Blogs With Balls Radio, Episode 18

This week’s Blogs With Balls Show on the JoeSportsFan Radio Network is now available.

Download Episode 18 here, or subscribe via iTunes.

Today we celebrate the godliness of New Orleans Saint Tracey Porter.

And are reminiscent of Calvin Pace's early words of praise to us for Rex Ryan.

HHR @ NFL Draft Classic - Calvin Pace and the Defensive Mastermind from HHR on Vimeo.

Shifting gears from NFL playoff and Super Bowl talk, we bring on guest Lang Whitaker, executive editor at SLAM Magazine, columnist at Hawks.com and author of a forthcoming memoir on Bobby Cox and growing up a Braves fan.


Lang talks about the unique relationship the magazine was able to develop with the NBA's biggest stars and teams.

As someone who dabbles and excels in and on so many platforms, Lang brings insight to how writing in general is affected by the immediacy of the Internet age:

"The more you write online, the better a writer it makes you. You learn to deal with immediate reactions from people. You understand what the audience looks for in stories...But at the same time, I learned a long time ago you cant 100% give in to what people want you to do. At some point you stay true to yourself and you hope the audience likes what you're doing."

Keep an eye out for Searching for Bobby Cox, due out February 2011, which is a Julie and Julia-esq memoir of lessons Lang's "learned about life by watching Bobby Cox managing the Braves."

This week's links of interest:

• langwhitaker.com
• @langwhitaker
• SLAM Online
• @SLAMOnline
• The Last Word (Hawks.com)
• NBA TV
• @NBATV
• Lang Whitaker SI.com Archive
• Blogs With Balls Radio, Episode 3 (Mitch Germann)
• True Hoops
• Ball Don't Lie
• Hoops Hype
• The Basketball Jones
• Malcolm Gladwell, Annals of Business, “The Sure Thing,” The New Yorker
• F**k you all -- by Adrian Peterson, RB, Bears (Sports Pickle)

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From The D.C. Bureau: Memo to Advertisers

I don't even know where to begin.

I was watching the Nats/Braves game last night when a Nivea shaving cream commercial came up, and in one of the cuts is a guy, I sh%t you not, shaving his chest. This is unacceptable. MEMO TO ADVERTISERS: WTF? I'm trying to watch a baseball game here, not an instructional video on how to look good for other muscly mens.

I failed in finding this actual ad online (probably for obvious reasons) but I did find something worse, from the same company. Not sure how to break this to you, but they offer actual lessons, lessons for shaving...well, everything.

(I went ahead and flagged it for repulsive content).



I did some more research on this company on the YouTube and found another gem...



Yes, that's right they offer a skin whitening cream. If only Marty Cordova knew about this back in '02.

I've now seen everything.

I'm officially getting all MLK on these fools and begininning a national boycott...at least until my private parts need another shearing.

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Debating Moose's Hall Credentials

Card via Newsday.com

Our buddy Yanni shot out an email yesterday with an interesting article on John Feinstein's new book "Living on the Black: Two Pitchers, Two Teams, One Season to Remember," on Moose and Glavine's 2007 season.

What ensued was the email recipients launching into a debate on Mussina's Hall credentials as prompted by Portly Jay's comment: "I'm going to read through this email more thoroughly, but for the time being, all I've read is the part about Mussina being a Hall of Famer. As I've said from the beginning of this argument for Mussina, you've gotta draw the line somewhere. Otherwise, Tommy Greene is on-deck, right Ren?"

Let's take a look at some of the chatter. Bear in mind that this was before Moose got shellacked and knocked out in the first inning by the O's last night. POrtly Jay almost seems a soothsayer.

Yanni:

Lets face it - he lacks those intangibles. Never won 20. Never threw a no-hitter. Never won a Cy Young Award. Never won a World Series.

If i had to build a narrative for moose's induction - I would have to stress the period in which he pitched (steriods, hgh, the lowering of the mound, the trend toward smaller parks - all of which greatly benefit the hitter).

The problem we run into there though is that his peers Clemens, Maddox, Glavine, Johnson, all have those intangibles mentioned earlier.

The other big problem here, is that there are guys ahead of him ( i.e. Blylevin, Tommy John, and Jim Kaat) in the 285-295 win range and are not in the Hall.

Moose is 39 years old. He has 256 wins. Our best bet is to just hope he can continue on in the mold of a Jaime Moyer or a Kenny Rogers or even a David Wells and pitch until his mid-40s. If he can grow as a finesse pitcher and continue changing speeds and relying on good location and getting good run support - who knows, maybe he can go on another 3 or 4 years and reach
300. Stranger things have happened.

If he ever gets there or not, he is my favorite player. He is one of the few good guys left in the game. When he is on, watching him pitch is like watching a fine artist paint the corners. its all about changing speeds and location. I cant wait to watch him go tonight against the Orioles.

Dino:

Wow! All of a sudden the steroid era didn't help the pitchers out! That's a crazy, absurd argument!!! The lowering of the mound does actually hurt pitchers, as much as anything. That's the reason why it's a disadvantage to face a 6'10"" guy like Randy Johnson. All the new ballparks as well that were favorable to hitters. He won 19 in a strike season of 1994. Hence, he would have won his 20 games. He played for a bad team for several years. Tom Glavine played for the best team in baseball for those same years...the argument's not Glavine vs. Mussina, but i'm just saying as a standalone pitcher, the guy deserves it in this modern era of baseball. Stupid relievers like Dennis Eckersley (a starter half his career) and Rich Gossage get in while better players such as Mike Mussina don't? That's ridiculous...very much like the Rock'N'Roll Hall of Fame!!!!

Portly Jay:

I'll be thinking of those inspiring words after I see Adam Jones hit a ball through the ozone layer and Moose just stands there with his hands on his hips in a pouting fashion. I'm not a fan. However, I like The New Steinbrenner. Baby Boss gave such an inspirational speech to the NY Post that even the skeleton of General Sherman had to blush.

Yanni:

I would also add that the advent of the 5-man rotation and the increasing importance of bullpens as additional factors making 300 wins more difficult.

Dino:

I think with 250 wins in modern day baseball in the steroid era, he should get in. If you talk about the top 10 pitchers of the last 20 years, it would actually be very hard to argue that he doesn't belong in that list. These days, we're seeing an older, less dominant pitcher. But in his prime, he was a top notch starter. There will probably never be another 300 game winner. I think 250 is the barrier we should look at these days.

Fat Willard:

Here is a good marker, game 7 World Series, who would you rather hand the ball to? I say Mussina. If you add 'big game' ability, Mussina wins out. Game 7 Yankees vs. Sox, shut them down for 3+ innings, a starter out of the pen, led to the Boone homerun. Like Dino said, Mussina won on average O's teams while Glavine was the 2 sometimes 3 best pitcher on championship teams. And look at Glavine last season. Mets needed ONE win, their 'ace' on the mound, gave up like 6 runs in 2 innings check the box score on that one. But it wasn't pretty

A sure sign of spring

Hehehe....easy money

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP)—Oft-injured pitcher Mike Hampton of the Atlanta Braves left his spring training start Friday because of a strained right groin.

Of course he did.

Tsk Tsk Tsk Mr. Edd

Now, I don't know if this actually gave him an advantage or not, but it seems as though yesterday's winner failed post-race inspection. Something was awry with the lid to his oil tank.

Edwards Wins Again, but Fails Inspection

This little "oops" could result in a fine and points deduction, but it's very doubtful that NASCAR would actually take away a win. Besides, even though that would give my boy the win, I'd hate to see him break his points-race-winless streak by getting one by default. He should earn it on the track.

But ole Roids-boy aside, yesterday was another pretty exciting event. Two of the sports veterans took some nasty spins and nailed the wall. First, it was Smoke who emerged from his race car looking like he'd been smacked in the head with a 2x4 (from Home Depot, of course). Then with only a few laps remaining, the ole Rainbow Warrior tried to go low on his teammate, got loose, and slammed into the infield wall shattering his race car and sending his radiator flying across the track.

Those two wrecks means I pretty much screwed the pooch on my A list fantasy pick, but the other picks did well. So, assuming you ardently follow Rusty's Thursday reckoning, you should be off to a good start!

So, after 3 crazy races so far this season, who knows what Atlanta's going to bring. Known as the fastest track on the circuit, there are a lot of unknowns heading into this weekend. I will tell you this, though. It's nice to have the start back at 1:30. Rusty's getting tired of waiting until after 4:00 p.m. for the green flag at these west coast events. I think it'll be a hard pick for my fantasy, but be sure to come back in a few days and find out.

Y'all come back now, hear?

More Sports-Related Celeb Baby's Daddy's Drama

While controversy surrounds the news of 16-year-old Jamie Lynn Spear's pregnancy, David Aldridge's family can rest assured he's not a Hubbard, regarding a forthcoming tell-all book about Scientology poster child Tom Cruise.

According to the NY Daily News:

Andrew Morton's unauthorized book claims Cruise, 45, is second-highest leader in his controversial Church of Scientology, and speculates 20-month-old Suri Cruise may have secretly been fathered by late church founder L. Ron Hubbard.

London's Daily Mail published book excerpts in which Morton, without citing sources, says fanatical Scientology insiders wonder if third wife Katie Holmes "had been impregnated with Hubbard's frozen sperm.

Hopefully Glenn has some room in his terrarium should the Hubbard family want to babysit every once in a while.

Photo: baseball-almanac.com

Why is he holding a snake at the Vet?

Misleading headlines: Sutton goes for 800 wins

Sutton to try for 800th victory with San Francisco

800 wins? Those are some lofty expectations considering he retired in 1988 with just 324. Must have been waiting out the Mitchell Report till the coast was clear..uhh...cream...wait....nevermind.



With that hair, I hope he was on something. At least a little bit of the booger sugar. It was the 80's, lighten up.

Unsung and Untainted Heroes

Growing up in Central NJ, you were either a Phillies fan or a Yankees fan. Given the Italian population in the neighborhood, most of my childhood pals were Yankees fans. My father, however, cursed me by raising me a Philadelphia sports fan.

My next-door neighbor, a Polish kid, went a different route. Seeing the Braves everyday on the SuperStation, he was a Braves fan. Thanks, Ted Turner.

We played whiffle ball in his yard. A strike zone was painted on the brick garage that ran behind the yard. First base was a tree. Second was a rock. Third was a fence post. "Power Alley" was down the left field line. Literally, an alley. I had an advantage with power alley in that I was a righty, he a lefty.

Homerun derby everyday was the same. I was Michael Jack Schmidt, he was Dale Murphy. Occasionally, some other kid would wander over and he'd be Don Mattingly. Looking back, it was funny how we'd don our respective teams hats when we pitched, and their helmets and batting gloves when we hit. Little would I know how funny it was until cleaning out the garage I found the helmet and started doing it, this time as a gag, during slow pitch softball games. Pitchers couldn't keep a straight-face when I stepped into the box with an old maroon Phillies helmet.

To me, growing up, the three premier players in baseball were Murphy, Mattingly and Schmidt.

Sadly today, two of those three are not in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

While Mattingly and Murphy's careers were cut short by injuries, throughout the 80's they were superstars on teams filled with mediocrity.

Between them they have 13 All-Star appearances, 3 MVPs, 14 Gold Gloves and 7 Silver Sluggers. Each in his career was awarded the Lou Gehrig Award, given to players who "best exemplify his character and integrity both on and off the field." Murph even won the Clemente Award for his "character and charitable contributions to his community." Neither, has a plaque in Cooperstown.

While their numbers may not meet Hall of Fame "standards," their contributions to baseball and a generation of kids looking for heroes are second to none. They were All-Stars on and off the field. Their injuries, likely strain from single-handedly carrying their squads for years, killed their chances.

In a few minutes, George Mitchell will put a permanent stain on our national past time. When baseball writers come to their senses in the aftermath and start re-evaluating their basis on which they enshrine our earthly legends, maybe they will realize the value these players brought to the game.

Subsequently, Murphy launched the iWontCheat foundation to help the world of sports overcome the illegal performance enhancing drug problem.

Good luck, Murph.

UGA will not be outdone by Turner Field

Georgia loves being #1 when it comes to going #1.

Back in September, CNN/Health noted a study indicating Men more likely not to wash after bathroom use, noting "Atlanta's Turner Field baseball stadium again was the worst. Only 57 percent of guys there washed up, compared to 95 percent of women."

Well, folks, the dirty south is back up to their dirty ways.

UGA asks stadium fans not to flush

"...part of the university's "Every Drop Counts" water conservation effort in the drought that's struck Georgia and much of the Southeast."

Bigs ups for a helluva campaign name, especially in relation to going #1.

Turner Field: Dirty South

Men more likely to not wash after bathroom use

Atlanta's Turner Field baseball stadium again was the worst. Only 57 percent of guys there washed up, compared to 95 percent of women.

Listen to Koolaid, kids.

Watching (semi)crappy games so you don’t have to…

It’s become a Wednesday night tradition.

Braves and Mets from Shea Stadium and Fat Willard flying solo from the couch in South Jersey. Grab some crackerjacks folks, I am in this for the long haul (or until10pm). The pre-wife is at her final real estate class, so this could be the last one for this season. She has a ton of reality TV and Food Network to catch up on. My goal is to watch and review the entire game.

Tonight’s stupid mascot showdown.





It's like choosing the prettiest turd in the bowl.

Here is an interesting link and a disturbing picture.

Sean McDonough and Buck Martinez. Martinez might be the only credible commentator ESPN has and this is the first game I have seen him do in a month. Shame.

Temperature check: 93 degrees. Humidity makes it “feel like” 100 degrees. Living in Jersey, I’ll tell you what it feels like. It feels like my hair is going to melt off.

Toeing the rubber for the Metropolitans; El Duque. I’d love to know his true age. And on cue McDonough tells us he is 37. I say 37 with an asterisk. 1-2-3 first inning. Let’s keep up this pace kids.

Reyes starts off with a single. Passed ball on a pickoff attempt and Reyes is on second. Bet he would be faster if he didn’t wear so many necklaces. Bunt to third, sac fly, hello National League boring ball. 1-0 Mets after an inning.

The DHL commercial about Kenny Lofton cracks me up. Truly a funny spot. The premise is Kenny Lofton is rumored to go to a bunch of different teams. So you see his gear sent all over the place and there is still no real answer to where he could end up after a trade. It’s hysterical because no one gives a crap about Kenny Lofton.

McDonough discussing the rumored Reggie Miller un-retirement to join the Celtics. “Danny Ainge is doing his thing and doing it and doing it and doing it well. As we say in contemporary music.” I don’t know if I am pissed that he referenced a ten-year-old LL Cool J song or that he called it contemporary music.

Welcome to the plate the man who is single-handedly killing my fantasy season- Andruw Jones. He has a spider web tattoo on his elbow. Where did he serve time?

Time out for a medical report. Mine. My eye has been twitching all day. It’s shaking more than Michael J Fox on a massage chair. It’s been doing it on and off since I woke up. I am going to WebMd.

This is how hot it is. Braves and Mets. End of August. Mets are three games ahead in the standings. Shea Stadium is practically empty.

Found this online:

Q. For the past 2 weeks my eyes have been fluttering daily, sometimes several times a day. I spend all day sitting in front of a computer (19 in. monitor). Could this be the reason?
A. Your eyelids flutter or twitch because the muscle surrounding the eye is becoming fatigued. The muscle becomes fatigued after it has been constricting for long periods of time. For example, if you are squinting because of bright light or because you are having difficulty seeing, this will cause the muscular fatigue with resulting twitching. It is likely that your concentration on the computer display, perhaps paired with some difficulty in seeing is causing your problem. I suggest you take periodic breaks from your computer screen, evaluate if you have glare in your work environment, and consider having an eye examination.

And now we all know. Hugging Harold Reynolds. Keeping readers informed since July. Still 1-0 Mets after three full innings.

Minor rant: Want to get this out now. Jason Giambi coming off the DL will kill the Yankees playoff chances. They learned NOTHING from last season and putting Matsui and Sheffield into the lineup just because they couldn’t have 20+ million on the bench. It killed the whole team dynamic. Mark my words.

Proving my point- 8-2 Blue Jays after 3 innings. Giambi is DH-ing.

Top of the 6th and still 1-0 Mets. More important it’s only 8:36 pm. I might make it through a whole game. (Yes, I am fully aware I just mushed myself)

Is it? Is it? IT IS! Rickey Henderson is the Mets first base coach. I am praying he has a flashback and just takes a lead off first and gets into a stealing crouch.

Note to every professional baseball player: Don’t pick your nose in the dugout. The camera is going to catch you eventually. I think the cameramen might even look for it.

Found this when searching the Mets roster online.



Mrs. Met. I hope the Mets never win again.

Bottom of the 6th- 3-1 Braves.

MUSHED. And that is where the game review ends. The pre-wife is home. I am “always” watching sports and baseball is “always” on. So I let her watch what she wanted to watch.

This is what happened.

Three minutes of Making the Band Season 84.
Six minutes of Last Comic Standing Season 18.
Flipping
Flipping
Playing with the cat.
Flipping back and forth.

(I am getting up to make my lunch.)


Back to Making the Band.
Then Last Comic Standing.
Then back and forth.
I can’t figure out what’s going on in either show.
Wait…I got it. On one show, Diddy is trying to put together a band of terrible comedians. And then on the other a bunch of amateur singers and dancers are trying to make me laugh.

One quick flick to ESPN while she is in the bathroom.

Mets hold on. Mets 4 Braves 3

I consider that a victory for me as well.

-posted by Fat Willard