The Future of I heard it downtown June 25, 2009
Posted by Matt Brown in Uncategorized.add a comment
Fitting, perhaps, that this is the 100th post on wordpress. yay.
So you might have noticed that I haven’t updated in a little while. Actually, if you’ve been following this blog for any length of time, that isn’t a new thing. The reason for this is because I am currently at the Phoenix Institute for my new job teaching with Teach For America. I am working 13+ hour days, and I just don’t have time, with my other writing (and real life) commitments.
I am keeping a blog on my Teach For America experience, which i highly recommend you check out…after you tell all your friends about it. Please check it out at www.somedayallblogs.wordpress.com
My domain for this website expires in two months, and I haven’t totally decided what I’m going to do with it…take the money and buy the Someday All Blogs domain, reup, make a new random blog somewhere else….I dunno. I would happily solict ideas on what you think I ought to do with this space, or as a writer…whatever.
Until the domain expires, I’ll update this place every once in a while I think, but with shorter posts.
SAB gets updated AT LEAST every Wednesday and Saturday. I’ll see you there.
Its always Next Year May 31, 2009
Posted by Matt Brown in Sports.Tags: basketball, Cavs, Cleveland, Indians, Lebron James, Ohio, Sports, Why Does God Hate Us
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Just because we’re used to this by now doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.
It really looked this was going to be the year our championship drought ended. The Cavs only lost one game at (when they tried) home all season. Lebron won the MVP, and played most of the playoffs like one of those guys who makes three shots in a row on NBA Jam. (He’s on fire!! BOOMSHAKALACKA!!) We were actually sharing the rock, team chemistry was through the roof, Mo Williams was making jump shots, Varejao was flopping, and Delonte West drank from a shoe on TV.
What could be better right? Clearly, we were going to march to the NBA title, crush the hated Lakers, and convince Lebron that he really ought to just stay here in Ohio, instead of bolting to New York in 2010.
But a funny thing happened on the way to that made for TV moment. Despite having the best player on the planet…we’re still Cleveland.
The Orlando Magic simply could not miss for the first 5 games (who shoots 60%? I can’t do that on a video game), and Dwight Howard turned into a mix of Shaq and Bill Russel, and Mo Williams came up smaller Mini Me. Cleveland lost game six last night, ending our dream season, and sending back into another fit of “wait until next year”.
We’re used to it after all, Cleveland teams have been exceptional at finding ways to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory for years now. We all know about The Drive, The Fumble, The Shot, The Move, Jose F*** Mesa and JD F**** Drew.
And now we can add another team to our glorious sports lore. We just lost to a team that is coached by Ron Jeremy.
Everybody knows sports glory is unfairly distributed. The LA Lakers are going to the finals now for what, their 30th time? There is no pain, no sacrifice in being a Lakers fan. Its way too easy. Plus, LA is the 2nd biggest city in the country, has glorious weather, and is close to the beach. Its like cheating. Boston, after a few years of bitching by Bill Simmons, now is close to winning titles in virtually every sport.
But Cleveland (actually, make that all of Ohio)? Not only do we not win, not only do we lose in the most heart wrenching ways, but our state is also falling apart. In the time that I spent writing that last sentence, three dozen Ohioans said “screw it”, and moved to Arizona. Hell, in two weeks, I’M moving to Arizona.
Anybody who follows sports seriously deserves to have one shining moment in their lifetime where they see THEIR team win it all. In my lifetime, that has happened twice. In 2002, Ohio State won the national title for football. The next year, the star running back was caught somewhere on Brice Road with an AK-47 and a few bottles of Gray Goose. So much for that dynasty.
Since then, Ohio State football has become a bit of a running joke. They have good regular seasons, get to highly respected bowls, and look like those old electric football games against SEC or Big 12 Speed. Among national beat writers, they’re almost a joke.
The Tampa Bay Lightning, a hockey team I rooted for before the Blue Jackets came to Columbus, also recently won a Stanley Cup. Afterwards, the NHL was caught in a labor dispute, had a lockout…and the entire sport was basically ruined. Makes the title a little bittersweet.
The Indians had a great run in the 1990s, but the team looks like they’re about to be totally blown up. The Browns moved, came back, and can’t even be good enough to lose with fashion (Also, one of their players killed a dude in the offseason). The Bengals are a team of awful convicts, and I say that as I guy who rooted for them for 15 years. The Reds did win in the 1990s, only to have their best player banned form the sport in the biggest scandal since the Black Sox. The Blue Jackets have never won a playoff game in their history, and they are in huge financial trouble.
And my beloved Cavs, the team I love the most, are caught in a terrible identity crisis, much like Cleveland itself. Will Lebron leave or not? Can we surround him with enough talent? See, Cavs fans don’t just worry about next year. If Lebron leaves, there won’t BE any more next years. Our anxiety is reaching new levels.
So we wait til next year I guess. Maybe next year will be different. And maybe Charlie Brown will finally kick the football too.
At least we’re not Detroit.
I want to like Sotomayor, but not just because she looks like my mom May 27, 2009
Posted by Matt Brown in Uncategorized.Tags: Hispanics, Politics, Sonia Sotomayor, Supreme Court, Washington DC
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Football season may be several months, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be some serious hard hitting in Washington over the next few weeks.
(I have to use a football metaphor because the Washington Nationals haven’t hit anything hard since they were playing in Canada)
Obama unveiled his pick to fill David Souter’s spot on the Supreme Court this morning, selecting US Federal Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Activists on the far right and far left immediately began to fire themselves up for an expensive, protracted battle. Ever since Robert Bork, supreme court confirmations have turned into political battles whose cost rival that of actual elections, and whose questioning that of Guantanamo Bay, minus the waterboarding.
No, actually, there will be waterboarding this time.
Anyway, on paper, you would think that this process should be fairly easy. Sotomayor is replacing another “liberal” justice, and doesn’t appear to be ideologically out of bounds. She has extensive judicial experience , graduated second at Princeton and went to Yale Law, so her qualifications shouldn’t be called into question. When you consider the fact that the Democrats have a zillion votes in the Senate, you would hope that this process should go by quickly.
(The only real allegation that has turned up so far is the idea that Sotomayor may not be as smart as the other justices. Even if thats true, is being “the least smart justice” that big of a deal? Thats like being the worst guy on the NBA All-Star team. Sure, you might not be Lebron James, but I’d still want Danny Granger on my team).
A few rouge Republicans might threaten a fillibuster, but if Harry Reid was smart, he would walk right up to Senator Sessions, hand him a phone book, and say “knock yourself out.”
Maybe Sessions can return the favor. If they’re both knocked out, the hearings go by quicker.
Whether that actually happens is unlikely, given the huge amount of money in the cottage industry of judicial appointments. We’ll prob get C-Span interrogations later in the summer/fall, which could make for semi-compelling television if you’re into that sort of thing. At any rate, you would think that getting a qualified, liberal justice would make somebody like happy, especially since Sotomayor happens to be Hispanic.
However, this process is raising all sorts of uncomfortable questions with me, that I think are a lot more important than the stupid crap Sotomayor will be grilled about on TV. I’m a little worried about the role of naked identity politics.
Sotomayor is certainly not stupid, and is certainly qualified to hold the job on her own merits…but you don’t have to be a Washington press wizard to know the most compelling reason for her selection….her “demographic appeal” as a woman and a hispanic.
I like the pick, I really do…but if you’re looking for a liberal intellectual heavyweight to do battle with Roberts and Scalia, there were better options, like Kagan or Wood (or I dunno, Posner). However, they weren’t as viable for political reasons…Sotomayor’s story and demographics basically making her invincible at confirmation.
The GOP is trying (or at least should be trying) to make inroads with the nation’s rapidly growing hispanic population. Can you imagine the terrible PR of white males in southern accents ripping her a new one? It would be a disaster, albeit compelling television if you’re into Schadenfreude. Obama isn’t stupid, thats why he made the pick.
And this bothers me a little bit, because I think it cheapens the professional accomplishments of Sotomayor, or minorities everywhere. It would be terrible for anybody to refer to her as some sort of AA justice, given her impressive resume, but by making such a naked play towards identity politics, you open that ugly door.
Its tricky though, because liking somebody because they look like you may not necessarily be bad. Studies have shown that having demographically similar role models can actually help minority groups feel more involved and connected to their society….even for highly educated people. I would consider myself highly knowledgeable about politics and whatnot, but i have to admit, I felt a little twinge of pride about Harry Reid…he shows that Mormon Democrats do exist.
Course, that pride tends to disappear when I remember that Reid has been a pretty crappy leader in the senate….but ya’ll dig right?
So its a tricky path. I like the pick, but I’m a little uncomfortable with the whole process, even though I think its important to help disadvantaged groups. I like Sotomayor, but I don’t want to like her because she looks like my mom.
But I doubt thats the kind of conversation we have in a few months though. It makes bad television.
Kinda like the Washington Nationals.
Last Day of Big Ten Blogging May 23, 2009
Posted by Matt Brown in Sports.add a comment
Ok, last time I plug my Big Ten Baseball Blog sideproject…I’ll reserve this space for when the blog is finished.
In other news, apparently some guy searched for “Lonely Fat Christian” and my site came up. I am neither lonely nor fat. Weird.
Big Ten Baseball Day II May 22, 2009
Posted by Matt Brown in Sports.Tags: Big Ten, Fun For The Whole Family, Illinois, Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue
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Still more live bloggin going on at http://b9tourneycentral.blogspot.com/
For you guys who complain that I don’t write anything anymore… May 22, 2009
Posted by Matt Brown in Uncategorized.Tags: Baseball, College Sports, Columbus, Eat It Bill Simmons, It Is What It Is, Ohio State, Really Long Posts, The Big Ten
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I give you, the full transcript of my liveblogging with my buddies at The Buckeye Nine Blog
Helping out with reporting today is Matt Brown, a Columbus writer who has contributed for the Newark Advocate and Columbus Monthly. He is also a senior at Ohio State.
COLUMBUS-1:30 PM- I’m just now starting my walk from my office downtown (I have a Clark Kent job there) towards swanky Huntington Park, home of the AAA Columbus Clippers. There isn’t a cloud in the sky, and its maybe 80 degrees, an absolutely perfect day to sit around and watch baseball. Its times like this that I actually feel sad that I’m moving away in a few weeks. Columbus really isn’t a bad town. The Arena District has two great stadiums, a great place to catch concerts, and several good bars and restaurants. The only thing that would make it better would be if the Crew Stadium was here instead of by the fairgrounds in the middle of nowhere. Not to mention the Short North, Campus, Clintonville, German Village…I’m telling you, upon further review, Columbus is underrated.
2:20 PM. Bottom 6th of the day game, with Purdue beating Michigan State 8-6. The Boilermakers end a possible rally with their second baseman making a leaping catch to steal a hit. I’m still kind of taken aback by the quality of the facilities here. This park might sit 10,000 people, and its brand new. There are luxury boxes, and bars…its just so big league. I’ve come a long way from covering JV Newark girls basketball, and getting splinters in the Northridge High Press box. I bet this place even has WiFi.
2:31 PM: Not only does this place have WiFi, it has like three different networks. I didn’t even get cell service at some of the high schools I covered. Michigan State is struggling with pitching control now. Top of the 7th, and the bases are loaded with two outs….so they’re making a pitching change (Tony Bucciferro). This game could get away from them in a hurry, since MSU isn’t exactly known for being able to make up runs in bunches.
2:34: Bucciferro gets the grounder, and out of the jam. The organ is playing Take me out to the ball game now, and there are so few people in the stands that I can’t actually hear the words. Okay, so maybe not everything is so different from my last sports reporting gig.
2:42, MSU goes down 1,2,3 in the bottom 7th frame. (LF) showed some good hustle trying to snag a fowl ball in the stands. It was a little bit easier considering that the entire section was empty. Jaffee up.
2:48 I get up for like, 5 min to try and get lineups and media guides for everybody, and naturally, miss Purdue’s Brandon Havemen knock in an RBI single, and then advance to second on a wild pitch. 9-6 Purdue. In unrelated news, whoever fills out the lineup card for Purdue has really bad handwriting. Somebody in their AD needs to start typing that stuff out. Just sayin’
2:49 Charles strikes out to end the top of the 8th.
2:57- Lost some more time trying to figure out this newfangled blogger software…ended up missing the first few batters of the inning. Eli Boike is batting for the Spartans, two ours, with a runner on third.
2:58 Boike came *THIS CLOSE* to absolutely crushing some hapless guy’s laptop off a foul ball. He then followed that up with smacking a sharp grounder up the middle that was mishandled by Purdue’s 1st basemen. Boike goes to second, runner scores. Shindler up. 9-7 Purdue.
3:00 Shindler flies out to end the inning. The Spartan faithful were getting pretty riled up over over what they perceived to be some questionable strike calls. For what its worth, this is def. a Spartan crowd…..(get it? Cause…like….there aren’t very many people here)
3:04 Cummins rips a single to start the 9th for Purdue. Black up.
3:05 Full count now on Cummins. Reason number #43 why I love Huntington Park so far….we have the Wendy’s Hamburger Balcony. Not quite sure what that means, but I like it.
3:07 Sparty mishandles a grounder from Black, but recover in time to get him out at first. Cummins to second.
3:13 I get up for a second again, getting back to my seat just in time to see Serrato rip a double to right center, scoring two runs for the Boilermakers. 2 outs, runner on second for Alex Jaffee. It is 11-7 Purdue.
3:14 Jaffee knocks a sharp grounder down the third base line that takes a high, funny bounce. It barely stays fair, giving him a double and an RBI. 12-7 Purdue.
3:18 I am loving Huntington Park, but now I think I’ve found my first flaw. That giant scoreboard is a little heavy on pizazz, and a little light on critical infomation. Maybe I’m just sitting in a bad spot, but from my seat, I can tell if Alex Jaffee remembered to brush his teeth on team picture day (he did!), but I have a harder time reading the pitch count. I also can’t really see who is pitching, and I’ve been all over the place during this game. I’m sure the UM/IU game will be a lot smoother.
Last chance for Sparty. Down 12-7 in the bottom of the ninth. Lets see how Purdue’s bullpen answers the call.
3:23Jeff Holm up for the Spartans. 1 out, runners on first and second. I gotta step away from the laptop though.
4:03-Naturally, the second I step away from the computer, MSU rips a double and makes it a 3 run game. I’ll just go ahead and give you guys advance notice that I have to step away from the computer, so you’ll know when something big is coming. It must be the Murphy’s Law of sports journalism. Purdue over Michigan State, 12-9.
I’ll work on getting a cleaner write-up soon. In the meantime, #3 seed Indiana and #2 seed Minnesota will be starting in a little bit. The ballpark is still mostly empty, but its defiantly starting to fill up. Chris was right, the Gopher fans do travel awfully well, for such a long trip.
4:17 Handran will get the start for the Gophers. IU’s lineup today is Lambert, Sabourin, Phegley, Dickerson, Schulz, Crawford, Gonzalez, Rogers and Dunning.
The Gophers Media guide tells me Handran is from Montana and likes camping. I like this guy. As soon as I type that though, he gives up a first pitch single.
4:21-Josh Phegley up for the Hoosiers with two on and nobody out (Sabourin was hit by a pitch). Biggest different between games so far? Noise. The Hoosier fans (and team for that matter) are pretty vocal. I don’t think I heard much of a peep from any of the MSU or Purdue players when they were on the field.
4:23 Actually, I take that back. I think all that yelling might be one Hoosier Mom. Phegley knocks a single up the middle. Runners on the corners for Alex Dickerson. 1-0 Indiana.
4:27, After a Dickerson strikeout, Schulz knocks in another runner with a single. 2-0 Hoosiers. Evan Crawford (Reynoldsburg represent!) is up for Indiana.
4:31, Handran settles down, strikes out Crawford and gets a pop out. 2-0 IU. Bashore hits the mound of Indiana. Minny will send out Nohelly, Pettersen, McCallum, Kvasnicka, Knudson, O’Shea, Decker, Gominsky and Geason.
4:40-I’m not the only one who is singing the praises of Huntington Park today. Purdue Head Coach Doug Schreiber raved about the area at the post game press conference. Coach Schreiber admitted he hadn’t been to the Arena District before, but said he was “very very impressed” with the facilities. “It’s been very well planned and organized, and the manpower has been unbelievable. I think its important that our kids get a chance to play at such a first class stadium and get treated first class”. His only complaint? When he sees a Purdue pitch knocked over the fence. “Then I wonder…is that fence too close?”
As for the game, runners on 1st and second for Minny, with two outs. Kyle Knudson at the plate.
4:44-A few more press conference notes for ya’ll. Schreiber was pleased with “how we hit the ball better. We were consistent in our scoring, even though we never really got that big inning. We left 15 men on base, and we’ll have to improve that.” Coach Boss of Michigan State admitted that the little by little scoring by Purdue really hurt his team’s chances today.
“We just couldn’t stop the bleeding early. They just kept chippin’ away, and before you know it, they’ve put 12 on the board.” Todd added, “We also walked 12 guys, and its tough to win when you do that.”
Minny grounds out to end the inning. Rodgers leading off for the Hoosiers.
4:50-Dunning leads off with a standup double, and is followed by a double by Lambert. 3-0 Indiana.
4:56 Indiana’s bats are really working today. They’ve strung four hits in a row now to take a 4-0 lead. Runners are on 3rd and 2nd…..wait, make that 6-0, since Dickerson’s sharp ground ball was mishandled and he turned it into a double. The Gophers better stop that bleeding quick.
5:00-Gophers do in fact stop the bleeding and get out of the inning. O’Shea is up for the Golden Gophers.
When asked how his tournament experience will impact his team next season, Coach Boss for Michigan State wanted to talk defense. “When you play well on defense, and when you make those routine plays, good things will happen. Today, we gave some things away, and those miscues are really magnified in the tournament. When you do the little things, you’ll be okay.” He then added, “However, despite those miscues, we gave ourselves a chance to win today. I’m really proud of our kids.”
5:06=The Gophers go down 1-2-3, and Gonzalez leads off with yet another double. I’m a little surprised to see the Minny pitching staff get shelled like this so early in the game, even though Indiana is quite a good hitting team.
5:15-quiet 3rd inning after the previous offensive explosion. Minny has yet to get a hit as we head into the top of the 4th. Even the random loud Indiana fan has taken a break. I think she was trying to do her best Dave Chappelle as Lil’ John impression. After every other pitch, I’d hear some “WHOOOOWWAHHHAAAT? OOOOKKAAAAY! YYEAAAH!” coming from section 9. I was half expecting a “GET CRUNK” at the end. It looks like she’s done though. Peace has been restored.
5:25 Gophers seem to be getting into a pitching grove, as they get out of the 4th without giving up a hit. I’ve walked out of the confines out the press box to watch the game from the open air area on the 3rd level. On one hand, its an absolutely awesome day, and I can get a *much* better view of the action. On the other hand, I have to live with the crushing fear that i might accidentally knock the laptop off this tiny desk and send it flying down a dozen rows of bleachers. Also, somebody just brought brownies to the press room.
5:39-Nick O’Shea breaks the offensive drought for the Gophers in the bottom of the 5th with a leadoff single. Eric Decker now batting.
Also, winner winner pasta dinner! Man, when I worked high school sports, a good night for me is when somebody bought an extra hot dog and gave it to the press guy out of pity. These guys have a full catered spread. Another reason to love this place.
5:46 Two outs now, but runners on the corners for Minny. DH Matt Nohelty is up, trying to make something happen.EDIT-aaaaaand he’s caught looking. To the 6th we go!
6:00 7-0 IU now, after some timely hitting. Gophers make a pitching change. Also, Chris Webb is in the house.
6:20 IU has really opened it up, taking a 9-0 lead. Looks like we’ll see Minny and Purdue tomorrow. The crowd is slowly starting to get bigger as OSU fans start to filer in. I was expecting a few more people. Maybe the ten dollar ticket prices are turning people away? I don’t know if I would pay ten dollars if I didn’t have a press pass.
7:18 Kinda turning in and out here. Indiana beats Minny 12-3. Minny was two hit until the 7th inning…wasn’t really close most of the way. The stands are really starting to full up now with the scarlet clad Buckeye faithful. Its too bad Explore Columbus didn’t get in on this, and give OSU Students a discount or anything. Coupla bucks, go see OSU, drink in the Arena District….I’m just sayin’.
The Buckeyes just took the field for stretching and warm ups, and the crowd goes wild. You gotta be excited for the guys playing today, stepping out onto such an awesome facility, getting this kind of crowd support…everybody likes playing under the lights.
7:52: Is it game time yet? I’m all hyped up ready for the game. I don’t know if thats the energy from the ballpark, or the fact that I’ve had about 4 free pops from the press box and I’m not sure where the bathroom is.
7:57- You know what would be really funny? There is some green space in deep center field…maybe, in a nod to the old Cooper Stadium, we can throw up some fake gravestones. Just a thought.
7:59- Chris- “Is there anything less helpful in coach speak than the phrase “It is what it is? Why did your pitching stink? Well…you know, it is what it is…”
8:01- So everybody just stood up, thinking we were going to sing the national anthem after player introductions…..surprise! We didn’t! It sure was good to get that first inning stretch in though.
8:04- And we’re off! Wimmers is lighting up the radar gun already, hitting 93, 94 MPH. Guess somebody is a little pumped up to play today. 1, 2, 3 goes Illinois.
8:12 Strack getting the ball for UI today. Kovanda is the first guy to get in the box score with a single up the middle. Stephens grounds into a double play though to tend the first.
8:17 Aaron Johnston strikes first blood with a monster 2 run shot to left field to give Illinois a 2-0 lead. That will prob land outside the 614.
8:23-Wimmers recovers to end the inning without any more damage. Meanwhile, the PA is blasting Bruce Springsteen’s Hungry Heart. I’m a *huge* Bruce fan, but is this really baseball pump up music? I don’t have an urge to get up and clap and scream now. Maybe sway…..
8:28 I was a few feet from maybe getting hit with a foul ball. Don’t worry, we’re all okay here.
8:30, Buckeyes get one back with a double from Arp (another Reynoldsburg Represent. Also, I want you guys to know that the guy next to me is screaming like a little girl every time the Buckeyes do something. He is at least 50. And I mean…seriously. Like a girl.
8:37-Does anybody know what the ball completely dies in the air when it gets hit into deep center here? I’ve seen several shots that were hit hard enough to get out of the park, but something in deep center just keeps the ball in play. Further research required.
8:49 Buckeyes get a double play thanks to some OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE (or just blocking the catcher from throwing a dude out). Also, I saw my first stadium O-H-I-O at a baseball. Its not saturday in the shoe, but it was still pretty impressive. This crowd is pretty quiet, but you can tell they’re into it as soon as some actual action happens. The guy next to me is still pretty much yelling 24/7 though.
Buckeyes are swinging at a lot of first pitches. They’re getting their hits, but they also have five first pitch outs. Some more patience at the plate will likely get them some better at bats. Only two batters have seen more than three pitches in their at bat! Thats not a good stat.
Top 5 coming up, UI up 2-1. That insight brought to you by Chris Webb
9:03, Bucks trying to get out of a jam after walking the first two batters…by striking out the next two. I’ve also just noticed that there are people everywhere here…in all of the stands, the restaurants, Neil ave…everywhere EXCEPT the AEP Power Pavilion. Not one person! I mean, there are even people in the Hamburger Balcony! Next time I work a game here, I’m reporting LIVE from the Power Pavilion, even though that prob isn’t actually in the stadium.
9:19 Johnson is on fire. He’s 3-3 with all three RBI (and Illinois only has 4 hits). Illinois now up 3-1 here in the 6th. This is becoming a tough inning…4-1. Bottom 6.
Big at bat here for the Buckeyes. Two on, nobody out for Ryan Dew. Did you know that Dew is the all time leading rusher at Worthington KIllborne? Now you do!
Dew eeks out an infield single. Everybody is safe now for Justin Miller. Bases Jacked, no outs, and the crowd is going nuts. Girl man is reaching a whole new level.
Miller gets a sac fly. Runners on the corners, 4-2. Arp gets an RBI line out…should have been a double play, but Illinois made a mental error. Another grounder ends the inning. 4-3. Not bad, not bad.
9:44 game might be getting away from Wimmers. He just gave up a double Good D prevented the run, but now he’s got 2 and 3 with only 1 out. (yup, and Wimmers is headed out of the game. 6 hits, 4 runs, 6 and a third)
Great Defense gets the Buckeyes out of the jam.
9:57, Don’t look now, but the Buckeyes have two men on (thanks to back to back walks), and nobody out. Cory Kovanda is up to bat, and LETS GO BUCKS is being yelled everywhere. Girlie Man is oddly pensive at the moment. He’s channeling his inner Phil Jackson or something.
Kovanda lays down a sick bunt single. Thats just Bill Todd baseball right there sports fans. Bases jacked. Nobody out. All Stephens has to do is hit the ball. Chris says he will make fun of him in Communications if he doesn’t. Strack is hitting the showers. PARTY IN THE HAMBURGER BALCONY
10:02- Just so you know, May 31st, Curious George will be making an appearance at Huntington Park. No word on whether he’ll stop by the Hamburger Balcony. ,It is what it is.
Stephens with an RBI grounder. Tie game.
10:04-Dan Burkhart is getting intentionally walked to re-load the bases. Only in college baseball do you walk a guy to get to a .400 hitter. Madness.
Its Dew time sportsfans. Dew gets an RBI grounder, and the Buckeyes have taken the lead for the first time, 5-4. Runners on second and third. For a team with as much firepower as the Buckeyes, its weird to see them rely on little numblers. Miller has fouled off like 4 balls in a row. He’s battling.
10:09- Miller strikes out. 5-4 Bucks heading into the 8th. 1, 2, 3 goes Illinois. Engle rips an RBI single, and given Ohio State’s closer situation, I think its looking good that they’re getting a win!
Hurley is ruthlessly gunned down trying to get an inside the park home run, but you gotta applaud the effort. 7-4 Los Buckeyes!
Time for the ninth inning! I’ve been blogging for like 9 hours now. Eat your heart out Bill Simmons.
10:28 Lead off walk, then a rather dramatic strike out. The umpire was def doing his best impression of the ump in The Naked Gun. Yeeeeeeer OOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUTTTT
One out left, runner on second. Crowd on their feet. I would stand, but that would make typing difficult. It is what it is.
10:34 Heater down the pipe, hitting 93 mph. 0-1.
10:35 foul ball. Oh snap, its 0-2. The natives are getting restless.
10:36 awwwwwwww that was clooooooooosssse. Pretty anticlimatic moment there. 1-2.
10:37 another foul ball down the line.
10:38 Another laser beam foul ball. This one cleared the nets and maybe took out at least three fans who were talking on their cell phones.
10:39 Another ball, near the dirt. 2-2. Lets get this over with.
10:39 Another ball low, 81 mph. Full Count. Hale has a flair for the dramatic.
10:40 STRIKEOUT!!! The team mobs Hale, and the Buckeyes are in the winner’s bracket. Stay tuned for more updates and recaps. Until next time, I’m Matt Brown. Keep supporting the Buckeye Nine.
Everybody go read this May 21, 2009
Posted by Matt Brown in Sports.Tags: Baseball, Blogs, Ohio State, Sports
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Hey guys, I’m live bloggin at the Big Ten Baseball Tournament today for my buddies at the Buckeye Nine Blog. Check it out at http://b9tourneycentral.blogspot.com/
Where Amazing Happens May 20, 2009
Posted by Matt Brown in Humor, Sports.Tags: basketball, Sports, Sucks to be Blake Griffin, the NBA
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Well, now I think we have conclusive proof that the NBA draft is not rigged.
Most experts agree this draft is something of a clunker, with only one or two elite, marketable players, followed by 40 others, ranging from “role player”, to “D League”, to “Lebron James Poster Fodder”, to finally, “Wally Szczerbiak Poster Fodder” (ouch.) NBA conspiracy theorists flooded the Internet with claims that David “Diabolical” Stern would find a way to get Blake Griffin to New York, or his hometown team of Oklahoma City, a la the 1985 draft.
Instead, Blake Griffin is rewarded with an all expense paid trip to basketball Siberia, the LA Clippers. He did his best to put on a happy face last night “Hey, LA is tight man. They have lots of good players”, but if he’s smart, he’d probably rather be playing in Tehran.
As an Ohio sports fan, I am well aquainted with sports teams sucking for a long time. When I was old enough to understand football (around 1994), I adopted the Cincinnati Bengals. Since then, the team has made the playoffs exactly once, and that trip basically ended after the second play from scrimmage, as their franchise quarterback blew out his knee, never to be the same. They also managed to draft so many criminals that they make Guantanamo Bay look like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The Indians broke our hearts in 1995 and 1997 (I still can’t hear the words Jose Mesa without throwing a chair through a window), and the Cavs, pre-Lebron were a case study in awful.
And don’t even get me started about Ohio State. Yeah, I’m aware.
But the Clippers…they take sucking to an entirely new level, even past Detroit Lions territory. In twenty five years, the team has made the playoffs less than 5 times, and never advancing past the second round. They have picked in the NBA lottery nearly every year since it started in 1985. They own several of the worst records in NBA history. The Clippers dont just lose, they get crushed.
Part of that can be attributed to the fact that their ownership doesn’t actually care about winning. Ownership was famous in the sporting world for being stingy, refusing to retain talented players or hire new ones, in an attempt to keep payroll down and profits up. They made a serious of very questionable draft moves (Yaroslav Korolev over Danny Granger? Really??)The team has refused to fire Mike Dunleavy, a coach who shouldn’t be trusted to handle a high school JV squad, despite the team’s ineptitude for years, so they wouldn’t have to pay him a buyout. The team finally started to make a splash with their payroll, splurging over the last two years on bringing in several high priced big men, like Marcus Camby, Chris Kamen (aka the most ugly person in the entire freaking world), and Zach Randolph, who had the coolest play in NBA history. Wait, did I say coolest? I meant “play that makes my eyes bleed”.
So even when the hit the draft jackpot with Griffin, they still screw it up. Where is he going to play? Randolph’s contract is more than the GNP of most Balkan countries, so he can’t really be traded. Camby, Kaman etc are also making too much money to be send to the bench, and the team can’t really play 5 big men at once (although given Dunleavy, you never know). Where does he fit in the rotation?
Griffin is right. The Clippers do have some good players. A lineup of Davis, Gordon, Thorton, Griffen/Z-bo/Camby ought to be enough to compete for a playoff spot. But with such an inept history, such a dysfunctional organization, and such bad attitudes (Ricky Davis is to impressionable rookies as salt is to snails. If Blake hangs out with him too long, he’ll be shooting at the wrong basket and makin’ it rain at strip clubs in 5 months), expecting the team to make any real improvements is basically impossible.
Which is a pity, because Blake Griffin is pretty good, and deserves better. Hopefully he isn’t mentally damanged by his stint in NBA purgatory.
The NBA draft. Where amazing happens!
Party Poopers April 29, 2009
Posted by Matt Brown in Uncategorized.Tags: Cold Meds, Gonzo Journalism, Party Poopers, Politics, Specter
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So I meant to write this yesterday, but I was pretty looped up on drugs. Not hallucinogenics or anything, just plain ol’ off the counter cold meds. I’ve been battling a mild cold ( or, as a co-worker assumed, Swine Flu. Look. Not every latin guy who sneezes is carrying the swine flu), and I thought I could go save a few bucks by getting the Kroger brand cold meds instead of the label. Turns out, Kroger Cold Medicine is a concoction of tryptophan and elephant tranquilizers. I was NOT qualified to operate heavy machinery. Hell, I wasn’t qualified to operate a stapler (This is why I need an intern at work).
I took a quick break from work to scan some headlines, in a futile attempt to remain conscious. Thats when I stumbled upon the big political bombshell…Senator Arlen Spector of Pennsylvania announced he was leaving the Republican Party, and switching to the Democrats, giving the D’s a filibuster-proof 60 seat majority. Or at least, they will once Norm Coleman runs out of continues and gives up his legal challenge.
So I tried to do some serious, Hunter S.Thompson style gonzo journalism, and type something up while loopy on whatever Kroger moonshine I had ingested. No luck. No scathing insights arrived in my head. I just wanted to sleep. No, I wanted to HIBERNATE. When the going gets weird, the weird go pro I guess….and I should leave that stuff to the pros.
So maybe sobriety will deliver some insight.
First, one thing needs to be made clear before we can dig deep into the analysis. Arlen Specter left the Republican party because he was about to get clownstomped by Pat Toomey in the Republican primary…not because of any high minded idealism. Polling showed Specter down 20% to Toomey, but in a general, Specter wins by double digits. If that wasn’t the case, we wouldn’t be having this discussion. Biden et all have been working on this guy for years, and Specter even said a few months ago he wasn’t interested in switching parties.
Now, is that a bad thing? We might look at Specter and call him a cold, calculating, spineless Politician, and maybe thats true….but clearly the people of Pennsylvania see something in him, because they have reelected him so many times, and given the opportunity, will prob do so again. Many Republicans feel betrayed by the switch (and I guess I can understand why. I would have been a little upset when Ben Nighthorse Cambell switched to the Republicans…or I would have been, if I wasn’t 6)…does Specter have an obligation to them, or just his constituents, the people of the Keystone state? While I think its kind of a jerk move to announce this just a few weeks after the RNC says they’ll support him over Toomey, I think its hard to argue that Specter doesn’t have the right to do this.
I don’t know too much about Pennsylvania. Off the top of my head, here is a brief list I came up with:
1) No matter where you are driving, you will be stuck in Pennsylvania for about 4 hours.
2) Penn State’s football coach once pooped his pants on the sidelines
3) The state’s demographics are rapidly changing. Over 200,000 voters switched their registration to the democrats.
All of those are true. Look ‘em up. The 3rd one I think speaks to the bigger issue that I’ve alluded to in a couple of these notes.
When Toomey wins by 20% in the GOP primary, but loses by 10% in the general to the same guy, you have a problem. When you lose 200,000 people in the voter rolls, you have a problem. When people are openly betting on when Oympia Snowe jumps ship with Spector, you have a problem. Letting your party be hijacked by radical activists at the expense of people who are actually electable is a problem. Not just for Republicans, but for anybody who likes good government.
I’m personally okay with Specter being a Dem, because a Democrat Specter is likely to vote the way that I would personally vote…as a somewhat conservative Democrat. When we’re looking at 60 (and after 2010, 60+) Dems in the senate, I start to worry a little bit…because then there is no check on bad ideas. Even though those 60 Democrats run across a very large political spectrum (from Ben Nelson, who is practically a Republican, to Sanders, who is a European Socialist), letting one group amass that kind of power typically leads to a circular firing squad, wasted money, and bad ideas. We need a loyal opposition that is capable of actually being a coherent opposition…not this mess.
Right now, I guess Specter is being a bit of a Party Pooper. You have to wonder if others will follow suit, or if the guys in charge will finally get the message. Anybody can see the dangers of prolonged one party domination.
Even if you’re hopped up on cold meds.
