After a 6-under 66 on Saturday, Tiger failed to score under par on Sunday, leading to a Robert Rock victory by 2 at -13. Sunday is usually when he shines, but posted his worst round of the week instead. Tied for 3rd still isn't bad, and it looked like his ball-striking is back on track.
Tiger pointed out after his first round that the greens were difficult to read, but after his putting was looking up on Saturday I thought he would have no problem posting a round in the 60's. Rory McIlroy (-12) was the only other player ahead of him. It was a good outing for Tiger, and he's going to have to play better on Sunday if he wants to keep tracking the Golden Bear for most Major titles ever.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Djoker defends his Aussie Open Title
I was only able to stay awake for the first half of the first set last night, but while I watched, I saw two players who wanted it really, really bad.
It didn't matter who was serving, every game seemed to go to deuce, at least once, and you just didn't know who was going to win until the very last point. If you didn't catch the final, try to watch it if you can, because it was the longest and best tennis match I've seen. Hat's off to Djokovic, he really is on a tear right now and Rafa seems to be the only guy who can even make it close. The Djoker is playing at a different level, he's like the Shaun White of tennis.
It didn't matter who was serving, every game seemed to go to deuce, at least once, and you just didn't know who was going to win until the very last point. If you didn't catch the final, try to watch it if you can, because it was the longest and best tennis match I've seen. Hat's off to Djokovic, he really is on a tear right now and Rafa seems to be the only guy who can even make it close. The Djoker is playing at a different level, he's like the Shaun White of tennis.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Federer/Nadal: Another Instant Classic
My will was only able to keep me up for the first set of this incredible match, but was able to see the replay this morning. Right as I went to bed around 3 a.m. mountain time, the first set had just ended with Federer taking a tiebreak, and because of Australia day, fireworks began booming giving the players a little break.
The break seemed to re-energize Nadal's game, and his incredible shots on the run led to him winning the next 3 sets, coming through in the clutch on another tiebreak in the 3rd set. Right after the fireworks ceased, Nadal honed in and won the next set 6-2, which seemed to deflate Roger and perhaps his age started to show.
This will set up a final between the Spanish phenom who seems to have healthy knees again, and the winner of Djokovic/Murray tonight. If the Joker wins, it will set up a match that happened twice last year, and with the season Novak had, won both the meetings. I'm looking forward to this final, and hope Rafa can play like he did Thursday to give us one hell of a tennis match.
The break seemed to re-energize Nadal's game, and his incredible shots on the run led to him winning the next 3 sets, coming through in the clutch on another tiebreak in the 3rd set. Right after the fireworks ceased, Nadal honed in and won the next set 6-2, which seemed to deflate Roger and perhaps his age started to show.
This will set up a final between the Spanish phenom who seems to have healthy knees again, and the winner of Djokovic/Murray tonight. If the Joker wins, it will set up a match that happened twice last year, and with the season Novak had, won both the meetings. I'm looking forward to this final, and hope Rafa can play like he did Thursday to give us one hell of a tennis match.
Prince Fielder's choice: The Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers have made a huge, unexpected splash in free agency. After loosing their star catcher Victor Martinez for the upcoming season due to a torn ACL, there was clearly a void in their lineup. They still have Miguel Cabrera locked up through 2015, but he couldn't shoulder the scoring burden. I thought they would sign a solid bat, but not commit 9 years and 214 million to Prince.
Fielder, 27, is a career .282 hitter, with a .390 on base percentage(only going up), and he will certainly fill the hole Martinez will leave in that lineup. Nobody saw this coming, especially knowing that Cabrera has played first base for them for a few years. It's already been reported that he will move over to third, where he played back in his Florida Marlin's days.
We know the Tigers have the best pitching staff in the A.L. Central, with the best pitcher in the game in Verlander, and Max Scherzer leading the way. There should be no excuse for them barring any injuries to not win their division.
Fielder, 27, is a career .282 hitter, with a .390 on base percentage(only going up), and he will certainly fill the hole Martinez will leave in that lineup. Nobody saw this coming, especially knowing that Cabrera has played first base for them for a few years. It's already been reported that he will move over to third, where he played back in his Florida Marlin's days.
We know the Tigers have the best pitching staff in the A.L. Central, with the best pitcher in the game in Verlander, and Max Scherzer leading the way. There should be no excuse for them barring any injuries to not win their division.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Yu Got It: Yu Darvish is Headed to Texas
The Texas Rangers have made it official, right before the deadline to sign the phenom Japanese pitcher, they announced they had come to a 6-year, 60 million dollar deal after posting a 51 million dollar bid just to have the rights to talk to him. Really? I'm pretty sure I can find a pitcher who can throw a 93 mph fastball with no movement for less than a tenth of that price.
The Rangers have apparently adopted the Red Sox/Yankees philosophy of spend spend spend. Oh, by the way they still need to re-sign Josh Hamilton. Let's go Blue Jays
Friday, January 20, 2012
Latest NBA Trade Rumors
Trade rumors are heating up as we approach the NBA trade deadline, and most of them surround Magic center Dwight Howard. Orlando wants to keep Superman in town, and have talked to the Suns about Steve Nash, who is in the final year of his contract. It's going to take a miracle to keep him in town. Kobe Bryant has called the Center, but no deal is in the works yet sending him to the Lakers. The other two teams in the mix are the Nets and Mavericks.
Deron Williams future in New Jersey seems dependent on whether Superman signs with the Nets now, as he will be on the trading block if they can't get Howard. Williams would prefer to play for the Lakers, Knicks, or Mavericks according to Chris Broussard.
Deron Williams future in New Jersey seems dependent on whether Superman signs with the Nets now, as he will be on the trading block if they can't get Howard. Williams would prefer to play for the Lakers, Knicks, or Mavericks according to Chris Broussard.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Now Some Baseball News
With Uncle Albert now in Anaheim, Heath Bell leaving San Diego for Miami, Carlos Quentin to the Padres (you'll love him Grandma), the Marlins making huge splashes signing CJ Wilson, Jose Reyes and Carlos Zambrano, this next year of baseball will be one to remember, hard as it might be to imagine after the magical run by the Cardinals last year.
The latest news includes Yu Darvish, a Japanese pitcher who is highly sought after. The Texas Rangers won the bid to talk to him (51 million), and have until 5 ET Wednesday to sign him to a contract. To me, he looks unimpressive. His fastball is straight as an arrow, and just doesn't have much movement to any of his pitches. Look at the best pitchers in baseball (Halladay, Strassburg (yes he's THAT good), Hernandez, Sabbathia, Verlander, Lee, Lincecum) and they all have great movement on their pitches. Considering Pujols would be in the same division as Darvish, I give him no chance to succeed. Plus, if they end up signing him, they wouldn't have the money to pay Josh Hamilton, or if he leaves, Prince Fielder (let's go get him Rockies).
The other bad news comes from Detroit, where their excellent catcher Victor Martinez tore his ACL in conditioning. This means the likelihood of him playing this year is not too great, and only hurts their chances of claiming the American League Central.
The latest news includes Yu Darvish, a Japanese pitcher who is highly sought after. The Texas Rangers won the bid to talk to him (51 million), and have until 5 ET Wednesday to sign him to a contract. To me, he looks unimpressive. His fastball is straight as an arrow, and just doesn't have much movement to any of his pitches. Look at the best pitchers in baseball (Halladay, Strassburg (yes he's THAT good), Hernandez, Sabbathia, Verlander, Lee, Lincecum) and they all have great movement on their pitches. Considering Pujols would be in the same division as Darvish, I give him no chance to succeed. Plus, if they end up signing him, they wouldn't have the money to pay Josh Hamilton, or if he leaves, Prince Fielder (let's go get him Rockies).
The other bad news comes from Detroit, where their excellent catcher Victor Martinez tore his ACL in conditioning. This means the likelihood of him playing this year is not too great, and only hurts their chances of claiming the American League Central.
Dean Spanos is a Horrible NFL Owner
Dean Spanos, the owner of the San Diego Chargers, decided to not fire General Manager A.J. Smith or his embarrassment of a coach, Norv Turner. Yeah, let's fire Marty Schottenheimer after a 14-2 season, get rid of players like Michael Turner, Drew Brees (I'll give him a pass on this one because Rivers was the younger player), Darren Sproles, Antonio Cromartie, Shawn Merriman, Jammal Williams and Drayton Florence.... great idea.
Turner has a horrible record, never gets his team ready at the beginning of the year, inherited the best player in football at the time in LaDanian Tomlinson along with a great offense and solid defense, but can't even dominate the lowly AFC West? With John Fox now in Denver, Crennel in KC, and no coach yet in Oakland, Turner is the third best coach in that division now. The happy-go-lucky friendship between A.J. Smith and Norv Turner keeps them employed, and Spanos doesn't seem to care. Maybe he's waiting for the new Stadium in Los Angeles? I just feel terrible for San Diego Fans.
The Bears Front Office Dilemma
A couple weeks ago, the Chicago Bears announced they had fired GM Jerry Angelo, and hours later Mike Martz resigned (and has now retired). Jerry Angelo shouldn't have ever been there in the first place, and Martz wanted to run the greatest show on turf offense. Finally a good decision!
Angelo failed to pay his best offensive player this year, and Martz's system was never going to work in Chicago. They run the ball, and play excellent defense. Know your team.
I say bring in the Polians! After the dumb move by the Colts to fire them, Bill and Chris could come in and draft offensive lineman and receivers (hey, there's an idea, draft players who play positions where you're horrible at) and keep the guys you know are necessary for trying to get back to the super bowl. I think they would keep Lovie Smith as head coach, knowing how important that Cover 2 defense is in Chicago.
Angelo failed to pay his best offensive player this year, and Martz's system was never going to work in Chicago. They run the ball, and play excellent defense. Know your team.
I say bring in the Polians! After the dumb move by the Colts to fire them, Bill and Chris could come in and draft offensive lineman and receivers (hey, there's an idea, draft players who play positions where you're horrible at) and keep the guys you know are necessary for trying to get back to the super bowl. I think they would keep Lovie Smith as head coach, knowing how important that Cover 2 defense is in Chicago.
Jim Caldwell Fired as Colts Head Coach
The Indianapolis Colts announced today that coach Jim Caldwell would not return for a 4th season. We all saw this coming, especially after Bill and Chris Polian were fired as Vice Chairman and General Manager.
Ryan Grigson was brought in from Philadelphia to replace Chris as GM, but I hated the move to get rid of the Polians in the first place. Bill's first draft pick for the Colts was Peyton Manning, so I'd say he's done a pretty good job getting the players around him to be successful with a super bowl to his credit.
Grigson firing Caldwell was warranted after a dismal 2-14 season, but he seems to be following the same road as the likes of Parcells, McKenzie (the new Raiders GM) and Sherman, where they bring in coaching staffs associated with their former teams or people they already have connections with. This seems like a bad idea, especially after what I saw the Eagles do last postseason, acquiring some serious talent in the secondary and defensive line, while also getting Vince Young, Ronnie Brown, and signing Mike Vick to an insane 100 million dollar contract. What he neglected was the linebacking core, sticking to 3 young players who couldn't tackle a running back.
If Grigson brings in his people from Philadephia, they are going to have their hands full. Reggie Wayne and Robert Mathis are going to be free agents, and they are going to be sinking most of their cap space into one position when they draft Andrew Luck. I think the Colts are a .500 team if Manning has a dreadful defense and a mediocre receiving core/offensive line around him.
Ryan Grigson was brought in from Philadelphia to replace Chris as GM, but I hated the move to get rid of the Polians in the first place. Bill's first draft pick for the Colts was Peyton Manning, so I'd say he's done a pretty good job getting the players around him to be successful with a super bowl to his credit.
Grigson firing Caldwell was warranted after a dismal 2-14 season, but he seems to be following the same road as the likes of Parcells, McKenzie (the new Raiders GM) and Sherman, where they bring in coaching staffs associated with their former teams or people they already have connections with. This seems like a bad idea, especially after what I saw the Eagles do last postseason, acquiring some serious talent in the secondary and defensive line, while also getting Vince Young, Ronnie Brown, and signing Mike Vick to an insane 100 million dollar contract. What he neglected was the linebacking core, sticking to 3 young players who couldn't tackle a running back.
If Grigson brings in his people from Philadephia, they are going to have their hands full. Reggie Wayne and Robert Mathis are going to be free agents, and they are going to be sinking most of their cap space into one position when they draft Andrew Luck. I think the Colts are a .500 team if Manning has a dreadful defense and a mediocre receiving core/offensive line around him.
Monday, January 16, 2012
The key to beating the New England Patriots
The Patriots had home field advantage throughout, and it's not easy to play in Foxborough. They also haven't beaten a team with a winning record this season, and the Raven's D will be the best one they've seen all year. Haloti Ngata is the key to beating the Patriots. You HAVE to get pressure on Brady, and if you can't with a 4 man rush, you loose. Ed Reed will be on the Gronk, but he's on par with Jimmy Graham in terms of sheer athleticism, and Ngata must disrupt the quick passing game for the Ravens to have a chance. Ray Rice needs to run the ball, keep Brady off the field, and they could come away with a W.
Jeff Fischer's coaching staff raises some questions
Jeff Fischer has officially been brought in to St. Louis to fix the mess leftover by Steve Spagnuolo and the virus Josh McDaniels, and he is already raising some eyebrows with his coordinator choices.
Brian Schottenheimer left the Jets after being 21st offensively this year with a mediocre Mark Sanchez and no running game to be found, but with a much better QB in Sam Bradford, and Steven Jackson, he has the pieces in place to have some success. He can be a decent play caller, but takes a lot of risks and that's not what they need right now.
Gregg Williams for defensive coordinator? Have you seen the Saints defense lately? The only time he has success is when he gets pressure on the quarterback, but he blitzes way too much. They miss tackles, are undisciplined, and ranked 28th or 29th this year in defense. He has his hands full with a lackluster group of guys on defense, and i don't see much success there.
At the very least, the Rams will be interesting to watch next year.
Brian Schottenheimer left the Jets after being 21st offensively this year with a mediocre Mark Sanchez and no running game to be found, but with a much better QB in Sam Bradford, and Steven Jackson, he has the pieces in place to have some success. He can be a decent play caller, but takes a lot of risks and that's not what they need right now.
Gregg Williams for defensive coordinator? Have you seen the Saints defense lately? The only time he has success is when he gets pressure on the quarterback, but he blitzes way too much. They miss tackles, are undisciplined, and ranked 28th or 29th this year in defense. He has his hands full with a lackluster group of guys on defense, and i don't see much success there.
At the very least, the Rams will be interesting to watch next year.
How did the Packers loose?
Over the weekend we saw some crazy football games. Alex Smith trumping Drew Brees, Tom Brady did his thing to end Tebowmania for the year, Joe Flacco being unimpressive but Ed Reed bailed them out, and Eli shocking the Pack at home. The one-loss Pack were 7 1/2 point favorites heading into the game, even though Vegas started the line around 9. People were quick to put money down on the surging Giants, and it paid off for them.
Aaron Rodgers was pressured, but his receivers didn't help him with 6 dropped passes and his frustration showed when he even started missing some throws. The Giants had some great breaks, and the halftime Hail Mary would deflate any team. The packers secondary were playing the receivers, and as a result couldn't locate and bat the ball down. Manning took advantage of the worst part of the defense and it worked. You CANNOT turn the ball over, and 3 fumbles(should have been 4 but the ref crew missed the Jennings fumble) will not get you far in the playoffs. We all knew that without Nick Collins this defense would suffer, and during the regular season they gave up more passing yards than any other defense. The flip side is that Aaron Rodgers could put up 40+ every game. It was not the case on Sunday, and now we have a championship game hosted by the 49ers for the first time since the Steve Young era.
Aaron Rodgers was pressured, but his receivers didn't help him with 6 dropped passes and his frustration showed when he even started missing some throws. The Giants had some great breaks, and the halftime Hail Mary would deflate any team. The packers secondary were playing the receivers, and as a result couldn't locate and bat the ball down. Manning took advantage of the worst part of the defense and it worked. You CANNOT turn the ball over, and 3 fumbles(should have been 4 but the ref crew missed the Jennings fumble) will not get you far in the playoffs. We all knew that without Nick Collins this defense would suffer, and during the regular season they gave up more passing yards than any other defense. The flip side is that Aaron Rodgers could put up 40+ every game. It was not the case on Sunday, and now we have a championship game hosted by the 49ers for the first time since the Steve Young era.
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