The Stinkeye

What else could bring me outa hiding?

On Monday America's pastime was renewed once again.  One could argue the game has changed quite a bit with those bulging biceps and overgrown foreheads, but it's back and I can't help getting excited about the possibilities.  Yes, the end of the NCAA bball tourney was hard to take, especially with that Noah clown, but where there once was a void is now filled with hardball.

As the season kicks off and my favorite show steps it up, I was amazed to notice that on ESPN highlights they needed to put "same face/different place" on clips to make sure people kept up with who was now on which team.  Baseball is probably the most difficult sport to keep up with in terms of players moving and free agency, and I think this hurts its ability to build loyal fans like the NFL has.  The result is a game that people go to watch for the jumbotron giveaways vs. the interplay between the pitch selection/defensive shifts and scouting reports.  Ugh.

As we move through the season, the one theme I can tell will be part of this blog is the Bonds/steroid situation.  As the investigation continues I wonder if Bonds has an adequate escape plan that will allow him to avoid full disclosure before he's forced to just retire.  ESPN is running a weekly series now called "Bonds on Bonds" that gives him the opportunity to tell his story, in his own words.  Amazing.  The guy that won't talk to the media, is hated by many in and outside baseball, gets the ability to address the nation on a weekly basis.  Shows who's really running this thing.  My prediction?  He breaks the record, gets the asterisk and gets booed at the Hall of Fame.

OUT.

Funny, no one talks about this...

After doing a little research on Wikipedia, I found out the Wonderlic test - what Vince Young (soon to be #1 pick in the NFL draft) scored at 6 & a 16 on during the combine this year, has been used since the 70s to gage the intelligence of prospects entering the league.  Owners are smarter than I thought.  I guess for someone with average intelligence, the score is 20.  Read more here about Vince and his smartness.

Tour of CA?

I'm not sure if more than 5 people have realized it, but the US is staging another world class cycling event, this time on the west coast.  The Tour of GA has been a highly regarded race for a number of years, drawing the best riders and teams from around the world.  This new race is in addition to the  Grand Prix of San Francisco, and is called the Tour of California.  The event has many different story lines that will make this post worth your time to read.

1) The ride is sponsored by Amgen, the company that makes the stuff used to blood dope - which is the biggest issue surrounding pro cycling.  Don't know what blood doping is?  Check this out.  There seems to be some sort of sweet irony about a company sponsoring a cycling race they potentially make invalid through the use of their drugs.
2) This is one of the first major multi-stage races sans Lance.  Will cycling still receive its 2 min of coverage on Sportscenter without him?  Will another superstar singer decide to start dating the new leader of Team Discovery Channel, George Hincapie?
3) On the political front, will CA's staging of the national sport of France make them perceived further to the left?  Does anyone care?
4) Will Kerry ride as the master of ceremonies on one of his eight $10,000 bikes?

If you get the chance, tune in or TIVO the coverage on OLN, it'll be worth your time.  And if you're anywhere near the race route, make sure and go take a look - pro cycling will blow your mind when you see how easy they make it all look.

Never say never, I guess

I said I wouldn't do it, but my dreams came true in Turin.  You can read about it here.

Who's really the 12th man?

If you haven't heard of this *controversy* yet - don't worry, there are many in the NW won't don't even care the Seahawks are in the Superbowl.  After getting a new stadium a few years ago and putting together some winning seasons, the Seahawks decided to start using the idea of the 12th man in hopes to generate some more fan support for a team that still had trouble selling out games as little as three years ago.  Good marketing idea some would say, but others are now saying the statement infringes on the rights of Texas A&M University who had the statement "Home of the 12th Man" trademarked since 1928.  Oops.

For some reason this whole issue feels like just another example about how JV the Seahawks are.  Did they check this stuff out before creating a platform from which to raise the 12th man flag before every game?  Seattle is famous for kissing the ass of its fans.  The Mariners run a "thank you" campaign at the end of every season that feels more and more desperate as the team continues to suck ass.  The Sonics try to generate a 6th man support at their games too, but they've been sucking for so long now it seems like the idea of being the Sonics 6th man isn't as good a deal as it used to be.

Sure, there's no question people in the NW are fair weather fans (ironic) - but can you blame them?  This is a part of the country with so much else to do other than sit in front of the TV eating scoops, but there's also something in the cultural makeup of this place that snubs its nose at professional sports.  Maybe it's the political slant, maybe it's the rain and malaise, but it's definitely hard to compare the support the Seahawks get vs. a team like the Steelers.

What's even stranger is I think the Seahawks will win by 7+ and bring Seattle's first Superbowl trophy home to the place that may not be sure what to do with it.