Stanley Cup wins
4. My parents moving to New Jersey
5. Citizen's Bank closing the Holmesburg branch

Best Purchases this Decade
1. Chevrolet Trialblazer (2008)
2. Ipod (2006)
3. WWE Championship Belt (2007)
4. Vizio 32" HDTV (2008)
5. 2 Laptop Computers (Dell - 2003, HP - 2009)
6. Moto 9 Cell Phone, Verizon Wireless (2008)
7. Nintendo Wii (2009)
8. Golf Clubs (2009)
9. Video Camera (2000, 2004)

Jersey's Purchased this Decade
MLB (Custom - Arizona, Washington, Philadelphia. Players - Cubs (Sandberg #23), Knights (Hobbs #9)
NFL (Eagles Owens #81, Bears Grossman #8, Bengals Johnson #85, Steelers Miller #83)
NBA (Hornets Paul #3, Nuggets Anthony #15, Wizards Arenas #0, Kings Webber #4, Suns Nash #13)
NHL (Custom - Team USA, Ottawa)

It's Been a While

I know its been a while since my last post and I apologize for the wait. I don't have a lot of ideas like Ed does. It's been an interesting(and quick) two months. Still unemployed, but am collecting unemployment. I plan on resuming my hunt for a new job in 2010, as this year is about three weeks away from being over. Since I last posted something, the Phils lost the World Series, I went on the Pocono trip and Ed's been on call twice. Normally I stay at my parent's house when this happens, but my mom has a cookie thing on Sunday and has a lot to do and I don't wanna be in the way. I will be going over tomorrow for dinner and I have to watch my nephew so my sister can get some stuff done. I also love the fact its December 7th and i'm like 90% done my X-mas shopping.

Speaking of X-mas(thats right, X-mas, like in Futurama), two events next week directly related to that. On Thursday is the annual Guys Shopping Trip. I haven't gone in a couple of years so i'm really excited about it. Basically the guys go to Hooters for dinner, then if we need any last minute shopping needs we'll head to the closest mall and then onto the bar for a beer or two. Then on Saturday is Kelly's Pollyanna Party. I like the new format of being drawn a person beforehand and getting them a gag gift. Last year I got Krissy and Gregg got me. I don't wanna give away who I got but i'm thinking of hilarious gift ideas. I'm also glad that this is the 1st time since 2006 that i'll be home for X-mas Eve and New Year's Eve. The last few years, i've been stuck on night shift.

The Pocono trip was last month and it was an awesome time. We got there on Monday and the house was nice. There were a lot of rooms but I settled on a couch bed upstairs near the upper deck. The bed was a little broke and I found a steak knife among other things inside. I made dinner for everyone on Tuesday. Shake and Bake Chicken, rice and stuffing. I was a little worried because i've never made rice and stuffing for more than one before. Everyone seemed to like it so that was good. I liked the idea Tom had about kegs instead of bottles or cans. We went through 2 kegs the whole week (Keg #2 we got Thursday and it was kicked by late Friday night). I was also the President in the majority of hands of asshole I played. The big game of the week was scrabble. And I also rediscovered how funny Maury is. The only bad parts of the week were April putting on The Ugly Truth, which made the guys scatter and Amanda calling me retarded, which is fine for everyone else to call me but i'm a little annoyed when strangers do it. Other than that, it was a great week and I can't wait for the next mountain trip.

The weeks are going fast and it will be 2010 soon. But before that, Dennis' party weekend is this weeekend. Dennis is calling his birthday party Kill Dennis Vol 2. Ed did a pretty good job of it last year, I can only imagine what he has in store for him last year. He picked Smokeaters this year, which i'm growing to like. I was there a couple times last week and I liked it fine. Not to steal an Ed idea but below are a few of my own lists of 2009. I'll try to write another blog before the end of 2009.

Top 5 bars of 2009
1. The Ashburner
2. Smokeaters
3. Slates/Hooters
4. The Grotto at Guido's
5. Coaches

Top 5 vacation spots of 2009
1. Poconos
2. Penn State
3. My parent's in NJ
4. Baltimore
5. Irish Weekend

MLB Post-season Prediictions

It's that time of year again. October baseball. Good news, no more Frank TV ads. Bad news, expect a ton of Lopez Show ads. Last year, The Phillies won their first World Championship since 1980. It will Philly's first championship in 25 years. As much as I would love to see them repeat, I got a feeling that its not going to happen. They kinda limped into the playoffs losing 4 of their last 7 games. The Twins won a marathon game with Detroit last night to win the honor of being slaughtered by the Yankees. Boston and LA renew their rivalry for the 3rd straight year and St Louis returns for the first time since their '06 championship but run into the Dodgers, the NL's best team. Now for the picks.

ALDS
NYY over MIN 3-0
LAA over BOS 3-2

NLDS
STL over LAD 3-2
PHI over COL 3-1

ALCS
LAA over NYY 4-2
PHI over STL 4-2

World Series
LAA over PHI 4-3

Stanley Cup Predictions among other things

This past weekend was Irish Weekend. I was a little annoyed that Jay asked everyone and their mother if they wanted to go to Irish weekend except me. So Dennis calls me on Wednesday and asks me if I wanna go down and piss off Jay. I accept and me, Den and Ed head down Friday afternoon. I must say it was a success. Jay was plenty pissed we were there. But I guess since his boy Dennis wound up going too, he wasn't as bummed. Anyway it was a fun weekend of drinking, cool weather and stories i'll tell you in person.

In other Bri related news, i'll be receiving my last severence check from the Beneficial next week. After that, its unemployment until I find a new job. I've been looking but don't have any bites yet. Tomorrow i'll be golfing with my old bosses Dennis and Baron. I'm glad because its a chance to use the clubs I bought two months ago. I'm hoping to finish in the 110-115 range but don't hold me to that. The Phils won another division title last night. The last time they won three straight division titles was from 1976-78. As of now, 7 of the 8 spots are decided. I'm excited for the playoffs. Hopefully the Rockies can sweep the Dodgers so we'll get them in the NLDS. Anyway for my Cup prediction: Chicago over Washington. My two teams who didn't make the playoffs that will this year, Toronto and Dallas.

A Week of Realization

I was sitting around my apartment last week and I decided to take a vacation to my parent's house. Its a way to avoid figuring out what to do for dinner. It was also an excuse for me to get away from my apartment for a week. I left on Monday afternoon and got to my parent's house around five. I've basically done nothing since I got here. My days have pretty much gone like this. I've averaged getting up around 11am. Gone to Wawa each day for a coffee. Been on my computer way more than I would have at home. Have watched TV with my parents (while they were up). I'm kinda enjoying FioS but not to the point were i'm ready to switch. They do have some interesting HD channels. But its been good to get away. With Ed being on call this week, its seems kinda dumb for me to go to quizzo alone. I figured this is as close as i'm going to get to a vacation this year. All my friends have their jobs and already have taken their vacations. I got laid off before I could.

I spent Tuesday looking at jobs online. I applied for a couple, but haven't heard anything yet. I basically get my last severance pay on Oct 9th. After that, I had better either have a job or be on unemployment. Otherwise I won't have any income coming in. Its been tough on me. I've been discovering how boring being home is. I can't believe its been 2 1/2 months already. I also realized that I really need to lose some weight. According to my parent's scale, i'm like 270!! Starting Monday, i'm making it my goal to lose weight. The ultimate goal is for me to get down to about 210. If Joe Skirkie can do it, why can't I? I plan on rejoining the gym, start running, and investing in lettuce and tomato and cut out the junk food.

NFL Predictions

As I always do, I bought the Sporting News' NFL preview (every year since 1996). I disagree with their picks. They have the Giants winning the Super Bowl. Really? Well i'm here to give you the actually division winners, playoff winners and your 2010 Super Bowl Champ. If i'm wrong, unsubscribe and your money back.

AFC East
1. New England
2. Miami
3. Buffalo
4. NY Jets

AFC North
1. Pittsburgh
2. Baltimore
3. Cincinnati
4. Cleveland

AFC South
1. Indianapolis
2. Tennessee
3. Houston
4. Jacksonville

AFC West
1. San Diego
2. Denver
3. Kansas City
4. Oakland

Wild Cards: Baltimore, Tennessee

Tennessee vs Indianapolis (IND)
Baltimore vs San Diego (SD)

San Diego vs New England (SD)
Indianapolis vs Pittburgh (PIT)

San Diego vs Pittsburgh (SD)

NFC East
1. NY Giants
2. Philadelphia
3. Dallas
4. Washington

NFC North
1. Chicago
2. Minnesota
3. Green Bay
4. Detroit

NFC South
1. Atlanta
2. Carolina
3. New Orleans
4. Tampa Bay

NFC West
1. Arizona
2. Seattle
3. San Francisco
4. St Louis

Wild Cards: Philadelphia, Minnesota

Minnesota vs NY Giants (MIN)
Philadelphia vs Arizona (PHI)

Minnesota vs Atlanta (ATL)
Philadelphia vs Chicago (CHI)

Chicago vs Altanta (ATL)

Super Bowl 44
San Diego vs Atlanta (SD)

A Wacky Weekend in Baltimore

It was quite a weekend in Baltimore. Lots of drinking, hotel Simpsons watching and hilarity to go round. Asher's thinking some bartender chick was hitting on my when she clearly wasn't. Ed and Tom eating a dozen crabs which seemed to take forever. Me, Ed and Duke stopping at a pizza place Sunday night and Ed getting a face full of stuff from an Ohio State fan. The hotel was pretty cool too. We stayed at the Radisson. Free internet, nice sized beds. Only flaws were the TV's remote didn't work, we only got like 20 channels and the cans of soda were $1.25. Other than that, outstanding weekend.

As for other things going on, the days are going quicker and quicker. My parents are now officially moved into their new house. Them and my dog are settled in. The summer which seemed like yesterday started, will be over soon. I'm still not sure what i'm going to do yet. But the search for a new job is underway. In my next post, i'll post my predictions for the 2009 NFL season.

Baseball and other things

Baseball pennant races are heating up. Granted the Phils and Dodgers have big leads, the other 4 division races are really tight. Yanks, Cubs, Angels and Tigers all have less than 5 game leads. The Cards added Holliday to gain on the Cubs, Tigers added Washburn to hold off the Sox, who added Peavy in a last second trade. The Red Sox added Victor Martinez to boost a struggling offense to catch the Yanks. Don't count out the Rays. Suprising Texas is making things interesting in the AL West. I like the Phils getting Cliff Lee, but not as much as I would have liked to have gotten Roy Halladay. Boy did Toronto screw that up. They wanted the Phils best 3 prospects and the Phillies turn around and trade 4 mid-level prospects to get Lee. Meanwhile, Toronto lost its best suitor and basically decided to hold onto him. Now, in the off-season, they may have to get less for him just to get something because he's gone after 2010. I still say the Giants are the most dangerous team in the NL. They have the best pitching, and I like the additions of Garko and Sanchez to boost their offense. Most dangerous AL team is Detroit. They have a big 3 in the rotation (Verlander, Jackson and Washburn) and they can score runs with anyone in the AL.

As for me, i'm enjoying my time off. My severence pays me until mid-October and then who knows where i'll end up working. The summer of Bri kicks into full swing this weekend with Cash X. I can't believe its here already. There is only going to be a handful of awards this year, but it should be a record attendance this year. As for August goings on, i'm looking to get in another round of golf to debut my new clubs. I'll be in Baltimore with Asher, Duke and Ed in a couple weeks. As for what else, i'm going to be helping my parents get settled into their new place, quizzo Wednesday's, and whatever drinking events there will be. I hope there will be some poker in my future, but I won't hold my breathe on that one. I also hope that Asher will give me a shot at filling in for him at quizzo. Its something i'm interested in trying. I think people would like my game. Plus I won't use other peoples catch phrases like some people (yes I mean you Asher). Well enjoy your summer folks and i'm sure i'll be back later with my NFL predicitions.

I'm Bri, and I approve this message.

The Cashienda (June 4, 1985 to July 9, 2009)

Summer of Bri

Last Tuesday was arguably the worst day of my life. I'm on night shift so I get in about twenty after 4. I get called into my bosses office to hear about the promotion I was hoping to get. Instead, I find out that I didn't get that job or the help desk job. Since the computer room was downsizing because of our new system, I was laid off. But I could find another job within the bank if I so desired. I had to leave and went home disappointed. Another option was to take a severence package which would equal about 3 months of pay. After some thinking, I decided to take the severence, and on the advice of several people, decided to make this the Summer of Bri. Its kinda like that Seinfeld episode with George after he was traded to Tyson Chicken and didn't have a job and declared it the Summer of George. I will not be sitting around eating a block of cheese like a apple, but I do plan on enjoying this newfound time off. I'll worry about what i'm going to do when the summer's over. Right now, i'm going to use this time to relax. I'm leaning towards Cash X being on August 8th. Jay is being a major league douche, so I may need an alternate location. My parents are officially out of the Cashienda as of Friday morning. Its a sad time. We lived at that house for 24 years. I realized Sunday night that it would be the last time the family would be together at the house. I still have a few more days to pay my respects and say goodbye. I got till the end of the month to decide if I wanna stay at Holme Circle for another year. Otherwise my lease gets renewed automatically. I'm leaning towards staying. So thats it. I am availible for anything over the next two months (price permitting). I look forward to partying and hanging out. Enjoy your summer, I know I will.

Night Shift

This week I went back on night shift. The last time I was on night shift, it was 8:30pm - 4:30am. Since then, we got a new system which has reduced night shift by almost half the time, so i'm getting done about midnight now. When I first started on this shift, it was 5pm - 1am. Its kinda similiar to that. We have to wait till 8:20 to call the 3 branches that close at 8 to make sure they are done before we can start. So I basically sit around for 4 hours and do nothing. The pros of being back on night shift are more money, free parking and getting to sleep in again. The cons are missing shows (which I DVR), not being around for quizzo or happy hours and not being able to eat dinner at my parents house. I also had a Jeff Daniels moment this week. Not sure what I'm talking about, here it is.

NBA Playoff Predictions

Its time for TNT's 40 games in 40 nights (BTW, screw you for getting rid of my favorite part of your coverage, the boxes with the teams logos). ESPN and ABC's obsession with the Lakers and Spurs. Its the NBA playoffs. At least those annoying split screen face commercials are over with. Anyway here is what I think will happen.

Eastern Conference - 1st Round
#8 Detroit at #1 Cleveland 4-0
#7 Chicago at #2 Boston 4-3
#6 Philadelphia at #3 Orlando 4-2
#5 Miami at #4 Atlanta 4-3

Western Conference - 1st Round
#8 Utah at #1 Los Angeles 4-1
#7 New Orleans at #2 Denver 4-3
#6 Dallas at #3 San Antonio 4-2
#5 Houston at #4 Portland 4-2

Eastern Conference - 2nd Round
#4 Atlanta at #1 Cleveland 4-2
#3 Orlando at #2 Boston 4-2

Western Conference - 2nd Round
#4 Portland at #1 Los Angeles 4-3
#6 Dallas at #2 Denver 4-1

Eastern Conference Finals
#3 Orlando at #1 Cleveland 4-2

Western Conference Finals
#2 Denver at #1 Los Angeles 4-3

NBA Finals
#1 Los Angeles at #1 Cleveland 4-2

NHL Playoff Predictions

Well its that time of year again. Time for playoff beards, two games every night for two months. The NHL Playoffs. The matchups are set. It's time for me to pick whose going to the finals and who will hoist Lord Stanley's Cup this June. Without further delay, let's do it! Teams in bold are my picks. Later in the week i'll give my NBA picks.

Western Conference - 1st Round
#8 Anaheim at #1 San Jose 4-2
#7 Columbus at #2 Detroit 4-1
#6 St Louis at #3 Vancouver 4-3
#5 Calgary at #4 Chicago 4-2

Eastern Conference - 1st Round
#8 Montreal at #1 Boston 4-3
#7 NY Rangers at #2 Washington 4-2
#6 Carolina at #3 New Jersey 4-2
#5 Philadelphia at #4 Pittsburgh 4-3

Western Conference - 2nd Round
#6 St Louis at #1 San Jose 4-2
#4 Chicago at #2 Detroit 4-3

Eastern Conference - 2nd Round
#5 Philadelphia at #1 Boston 4-2
#3 New Jersey at #2 Washington 4-1

West Finals
#4 Chicago at #1 San Jose 4-2

East Finals
#3 New Jersey at #1 Boston 4-2

Stanley Cup Finals
#3 New Jersey at #1 San Jose 4-2

2009 MLB Predictions

AL Predicitons:
Rays vs Angels
Red Sox vs Twins

Twins vs Angels

AL East: Rays, Red Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays, Orioles

The Rays bring most of their team from the World Series back for another go round. The still have underrated pitching and added Pat Burrell to help out Longoria and Pena in the order. The Red Sox have excellent pitching depth and a very potent lineup. I think they will win the Wild Card, but that depends on the health of David Ortiz, Mike Lowell and even J.D. Drew. The Yankees made a big off-season splash, but the loss of A-Rod will hurt their lineup, even if only for a month or two. Toronto is a 70-75 win team at best and Baltimore is getting better but are about two years away from being contenders.

AL Central: Twins, Royals, Indians, White Sox, Tigers

The Twins are my pick to win the AL Central, but I gotta tell you, this division is so wide open any of the 5 teams could win it. Minnesota will be helped by a healthy Liriano, but how will the injury of Joe Mauer effect them. Kansas City will be the suprise of the season. They added Jacobs and Crisp to try to contend now and have a very good core of young players. Look for them to be in contention until mid-September. Cleveland made some nice off-season additions, but the health of Hafner and Martinez will play a big role. Grady Sizemore can't do it all himself. The White Sox tried to get younger and bring back very good pitching and a healthy Calos Quintan can vault them right back into it. Detroit was a very big disappointment last year. I picked them to win the AL. They could easily turn the tables this year.

AL West: Angels, Rangers, A's, Mariners

The Angels are the clear favorites to win their 5th division title in 6 years. They lost K-Rod and Teixiera, but they still have Vlad and manager Mike Sciosia. Their bullpen is still one of the best in baseball. Texas has a very good offense but as always the pitching will be a question mark. The A's made a big off-season trade getting Matt Holiday from Colorado. But can Oakland's young pitching mature to make a run at LA. Seattle is in rebuilding mode. They will probably win 65 games and finish ahead of Pittsburgh and Washington for worst record.

NL Predictions:
Dodgers vs Phillies
Giants vs Cubs

Phillies vs Cubs

NL East: Phillies, Mets, Braves, Marlins, Nationals

Its so nice to say the defending champion Phillies are going to win this division a third straight year. Ibanez will be a welcome addition to the lineup and expect Blanton and Moyer to hold their own. The Mets claim they are "the team to beat". Based on what? They added K-Rod and Putz to improve their bullpen, but they failed to improve their lineup. Expect another september crash that sees the Giants snag the Wild Card. Atlanta will be the most improved team in the division. I like them adding Lowe and Vazquez but their lineup leaves much to be desired. Florida is always pesky and they have the best player in the division in Hanley Ramirez. Washington will battle Pittsburgh as worst team in baseball.

NL Central: Cubs, Cardinals, Brewers, Astros, Reds, Pirates

The Cubs improved by finally adding a lefty bat (Milton Bradley) to go with their mostly right lineup. Their pitching is very good with Zambrano, Harden, Dempster and Lilly leading the way. The bullpen features Marmol and new closer Kevin Gregg. They should win this division easily. St Louis is second best. They get back Carpenter and have a healthy Pujols which should put them in the Wild Card race. Milwaukee will drop off after losing Sabathia and Sheets. Houston might be a team to watch, especially with a healthy Carlos Lee. Cincinnati is improving and Pittsburgh can expect an 18th straight losing season.

NL West: Dodgers, Giants, D'Backs, Rockies, Padres

The Dodgers getting Manny back vaults them ahead of the Giants as best team in the division. Expect them to repeat. The Giants are my pick to win the wild card. They have a very good rotation (Lincecum, Cain, Randy Johnson, Zito, Sanchez). Zito should have a comeback player of the year season as the number 4 starter. No pressure being the #1 guy anymore. Arizona is always dangerous, Colorado traded their best player but are still gritty. San Diego is rebuilding as should be among the bottom 5 teams in baseball. Interesting to see if they trade Peavy (maybe to the Cubs?)

World Series: Angels vs Cubs

World Champs: Cubs

Playoff races heating up

Have you seen the western conference in the NHL? There are 11 teams going for 8 spots. Now San Jose and Detroit are in. But the other spots are wide open. As of this moment the current matchups are #8 Anaheim at #1 San Jose, #7 St Louis at #2 Detroit, #6 Columbus at #3 Vancouver and #5 Calgary at #4 Chicago. Nashville is tied for 8th with Anaheim, Minnesota and Edmonton are 3 points out. The NHL playoffs start a week from Wednesday night. In the East, #8 NY Rangers at #1 Boston, #7 Montreal at #2 Washington, #6 Pittsburgh at #3 New Jersey and #5 Philadelphia at #4 Carolina. Florida is a point back of New York and Buffalo still is alive but 6 points back with only 6 games left. How great would it be if the Rangers didn't make the playoffs? The Flyers have two more games left than Carolina, and hold a 3-1 season series lead, so we would get home ice if they ended up tied with them.

BCP Update

I haven't posted anything for a while. Its been mainly because we were getting a new system at work and my obsession with the NCAA tournament. I got 3 out of 4 of the Final Four correct on my bracket (UNC, UConn, Mich St.). The NHL Playoffs begin in April. Once again this year I will be growing the playoff beard. I will not shave it until the Flyers and Sharks are eliminated. I'll have a more detailed blog later in the week. In the mean time, enjoy this snickers commercial.

The Case for San Diego State

The San Diego State Aztecs are located in San Diego, California and play in the Mountain West Conference. They are currently 22-8 (11-5 in MWC). They defeated UNLV 71-57 on Thursday to advance to the semi-finals of the Mountain West tournament, where they will play BYU. The Aztecs do have some very good wins over UNLV (three times), Utah and fellow bubble team New Mexico. They also have lost to good teams like BYU (twice), St Mary's and Arizona State. But they have a pretty bad loss to Wyoming. It will help that the Mountain West is chopped full of good RPI's. The bad news for them is a weak non-conference schedule. A win over BYU on Friday might just move them to lock status. I think the Mountain West can get as many as 3 bids and 2 of them are reserved for Utah and BYU. San Diego State defeated BYU 64-62 Friday night to advance to the MWC final. I think they clinched a spot with this win but they may wanna win the MWC tourney championship just to be safe.

The Case for Saint Mary's

Saint Mary's is located in California and they a part of the West Coast Conference. During the season they went 25-6 (10-4 in WCC). They lost to Gonzaga in the WCC tournament final on Monday night 83-58. They still have one more make up game to play at home on Friday vs Eastern Washington. As for their resume, there are some good wins and losses of interest. Let's start with the pros. Wins over Utah State in bracketbusters, San Diego State and Providence. The cons, lost all 3 meeting with Gonzaga, including the 25 point conference championship loss. They went 6-3 without their star player, Paddy Mills, who broke his hand in the January 29th loss at Gonzaga. They were 18-1 and nationally ranked before the injury. But the committee may leave them out based on the fact that none of their big wins are over a lock for an NCAA tournament bid. Normally the committee gives a little slack to teams who suffer injuries. But they do have one more game to show the committee they are worth a bid. I don't see them missing the tournament, but if we see some more shocking teams win tournaments (example Georgia winning the SEC last year) there probably won't be as many at-large spots. I think they are safe, but you never know. Oh, and by the way, if they win Friday they will have 26 wins and what does 26 wins get ya?

The Case for Creighton

Creighton is located in Omaha, Nebraska and play in the Missouri Valley Conference. They lost in the semi-finals to Illinois State 73-49 on Saturday. This season they are 26-7 (14-4 in conference) and were co-champs of the MVC in the regular season. They do have some quality wins over New Mexico, at Northern Iowa, Dayton and in a bracket buster game vs George Mason. However they did have some bad losses to Nebraska and Drake. The experts say their 24 point loss will hurt their chances of making the field. The MVC has gotten mulitiple bids each of the last 5 years and I see no reason why they should be denied this year. Granted they don't have that one signature win, but I feel they would give someone a better game in the tourney than the crap of the SEC or ACC. Hopefully the committee will realize that Creighton is worthy of being one of the 65 teams. Like I said before, apparently 26 wins means nothing.

The Case for Davidson

I'm so tired of hearing why schools from major conferences deserve 5+ teams in the NCAA tournament. Granted some of them are worthy, but others are not. Davidson is a college in North Carolina and they play in the Southern Conference. They are 26-7 and they are the regular season SoCon champs. They lost in the semi-finals of their conference tournament last night. Now the "experts" say their resume isn't good enough to be one of the 65 teams that qualify for the tourney. I beg to differ. Firstly, they actually played some real good teams. They lost to Oklahoma, Duke, Purdue and Butler, all teams that will make the tournament. They have the best scorer in the NCAA in Stephen Curry. They swept the SoCon tourney champion Chattanooga. But the experts only wanna look at RPI's. Because Davidson's isn't as high as Virginia Tech's or Michigan's, they are instantly blackballed. I'm tired of the ACC and Big East bitching and complaining because they won't get 7-8 bids. I think the tournament is better with teams like Davidson, Siena and Creighton getting a fair shake. Enough of this giving Maryland, Kentucky and Providence credit for playing in a power conference. They all have at least 12 losses. Davidson actually played a good non-conference schedule but are being penalized for playing in a mediorce conference. I say to you selection committee, pick Davidson this Sunday. Stop bowing down to the demands of dinosaurs like Billy Packer, who wants the tournament to consist of all major schools. I will go out on a limb and say Davidson should be in. But we all know that they will not make it in and that's just wrong. Apparently 26 wins means nothing.

"Come On!!!!"

Welcome to my blog. Here will house all of my rants, thoughts and other random things I feel are necessary to write about. I'll start with an interesting tale. Every Monday morning after 6am, I am usually awakened by some guy cursing outside my building. His catchphrases included "god dammit", "Jesus Christ" and a strung out "Come on". It usually goes on for about 10 minutes. I wasn't sure why it was happening. So one day, I had to be in at 7am. I woke up and that guy, who I refer to as the terrets guy, was out there. I left for work about 6:20. So I waited for him to walk away and I went out to my car. Well i had some frost on my windows so I had to defrost them. The guy came back and approached my car. He wanted to get into my building. I will not let anyone in the building I don't know. So I discovered why the guy curses. Needless to say its a little annoying having this guy yell profanity every Monday morning. But the voice is very funny. If you've ever seen King of the Hill, he sounds like the retarted guy, Jimmy Witchard.