Halos sweep aside A's, claim second place.

Yesterday's final Halo home game of the 2010 season had everything an Angel fan could ever ask for! Great all around pitching, horrible choking with the bases loaded, and a sweet extra inning win thanks to three beautiful singles in the 11th. Hey, I'm not like most Angel fans. I'm not going to sit here and say that yesterday's 2-1 win against the A's sucked bcause we jus proved our offense still can't pound when it matters. I'm just proud that we got the win, completed the sweep over our most hated rivals, took over sole possession of second place, and took another step toward finishing at least at .500. I thought it was a great afternoon.

The pluses:

+We swept those jokers from Choke-land!

+Howie Kendrick led the way with a really nice 3 for 6 game and the 1st RBI of the contest for the Angels, all while hitting in the two spot.

+Torii Hunter got the game winning hit! Big Game's single sent fireworks screaming into the air from the rock pile, as the remaining fans celebrated the walk off win to end the season at home. Torii was 2 for 6.

+Matsui, Maicer, Aybar, Trumbo, Abreu, Willits, and Conger all worked walks in the game.

+Andrew Romine came through with a clutch sac bunt in the 11th. 

+Mark "Freaking" Trumbo started in RF and got an outfield assist by punking Kouzmanoff, forcing him out at 2nd base on a routine single.

+Erick Aybar stole his 21st base, making Suzuki look stupid in front of his family and friends.

+J. Balls Piñata went 7 innings of 1 run ball with 3 Ks, even though he got most of his outs unusually through the air (13 pop outs vs 5 ground outs). He's been seriously underrated, even by me, this year.

+Kohn, Jepsen, and Cassevah shut the A's out over 4 innings, with 2 hits, and 3 Ks. Our bullpen has turned it up lately, eh?

+Nobody threw any batteries at Doug Eddings. Or is that a minus?

The minuses:

-We had those bases loaded in the 9th and the 10th, and did nothing!

-We left FOURTEEN runners on base in this game. That's hard to do.

-We had THREE errors, thanks to Aybar, Conger, and Jumbo Trumbo.

-It was his last start of the year, and Joel Piñero was only allowed to throw 101 pitches, even when he's nailing the bad guys like crazy? Weak! Let him keep going!

-Leading the order off, Saint Peter went 0 for 5. He's an interesting case, isn't he?

-Napoli and Rivera were also kind of bums, going a combined 0 for 8 with 2 Ks.

Well folks, we're 78-80, 10 games back of the AL West Champion Rangers, and 1 game UP on the hated Green and Yellow East Bay Stompers with 4 games to go. The Halos will need to finish with a three wins out of four games series against the Texas Rangers to finish with a .500 record at 81-81. Hopefully the Rangers will be resting their best, and we'll be able to steam roll 'em on our way to finishing strong and sending the Rangers limping into the playoffs. 

The series starts today, as the Angels fly into Arlington ready to jump all over these guys. It looks like game one may be our one loss in the series, however, as we send Scott "Kazberries" Kazmir (9-15, 6.03) to the mound to suck it up against Cliff Lee (12-9, 3.29). While Lee has a near 1-even WHIP this season, he pitched in a tough to watch 0-5 loss to the A's his last time out. The Rangers' ace is 4-6 with a 4.25 ERA since being acquired by Texas. OVERRATED! I'll be the guy laughing when the Yankees give this guy billions of dollars in th offseason. Meanwhile, over his last 14 starts, our mighty Scottie Boy is 2-10 with a 7.00 ERA. He gave up 5 runs in three innings his last time out, and has allowed 9 runs in 11.67 innings in his two starts against the Rangers this year. Yes, he's just that bad. Just really, really bad. 

There is now more news in the Angels 2011 MiLB high-A story. You all read in a previous post where I lamented about the Doyers stealing my Rancho Cucamonga Quakes from the Halos, leaving us without a high-A club. As was speculated, the Angels have signed up with the Inland Empire 66'ers, the Dodgers former club. The Angels and 66'ers have inked up for a two year deal, and hopefully the San Bernardino squad can serve us well. They were previously the Mariners single-A club, and raised up such players as Ken Griffey Jr. and Felix Hernandez. Other notable players from the 66'ers history are Adrian Beltre, Paul Konerko, and Mike Hampton. Obviously, this organization knows how to handle it's players. They have been to the California League playoffs in 8 of the last 10 seasons. The 66'ers will actually start their 2011 season against Rancho Cucamonga on April 7th, and the impending rivalry is palpable. 

Speaking of a rivalry being palpable, the Angels and Rangers start the final series of the season in 60 minutes. 

Let's finish strong, boys.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

Will he or won't he?

B-Mo isn't the only question mark as the Canucks wind down the preseason, but he is a big one. Questions about the completion of our fourth line, the sixth defender, Cody Hodgson, Fat-gei Shirokov, and even our backup to the backup netminder are all lingering with one preseason game to go. Alain Vigneault has guaranteed that no decisions or roster cuts will be made until after the game in Anaheim on Friday night. He played the "mostly B-team" in San Jose last night and got drubbed, with Cody Hodgson finishing with 0 points and just 3 shots as the top line center. I guess, in reality, maybe all of the Canucks questions have already been answered. 

Sitting at 2-5 with one preseason game to go isn't exactly good, but we should all be more worried about performances by individuals, rather than results by the whole team (at least, during the preseason). Despite Coachie V's comments that no decision will be made until after tomorrow night's preseason finale, I have the feeling that all of the Canucks' questions have already been answered. Before we get into this, please note that the internet doesn't seem to have a preseason NHL stat resource. If it does, please DON'T tell me about it, because I poured through all the preseason box scores to compile my stats for this post. Thanks.

1. The best & the worst of the preseason so far are...

-Raffi Torres, believe it or not, scored the most goals with 3. He was followed up by Daniel Sedin's two, and then 9 other players with one each.

-Probably not a shocker that Henrik Sedin leads the team with 3 assists. He's closely followed by Alex Edler, Daniel, and Danny Hamhuis with two each. There are 11 other players with 1.

-Now, I want Canucks fans to sit down for this. The best +/- guy so far in the preseason is...Cody Hodgson. Now, I understand that +/- isn't necessarily a good value stat and it could be that he's just been playing with the right guys, but it's still interesting. An argument against +/- may be that despite being a team leading +3 in the preseason, Hodgson failed to register a point. Dan Hamhuis (+2) is second on the list. 

-At 53%, Brendan Morrison has the top faceoff percentage.

-The worst +/- guy is Mikael Samuelsson, although his -5 all came in that blowout 2-8 loss to Edmonton. Other than Sammy, we can look at newbie defender Keith Ballard's -4, Perrault's -4, and SOB's -3.

-Basically we've seen three main goalies out there, five in all I think. Roberto Luongo, our beloved ex-captain has outperformed everyone else in his two outings. Stopping 51 of 54 shots, Bobby Lu has saved 94% of all rubber coming at him this preseason. With four outings, Schneider has stopped 87%, while Lack has stopped 85% in his two games.

2. Which forwards will be dressed come October 9?

In no particular order, here are my top 9 forwards who will definitely be playing on October 9: Daniel, Henrik, Samuelsson, Kesler, Raymond, Torres, Malhotra, Glass, and Hansen.

This leaves three starting spots open, practically all the fourth line positions. Still battling for the three spots are Rick Rypien, Hordicuk, Brendan Morrison, Jeff Tambellini, and Cody Hodgson. My boy, Sergei Shirokov is no longer in it, thanks to his apparent lack of offseason conditioning. Way to go, Ruskie. The last time I predicted my fourth line, back on September 14, I had Shirokov-Rypien-Hodgson. Now, that has obviously changed. While it's clear that the Vannies haven't set it in stone, I'd like to see the final three starting spots filled by Tambellini (1 goal, 1 assist, and +1 in the preseason), Morrison (the sentimental favorite), and Hodgson (we have to give him a chance, a la Brandon Wood). Keep in mind that the return of Alex Burrows following his recovery from offseason surgery should make for an interesting in-season roster decision.

3. With Salo out for the forseeable future, who are our top 6 defensivemen?

Even though Shane O'Brien tried to play himself out of a roster spot this preseason (-3), I don't think he did. It would have been nice to have seen more of a battle between Alberts, Rome, and SOB, but I think Shane was always locked in as the #6 (at least to start the season). That's why my top 6 defender picks in no particular order are: Hamhuis, Ballard, Edler, Ehrhoff, Bieksa, and SOB. The return of Salo/the sucking of O'Brien may make for some interesting decisions. 

4. Is Schneider ready?

In a word, yes. I think he's shown some impressive stuff this preseason, and I'm confident in his skills as Luongo's backup. Three of his four outings saw just one goal go in, with save percentages of .944, .888, and .958. I think Cory inspires the most confidence of any Vancouver backup netminder since, dare I say, Alex Auld? He's ready. Also, despite his 24/30 outing last night against the Sharks, probable Moose starter E-Lack has looked sharp, stopping 16/17 in his first preseason outing. Should Luongo go down, and I'm really praying that he won't, Lack should be an okay option behind Schneider.

We have one final preseason tune up, against the Ducks in Anaheim tomorrow night. It will be the fourth televised Vancouver preseason game for us Southern Californians out of the eight total, which has me feeling pretty lucky. Let's beat the Quakers and get our final questions answered.

October 9 is so close I can taste it.

*I was checking my Google Reader before I proofread the post, and noted a story posted 12 minutes ago (well after I started writing this post) where 'Nucks Misconduct (my go to Canucks blog) posted the preseason stats! Wow...just a couple of minutes too late to make my post a lot easier.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

Angels win penultimate home game, pull even with A's.

These red hat wearing fools just might be able to do this. With the 4-2 win, we not only got another chance to beat our most hated rivals, but we also drew one step closer to finishing all alone in 2nd place, and maybe (MAYBE) even finishing at .500. Dan Haren must have been smiling after the game, as he finally got some run support, and he even got some impressive defensive support by Saint Peter out in straight away center. The best part was that we were somehow able to rise above some horrible umpiring (is CB Bucknor a self-proclaimed idiot yet?), and triumph over those hated Bay Area Bums.

The pluses:

+Peter Bourjos straight up stole a homerun off of Landon Powell ("Pow, Pow, Powell makes a powerful car") in straight away center, while Torii Hunter watched. Perfect stuff. Speedy Pete even sounded like he knows what's up after the game, "I've just been going out there and trying to play good defense. I haven't been doing too well offensively, so you've got to bring something to the table everyday." He's a great guy.

+4 hitters had 2 hits in the game (Matsui, Napoli, Hunter, and Abreu).

+Torii Hunter hit a big jack, solo style, for his 22nd of the year (87th RBI).

+We only left 5 runners on base in a game where we had 10 hits.

+The pitching was really, really solid. Danny Boy Haren went 6 strong innings, scattering 6 hits, allowing just 2 runs, and picking up 5 Ks. 

+The bullpen, despite not being no-hit good, was shutout good. Kevin Jepsen, Jordan Walden, and Fraud-nando went 3 shutout innings with 3 Ks. It was just another save by Fernando Rodney. Wait, what?

The minuses:

-Peter Bourjos got a homerun robbed from him...by the umpire. He blasted a shot at the left field foul pole, and it was called foul, despite clearly being a jack. It would have been a three run job, but instead Saint Peter popped out. We settled for a HK-47 sac fly.

-Torii Hunter leads the team with his .285 batting average, which is cool, however, the Halos have not had a season where at least one regular starter didn't finish with at least a .300 average since 2001. Bummer.

-Although he hit a 3 run homer, Peter Bourjos finished 0 for 4 with a strikeout. 

-Alberto Callaspo continues to fade here as the season wraps up, going 0 for 3 with a runner stranded in scoring position. 

-El Comedulce got picked off! How far are you leading off, big guy?

-Mathis got the start behind the dish, while Hankie Pankie and Jumbo Trumbo rode the pine.

At 77-80, the Angels and A's are completely deadlocked in second place in the AL West, 10 back of Texas, with 5 games to go. It's getting hot in here. Don't tell anyone, but the Angels final home game of the season (and final chance to bust Choke-land here in 2010) is already underway. We're looking at a 1-0 Angel lead after 4 innings so far (HK grounded out, scoring Mark Trumbo after Trumbo's walk; Trumbo started in RF, if that's interesting to you). The game sees Joel "Out for the Season" Piñero (10-7, 3.91) for us and Anaheim native Bobby Cramer (2-1, 3.71) for them. Last time out, Cramer picked up his first loss after 6 innings of 4 run stuff against the Rangers, while Piñero has only coughed up three earned runs in his two starts (14 total innings) since returning from injury, and has looked real good. It's 1-1 now, in the bottom of the fifth, but hopefully we'll have good things to report tomorrow.

Scot Shields, it has been reported, is thinking about retiring after this season. I think it's probably a good idea. Sure, he could go play for a season in Florida or something, and pitch way too many games, and finish with way too high an ERA, but what's the point? Go out with the team that brought you up, step away gracefully, and maybe come back as a pitching coach someday. Farewell, Gas Can, my wife will miss you.

A lot of time is spent when talking about the Angels when it comes to who is going to play where on the 2011 version of our beloved squad. We go on and on about catcher, third base, and the outfield. One spot we don't often examine is the SS position, and I'm not sure why. Is it that Erick Aybar is just going to be handed the job? After the way he played this season, I certainly hope not. So, let's examine the possibilities.

1. Possible SSs under contract for 2011.

+Maicer Izturis (signed through 2012)
+Erick Aybar (not FA eligible until 2013)
+Kevin Frandsen (not FA eligible until 2014)
+Brandon Wood (not FA eligible until 2015, and by the way, his real first name is Dick...no joke...Dick Wood).
+And, to a lesser extent, minor leaguers Andrew Romine and Freddy Sandoval.

2. The value of the top 4 options.

+Ma$e's WAR/season since joining the Halos is 1.67.
+EA's WAR/season since coming up is 0.86, and his defensive WAR over his 5 years is a -0.5 (surprised?).
+Franny has a -0.4 WAR this season with the Halos, and that's pretty much his WAR/season for his brief career.
+Let's not even worry about Dick Wood's value.

3. So where does this leave us?

Well, nowhere, really. What I want to do is point out that while Aybar is probably thought of as our SS for next season by most fans (and by the organization for that matter), there is some very compelling evidence that Izzy should start ahead of him. I know that Maicer has had to deal with the injury bug quite a bit, but that just means we should get as much of him as we can before he pulls up lame next time. Keep in mind that Izzy only played 57 games so far this year. If you add up his projected WAR for the full season,  and say Rosary after Rosary that he could actually play that many games, he'd have a 2.84 mark, and that outdoes every other in house option by a wide margin.

I just want to add a little perspective, and add to my lengthy tradition of spreading the Izzy love.

Now, let's finish off those A's.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

"Weekly" Football Post #78.

It was an up and down weekend, mostly down, for my soccer teams, and I'm left looking ahead to hopefully better days.

Newcastle 1 - 2 Stoke

No YouTube highlights reel needed for this one, as the game was somehow televised on FSWest, and my DVR caught it for me. Sadly, it wasn't a very Toon-sided affair.

It started off well enough, with Newcastle really controlling the pace and getting the majority of the pressure. As the first half whistle started getting closer, we got our big chance. Near the 43rd, José Enrique streaked up the left side and sent a cross into the box. Andy Carroll, the giant that he is, was heading to the ball to make a play on it, and got taken down by the Stoke defender. Just like that, the ball was placed on the spot, Kevin Nolan stepped up, and he buried the ball into the twine to open the scoring. It would stay that way into the break, and it was looking all good for the Mags.

It would all start crashing down as the second half went on, and in the 67th, Stoke scored on a pinball type goal to even things up. It was a cross that came to one player, who headed it to a player more in the middle, and he headed it past Krul. It was quick, it was lucky, and it was even. In the 85th, things would come crashing down around us. Stoke earned a corner, and sent in a ball well enough. James Perch had position over the bad guy's striker and dove toward the goal in an attempt to head the ball away from danger. Instead, though, he looked like he thought he was on the other side of the pitch because he sent the ball right into the back of the net. It was an own goal 5 minutes shy of full time, and we were going to walk off the pitch with nothing to show for 90 minutes of effort.

Horrible, horrible stuff. We beat Everton and Chelsea, and now this? Horrible. The loss drops us to dead-middle tenth in the table with a 2-3-1 record, 7 points in 6 games, and a now narrow +1 GD.

Next weekend we get Shay Given and Manchester City. Known as "The Citizens," "The Blues," and simply "City," Man C supporters sing "Blue Moon" before every game, and in 2006 they were recognized as the only "gay friendly" club in all of the EPL (possibly because fans are known for bringing giant inflatable bananas to their games?). Whatever their story, they are 3-1-2 this season, and sit a solid #4 in the table.

It sounds like it's time for another Newcastle shocker!

Celtic 2 - 1 Hibernian

At least one of my favorite soccer teams never loses. The original stayed perfect with a nice little 2-1 win over the Hibbies this weekend, and stayed completely even with the hated Protties from Rangers atop the table. 

The Hoops got on the board early with a goal from Scottie Brown just 5 minutes in. Brown sent a nice volley into the net after rushing down with the oft-mentioned Anthony Stokes. After the goal, the Green & White continued to dominate play. A couple of chances came up, thanks to the ferocious play of H88per and Holy Guacamole, but the half would end with only the one goal. 

Six minutes into the second half, the Celts would make it a double. Shaun Maloney took a corner right to the head  of Glen Loovens. Loo Loo sent the ball into the net, all but securing the three points and continued perfect start. Former Celtie boy Derek Riordan chipped a ball over the head of Forster (remember how much we used to love Zaluska?) three minutes later, though, and with the score split in half, Hibernian thought they might have a way back. They played strong until the 70th, when Lennon put Georgios Samaras back in the game (after oddly leaving him out despite last game's hat trick), and Celtic put the clamp down, holding on for the one goal win.

6-0-0 is a pretty nice way to start the campaign, but Rangers has started that way as well. Both teams have 18 points, both teams have a +11 GD, and both teams meet up on in the first Old Firm clash of the season on 10/24. Prior to that, however, our Bhoys keep their sights on next weekend's test against Hamilton. Hamilton, known as the "Accies," are 10th out of the 12 SPL teams with their 1-3-2 record and -8 GD. Um, yeah. We're going to be 7-0. The only question is: Will Gorgeous Georgios start?

Chivas 0 - Philadelphia 3

Man, this has been a rough end to the season. With all of our transfer window movement, most around Goat Nation expected a dramatic comeback and a possible playoff return. Instead we've been forced to suffer through flop after flop, and now only have a possible chance to beat Los Angeles before the season ends (albeit a very remote chance) as the lone positive to hang our hats on. The latest embarrassment was a shutout defeat at the hands of the Sons of Ben.

It was a 26th minute corner kick, converted with the header, an end of the half rebound goal after a free kick conversion attempt, and a 69th minute free kick that all sealed the deal. The Goats just looked weak and off their game, and even times when they had a clear and open chance (cough, El Gringo, cough) resulted in nothing. I'm not exactly sure what's going on with our defense. We started Trujth-Umaña-Delgado-Jaziç, and that is usually a solid line. Even the sub help of Padilla and Bornstein in the middie did nothing, not to mention the lack of attacking by Braun and Flash. I'm pretty sure Giancarlo and Braunie was a better combo. However you want to break it down, we stink.

Back in last place at 7-14-4, El Rebaño have just 25 points and a sad -9 GD. While we still have a chance to finish out of the cellar, if we can pick up a couple and get on top of Houston again, that's about all we're playing for at this point. Of course, pride also plays into this, and this weekend's SuperClásico is all about pride. Chivas USA come home to the HDC to take on the Best of the West, the hated Los Angeles Galaxy. The only true local derby in all of the MLS is always a heated battle, no matter where either team sits in the table, and I really hope this match will be no different. There have been exactly 20 matches between these two teams, and Chivas has a 3-11-6 record, most recently losing 0-2 in April on two goals from Edson Buddle (7th and 86th). Goat fans around the World are left hoping that this squad can somehow stun the MLS and steal a win. It's an ESPN2 game, so that would make it even better.

Until next time, "Scór an sprioc órga, leathcheann!"

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

A's hand Halos a win.

What a game! No matter what's going on in the season, the battle between the Angels and the A's is always epic. Even if it's a battle that gets decided by really poor play, it's still an exciting and close finish. This time, the Angels cashed in on a 7th inning Oakland meltdown. Hideki Matsui (pictured above after eating some wasabi) ripped a RBI pinch hit single, Ma$e walked to load the bases, Erick Aybar's jersey got kissed by the ball to force home a run, and Hankie Pankie walked on four pitches as a pinch walker to force home another. Angel fans around Halo Nation woke up busy this morning, writing thank you notes to Justin James for blowing the game for the hated Bay Area Bums. Despite allowing another run, the Angels held on with Fernando Rodney getting a save (wait, really?) and beat the A's 6-5. Not only have we moved one step closer to finishing .500 this year, but we're also just a single game back of the A's in the AL West's 2nd place battle.

The pluses:

+Welcome back Maicer Izturis! Ma$e (or "Mice Tits," if that's what you prefer...I don't) went 2 for 3 with a walk, a RBI, and a run scored in his first game back from injury.

+Every starter except for Bobby Wilson and Erick Aybar got on base, and EA was able to get 2 RBI (fielder's choice and HBP w/ bases loaded) despite not getting a hit.

+We actually had two innings in the same game where we scored 3 runs! 

+Mike Kohn was somehow able to get out of his inning without allowing a run.

+Ervin only allowed four earned runs despite allowing the A's to load the bases in pretty much every single inning. He battled through a tough start.

The minuses:

-We left TEN runners on base.

-Fernando Rodney blew the save...oh wait. Sorry, it's a habit.

-Speedy Pete left three runners in scoring position with 2 outs...choke.

-Izturis was the only Halo with more than a hit.

-We still have to go 5-1 to finish .500.

So, we're 76-80 with just 6 games to go in the season. We now trail Oakland by 1 game, and Texas by 11. We have 2 to play with the A's here at home before going to Arlington for a four game finale. It would seem that we still have a pretty great chance to overtake Oakland, and that would give me some added hope for the 2011 season. I know Torii Hunter and Mike Scioscia both went on the record after last night's game stating that playing for second place isn't important, but I disagree. It's not about finishing #2, for me. It's about beating the A's. That's all it's ever been about. It's one of the few reasons this series is still crazy important and exciting to me. 

Tonight is the final night game at The Big A for the 2010 season, and a win would really heat things up in the OAK/LAA rivalry (despite the heat being about 10 degrees lower than yesterday). Dan "Chessmaster" Haren (10-12, 3.96) goes up against his former team and their boy Dallas Braden (10-13, 3.49). They clearly are brothers when it comes to their simple statistics. Braden tossed 8 innings of 1 hit/shutout ball against the Rangers his last time out, which stopped a four game personal losing streak. He's 2-5 with a 4.82 ERA in his 7 starts against Los Halos. Meanwhile, Haren has a 1.32 ERA in his last 6 outings, but has only picked up 2 wins. Danny Boy has received less than 3 runs of support in 11 of his 12 outings since being traded to our beloved club. Pathetic. Hopefully the Angels can help Haren to show his former team up, and tie things up at the 2 spot in the West.

As a huge minor league guy, I was shocked to read the news that the Los Angeles Dodgers have signed our Rancho Cucamonga Quakes as their new high-A affiliate. Not only does this shock me to the core, but it leaves the Angels without a high-A team, AND it makes my RC Quakes hat completely worthless! B? J? Which Doyer fan wants it? Rumors are on tap that we're on our way to taking over the Inland Empire 66'ers, the now former Dodger high-A club. Stay tuned.

Well, here we go again! ESPN.com is reporting that the Angels are going to "go all out and spend whatever it takes to get Carl Crawford." Ugh. Now, I'm no dummy, and I know adding Crawford would greatly improve this team. However, if you read this blog, you know how much I hate rumors and grumblings about free agents or trades bringing new players to this team. So many issues come up when we try and objectively explore the need for Crawford. SI.com goes even further today, "predicting that the Angels will sign both Crawford and Adrian Beltre." Am I the only one feeling overwhelmed by all this? What are we to make of it? Let's dip into it. 

1. Do the Angels need another outfielder?

Let's see, we've signed Gary Matthews Jr. to big money, Torii Hunter to big money, and now we're going to sign Carl Crawford to even more money? I don't know how likely that sounds. On contract, we have Torii Hunter (through 2012), Bobby Abreu (through 2011 with a 2012 option), Juan Rivera (through 2011), and then the up/down guys like Reggie Willits, Peter Bourjos, and Terry Evans. But, I can be real. Bobby Abreu isn't going to be playing in the field next year (if the Angels acquire some knowledge), and isn't going to have his option picked up. Juan Rivera has had a down year, and fans (outside of me) have never been high on him. Saint Peter is still something of a question mark, despite all of our high hopes. And, Reggie Willits is Reggie Willits. We COULD use an upgrade, but by no means do I think it's needed. I would be very happy with a starting OF of Juan Rivera-Peter Bourjos-Torii Hunter (LF-CF-RF) next season, with Reggie chilling on the bench, and maybe even Evans up and on the bench as well for the corner spots. Regarding JR, the Magic Juan'd is hitting just .255/13/50 in his 121 games this year, but last year he hit .287/25/88, and he is not going to be down in 2011 like he was this year. He has to bounce back. He has a 2.3 WAR over the last 2 years, and is only making $4.25 million this year. He's quality, even if you don't think so. Peter, meanwhile, has an opportunity to be something special, and we all know it. Plus, Bourjos gets paid basically nothing for what he may be able to give us. Of couse, Big Game Hunter is our best player, and we all know that. Torii's WAR has been 3.2 this year, even though he hasn't had an amazing season. In his 3 years with the Halos, if you can believe it, he has an 11 WAR, and even though he's moved over to RF, he's still our main man. So, is it worth it to drop all kinds of cash to bring Crawford over when we may not even need him?

2. Is Carl Crawford the savior?

No, it's Jesus. But in all seriousness, Crawford is a stud, man. First off, his nickname is "The Perfect Storm." Secondly, he's putting up numbers. .307/16/87 with an AL leading 13 triples this year, Crawford is going to be a heavily desired free agent. He made $10 million this season to put up that 4.5 WAR. His RAR (which would more compare to the offense-only stat of VORP) this season is the highest in his career at 44 (which he's done in 2010, 2009, and 2004). He's good, I get it. He's 10th in the AL in Offensive WAR, he's an All Star, and he's been the best LF in terms of outfield assists in 5 of the last 6 years (top 3 since 2003). Okay, I said I get it.

3. Will it happen?

I don't know. A lot of things are going to need to happen for Crawford to become a Halo in 2011. First, we'd need to outbid whoever else wants him. That would be the Yankees or Red Sox in the AL, the Phillies in the NL, and maybe even the Red Wings over in the hockey world. The price is going to get up there, and who knows if we'll actually be able to hang with the big boys. Also, we'll need to figure out what will happen to Juan Rivera. Clearly the Angels have made it plain as day that Bourjos and Hunter will start next year in Centet and Right, right? And, if we make no move, JR will be the left fielder. However, if Crawford did come aboard, he would play left, leaving Juan Rivera out in the cold. Now it wasn't that long ago that Juan Rivera was left on the bench, and he certainly didn't like it. He made it clear, and had no plans of coming back, until the Halos made a promise that he'd start. Unless Rivera is sent off, I don't see Crawford coming. To be clear, I am a Juan Rivera apologist, but I also realize Crawford would be a sweet (although expensive) upgrade.

4. Now we're adding Adrian Beltre?

Come on, SI. Really? I know our third basemen aren't super quality, but we sure have plenty of options. Alberto Callaspo (who we just traded for, SI), Brandon Wood (who is going to hit like .900 in Arizona Fall League), Maicer Izturis (who is seriously underrated, if he can stay healthy), and even Kevin Frandsen (sorry, but my wife is from San Jose, so we love the guy). Sure, .323/28/101 with a league leading 48 doubles is an amazing season, but he's seriously an up and down kind of guy. His WAR by years going backwards from this year are 6.3, 1.1, 3.5, 2.7, 4.6, 1.9, 10.0, 2.8, 1.6, 0.8, etc. So you can see that his value is just all over the place. Sure, he has had some monster seasons (that 2004 Dodger season saw him with a 100 RAR, and he's at 65 this year), but he's had more average-ish seasons, and his defensive WAR is consistently pathetic (10.3 over 13 seasons, which is just 0.79/season). This guy made $9 million this year, and I just don't think he's worth it. I'll pass. 

So, who knows what'll happen, but we know for sure that this offseason is going to be fun.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves, though. Tonight, we back up Haren, and draw even with the Bay Area Stompers.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

Rams shock fans, world with win over 'Skins.

I wandered into a sister-in-law's friend's house on Sunday, and just happened to find that they had NFL Sunday Ticket. Rejoice, I had an opportunity to catch my second Rams game of the year! No, no I didn't. The husband of the house was too busy watching the Jags game, following his various fantasy players (dork) to even give me a little look of the Rams match. Lucky for me, FOX loves to do tons of in game highlights, and I got to see some impressive moments, as my boys shocked everyone with a 30-16 win over Washington. Yes, it was the most points ever scored in the Spags era. Yes, we put the game away with Steven Jackson and his groin on the sideline. Yes, I celebrated the win later that night with a Double Daddy IPA at the Yard House. Yes!

The Rams opened up amazingly strong in the game. A 42 yard TD sprint by the soon to be injured Jackson started things, and just about three minutes later Danny Fells caught a TD pass to double our pleasure. As you know, we did our usual second quarter meltdown, but somehow ended up on top 14-13 heading into the second half. Now, the meltdown usually lasts long enough for us to be well out of the game by the time we start moving the ball again with 3 minutes to go in the fourth quarter, but this game was different. In for Jackson, Ken Darby was outstanding. His 12 yard TD run put us ahead late in the third, and we'd stay there for good. Josh Brown finished with 3 fourth quarter field goals as the defense hung tough, and carried us to a nice win over a nice team (clearly our biggest challenge so far).

The Rams were impressive in the clutch, going 7 for 16 on third downs and 2 for 2 on fourth. Despite our 9 penalties for 99 yards, we kept the turnover margin at an even 2, and that really helped tip things in our favor. Sam Bradford went 23 for 37 in (arguably) his best game of the year, airing it out for 235 yards, a TD, and an INT. Despite going down to injury, Jackson led the team with 58 yards on the grass, but Darby was more impressive (to me) with 49 yards on 14 carries. He was moving the ball short distances, but he kept grinding like a champ. No surprise that Sam-Brad's favorite target, Markie Mark Clayton led the team with 85 in the air, but Fells made me proud with the lone TD snag. Unlikely heroes are always fun. Can we throw the ball to Gilyard more? One catch for 7 yards isn't enough action for me. On defense, Hall got the only sack on McNabb, while Diggs forced a fumble, and Big Boy Fletch snagged the lone pick. Not a shock that Laurinaitis led the squad with 7 tackles (6 solo). If only he didn't go to Ohio State, I could like him so much more.

I think we can finally give some love to Spags and the rest of the Ramies coaching staff. We ride them all the time for subpar coaching out there, but they clearly outcoached the Redskins in this one. When you lose your star on offense, not to mention on defense (Atogwe also went down), it takes some impressive play calling and strategy changing to win a game. The Rams coaches did just that, and that's why we were able to prevail. 

The 1-2-0 Rams are no longer in last place! With the 49'ers behind us, we sit just 1 game back of Seattle and Arizona in the weak, weak West. Also, we have already matched our win total from last season! Hip, hip, hooray! Next Sunday is a big one, as we welcome the first place Seattle Carroll-Hawks to the Ed Jones' Dome. You kind of have to give it to Seattle after their win against the Chargers on Sunday, however, they wouldn't have won without two kickoff returns for TDs. So, are the really that good, or is it just lucky special teams work that helped them steal the game? Their only other win is against the 9'ers, and they got jacked up by Denver, so I'm not sure they are really any good. I guess we'll find out come Sunday. The Hawks are currently 1.5 point favorites according the Vegas...clowns.

Everyone who reads this blog obviously knows about BaseballReference.com, one of the best baseball statistical websites around (in my humble opinion). But, did you know there is a "Reference" site for the NBA, NHL, NCAAB, NCAAF, NFL, and even the Olympics? All of the sites are run fairly similar to the baseball version we all know and love, and really pump out quality stats. I thought I'd jog on over to the NFL version (Pro-Football-Reference.com), and see if Sam Bradford is as good as he seems to the naked eye. Here's a hint: he isn't.

Just starting out with regular stats, Sammy is 9th in the NFL in passes completed and 7th in passes attempted. He's ranked 3rd in passes intercepted with 5 in 3 games. His fantasy rank within his position, for all you dorks out there, is 20th. That's so un-Bulger.

Now, we'll have a little more fun with their Advanced Passing Statistics. Pro-Football-Reference.com has a number of "index" stats where a 100 rating would be average, and the more over 100 you are, the more above average you are. For example, Peyton Manning's Passing TD % index (passing TD/passing attempt placed onto an index where 100 is average, 120-130 is league leader, and 140+ is greatest of all time stuff) is 128 this season. Meanwhile, Jason Campbell's TD%+ (short hand for the aforementioned Passing TD % index) is 79. They have indexed stats for everything from "Adjusted Net Yards Per Attempt" to "Passer Rating Index" all based on the same scale (100 average, 120-130 league leader, etc). I guess it could kind of be used an a NFL equivalent to baseball's VORP/WAR stats in a way, only league average is clearly better than the ficticious replacement player from baseball. Anyway, my point in explaining all of that is a) I'm probably going to be referencing the stats on this site more often in my Rams posts (because I'm a stats nerd) and b) to set up Sam Bradford's current index stats.

The ONLY index stat where Sam Bradford rates above average (or even close to average, for that matter) is in the Sack Percentage Index (SK%+) where he rates a 106. This shows that he gets sacked on about 4.9% of his attempted passing plays (it's sacks/(passing attempts+sacks)), which is better (in this case, less often) than the league average. That's really a testiment to his offensive line helping him out, as well as his ability to get the ball off fast. But, that's about it. The lowlights of his other index stats are his Rate+ of just 87 (by the way, Rate+ really makes the QB rating stat more accessible, to me, by putting it on an index. Knowing he's an 87 while 100 is average is much better than just knowing his QB rating is 68.1 and not having a reference point), his Y/A+ of 80 (yards/attempt on the index), his INT%+ of 89 (interceptions/attempt on the index), and his CMP%+ of 95 (completions/attempt on the index).

Clearly, while we've all been having fun watching Sam Bradford develop, and while we've all been fooling ourselves into thinking he's already something special, he's still below average in all but one category. I expect him, of course, to finish the season much better than it has started (although, this will depend heavily on his receivers catching the ball), but I also remember that he's just a rookie, and I can take solice in the fact that he's been much better than Jimmy Clausen (#39 in fantasy position ranking)!

Despite all that, I'm still pulling for the big "upset" over Seattle.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

Angels hopes for .500 or better are fading.

Weren't we supposed to put a nice run together in this final 10 game stretch? Well, it started off with a sweep at the hands of the hated Chicago White Sox. Two of the three losses were one run affairs that clearly showed just how bad this offense has been this season. Some way to kick off the 50th Anniversary party, eh? Now it's just three against Oakland and four out in Arlington that stands in between me and hockey season.

Friday- This was the day where we were mathematically eliminated from the 2010 postseason, our first playoff-less campaign since 2006. After a masterful outing from Joel Piñero, Fernando Rodney took the mound in a tie game in the ninth. Walk, single, RBI double, game over. Fraud-ney has now allowed 7 earned runs in his last 11.3 innings, sitting on 3 blown saves and 2 losses in September alone. That erased 8 innings of 1 run, 4 hit ball, where Piñero got 16 groundout outs. The cutter is obviously back, and Joel is showing that he is still ready to help out next year. The offense couldn't get the runs home, per usual, but a bright spot was that Peter Bourjos was finally put in the leadoff spot. He got on base three times, twice by error (caused by his speed, no doubt), and stole two bases off Pierzynski (Haha!). HK-47 went 3 for 4, and Torii Hunter had the lone RBI hit. Of note, Mike Scioscia is finally playing the youth. Bourjos, Trumbo, Conger, Woody, and even SS prospect and frequently mentioned on LSF Andrew Romine (who needs some kind of lettuce nickname) all got the start (and went a combined 1 for 17...and I loved every minute of it). But, in the end, if you go 2 for 12 with RISP and leave 7 on base, you aren't going to win.

Saturday- The second game of the series was the blowout game, as Scottie 2 Hottie took the mound for us. Despite being handed an early lead, Kazberries couldn't even get through his usual 5 innings, bowing out after 3+ innings of 5 run ball, with 0 Ks and a walk. "It's almost like you're swimming underwater," Kaz said of his tough outing. That's funny; that's how I feel watching him pitch. Look, I'm sure he's a nice guy, but he just hasn't panned out for us since we got him last year. A 6.03 ERA? Only finishing 7 innings twice in 27 starts this year? Come on Halos, let's do the right thing. And please stop pretending that winter conditioning in Arizona under Mike Butcher's eye is going to help this guy. Come on! The Halos started off hot offensively, with Peter Bourjos scoring on a Howie double after reaching as the leadoff dude, and HK scoring on a T-Hunt single. But those two runs would be all we'd get. The Angels finished the game an even-worse-than-Friday 1 for 11 with RISP, and they stranded 8. All of this on a night where Bobby Wilson went a career best 3 for 3? Nooooooo! By the way, how's that CERA after working with Kazberries? At least I can give props to Mattie Palmer, Richie Thompson, Jasie Bulger, and Frankie Rodriguez for going 6 innings and only allowing 1 run (cough cough, Aussie, cough), but that's all I can give props for.

Sunday- With Weaver on the mound, I thought the Angels had a good chance to get at least one win from a series where I predicted we'd take two. Boy, have I been watching at all this year? The game was pretty status quo for Weaver, as the Cave Man went 6.67 innings of 3 earned run ball, while punching out a gigantic 9. He may have retaken the K lead from Queen Felix, but he surely didn't get anything to show for it in the win column. The offense went 2 for 9 with RISP, left 7 runners on base, and handed Big Baby his 12th loss in an "amazing" season. 13-12 when you have a near 3-even ERA is tough to take. This game saw Bobby Abreu completely suck in the field, Peter Bourjos prove he's the 2011 leadoff man, and that's about it. Hank Conger went 2 for 2 with a walk and a RBI, Andrew Romine got his first big league hit (and his first TWO big league errors), Big Game went 2 for 4, and none of it mattered because we lost again. No excuses, only apologies are in order. I'm sorry you play for such a horrible offensive team, Jered. As some perspective, Big Baby went 16 for 16 as far as delivering quality starts at home this year. The fans recognized that fact by cheering him off the field for the final time this year. Weaver, being the angry little Dirtbag he is, refused to tip his hat. But, he did make a pretty insane catch with his eyes closed, and I'll consider that his way of tipping his cap to us. Jered now has a chance to make some history if he has a solid final start next time out. He can claim the K title for the entire MLB, and he has a chance to lower his ERA sub-3 and become the first Halo starter to finish a season sub-3 since the living legend Jim Abbott in 1992. Good luck!

At 75-80, the Angels are not only eliminated from the 2010 playoff picture, but also are pretty darn close to being eliminated from finishing .500 or better. With 7 games to go, the Halos would need to finish 6-1 just to finish 81-81. Finishing perfect is their only chance to be +.500. No chance, I guess. That leaves us with the hopes of catching Oakland. We are 2 back of our most hated rivals with 7 to go, and tonight we start our final 3 against the A's. A sweep, and we leapfrog them into second place in the AL West. Anything less, and we'll need a little help from Seattle while we try to steal some last series of the year wins from Texas. 

Speaking of end of season goals that are coming to be not be reached, our dreams of Torii Hunter winning the Halo triple crown are all but over. While he leads in BA (+.006 on HK) and in RBI (+6 on Godzilla), he still sits 5 back of Mike Napoli in the HR chase. With 7 games remaining, it looks hopeless.

Tonight, we start up our final three game set against the extremely hated Oakland Athletics. Ervin Santana (17-9, 3.77) goes for his super-impressive 18th win this season against Brett Anderson (6-6, 2.73). Anderson has pitched well since returning from injury, bolstering a young stud Oakland rotation, but Erv couldn't have had a more underrated season on the hill. In his career, El Rosario is 12-3 with a 1.80 ERA against Oakland, and he pitched a complete game shutout the last time out. Not only has he won his last 4 outings, but he has also worked 6+ in 15 of his last 17 starts. Not a single hitter in the planned A's lineup has ever hit a jack off of Ervin. I think we all really want to see Erv Gotti go out and get this win. 

So, now that we're elminated, Mike Scioscia is finally giving the youth a fair shot. Four rookies were in the lineup a couple of times over the weekend, and that is what I'm all about. So, with examining the brief sample size we have, are the kids alright? Let's compare and contrast the Baby Halos' MiLB stats from this year with their brief performance with the big club, cup of coffee in hand, and then make some wild predictions.

Peter Bourjos:

Minors (AAA)- .314/13/52 and 27 SB in 102 games.

Bigs- .199/4/12 and 9 SB in 44 games.

Mark Trumbo:

Minors (AAA)- .301/36/122 and a .577 SLG in 139 games.

Bigs- 0 for 9 with 6 Ks in 4 games.

Hank Conger:

Minors (AAA)- .300/11/49 And a 55/58 BB/K ratio in 108 games.

Bigs- .238/0/4 with a .333 OBP in 9 games.

Andrew Romine:

Minors (AA)- .282/3/34 with 21 stolen bases and a .370 OBP in 106 games.

Bigs- 1 for 5 in 2 games, with 2 Ks.

Kevin Frandsen (if the SJ native can be considered a young stud):

Minors (AAA)- .271/3/16 with a .350 OBP in 53 games.

Bigs- .250/0/15 with just 10 Ks (and 9 walks) in 54 games. 

Is there anything that one can gather from this small sample size for these guys? Probably not, but let's just interject our subjective opinions. 

Bourjos- Saint Peter is a true stud. Amazingly, he leads the American League in outfield assists, which blows my mind. While he's only hitting .199, he's starting to find his groove now that he's hitting leadoff (batting first, he's hitting .286/.375), and I expect it to shoot up as we head toward the end of the year. Too bad the Angels didn't listen to me and sit Bourjos to keep him ROY eligible next season.

Trumbo- Will all you "Trumbo is the next Wood" people shut up? Jumbo Trumbo may be hitting .000 so far with the big club, but he's going to come around. I believe that he'll start hitting if he keeps starting for the last 7. He's the real deal, friends. Just you wait.

Conger- Speaking of the real deal. Man, I'm starting to sound like a serious homer, right?. If you look at King Conger's stats, you may not see it, but if you've watched the games, you know as well as I do that Conger has been solid. He's looked great on defense, and has really come through at times with some RBI hits. I, for one, wouldn't think it would be crazy if Hankie Pankie started next year (though, the Angels won't do it).

Romine- You just don't know with Andrew. While he has earned himself many mentions on TLSF with his AA play this year, he's just not far enough along in his development to decide if he's going to be a stud.

Frandsen- I like Franny. I like him a lot. He's a stud for a replacement player, and I like him to stick around as a Ma$e backup next year. While he'll never be a starter for us unless injuries or a completely sucking Brandon Wood comes up, I like him as a backup option for sure.

All in all, I'm proud of our September callups, but I'm surely expecting more over the next 7 games.

Now, let's go beat us some A's.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

USC Recruiting Outlook

Signing day is still quite a few weeks out, but at this point in time most of the major programs in the country have enough verbal commits to have a good idea of where they stand. USC will get as many of their commits to enroll this Spring and have them count against last year's tally. Our appeal of scholarship reductions is still pending; as it appears it will not be ruled upon by signing day, they would not be enforced until the following year.

At 19 verbals, including 3 this past weekend, USC has closed a lot of ground on the currently top ranked class at Texas. Rankings aside, the Trojans seem to have addressed some critical needs while still searching to fill other gaps. Let's look at the current breakdown of SC's class:

Position - Name (Rivals Stars, Scouts Stars, ESPN Stars)
QB - Max Wittek (4, 4, 4)
QB - Cody Kessler (4, 4, 3)
FB - J.R. Tavai (N/A, N/A, N/A)
WR - George Farmer (5, 5, 5)
WR - Victor Blackwell (4, 4, 4)
OL - Marcus Martin (3, 3, 3)
OL - Cody Temple (3, 3, 2)
ATH - DeAnthony Thomas (5, 5, 4)
DE - Jalen Grimble (4, 5, 4)
DE - Charles Burks (3, 3, 3)
DE - Steve Dillon (3, 3, 3)
DT - Antwaun Woods (4, 4, 4)
DT - Sheldon Richardson (4, 5, N/A)
LB - Kent Turene (3, 4, 4)
LB - Tre Madden (4, 3, 3)
CB - Isiah Wiley (3, 4, N/A)
K - Andre Heidari (2, 3, 4)
P - Kris Albarado (2, 2, 3)
LS - Peter McBride (2, 2, 2)

As you can see, there is abundance of 4-star ratings among the current SC verbals. It's likely than some of these will earn a 5th star as the year goes on, and that some of the 3-star ratings will become 4s. Headlining the current class are athlete DeAnthony Thomas and receiver George Farmer, followed by solid 4-star recruits Jalen Grimble, Antwaun Woods, and Mater Dei duo Max Wittek and Victor Blackwell. Sheldon Richardson is a highly hated JuCo defensive tackle and should also make an early impact.

Quarterback
If these recruits do not change their commitments, it looks like a decent start for the Trojans. True sophomore QB Matt Barkley did not have the kind of year that would permit him to enter the NFL draft, so he'll be around for at least the 2011 season. In 2012, Jesse Scroggins would be a redshirt sophomore with Wittek and Kessler backing him up as redshirt freshmen. David Sills, currently in 8th grade and an SC verbal commit, would arrive in the Spring of 2015 leaving the Trojans solid at the QB position for years to come.

Fullback
Stanley Havili's role on the team could not be overstated. Despite punching TJ Bryant's lights out, he was one of the clear leaders on the team. His ability to catch the ball, block, and make occasional runs will be sorely missed. We lacked depth behind him this year, as DJ Shoemate transferred to UConn to carry the ball infrequently.

Soma Vainuku and Simi Vehikite both failed to qualify last year, but it looks like we'll at least have Simi in the fold for next year. Two-way standout JR Tavai committed this last weekend and could challenge for a starting spot there as well. I'm not sure how someone is named the CIF Western Conference defensive player of the year and flies under the radar, but that is exactly what Tavai has done. If all goes well he will develop into the next Havili.

Running Back
Either true freshman sensation Dillon Baxter or redshirt junior Marc Tyler will be the #1 tailback next year, with Allen Bradford and CJ Gable graduating. Short, but shifty, tailback Curtis McNeal and redshirt freshman DJ Morgan will back them up.

All indications point to prized recruit DeAnthony Thomas playing CB at the collegiate level, so tailback is currently a void in SC's recruiting class. On the other hand, we've loaded up with so many skill players over the last couple years that we can definitely survive without bringing on a marquis tailback recruit. We still have outside shots at prying Amir Carlisle away from Stanford, and also at undecided NJ tailback Savon Huggins.

Wide Receiver
Last year we brought in three excellent wide receivers - Robert Woods (who started as a true freshman), 6'5" Kyle Prater, and Markeith Ambles. Due to injuries, Prater was forced to redshirt this season while Ambles, who followed Kiffin from Tennessee to SC, is no longer with the team. We are losing RoJo and David Ausberry to graduation. However, we will still be in great shape with the duo of Woods and Prateranchoring a receiving corps which will also include Brice Butler, Brandon Carswell, and Miami transfer Thearon Collier.

I would fully expect George Farmer to challenge for a starting position, while Victor Blackwell is likely to redshirt. D'Anthony Arnett from Michigan chose the Vols over the Trojans, but with Farmer and Blackwell that doesn't hurt too much.

Tight End
Tight end was another bountiful recruiting position for USC last year. We brought in three quality tight ends, including top rated TE Xavier Grimble. Christian Thomas has been spending time at DE this season for depth purposes, but over time should flip back to the offensive side full time - either as a fullback or tight end. Randal Telfer was the other highly rated player we brought in at this position. All three project to have solid-to-elite careers at SC.

Jordan Cameron will be graduating this year, and right now there's a 50-50 shot that Rhett Ellison foregoes his last season of eligibility to go pro if there is no lockout. Raw talent Blake Ayles should have an opportunity next year to compete with Grimble and Telfer for a starting TE job. Again, we're set here and don't need to bring one in this year. In fact, it may not be prudent to bring one in given our reduction in scholarships.

Offensive Line
Offensive line is our biggest question mark going forward. We lost a lot of experience to graduation last year, and some of our current starters are struggling with their first taste on the front line. Zach Heberer, Butch Lewis, and Kris O'Dowd are graduating. Tyron Smith was our best lineman this year, and may leave for the draft. That would leave current starters Matt Kalil and Khaled Holmes, and the undersized Kevin Graf, John Martinez, Giovani DiPaolo, and Patrick Kim as our main offensive linemen. Graf and DiPaolo simply need to put on more muscle, while Martinez is short for a center and may end up shifting to one of the guard positions.

Even with those six linemen in tow, we lack serious depth. We'd like to get at least two more solid recruits here, possibly from junior college. Marcus Martin has been dominant for Crenshaw, providing blocks for DeAnthony Thomas en route to another city title. He could be asked to make an immediate impact upon arrival. Cody Temple has played on both sides of the ball but looks set to play guard at USC. He plays much larger than he looks on paper and will provide much needed depth.

Five star recruit Christian Westerman from Arizona has already committed to the Longhorns and it looks like he'll stay solid there. Also from Arizona, Cyrus Hobbi has been offered and it looks like we have a decent shot at him. Some scouts rate him higher than Westerman. Cyrus Kouandjio is one of the top linemen this year and is still considering SC, although his brother plays for Alabama. La'El Collins has given a verbal to LSU but we have continued recruiting him. Both Kouandjio and Collins are longshots but would be excellent pickups.

Within CA, the class of 2012 appears to have much more talent than this year's class. However, Troy Niklas of Servite has played TE in the past but looks to shoot higher on the rankings as an offensive tackle. His versatility would be well received should he accept an offer from SC. His current top choices are Notre Dame, Stanford, and USC. We also continue to chase Antonio Richardson from Tennessee and Ryan Nowicki from Arizona.

Defensive Line
On the other side of the line, we have five solid commits (two interior and three exterior). The current staff has not been bashful in its attempts to bulk up on this position for next year. Xavier Grimble's cousin Jalen is a top defensive end that should bolster a current weakness - one that will become even weaker should Nick Perry declare for the draft this spring.

On the edges, Armond Armstead has alternated between end and tackle, while Wes Horton has shown great improvement. Devon Kennard moved over to Will linebacker and now to Mike linebacker, where he looks to spend the rest of his college playing days. Kevin Greene and James Boyd are still incredibly raw and may end up at outside linebacker positions anyway. As previously mentioned, expect Christian Thomas to make a permanent switch back to offense.

Three exterior defensive linemen have commited to USC - Grimble, Steve Dillon, and Edison's Charles Burks. Burks is a candidate to grow into an outside linebacker, but will make a great defensive end if he stays there. Devante Wilson is set to announce his decision on his birthday this coming Wednesday, and we have a very good shot at him. He took his official visit last weekend and I expect he liked what he saw.

We are one of three finalists for elite defensive end Greg Townsend, with 4-star recruits Ishaq Williams and Brennan Scarlett also on the radar. If we get Townsend, we'll very much be set on the outside of the defensive line.

Moving inside, Jurrell Casey was by all means our defensive MVP of the year from the tackle spot. We are likely to lose him to the draft, but will get Christian Tupou back after missing all of last season with an injury. Also returning will be DaJohn "Juicy" Harris, who showed signs of improvement, and Loni Fangupo, who has struggled some. George Uko, a 4-star recruit a year ago, was one of the scout team players of the year and could turn some heads next season.

We've received commitments from two outstanding defensive tackles in Woods and Richardson. Both will join the rotation immediately and cause havoc for opposing lines. We still have hope for Florida stud Tim Jernigan and NorCal stud Vei Moala. I'll be incredibly happy if we land one of the two. Christian Heyward boasts 4 stars and camped this last weekend, and fellow 4-star recruit Todd Barr also has SC somewhere on his list.

Linebacker
Losing a whole linebacking corps two years ago, followed by Chris Galippo's struggles to hold the fort down has caused Trojan fans much grief over the last two seasons. Installing the Tampa 2 defense made it even more difficult for our linebackers to contribute. This is one position we definitely need more help with, and incoming freshman will likely be asked to play immediately.

Devon Kennard is a great athlete, but had spent his entire career with one hand down prior to the linebacker experiment. The staff will not backtrack on this and move him back to defensive end, so he is our long-term solution at Mike for now. Galippo showed improvement towards the end of the season and is still a beast on special teams. Hayes Pullard was forced to redshirt last year, but upon his return should make everyone remember why he was such a prized recruit a year ago. Will Andrew from Edison walked on and provides some additional depth. At this point, even if he qualifies Simi Vehikite looks to line up at fullback.

Outside linebackers Michael Morgan and Malcolm Smith are graduating, but I do not think we'll feel that impact too much (maybe aside from Smith's leadership). Shane Horton opened some eyes this season with a couple great games, and Marquis Simmons could be ready to get some first team action as well. Former walk-on Ross Cumming earned himself a scholarship and will look to make impacts beyond special teams.

We currently have one commit on the inside (Kent Turene) and one on the outside (Tre Madden). Turene is a bulkier linebacker and his lateral movement will be a question. Meanwhile, Madden is underrated and is an outstanding athlete that I can't wait to watch play.

There are some mouth-watering linebackers who we've offered, but have yet to make a decision. Lamar Dawson would make a great long-term solution at Mike linebacker. If we could flank him with Colt Lyerla, Lateek Townsend, and/or Jason Gibson, we could have a linebacking corps reminiscent of Cushing, Matthews, and Maualuga.

Cornerback
Our cornerback crew this year was highly inexperienced. Our one senior, Shareece Wright, had basically missed the last two seasons, so his seniority wasn't as much of a factor as you'd think. Nickell Robey was the surprised of last fall's camp, earning a starting spot despite not participating in Spring practice. He got picked on a lot, but showed great development and was a big playmaker towards the end of the season.

TJ Bryant failed to make much of an impact upon his return of a facial injury suffered when Stanley Havili smacked him in the face. Torin Harris had a chance to step up but make several crucial mistakes. Brian Baucham say a lot of action and held up decent, but is not considered starting material at this point. Daniel Harper got a handful of snaps, while true freshman Demetrius Wright saw limited time and Anthony Brown saw even less.

As previously mentioned, DeAnthony Thomas is slotted to play cornerback and despite his size can be an immediate impact player. All eyes are on him to start next year, and with Robey's size he may be pushed to the nickel or reserve spot. Bryant, Harris, and Baucham should challenge for quality playing time with 4-star JuCo recruit Isaiah Wiley. I would expect Wright to move full-time to the safety spot.

Most of the top cornerbacks in this year's class are accounted for, but we may be able to make another splash with Doran Grant and/or Damian Swann. Getting either would be huge to assist with an underperforming cornerback unit.

Defensive Back
Last season it was a tail of two safeties - TJ McDonald, one of our best defensive players, and Jawanza Starling, who often seemed out of position. McDonald's spot is very safe and he is a good candidate to be a team captain next year. Starling's ability to tackle in open space may have saved him his starting job, but he will have to get better in coverage and reading plays.

Walk-on Tony Burnett started in McDonald's absence due to injury and after an adjustment period, played reasonable well. Starling also picked up an injury and was replaced by Marshall Jones, who played just as well, if not better than, Starling. Drew McAllister missed all of last season due to injury, while Patrick Hall was temporarily suspended before regaining his spot on the team. Hall is of particular interest, and could be a very nice surprise next season in addition to Demetrius Wright.

We are still chasing HaHa Clinton-Dix, despite his commitment to Alabama. Karlos Williams is a long shot but we are very much in the mix for Marqise Lee, George Farmer and Robert Woods' former teammate at Serra High School. It seems that Dix is a pipe dream for USC, and Williams is set for Florida State. Lee would be a huge pickup, and I'd be more than happy if he's the only additional defensive back we pick up. The starting spot next to McDonald should be up for grabs, so let's see who claims it.

Special Teams
Kickoff returns on both sides were strong points on special teams this year. John Baxter had immediate impacts in those areas in addition to blocking punts and kicks. CJ Gable will be lost to graduation, but special team stalwarts Galippo and McDonaldo will return to cause nightmares. We definitely have enough tacklers, blockers, and returners to be among the best in college football on returns.

Where we have not been very good is in the kicking game. Joe Houston and Jake Harfman have been quite awful kicking field goals, although Houston did hit some clutch shots. Harfman also had some decent punting games, but we definitely missed Matt Darr when he switched his commitment following Carroll's departure.

This year's staff was quick to address those areas, getting commitments from placekicker Andre Heidari, punter Kris Albarado, and long snapper Peter McBride. I feel much more comfortable in our kicking game with those guys on board. I suppose that Jesse Scroggins or Dillon Baxter will fill in as the holder on kicks.

Irish look to go 8-0 to meet my lofty expectations.

It happens every once in a while. You come face to face with yourself in the mirror, and realize how much of a homer you are. You realize how your love of a team completely prevents you from being within 8 miles of objectivity (8 mile!). Every team I root for has led me to this reality. Heck, the Angels have made me face this fact 80 times since April. The Canucks make me face this fact every time they meet the Blackhawks in the playoffs. And, Notre Dame made me face this fact on Saturday afternoon. As you know, I am a one of those ridiculous Fighting Irish fans, always expecting perfection. I'm the guy who predicted that Notre Dame would get 9 wins in Brian Kelly's first season at the head coach spot (but secretly expected more). I'm the guy who predicted that ND would shock the college football world with a surprise upset of the Cardinal. I'm the guy, who has realized that he has no clue what he's talking about. After a hefty 14-37 defeat at the hands of those braniac hippies from the city formerly known as Palo Alto, I'm staring a dangerous reality right in the face. I'm starting to see through the dense fog that is my über-fandom. I'm starting to realize that the Irish may be less than 3 weeks away from kicking off a home game against Western Michigan with a 1-5 record. I need a drink.

To say that your favorite team's offense was horrible is like a heresy, right? Too bad. We were horrible! The defensive schemes that Stanford showed seemed to completely baffle Crist and company. At times, the Nor Cal kids rushed just 3, and still got the Crist! The most appauling thing about it was the lack of in-game adjustments. Where was the ability to change it up enough to battle well against the Cardinal defense? That's a coaching problem. I'm sorry, but it is. Crist went 25 for 44 for an impressive 304 yards (1 TD and 1 INT), but the offense just couldn't find the end zone. Despite getting three turnovers, and kind of holding Luck to have his worst game of the year, we couldn't covert.

Not only was a semi-down (compared to their other games) Stanford team begging us to get back in the game, but the ND defense was doing everything they could to keep us within striking distance. It was only 6-19 at the start of the fourth quarter, and we finally blemished up Luck's passing stats with the two picks. But, while the defense can stop the bad guys and get the ball back, the offense has to take that ball to pay dirt. If you had to blame the defense in any way, it would be their play on third downs, letting Stanford have way to much of the field to make conversions. 

So, as you can guess, things aren't going well in South Bend. If you listen to the chatter, it seems that we're just another loss away from having the alumni put billboards up indirectly calling for Kelly's head (memories). But, courtesy of my go-to Irish blog "Rakes of Mallow," I give you some perspective:

+The teams we have lost to are a combined 12-0 and are all ranked in the top 25.

+The three QBs who have beaten us are all Heisman buzz kind of guys, and Luck was made to look far less than the other two by our pretty impressive D.

+Stanford only managed 3.8 yards per rush against us.

I appreciate the Rakes for helping me to find reasons to step back from the edge of my 1 story ranch style home, because I'd probably just bruise my spleen or something. However, I feel like the schedule is going to have me stepping right back up to that edge. Saturday has us going on the road for the Holy War against Boston College. BC are 2-1 and most recently got blanked 0-19 by Virginia Tech over the weekend. Prior to that, they beat Weber State and Kent State by the combined score of 64-33 ("Staaaaaaaate Schooooooool"). In my preseason prediction post for this year's Holy War, I enjoyed reliving the 20-16 ND win last season (a win that got us to 5-2 and back into the Top 25 thanks to a late INT to stop a drive by BC with 98 seconds to go), pointed out that BC won the 6 matches prior to last year, and that the Irish haven't beaten the Eagles in Boston since 1998. Adding all that up, I predicted a ND loss, and I'm not really feeling too different about it today. 

Can the Irish steal a win against the Eagles this Saturday? Sure. Will it happen? Probably not. Will I be watching every second and suffering along with my beloved Golden Domers? Sadly, I will.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

10 games in 10 days.

There is at least one guy still interested in the Angels...me. We match up against the White Sox at home this weekend, and while the media wants to sell it as a Angels v Manny thing, it's so much more.

Pitching probables:

+Friday- Piñero (10-7, 4.13) v Garcia (11-6, 4.88)
+Saturday- Kaz (9-14, 5.84) v Danks (13-11, 3.80)
+Sunday- Weaver (13-11, 2.99) v Peña (4-2, 4.87)

My pick for Sox best bat in the series:

Surprise! It's not Manny. Paul Konerko is clearly their biggest threat, as he leads the Sox triple crown race this season. .313/37/105 is pretty darned impressive. Pitch around him. Especially you, Kazberries.

My pick for Angels best bat in the series:

I'm going with Juan Rivera. In the last 2 weeks, in case you haven't been paying attention, JR is hitting .409 with a .500 OBP, and that also includes 6 RBI over his last 6 starts. I told you he'd come around eventually, I just didn't know it wouldn't happen until the season was meaningless. Is Juan the ultimate JD Drew?

Why the Sox suck more:

How about going 2-8 over their last ten games, sitting 12 back of the AL Central Champion Twinkies, and already being eliminated? Losers.

Why my Angels suck more:

Well, we're 2 games under .500, have almost zero offensive support for our good pitchers, and refuse to start our prospects full time despite being out of it. We're also 19-23 against the Central this year. But hey, I'm a glass half full kind of character.

An interesting bit of Halo news:

I found out today that the lady who sits next to me at work has a daughter who is dating Bobby Abreu. That has to count for something. I'm guessing Bobby is as patient a lover as he is a hitter.

How about some predictions:

Joel wins tonight, Scottie blows it tomorrow, and Weaver brings home the series win on Sunday. 2-1 in the series? That should just about eliminate us, right?

Just know that if it goes to extras, we may have the advantage. We're 7-7 this year to the Sox 6-10. There's always a silver lining.

T-minus 54 minutes until the 50th Anniversary celebration starts. Personally, I can't wait for the gold Halos. 

Let's get us some wins!

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

Shift the Focus

“You know she wanted it!”

This statement is not only a common sentiment used to rationalize the abuse Ines Sainz was forced to endure in the New York Jets locker room on Saturday, September 11, it is also a familiar justification attackers use in defending rape.

Shortly after Kobe Bryant was accused of sexual assault in Denver in the summer of 2003, the conversation turned to how crazy the victim was, how she was acting solely for fame and fortune and how it was all probably consensual, or in other words, that she wanted it. In the case of Sainz and the New York Jets, little in this discussion has changed.

It seems as if in today’s world that a woman is targeted when the victim of harassment or a crime perpetrated on or because of her body. And instead of focusing on those who, regardless of guilt or context, actually did the acting in a situation, we chose to find something in the sufferer that must have warranted an onslaught. Media members are just as much at fault, if not more so, of making the victim of all types of sexual misconduct the center point of the argument.

Let us take for example a different crime: murder. When someone is murdered, rarely do you hear comments from the media questioning the actions of the deceased in provoking the killer to commit the crime.

Even though media outlets use terms like “alleged perpetrator” and “defendant” instead of “crazed maniac who hacked up a defenseless mother,” the conversation is nevertheless focused on the murderer.

Books have been printed, movies have been made and songs written about the likes of Ted Bundy, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Karla Homolka, Ed Gein and the multitude of other serial killers immortalized by their crimes.

Often, these forms of media look through a psychological lens in an attempt to “get in the head” of the assailant. For instance, you have the case of the Sufjan Stevens song entitled "John Wayne Gacy Jr." (about the serial killer of the same name) where the details of the perpetrator’s life are used to explain their actions.

The song includes the lyrics: “His father was a drinker and his mother cried in bed; folding John Wayne's T-shirts when the swingset hit his head.” Although the song goes on to express shock at the deaths of Gacy Jr.’s victims, the clear focus of the song is Gacy himself, not the unnamed victims.

In fact, when journalists do talk about the victims, it is usually done with a respectful, oftentimes sorrowful, tone. The respect and admiration given to famous people who were murdered (such as John and Robert Kennedy, or even less prolific ones like Phil Hartman) is but a mirror of how society views the victims in cases of murder.

But switch the crime discussed to that of rape, sexual assault or sexual harassment, and the conversation changes immensely.

All of a sudden we are talking about whether jeans are acceptable attire for a woman in a locker room (Jeans – a long , completely covering type of pants that nearly everyone in the U.S. owns multiple pairs of) or whether Sainz’ top was too low-cut instead of talking about the rationale or systems in place that allow individuals to make sexist comments and make those around them fear.

We allow (and report on) Washington Redskins’ running back Clinton Portis to make comments assuming that all women want men, especially those in the locker room. And we do it without lambasting him for having a completely heterosexually sexist standpoint.

Sure, some called him insensitive and he gave the ever-meaningless NFL forced apology, but was never required to account for what he said.

In fact, according to an article by Gary Graves in USA Today, Portis was allowed to turn it all into a show. He “talked” to the media with black tape covering his mouth with written out statements like “Have a good day” and “God Bless You.”

He even had teammate Albert Haynesworth put more pieces of black tape over his mouth whenever a reporter asked him another question. If that is not someone being allowed to get away with insensitive statements, I don’t know what is.

We even tolerate Jets lineman Kris Jenkins’ statements objectifying women. According to an article written by Christine Brennan in USA Today, when a fellow reporter went to see if Sainz was OK after a stream of catcalls and hooting, Jenkins said: “This is our locker room.”

Call me super sensitive, but I felt that Jenkins was insinuating that since Sainz was in the Jets’ locker room, that she was now subject to them. This objectifies her in the sense that his words were being used to treat Sainz as a possession and not a person. Her being in their locker room means that she was also theirs.

It starts with Jenkins and ends with a bigger story. Society might allow football players to get away with comments in that setting, but no one is forcing media members (or even regular folks like you and me) to explore guilt in the victim.

The dichotomy is a funny one. If I kill you, it’s my fault. If I rape you, well, you probably looked too good.

Just another Vannie preseason loss.

Is it time for Canuck fans to push the preseason panic button now that we've fallen to 0-3? God, I hope not, because it would be really annoying. Nevertheless, a 2-3 loss at home to Edmonton seems to be striking some kind of fear into the heart of Orca Nation, but hopefully I can quiet the alarms.

First off, the CDC (Canucks Dot Com) summary of the match called the fans in attendance "shagadellic," in an effort to refer to the 80's night theme at Rogers Arena. Um, that's horrible. Didn't anyone proof read? The 80's had nothing to do with Austin Powers, you weird Canadians. 

After falling behind early, 0-2, the 'Nucks came marching back in the third with goals from Daniel Sedin (on the advantage) and prospect Peter Schaefer, but the Oilers won the game on a third goal with about 7 minutes left. It was nice to see the never say die attitude in the preseason, but it's always tough to cough up a game winner after rocking the comeback attempt.

The big news, to me, was the top line. Daniel and Henrik skated along Sergei Shirokov, and they put some big time shots up on the board. Obviously, Shirokov will look good with the Twins, as anyone would, but does running him out there with them show that Coachie V is going to give him another shot to impress in October? I hope so, because I really like the guy.

Mason, Kesler, and Samuelsson were special as a second line, despite not netting a goal. They are really fun to watch. Schaefer getting a goal was crazy, his first in a 'Nucks uniform since 2001 (he's here on a try out), and if he made the team, it would be some big story.

In net, Bobby Lu allowed the first two Oil goals on 25 shots before Schneider came in for relief in the third, allowing the eventual game winner. After the game, Luongo commented on how he was just getting a feel for the game again, and doesn't put too much stock into the goals allowed in his first preseason game. Good, I'll try and do the same.

Also, props to defensive hopeful Andrew Alberts, who led the team with six big hits. Keep it up, Double-A.

All in all, it was a loss, and we are 0-3, but it's all going to be okay.

The issue still bothering the Canucks, at least in the media's eyes, is the lack of a captain since Luongo gave it up/was asked to give it up. CDC reports that the choice is now down to Henrik, Daniel, and Kesler. I'll go on the record saying Hank should get it this year. He had one of the greatest seasons of all time for us last year, and he deserves to be the leader. Daniel, Kesler, and Edler should rock the "A." 

Next up is a match at home on Saturday against the formerly Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Getting our first preseason win against the Ducks would easily make me forget about the first three losses. Easily.

Attack the quack. Go Canucks Go.

I know it's just preseason, but I'm so glad hockey is back.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

12 inning loss ends 13-0 comeback dream.

*Man, I wish we had these guys helping us out.

Well, the dream is over. A twelve inning loss to the Rangers by the score of 1-2 is a clear signal that the mathematical end of the season is coming ever closer. The Rangers scored on an error by Kevin Frandsen and a passed ball thanks to Jeff Mathis, while the Angels only mustered a Mike Napoli solo home run to back up a masterful outing by Dan Haren, in a loss that pushes us to the brink. Is it hockey season yet?

The minuses:

-A lack of offense prevented Dan Haren from even sniffing a win, despite an impressive outing.

-Jeff Mathis may have blown the easy play leading to the game losing run, but Matt Palmer kind of let the Rangers touch him up in the 12th, which set things up to be ended.

-The Halos left 7 runners standing on base, wishing they'd made it home.

-The game's 0'fer rundown: Torii, Franny, Mathis, Abreu, Wood, Matsui, and Bourjos went a combined 0 for 22. Man, that's awful.

-Allowing the only runs in a loss on an error and a passed ball almost brings me to tears.

The pluses:

+Haren is first and foremost our biggest positive from last night's contest. 7 innings, just 3 hits, 2 Ks, and zero runs. This poor bastard goes out and pitches a darn good game over and over and over, and just has nothing to show for it. TLSF loves you, Big Dan.

+The bullpen, in between Haren and Palmer, was straight amazing. Walden, Rodney, Jepsen, and Kohn combined for 4 no-hit innings, and continued to keep us right there with a chance to win the game. 

+Haren threw 70 strikes on his 114 pitches, which is pretty fun. Throw strikes and make them prove they can beat you, that's what I like in a starting pitcher.

+Big Mike's 26th jack of the year was our lone run, and surely got us fans overly excited in the 7th inning when he tied things up.

+Juan Rivera needs to get a player of the game nomination for his evening. Good ol' JR went 2 for 3 WITH 2 walks. Sure, his being on base four times didn't amount to anything under the big "R" on the scoreboard, but he was the offensive leader on the team.

+Reggie Willits (again at leadoff), Howie, and Napoli also each had 2 hits. Talk about a lopsided offense.

+Vlad went 0 for 5! But I thought he was so good against the Angels...

Well, we're not going to make it, friends. At 75-77, the Halos trail the jerk Rangers by 9.5 games with 10 games remaining on the schedule. The official magic number to eliminate us from the postseason is 1 (although for some reason, MLB.com is saying it's 2). To win the AL West by eliminating the A's, the Rangers' magic number is 4. Bummer.

If you like to keep track of things such as run differential, like I do, the Halos now have a -19 disparity between runs scored and runs allowed. That actually doesn't seem too bad based on the way our season has felt. To put it in perspective, last year our run differential was an amazing +122 (4th best in baseball), and in the 2003 season when we coughed up a pathetic follow up to our World Championship season we were just a -4. Hm. Maybe our -19 is really bad. Just for a larger 2010 comparison, at 53-99, the Pirates currently have the MLB's worst run differential at a mind blowing -281. Okay, -19 isn't that bad.

We now have just 10 games left in this let down of a campaign, six at home, and four on the road. The final 10 starts off Friday night against the Chicago White Sox, welcomes Oakland into town for three starting Monday, and wraps up with four "I wish they were meaningful" games against Texas out in Arlington on Thursday. That's right, today is our last day off!

Keep your heads up boys. Let's finish strong.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

Weekly football post #77.

Andrew beat me to the punch on posting the great news (no, not the news about England warning the derrières they could be up for legal action). Yes, I'm talking about my Newcastle Magpies topping unbeatable Chelsea at Stamford Bridge by the thrilling score of 4-3. I can hear Blues fans now, "It's just Carling Cup. It doesn't matter to us." Well, maybe it doesn't, but this is one of the biggest Newcastle wins in some time. It's the first time the Black & White have won at Chelsea since 1986, and we're going to be talking about it for a long time to come. Even though it may have been the most memorable, the win over Brandon and company isn't the only thing that's been happening around my soccer world lately (and it wasn't even the only LSF win for this guy).

Newcastle 1 - 0 Everton

KABOOM! Newcastle entered their back to back LSF battles with a big game against a struggling Everton side, and they came away with a golden goal win that makes sure to keep Jon Davis at the bottom of the table. Thanks to YouTube, the highlights were available, and extremely enjoyable to watch.

The game was evenly back and forth in the early stages, and then at the 45th minute, it was new star (and potential douchebag) Hatem Ben Afra scorching himself into our memories. Ben Afra controlled the ball outside the box, was given all kinds of time and space, danced wide on the two Everton players marking him, and blasted left footed shot all the way into the upper right corner of the net, beyond the reach of the diving keeper. The traveling fans went completely crazy, Ben Afra lifted up his shirt in celebration (adding potential douche points), and Newcastle would grab the 1-0 lead.

About 10 minutes prior to the goal, Steve Harper fell hard on his shoulder, leading to him being carried off on a stretcher and Tim Krul taking over (a blow to my EPL Fantasy team). It surely didn't look good, but Krul hung tough. Yakubu rang one off the post for Everton in stoppage time, but their effort would go for nil, as Newcastle crusied to the 3 road points.

With 7 points in our 5 games and a +2 goal differential, the Mags have vaulted all the way to 6th in the EPL table, and get ready to square up with Stoke City this weekend. Stoke, known as the Potters with a strong hooligan fan following known as the "Naughty Forty," have just 4 points in their 5 games with a -3 goal differential, and are sitting 17th (one spot up on the relegation zone). Stoke drew 1-1 with West Ham in their last EPL tilt, and won their Carling Cup match 2-0 over Fulham, so they do have a little momentum coming to St. James'. 

Could be a trap game, and we'll need to bring it. It'll sure be nice to be back home.

Newcastle 4 - 3 Chlesea

Are you kidding me? What a win! Newcastle shocked the soccer world by beating the EPL's best from Chelsea yesterday in Carling Cup action in a mad offensive battle. Thanks to copyright rules, YouTube has taken down any of the highlights of the game, leaving up just photos telling you to do go a different site. It's funny how they don't care to remove Everton highlights, but they take down the Chlesea highlights. Racialist. 

After Patrick Van Aanholt opened up the scoring for the bad guys in the 6th minute, most of us Mag fans were ready to accept getting blown out of the tournament. Who would have thought a barrage of goals from our beloved boys would completely turn the game around?

Nile Ranger and Ryan Taylor scored within 5 minutes of each other to give us the lead at the break, and then my boy Shola opened the second half with a goal that completely silenced the crowd, and popped us up to a 3-1 lead. Chelsea's defender horribly coughed up the ball to an onrushing Amoeba, and he knew what to do with it.

With Harper getting hurt in the Everton match, it was all up to Timmy Krul, and that may have been a bad thing. Nick Anelka scored in the 70th, and then converted on a chance from the penalty spot 3 minutes shy of the 90th, knotting the game up. The call on the penalty was a little ridiculous, but our late winner would make me forget about it. Luckily for us, Chelsea had lost two players to injury, and with all their subs used up, Newcastle battled a 10 man Blues' side as time ran toward the final whistle. As both teams battled toward the end, Newcastle got a corner in the 90th, and they'd make good. Jonas Gutierrez sent a perfect corner to the head of Ameobi, and the ball tickled the twine to send us off with an amazing victory!

I almost still don't believe it! 

Celtic 2 - 1 Kilmarnock

Will the Hoops ever be stopped by anyone in the SPL? Man, I hope not. A 2-1 win over Killy this weekend kept the winning streak alive, and showed just how underrated we were heading into this campaign. I guess Kilmarnock fans can take pride in busting our clean sheet streak, by scoring the first goal against us all year.

Connor Sammon got the honor of scoring that goal in the 7th minute against Fraser Forster and our Bhoys. Newbie Anthony Stokes continued his solid play, getting on the pitch for an injured Paddy McCourt (Nooooooooo!). Stokes was charging in on goal as the half was closing out when he got dragged down in the box. It was Daryl Murphy converting from the spot in the 41st to get us even. Emilio "Holy Guacamole" Izaguirre was the main man sending a perfect cross on a rush just 6 minutes into the second half, and Anthony Stokes buried the ball from close range to seal the deal. 

It may have been a costly win, with both Jame Forrest and Paddy McCourt falling to injury, but hopefully the new power brought on by Anthony Stokes (as well as a hopeful return for our beloved #88) will kep us on the right path. Also note that Ki finally got in the action, and oddly Georgios Samaras was left sitting on the bench.

Celtic and Rangers are now completely deadlocked at the top of the table. Both has earned 15 points in 5 games and both have +10 goal differential. It's almost too much to handle this early in the season! Next up on the SPL campaign is a test against the Hibs, who have 5 points in 5 matches and a -3 GD mark. Hibernian Football Club, also known as "The Cabbage," are the other Irish supported club in the SPL, and hopefully they're ready for a big time clash against my big time Bhoys.

Celtic 6 - 0 Inverness CT 

Celtic finally made good in a non-SPL match, completely lighting up the scoreboard in their Scottish Cup test against the Caley Jags with an impressive 6-nil romp. If only they could have shown some offensive power!

Playing in a contract season, and looking to get re-signed (as well as to get more playing time in genereal) our Gorgeous Greek notched a hat trick (17th, 37th, and 57th). In the middle of that hattie was a goal from the recently fit Gary H88per, who nailed his first competetive goal in Celtic green and white. Newbie Anthony Stokes also continued to endear himself to the Celtic faithful, notching two to add to the blood shed (a 74th from the penalty spot and an 81st for good measure). The squad looked sluggish in the early going, if you can believe it, but some key stops by Fraser Forster and Ki made the difference, and allowed for a serious momentum shift. Celtic easily put the ICT's away before the first whistle, as rain poured down like nuts on the players. Irishman Stokes converted his penalty after being dragged down by Inverness' keeper, and helped the game become a message for the rest of Scottish football that we are in this domestic tournament to dominate.

After the game, concerns about Holy Guacamole picked up, as he limped off the field to join our multiplying injured stars list. In good news, Neil Lennon reported after the game that he's going to do whatever it takes to keep Georgios Samaras here with Celtic.

We smashed ya', Caley. Now get out of the way!

Chivas 0 - 2 Kansas City

And now to the loser side of the post. My beloved MLS studs just aren't putting it together, and the team is now making excuses by introducing the dirty "r" word: rebuilding. Really? We sign all these spot on players to help with a run, have some mild success before we started lagging again, and you're going to try and tell me we suck because Martín Vasquéz is rebuilding this team to match his vision? I don't buy it. Everytime we start to show promise, we have a big let down. The latest example is the 0-2 drubbing at the hands of the Wiz. Lucky for me, since both teams suck, YouTube had no problem providing their always amazing Chivas USA full game highlights via FSWest.

You can either declare this game a "battle" or a "snooze fest." There were literally no shots on goal for either team in the first half. Chivas had no changes from the team that beat New England the previous weekend, still rolling with Flash and Braunie up front. While both teams had a couple of promising runs in the opening 45, nothing materialized. In the 51st minute, the Union Ultras celebrated what they thought (and I did too) was a Ben Zemanski goal, as he played a perfect pass from midfield and put the ball in the back of the net. It turned out that as he went up for the ball, it touched his hand (barely), so his kick in was disallowed. Talk about a shift in momentum after that. One of our most hated rivals, Kei Kamara scored a really nice goal on ZTB in the 70th, making us wonder why our defensive players don't get a little more physical. Bunbury then scored just over 10 minutes later, flat outrunning Umaña to get in all alone on ZTB to score the goal that would seal the deal.

While the loss all but crushes our dreams of an amazing comeback playoff run, we still avoid falling back into the West's cellar (thanks, Houston). At 7-13-4 (25 points, -6 GD), the Goats are 7th out of 8 in the West and 12th out of the MLS' 16 teams. I guess it could be worse. Next up, Philladelphia welcomes El Rebaño into town to start their final 6 games run at the end of the season. We still have a chance to get to .500 if we win out! Philly (6-12-6, 24 P, -12 GD) are one of those teams actually worse than Chivas USA, and hopefully their supporter group, "The Sons of Ben," won't be enough to help the Zolos best the Goats. 

Let's finish 6-0, boys!

Before I finish, I'd just like to give some love to FVHS alumni Kyle Middlebrooks for making it on the national highlight reels for his near-TD run back on a kickoff for ASU last weekend in the nail biter with Wisconsin. Our Barons sure are missing KM, starting the new season 1-2. It took a 21 point fourth quarter to win our most recent match, against some school from the 909, with Montana Merhoff (great name) leading the way with 53 yards on the ground.

Alright, enjoy your Thursday.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē