Thursday, April 22, 2010
The Thursday Thing
First off, sad to read that one of the most talented and influential MC's
of my generation - Guru - passed away this week. Born Keith Elam, the Boston native embraced the NYC scene and gave Brooklyn another groundbreaking hip-hop artist.
Whether it was Gang Starr (w/ DJ Premier), solo, or his first-of-a-kind Jazzmatazz series, Guru always brought it.
He died at age 43, due to complications from a stroke and cancer.
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Darnell McDonald? Yay! Kevin Youkilis? Yay!
(sarcasm alert; do not be alarmed)
Back to back game-winning hits by two guys who know Pawtucket well is giving Sox fans a pretty hefty bucket of fool's gold.
Not this fool.
This is a rebuilding year. No more, no less. A playoff run would be nothing short of a baseball miracle. Don't give me the pitching and defense crap, don't try to sell me on "run prevention."
In fact, don't try to sell me anything - which seems to be the only consistently successful thing the Sox ownership has done since they arrived in town.
Mike Cameron, Adrian Beltre, and Marco Scutaro are nothing more than seat-fillers. And if the Sox had managed to re-sign Jason Bay, sign Mark Teixeira, acquire Adrian Gonzalez, or find a shortstop that doesn't suck, then the Sox would not be in this position.
But it's hard to charge the most for tickets, parking, hot dogs, sushi, clam chowder, etc. without providing a product on the field that doesn't make you feel like you've been beaten and mugged.
And that's how "run prevention" was born. Well, call me a birther on this one. I'd like to see that birth certificate. World Series trophies from 2004 and 2007 sit in glass cases because of power, pop, and pitching. Sure, there were a few nifty gloves in there, but the keen combo of OBP, OPS, key basehits, and tape-measure shots made this team World Champions.
Run prevention is what you do when you're a middling NL Central team. Run prevention is a piss-poor excuse. Run prevention is an ugly, last-minute prom date. It's what you turn to when you miss out on all the pretty girls.
And to compound the problem, the Sox don't even have a "good personality."
-----
Memo to David Ortiz: you're not the leader in strikeouts. I'd give that title to Oregon, with their search for a new men's basketball coach.
In no particular order, here is who they're talked to (or tried to) and who has rebuffed $3 million per season:
Missouri's Mike Anderson, Gonzaga's Mark Few, Pittsburgh's Jamie Dixon, Butler's Brad Stevens, Florida's Billy Donovan, Texas A&M's Mark Turgeon, Michigan State's Tom Izzo and Minnesota's Tubby Smith.
I'm sorry...WHAT?
Yes, there's a bit of a problem with who, exactly, is driving the ship. No AD (yet), old AD running the search, along with an alum and former track athlete who owns a local sporting goods conglomerate.
But it's $3 million per. That's 3, comma, three zeroes, comma, three more zeroes, decimal point, two more zeroes. Break that up, take the 33% out for taxes, and divide it by 26 and that's $77,300.00 per paycheck.
TLBR's choice: John Beilein.
He's won wherever he's gone, and has never stayed at a place more than five years.
THe Pac-10 struggled this season because the powers like UCLA and Arizona were down due to draft defection. There is "buzz" at Oregon State, some great coaching at Cal, and some great recruiting going on at Arizona. All three of those programs shine in the sun on the West Coast.
So go and hire a great coach who has a *gasp* gimmick. 1-3-1 and 4-out; 1-in would win games out there. Beilein's won with under-the-radar guys who fit his system.
Manny Harris was as talented a player as Michigan's had in years. But JB couldn't deal with him and the team suffered.
If I'm whomever is captaining the search in Eugene, I reach out to him.
-----
Just read the obituary for Dr. James Masterson. The headline called him a "Narcissism expert." And reading through, he named an institute...after himself.
Apropos.
-----
You can't say "assholes" on television.
-----
This is TERRIBLY sad (sorry about the third obit of the blog post; I swear we're not feeling morbid or nihilist here at TLBR headquarters).
-----
It's a bit of an investment of time, but quite a read/ Good to see how "new media" is making the same impact as the traditional means and good to see folks of influence are altering their ways to embrace it.
-----
And speaking of the opposite end of that spectrum, here's a sad story about how a newspaper is surgically removing journalism from its stories.
Next thing you know, newspapers will hire team employees to cover teams or worse...SID's will write stories as "Special to the newspaper."
Still waiting for my byline and check.
(thoc)
of my generation - Guru - passed away this week. Born Keith Elam, the Boston native embraced the NYC scene and gave Brooklyn another groundbreaking hip-hop artist.
Whether it was Gang Starr (w/ DJ Premier), solo, or his first-of-a-kind Jazzmatazz series, Guru always brought it.
He died at age 43, due to complications from a stroke and cancer.
-----
Darnell McDonald? Yay! Kevin Youkilis? Yay!
(sarcasm alert; do not be alarmed)
Back to back game-winning hits by two guys who know Pawtucket well is giving Sox fans a pretty hefty bucket of fool's gold.
Not this fool.
This is a rebuilding year. No more, no less. A playoff run would be nothing short of a baseball miracle. Don't give me the pitching and defense crap, don't try to sell me on "run prevention."
In fact, don't try to sell me anything - which seems to be the only consistently successful thing the Sox ownership has done since they arrived in town.
Mike Cameron, Adrian Beltre, and Marco Scutaro are nothing more than seat-fillers. And if the Sox had managed to re-sign Jason Bay, sign Mark Teixeira, acquire Adrian Gonzalez, or find a shortstop that doesn't suck, then the Sox would not be in this position.
But it's hard to charge the most for tickets, parking, hot dogs, sushi, clam chowder, etc. without providing a product on the field that doesn't make you feel like you've been beaten and mugged.
And that's how "run prevention" was born. Well, call me a birther on this one. I'd like to see that birth certificate. World Series trophies from 2004 and 2007 sit in glass cases because of power, pop, and pitching. Sure, there were a few nifty gloves in there, but the keen combo of OBP, OPS, key basehits, and tape-measure shots made this team World Champions.
Run prevention is what you do when you're a middling NL Central team. Run prevention is a piss-poor excuse. Run prevention is an ugly, last-minute prom date. It's what you turn to when you miss out on all the pretty girls.
And to compound the problem, the Sox don't even have a "good personality."
-----
Memo to David Ortiz: you're not the leader in strikeouts. I'd give that title to Oregon, with their search for a new men's basketball coach.
In no particular order, here is who they're talked to (or tried to) and who has rebuffed $3 million per season:
Missouri's Mike Anderson, Gonzaga's Mark Few, Pittsburgh's Jamie Dixon, Butler's Brad Stevens, Florida's Billy Donovan, Texas A&M's Mark Turgeon, Michigan State's Tom Izzo and Minnesota's Tubby Smith.
I'm sorry...WHAT?
Yes, there's a bit of a problem with who, exactly, is driving the ship. No AD (yet), old AD running the search, along with an alum and former track athlete who owns a local sporting goods conglomerate.
But it's $3 million per. That's 3, comma, three zeroes, comma, three more zeroes, decimal point, two more zeroes. Break that up, take the 33% out for taxes, and divide it by 26 and that's $77,300.00 per paycheck.
TLBR's choice: John Beilein.
He's won wherever he's gone, and has never stayed at a place more than five years.
THe Pac-10 struggled this season because the powers like UCLA and Arizona were down due to draft defection. There is "buzz" at Oregon State, some great coaching at Cal, and some great recruiting going on at Arizona. All three of those programs shine in the sun on the West Coast.
So go and hire a great coach who has a *gasp* gimmick. 1-3-1 and 4-out; 1-in would win games out there. Beilein's won with under-the-radar guys who fit his system.
Manny Harris was as talented a player as Michigan's had in years. But JB couldn't deal with him and the team suffered.
If I'm whomever is captaining the search in Eugene, I reach out to him.
-----
Just read the obituary for Dr. James Masterson. The headline called him a "Narcissism expert." And reading through, he named an institute...after himself.
Apropos.
-----
You can't say "assholes" on television.
-----
This is TERRIBLY sad (sorry about the third obit of the blog post; I swear we're not feeling morbid or nihilist here at TLBR headquarters).
-----
It's a bit of an investment of time, but quite a read/ Good to see how "new media" is making the same impact as the traditional means and good to see folks of influence are altering their ways to embrace it.
-----
And speaking of the opposite end of that spectrum, here's a sad story about how a newspaper is surgically removing journalism from its stories.
Next thing you know, newspapers will hire team employees to cover teams or worse...SID's will write stories as "Special to the newspaper."
Still waiting for my byline and check.
(thoc)
