Shawn Green Calls It A Career

Former Dodgers rightfielder Shawn Green called it a career today after 15 seasons, 5 with the Dodgers(2000-04). During his time with LA, he broke the all-time Dodgers record with 49 home runs in a season, and is probably best known for his record-tying 4 homers in one game back in 2002. While he was never my favorite player, he stood out as a class act on a team full of crybabies(Gary Sheffield, Kevin Brown) and HGH-ers(Paul LoDuca, Eric Gagne), and is arguably the best Dodger of this decade. Green is involved in many charities and stood up for his religious beliefs by sitting out Yom Kippur during a crucial pennant race with the Dodgers. It was the only game he missed all year.

Shawn, hope to see you suiting up as a coach in the not-so-distant future.

Best Uses of the Word "Bro"...

3. "Don't taze me bro."-U. of Florida student
2. "That's my chopper you just thrashed Broseph."- Jack Black in "Anchorman"
1. "C'mon bro. Next question."- Washington Nationals catcher Paul LoDuca, when asked what he was specifically apologizing for after admitting to "mistakes in judgment" regarding his Mitchell Report-alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs.

*Sigh* It justs gets sadder- one of my former favorite players just acting like a tool.

Pics From Spring Training

Tommy and Joe:



New centerfielder Andruw Jones:



Derek Lowe:

One Last Lap Around Dodgertown

With all the off-season crap that pushed real baseball news off of the front page, it is nice to be getting down to actual baseball. One of the most melancholy stories of '08 Spring Training is the final spring in Vero Beach for the Dodgers. After 61 years in what is belovedly known as Dodgertown, the Boys in Blue are moving their spring operations to Glendale, Arizona next year and are effectively ending the final link of the Brooklyn Dodgers 50 years after the team moved to LA. Dodger fan-dom aside, this is one of the must-see spots in all of baseball. Players close enough to reach out and touch (who also walk to the stadium with the fans), a very simple scoreboard with no bells and whistles, it is baseball how it should be played. March 17th looms as the last game, and while another team may move in (Orioles and Reds have been mentioned), it will never be the same place that hosted everyone such icons as Jackie Robinson, Kirk Gibson, and Mike Piazza, through today's stars like Russell Martin and James Loney. It will be missed. For some great pictures, click here.



In happier notes, the Dodgers announced that Dodgers legendary manager Tommy Lasorda will manage 8 games in Spring Training while Joe Torre takes the other half of the team to China for exhibition games. Tommy managed LA for 20 years, and it will nice to see him back in the dugout for the first time since '96.

Drive To Scranton For Under $5000!

Insurance pics from Wednesday's accident. Estimate came in at $4500, of which we have to come up with $1000 out of pocket. Yippee!

Pettitte Outduels Clemens, Nanny Picks Up Save

Amid all the actual important stuff that happened in our lives yesterday, the 83rd episode in the Clemens saga played out on a national stage. And in this fan's opinion, good ol' boy Raj(pictured above in all his 1986 pre-HGH glory) made himself look even worse. His best friend Andy Pettitte told investigators that he did talk to Clemens about HGH and confirmed Brian McNamee's version. His response? "He must have misremembered our conversation." He threw his wife under the bus("she took HGH behind my back."), and his late mother under that same Greyhound("she told me in 1988 to take B-12" even though no trainer or doctor would give a player a shot used for Elderly dementia). Even his nanny from 1998 got involved, as the most famous party outside of the Playboy Mansion was dissected 16 different ways.

So what's next? No one is sure, but Clemens could very possibly be brought up on perjury and witness tampering charges. No one has come out of this looking good, including Congress, Bud Selig, Brian McNamee, Andy Pettitte. But Clemens, for all his OJ-like denials in the face of mounting evidence and testimony, could take the hardest fall of them all.

The Five Greatest Words of Winter

Pitchers and catchers report TODAY!!

Wecome To The Newest Kenney!

After a long day for everyone(but none longer than for sister Colleen), we welcomed the first newborn child into the Kenney clan in nearly 10 years. Alanah Rose is a beautiful & healthy girl, born around 6PM tonight at 8 lbs. 7 oz. Mother and child both doing well and expect to return home on Friday. Congrats to Colleen & Chris, and welcome again to Alanah!

Hallelujah!

It's finally official- the writer's strike ended just a couple hours ago! The rumors have been flying for a few days, but nothing was definite until tonight. What a relief that "real" TV will be coming back after 3 months of utter wasteland. SNL will be the first show back, om February 23rd. Most sitcoms will take 4-6 weeks to get back, and most dramas will take about 8 weeks. Here's how many episodes to expect from some popular shows, according to TVGuide.com:

24
Season 7 likely postponed until January '09.

30 Rock
Expected to shoot 5 to 10 new episodes to air in April/May.

Back to You
Two pre-strike episodes remain. Future TBD.

Desperate Housewives
Expected to shoot 4 to 7 new episodes to air in April/May.

Family Guy
7 episodes are almost done and ready to be finalized. No word on how many more.

House
Expected to shoot 4 to 6 new episodes to air in April/May.

Lost
Six pre-strike episodes remain. Five additional episodes could air this season.

My Name Is Earl
Expected to shoot 8 to 10 new episodes to air in April/May.

The Office
Expected to shoot 6 new episodes to air in April/May.

Scrubs
Four pre-strike episodes remain. Four additional episodes will likely be shot.

Very exciting! April feels far away, but there is now a light at the end of the abyss.

All Those Years Ago...

I heard on the radio this morning that the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue was coming out today. This news caught me by surprise, because who knew they still made this issue? This is a magazine issue that has lost its relevance over the last 15 years. That's really kind of sad to me, as this day used to be a national holiday.

If you ask any male between the ages of 28 and 60 who their favorite SI swimsuit girl was, they will almost assuredly answer you with the same lightning-fast speed as naming their favorite quarterback or favorite pitcher. Kathy Ireland (always my #1). Cheryl Tiegs. Christie Brinkley. Elle MacPherson. There was nothing more exciting for a teenage boy in the '60's through the '80's than getting this issue at the newstand or in the mail. And it was also perfect timing in the sports calendar, the lull right after the Super Bowl and before Spring Training. Nowadays, with Maxim & Stuff sending issues on a monthly basis, and of course, the Internets with their vast "options" of looking at hot women, does a 15-year-old boy even KNOW about this "holiday"? My guess would be that most would not.

So, as I wistfully remember the "good old days," when a teenager had to settle for an annual event instead of a daily diluge of anything imaginable, I give you my favorite issue- the 1989 Kathy Ireland cover. It's almost as good as remembering the '88 Dodgers.

Blue Rocks Press Conference

I had my first "real" baseball day with the team on Wednesday as a press conference was held to announce the new manager, Darryl Kennedy. He seems to be a very personable guy, introducing himself to the front office beforehand. Darryl played for the Giants & Rangers organizations in the minors, and this is his seventh minor league managerial position (unlike the majors, moving around so much is not considered a bad thing, as long as you are moving up, which Kennedy has). I have even gotten to see him manage before, with the Frisco Roughriders in '06 while Staci & I were out in Texas. It's still early February, but at least baseball is somewhat in the air here.

4 Years And Counting...

The Patriots just won the Super Bowl. Janet Jackson showed the world her nipple. Howard Dean melted down as his presidential campaign went ka-plooey. "Hey Ya" by Outkast was #1 on the charts. A-Rod was days from becoming a Yankee. The Montreal Expos were about to begin their final season. Why the reminiscing? These events were on many people's minds on February 6, 2004. A day which will live in infamy, ahem, for me as well. That is the day that Staci and I began our dance of love.

After weeks of flirting at Chili's, we had finally set a time to hang out- a Friday night where we met up at Damon's and later danced at PollyEsther's, where we kissed for the first time. So much has happened in the 1461 days that have followed. We have laughed and cried, moved to another state, and oh yeah, gotten married. We have been to 18 Major League ballparks and countless minor league parks together (the picture above is from our first game in Baltimore on 9/11/04). Through everything, I wouldn't trade our time together for anyhting in the world, and though our "real" anniversary is in September, this will always be the day I look back on with the most fondness- the day that something truly special came to be. Love you babe.

End Of An Era

It's a rare occasion that I write about basketball. In fact, it's never happened on this blog. But today is an excpetion, as the last active sports person and icon from my childhood, Coach Bobby Knight, has retired. I'm not sure how I really even became a fan. I didn't follow much college basketball as a kid, and to root for a controversial figure who coached in the middle of Indiana seems odd to me now. But something about him being such a fiery figure at the dawn of the "Sportscenter" Era must have drawn me to root for Coach Knight.

And I never changed my mind about what a great coach he is, even though he seemed to constantly draw negative attention with his outbursts of anger against anyone who rubbed him the wrong way. He threw chairs, he cursed worse than a sailor, he berated some players; worst of all, he once put his hands on a player's neck. Some would say he choked him, though the video was grainy and somewhat inconclusive. After too many incidents, he was run out of Indiana in 2000. He somehow resurrected his career in the depths of unknown Texas Tech.

For all of his personal shortcomings, no one could argue about Knight's abilities as a coach. Over 40 years at Army, Indiana, and Texas Tech, Knight has had a graduation rate over 90% with his players, just an astronical number that is never seen in college basketball. He always put education first and if a player slacked off on his studies, Knight would kick him off the team- no matter how good he was. He won 902 wins as a Division I coach, easily an NCAA record; he also won 3 NCAA championships, which puts him in elite company. Hopefully, when the final story about Bob Knight is written, it will include all of these good things as well.

BK's Best and Worst Super Bowl Ads

Here are the worst ads from last night, in my humble opinion:

5. Garmin GPS- Napoleon using GPS to get through France.
4. Sunsilk- Madonna and Marilyn Monroe in a hair produce ad.
3. Career Builder- Woman's heart leaps out of her chest.
2. (tie) Both Sales Genie ads- Horrible cartoons with 1930's style racist undertones.
1. AMP drink- Redneck sticks jumper cables on his nipples.

And my favorites:

5. Coke- Underdog & Stewie balloons battle while Chasrlie Brown actually wins something.
4. Bud- Dalmation trains Clydesdale to Rocky music.
3. NFL- Story of grocery clerk & oboe player Chester Pitts making the NFL.
2. Bud Light- Will Ferrell as a Flint Tropics basketball player.
1. Diet Pepsi Max- To me, the funniest ad was stars and people alike waking up to Pepsi Max and "What Is Love?" Kattan's appearance at the end is priceless. To see it again, watch below:



Feel free to share your own favorites. A full list of ads is online In USA Today's Money Section.

Conversations with Sports Gods

Sunday, February 3rd, early morning, on another plane of existence. NFL Legend Walter Payton is sent to speak with the Congregation of Sports Gods:

Payton: Sorry to bother y'all, but we have a serious situation developing down in Arizona.
Sports Gods: Why? What's going on?
Payton: Well, the NFL's New England Patriots are about to go undefeated for the season by winning the Super Bowl.
Sports Gods: That should be good for the sport.
Payton: I would normally agree, but there has been proof that they illegally taped games to gain a competitive advantage.
Sports Gods: Well, that is a shame, but these things happen occasionally.
Payton: The problem is that this has been happening too much in sports lately. Between Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, among others, illegally enhancing themselves, and the NBA's Tim Donaghy throwing games, the true sports fan is becoming disillusioned.
Sports Gods: Does anyone even care?
Payton: Not as many as you would hope. But there are those who cannot stomach much more of unattainable records being broken.
Sports Gods: Well, we haven't gotten involved in anything like this since Buster Douglas beat Mike Tyson. But you make a compelling argument. Let us right things for this one last game of the NFL season.
Payton: Thanks guys. Anything you can do will be appreciated.

Time For The 275,689th Prediction Of The Week...

The big day is here, and I will not let anything stop my love for this day. Even though I hate both teams. Even though there will be no "winner"(see previous post for explanation). Even though I am much more excited about two events surrounding today (Lost premiere last Thursday and Super Tuesday). So, I have decided after much hand-wringing, that I will not let the Immoral Bowl ruin my favorite "holiday." There will still be great food, great commercials, and hopefully, a decent football game. So here is my unscientific, completely on-the-fence prediction. I am with the thinking, of which I can take no credit, that there could be 2 very different outcomes:

Scenario 1: A complete and devastating Patriots blowout in which She-li Manning throws 8 interceptions and Tom Brady does his best Joe Montana. In this scenario, the Patriots win 54-7.

Scenario 2: The Giants are still the Giants who took on the far-superior Cowboys and Packers and outplayed them both. They are still the Giants who only lost by 3 to these Patriots a few weeks ago and just couldn't close the deal. If they are these Giants, they come up with the biggest upset in 25 years and win 41-38.

Which of these do I believe more likely? Scenario 1, unfortunately, though I hope not. Blowouts make the Super Bowl unwatchable, and seeing this immoral team go 19-0 will be close to Bonds "breaking" the home run record, in my mind. So let's hope for a close game and then- it's only 11 days till pitchers and catchers report!