ConfessLINs [REMIX]

These are my confessLINs
Just when I thought I said all I could say
Knicks get dumber every single day
These are my confessLINs
Man I'm pissed and I dont know what to do
I guess I gotta give part 2 of my confessLINs
How we ever going to beat the Heat?
Darn near cried when I saw that last tweet
I'm so pissed and I don't know what to do
But to give you part 2 of my confessLINs

[Verse 1]
Now this gotta be the dumbest thing I think the Knicks ever do
Letting go of Jeremy Lin and signing a fat number 2
'bout that Knick on part 1 I told you who was our hero our hero
Jimmy Dolan just let him walk out the door for zero for zero
The first thing that came to mind was why?
Second thing was is a NBA team about to make me cry?
Third thing was me wishin' that I never caught Linsanity
And how I'm thinking about ending my Knicks relationship

[Chorus]

[Verse 2]
Looking at the roster, it's stupid, tryna figure out
A drunk point and one who can't stop shoving food in his mouth  
Said it ain't gon' be easy
To move on from LinsanityI gotta get over it
I'm going through my closet
Looking for your jersey
Talkin' to myself
Thinking how can I toss this outI pull out the hanger and I just want to put it on
Hold it close to me, I'll throw it out after this song

[Chorus]

[Breakdown]
This by far is the hardest thing I think I've ever had to do
To tell you, the Jeremy I love
That my favorite team just kicked you out the door because of spite
I hope you can accept the fact that Dolan is immature enough to do this
And hopefully I can still root for you in H-town
This ain't about your career
This ain't about your life
It's about James Dolan and his ego
Please

I just made this. I'm so upset with James Dolan and the New York Knicks organization. Also upset with the Miami University athletic department at how difficult it makes going to see my RedHawks in Columbus in seven weeks. But back to the Knicks... this is one of the pettiest things I've ever seen happen in athletics. It's been written a thousand places, so I won't bother retelling the story here, but it's heartbreaking to be reminded once again that your team is run by a child, hated both in the cable industry and the sports world.

Top 5 Meatballs of All Time

This blog started in fall 2008. Since then, we've had nearly 300 posts of varying length and interest. Some got a few clicks, others got thousands. These are the top five most viewed posts in our history, so read them now, before everyone else on Earth does.

1- Urinal Review, February 2009

2- Meatballs + Alex BBM Chat Transcript ALCS Game 6, October 2009

3- Our Nate Davis is Better than Your Nate Davis, November 2009

4- GUEST POST (Lube Tube), May 2009

5- What Your Dog Says About You, February 2009

So did we peak years ago OR have these blogs just been up long enough so good, older stories are going to get more hits? I think hope it's the latter.

Toronto Blue Jays Stadium Review

Indoor baseball in front of literally hundreds of Canadians!

C and I visited Toronto (SNOOOOOOZE) this weekend and one of the highlights of the trip was our visit to the Rogers Centre (Canadian spelling!) - not because it was great, just because it was baseball. Not close to my top five of favorite baseball arenas...of which I've now been to a baker's dozen.

Outside: The Rogers Centre - and most of downtown Toronto - looks like it was just jammed in an open city block. Something about the city just felt like it lacked urban planning and buildings were just put wherever there was some space with no care for how they looked or fit. It's a big white dome RIGHT next to the highway, pretty boring. The box office was very attractive though with all the windows connected, avoiding the window/concrete divider/repeat feel that most box offices have.

Inside: The whole time we're walking outside the dome, we know the roof isn't going to be open, we know we're walking inside, yet, when we walked in, it still feels weird. Something in me told me to expect an ice rink or basketball court when we got in, felt the warm temperature, smelled the indoor arena air. I told my brain we're in a baseball stadium, but when we walked to the top of the section behind home plate (pictured above), it was still shocking to see a baseball field. I want to say that indoor baseball is unAmerican, but of course it is, we were in Canada. It just feels dirty watching a baseball game inside, watching a pop fly reach its apex with a backdrop of scaffolding and catwalks is depressing.

Food: I had a foot long home run dog with beans, bacon, cheese and something else on it while C had a plain one. Pretty good, though the temperature left something to be desired. The garlic fries were not up to speed with their Yankee Stadium counterparts, but still pretty tasty. All in all, a pretty good range of items with a few Canadian staples like poutine.

Beer: Apparently it's not just at the ballpark, but in most of Toronto, where Coors Light, Bud Light, Bud, etc. are considered Domestic, while Molson and LaBatt are premium! What the what? Confusing, but fairly priced for a ballpark in a 'big' city/

Seats and Atmosphere: C came through with some great seats (front row in left center) for a decent price ($30) on the day of the event. This should have been a harbinger of the crowd at the game. Let me correct myself. It was pretty lean in there and only a crowd in the old definition of the word where two's a couple and three's a crowd. Pretty pathetic for a team (at the time) tied for 1st place in the best division in baseball on a Friday night with their ace on the mound. The fans behind us were drunk and annoying, but you'll have that anywhere. The dozens in attendance go nuts when Canadian Brett Lawrie bats, which was pretty fun to see. The ushers were normal looking girls in their 20s, which was a nice surprise to the normal surly or senile 80-year-old men working that job at most parks.

Overall: Not a place I'd have any interest in going back to, unless the roof was open and the Yankees were in town.

'

Looking Back at Yankees Trades

The Pelican texted this to me the other day. Would the Yankees be better served right now with Ian Kennedy, Austin Jackson and Jesus Montero or with Michael Pineda and Curtis Granderson?

The best hitter and the best overall player in this discussion is Curtis Granderson who won a Silver Slugger last season, hitting 40+ bombs and leading the AL in RBI. Ian Kennedy comes up right behind him with an excellent season in 2011 with 20+ wins and an ERA under 3.00, earning him 4th place in Cy Young voting. After that you're looking at a lot of youth and potential in Jackson (25), Montero (21) and Pineda (21). Jackson has been good in the leadoff role for Detroit with double digit triples and over 20 steals each full season to go with a TON of strikeouts. Montero caught fire last September in pinstripes before begin dealt for Pineda who was lights out in the first half of 2011 and eh in the second.

This season IPK and AJax are the class of this crop, with Kennedy going 2-0 with a 2.84 and almost a K per inning Jackson ripping the ball with four XBH, nine runs and an OBP of .536. Montero hasn't had any XBHs yet and Grandy just drove in his first runs with a bomb vs. Baltimore. Pineda is on the DL, expected to return in May.

IPK had a (kind of) chance to impress the Yankees and didn't so he was moved in the three-teamer that netted the Bombers Granderson. Grandy was decent in '10 and phenomenal in '11 and a great addition to the lineup and clubhouse. Kennedy is not winning 20 games (maybe he gets 12-13 W) in the AL East and AJax wouldn't have a place in the order with Jeter, Gardner likely better top of the order options than him. So for this part of the trade, the nod goes slightly to the Yankees, but you can bet that all three teams are very happy with their hauls.

The answer to Pelican's lies with Pineda. Montero is going to hit for average and power, but most likely out of the DH spot, catching 30-40 games a year, diminishing his value. If Pineda is first half Pineda for most of his time in pinstripes, this is a win for the NYY and I'd rather have the current pair of Yankees than the three amigos. However, if Pineda is oft-injured or more like second half Pineda, the Mariners stole this one and the Yankees look stupid for trading a masher for basically a high level pitching prospect when they already have two or three in the minors.

Yankee Predictions

Pelle, Alex and one of my cousins (Christian) and I make our 2012 season Yankee predictions for a number of different stats.


Wins
Pelle: 98
Alex: 95
Christian: 96
Jesse: 102


Andy Pettitte Wins
P: 9
A: 10
C: 8
J: 11


CC Sabathia Wins
P: 17
A: 18
C: 19
J: 21


Phil Hughes Wins
P: 15
A:  11
C: 13
J: 15

Mariano Rivera Saves
P: 41
A: 43
C: 39
J: 38


Mariano Rivera ERA of 1.50
P: over
A: over  
C: over
J: over


Brett Gardner Steals
P: 53
A: 44
C: 39
J: 46


A-Bombs (Alex Rodriguez home runs)
P: 28
A:  31
C: 33
J: 33


Derek Jeter batting average of .310
P: under
A: under
C: under
J: over

Yankee with most home runs
P: Cano
A: Granderson 
C: Granderson
J: Teixeira 


# of HR for Yankee leader
P: 41
A:  38
C: 39
J: 39


Yankee with most MVP votes
P: Cano (winner)
A: Cano  
C: Cano
J: Cano


Three Gold Glove winners
P: push
A: push
C: push
J: under


# of All-Stars
P: seven
A: six 
C: seven
J: six


Yankees with 100+ RBI
P: three
A: four
C: four
J: four


Yankees with 100+ runs
P: three
A: four
C: four
J: four


Yankees batting .300+
P: two
A: three 
C: one
J: two

Goodbye March, the Best (or Second Best) Sports Month of the Year

March,

You came and went so fast, it was hard to truly appreciate you. Each year you compete with October for the crown of best sports month of the year. Let's recap what you meant to the sports universe and my world in 2012.

NFL

This is the one month where the NFL isn't supposed to reign supreme, but man did the shield bring it... Tebow to Jets! Manning to Miami Arizona Tennessee Denver! Payton gone for a year! Revis trashtalking Belichick! Gronk everywhere! The Ginger Hammer once again shows why the NFL is king and runs the one month it's supposed to be dormant. 

Miami Dolphins

Well, the 'Fins traded their best player in hopes to get another one for worse draft picks than they traded for him two years ago. That's not a good look. The team went hard after Peyton Manning only to get the stiffarm (stiff neck?) from #18. Then they watched the Redskins move up for RG3 while they looked at Matt Flynn and Alex Smith. After both those guys spurned them, Miami fans are headed to a depressing QB battle between Matt Less and David Garrard. Puke. Another terrible offseason for Ross and Ireland.

NBA

The Dwight Howard saga was wacky but ultimately anticlimactic as he stayed in Orlando. Two guys began the month as NBA coaches but ended it doing something else. The Bulls keep winning with or without D.Rose and look absolutely terrifying come playoffs. The Heat look like they're on cruise control and the Thunder, Spurs and Mavs look daunting out West.

New York Knicks

Woodsanity started to overtake Linsanity and the result was the same: winsanity. The Knicks went on a run winning eight of nine games after D'antoni was fired "quit." STAT got hurt and we thought he was out for a few days, then several months, then several weeks then a couple weeks now a couple or several weeks. Lin got dinged up but Melo started playing really well and the Knicks look good....for now.

March Madness

Two 15s upset a pair of deuces. A 13-seeded MAC team went to the Sweet 16. A Bluegrass blood-feud will end the month in a Final Four matchup. Quite the entertaining event, even though there was a lack of 

My Bracket/Miami RedHawks

Welp, they both sucked. That's all, nothing to see here, let's move on. At least Charlie Coles isn't in power in Oxford anymore.

MLB

Bobby Valentine is bumping his gums like its 1999 all over again. It will be nice to see him vilified when the Rays and Yankees (and maybe Jays) have better records than the Red Sawx this year. Bryce Harper is starting the year in AAA and the Nationals might not be terrible for the first time in the millennium. MLB started its season in Japan this year to resounding boos. I thought it was awesome when the league did this in 2004 because A-it was the Yankees and B-it was televised LIVE and C-I was in college so it was fine to wake up at 5 a.m., eat a dog and drink a couple Natty Lights. Since A, B and C are not true this year, I think the idea sucked.

New York Yankees

ANDY PETTITTE'S BACK! That was the major news of the month for the pinstripes. Team now expected to have a seven-man rotation and win 125-140 games this year. Also, the club released an alternate logo featuring the interlocking NY emblazoned on a steamroller. 

NHL

The Blue Jackets continued to suck, Sid Crosby came back and took up exactly where he left off and I don't remember what else happened.

New York Rangers

The Blueshirts stretched out their lead as the best team in the East/hockey. Lundqvist is a revelation and anything less than a Cup this year is going to be very disappointing. Luckily we know that Torts will flip out after every loss to ensure the team is motivated night in and night out.

Other

I was in St. Petersburg for the Honda Grand Prix, the IZOD IndyCar Series season opener. It was warm, sunny and generally awesome. Helio Castroneves won and honored Dan Wheldon in his celebration. Also, C and I went back to NYC where we had our "worst" Sergio Martinez fight seats to date (still not more than a dozen rows back and right behind Omar!). We saw Sergio go wild after getting "knocked down" in the 7th.

It was quite the month indeed.

P.S. October, you better step up.