Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Texts From Last Night Ch. 2

It's time for the second edition of my blog staple "Texts From Last Night." Also I will try to keep these to an extent in good taste, but I can't promise anything. So without furth ado.


-----The ticket read "Found nude in a tree"


-----You got in a fight last night?
-----Yeah! Some dude in the bathroom...he was standing there and I notice he's got the same shirt as me on so I'm like...dude you should have called me, we look like idiots...he didn't say anything...so i got pissed and hit him...completely decimated and my hand was all bloody and covered with glass afterward...weird dude, never saw him again that night or since.


-----I just realized that this morning is the first morning i've put on underwear in a week.

The Devils new coach should be...John MacLean


As most know by now the Devils have a vacancy at their head coach position. Brent Sutter resigned on Tuesday citing personal reasons. Now the Devils must fill the most important position behind the bench for the tenth time in the last thirteen years.

Tom Gulitti's awesome blog Fire & Ice has compiled a list of possible candidates. Hower, I only see one logical choice and that is Johnny Mac.

MacLean has been behind the bench for seven years now and has been overlooked for the job twice so far once for Claude Julien in 2006 and then again for Brent Sutter two years ago. He was even overlooked when Lou took over the team twice.

He has been their for a cup victory in 2003. He has seen Claude Julien get fired when the Devils were leading the division. He has seen Brent Sutter let a hot team slip at the end of the season in the last two years. Johnny Mac has seen what has worked and what has not worked. It is about time he was promoted , he has paid his due. The only reason he should not be promoted would be if he does not want it and wants to stay the assistant coach.

If he choose to go down that road, the Devils should heavily look into Peter Laviolette. The man has coached a Stanley Cup winning team in 2006 with the Carolina Hurricanes. His teams employ and playing style similar to Brent Sutter, which seems best for team that has a possible budding offensive star in Zach Parise.

The road block, according to Tom Gulitti is, Laviolette still has two years left on his five-year contract with the Canes, so the Devils will need permission to talk to him as well. However, I don't see that being a problem considering the Hurricanes should be content with Paul Maurice getting the team to the Eastern Conference Finals.

I don't want Jacques Lemaire, I do not want this team to turn its back on the great offense it generated last year. I think these are the two best options for the Devils to have a smooth transition from the two year Sutter era to a new era.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Bomber Launching Pad



Many pundits have criticized the New Yankee Stadium for it being a Homer Haven. Buster Olney, and his ESPN colleuge Peter Gammons, as well as Matthew Wallace of Newsday have all criticized the park as being "a joke", "ridiculous" , and saying the Stadium is "on steroids."

I take a differing opinion on the matter. Let's go back in time to the 1990s The strike has just begun and a young boy is asking his father why the ball players are not going to be finishing the season. The father explains to him the players no longer play for the love of the game but the love of the fame and fortune. Fast forward four years later and baseballs were flying out of the ball parks, specifically in St. Louis and the South side of Chicago.

The home run saved baseball in the nineties, and sure maybe it was cheap but it brought fans back into the stands. Now as we end the current decade, baseball is struggling at the gate for a different reason. Families no longer can afford the high prices during one of the worst economic times in decades. The billion dollar investment of New Yankee Stadium currently in its inaugural year, is struggling to fill its seats.

The ones behind home plate are hurting the most. They are between 500 and 2,500 dollars a piece. Not only are they empty but during every pitch the audience watching at home can see they are empty. Which is more of a joke empty seats at the brand new Yankee Stadium or home run balls flying out at an alarming pace?

This is exactly what the marketing team for the Yankees need. I hate to use the word gimmick but the number of baseballs leaving the park, specifically right field, is something to attract the fans. What event in baseball brings more fans to their feet than the home run? This park has them going out at a record pace. I can see the advertisments now, bring your kids to New Yankee Stadium to experience the building of new history as the best home run hitters crank balls out at an alarming rate. When a team employs Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixiera maybe someone can best Bonds' mark. Not to mention the Yankees have a potent and powerful lineup filled with lefty hitters, switch hitters, and righties who can hit opposite field. Its a perfect storm for the home run.

It may be my selfish love of the home run ball but I welcome the number of balls flying out of the stands. I am sure there will be modifications done to cut down on the wind carrying balls out to right field but for the time being enjoy the possibilty of every flyball going opposite field off Derek Jeter's bat being a home run for the Yankee captain.

Friday, June 5, 2009

Big Unit: Best of a Generation



We had to wait a day due to rainy weather but on Thursday June 4, 2009, Randy Johnson became the 24th pitcher, and 6th left-hander to reach the 300 win plateau. It was Johnson' fifth victory of the season and probably will be the last major accomplishment of his Hall of Fame career unless he sticks around another year to make an effort at 5,000 strikeouts.

The list of Johnson's accomplishments are nothing short of jaw dropping. While Roger Clemens may have a few better numbers, I believe Johnson is the best pitcher of this generation. Randy Johnson has two no hitters, one of which being a perfect game. The man has five Cy Youngs, four of which were won consecutively between 1999 and 2002. He is also a 10 time All-Star, lead his league in strikeouts 9 times, and ERA, four times. The Big Unit has over 4,000 strike-outs and as mentioned above is within grasp of becoming only the second man with 5,000. He tied the record for most strike-outs in one nine inning game with 20, and had two 2 games where he struck out 19.

In the 2001 World Series he had a record-tying three wins in a series, the last two coming in Games 6 and 7, no other pitcher has done that. He was awarded the World Series co-MVP with Curt Schilling for it.

When you list the accomplishments of the man all together and mention he did not throw his first pitch in the big leagues until he was 25 with Expos. He also was one of the leaders on Mariners team that put them on the map in 1990s. He is not only the best picther of his generation, he is in the discussion of top 10 or 15 pitchers on all-time.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Staple of This Blog...Texts From Last Night

Every so often I check a website called Texts From Last Night. Its a great website that has texts messages people actually send to each other usually on drunken binges. Well here are three I found hilarious...

---She says her boyfriend and her dignity are both out of town tonight.

---Forecast for tonight is alcohol, low standards and poor decisions.

---Note to self. Never fart in a tanning bed

Welcome to my Blog

Hello welcome to my shiny new blog on the Interweb. I figure all the kids are blogging and I have always been one to join the crowd and not follow one. The real question is do people care about my opinion, probably not, but millions of people follow celebrity tweets. So who know?


This blog will mainly be opinions about today sports world and other pop culture nuggets. It will also include random factoids found on the interweb super highway. For the most part this website will deal with the North Jersey, and New York sports scene because this is where I am from, and it where my loyalties run the deepest. Thank you for visiting and please check out my novelty t-shirt website link below.

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