Not So Crazy Eight..ty-Five?

Chad Ochocinco was has been known for publicity stunts. From touchdown dances, to TV shows, to Twitter, to his last name, Chad has always been about getting his name out. Well this time he put his name out, but I don't think it's for publicity. He asked for and received a tryout for Sporting Kansis City of the MLS. The tryout is the normal 4-day tryout that all tryouts get. Ochocinco has already completed two days of the tryout and will play on the team's reserve team against the Kansas City Brass, a minor league team. Now why do I think this Ochocinco stunt is not for publicity? Well for starters, soccer is his second favorite sport.

As a kid, soccer was the sport Chad Ochocinco, then Chad Johnson, played. He started at age 4 and played until age 15. He then stopped to begin his football career. He is now friends with soccer stars such as Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Ronaldinho. He visited Ronaldo and his Real Madrid teammates, and met the team manager, Jose Mourinho, in January. He also uses a soccer ball to warm up for NFL practices and games. As you can see, Ochocinco appears to be trying out for the love of the sport, not just to do something crazy while the NFL is going through a labor dispute. He has stated that he does not have to be paid either.

Sporting Kansas City, known formerly as the Kansas City Wizards, began in 1995 as one of the MLS's first 10 members. The team is owned by a group known as Sporting Club, which is why they changed their name to Sporting Kansas City. The team is quite successful being in the playoffs on and off throughout its existence. They are winners of the MLS Cup, MLS Supporter's Shield, and the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. They are one of 5 teams to win all three domestic major championships. Inviting Ochocinco to a tryout doesn't hurt the club at all. It actually increases exposure for the team, and it apparently won't cost them anything if he does make the team. So of course the team allowed him to tryout. The reserve game he is playing in is standard to all tryouts also, so they are not even giving him any special treatment. They are treating him just like any other person they granted a tryout too.

While Sporting Kansas City is perfectly fine allowing in Ochocinco, people in the NFL are not as supportive. Ochocinco's football coach, Marvin Lewis, questioned his commitment to the tryout, asking, "What has he ever done that he's completed? What circle has he ever connected in any way?" Ochocinco has said he is not taking this lightly and that he's looking forward to trying to achieve his childhood dream of playing for Major League Soccer, even though the league was not created until he was in high school. Another person in the NFL, Packers tight end Jermichael Finley, called Ochocinco a clown for trying out for the MLS. I personally think it's perfectly fine for Ochocinco to tryout for a sport he's loved since childhood. I am also think it's not one of his schemes to make expose himself to the public. I think, this time, Ochocinco is a not-so-crazy eighty-five.

References

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6224036
http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/news/_/id/6254842/chad-ochocinco-says-mls-trial-no-joke
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6250413
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6257987
http://www.sportingkc.com/history

The Mystery of the Kid-less Pens

Sydney Crosby is arguably the best player in the NHL. In 42 games, he had 66 points, 32 goals and 34 assists. He was averaging a goal and an assist per game. If he kept up that pace to this day he'd have around 62 goals and 64 assists for a mind-blowing 126 points. But we will never know if that would have happened because Crosby suffered nasty head shots in back-to-back games in early January resulting in a concussion and has been out ever since. With Crosby out for about half the year, you can kill the Penguins playoff and title hopes, right? Well, no, not really. In fact, the Pens have been just fine without Sid the Kid, going 17-11-5 so far in his absence. The question is: how are they doing so well without him? Note that the Pens other star center, Evgeni Malkin, has also been marred by injury this year matching Crosby's games played total of 42, and that this team has had to deal with numerous injuries all season long. The answer is seemingly excellent work between the pipes and some key trades.

In nearly all of January and February, the Penguins relied on superb goalkeeping from goalies Marc-Andre Fleury and Brent Johnson to keep them in games. In fact, the two Pen goalies only allowed 66 goals through 33 games, good for a 1.91 average for those two months. They also had strong play from centers Jordan Staal and Tyler Kennedy, presumingly the ones who took over for Crosby and Malkin, respectively. Staal having 25 points on the year (10 goals, 15 assists in 35 games) and Kennedy having 40 points on the year (18 goals, 22 assists in 72 games). The end of February, beginning of March was when management decided to bring in the calvary.

The trades started February 22nd with the trade of defenseman Alex Goligoski to Dallas for left winger James Neal and defenseman Matt Niskanen. They acquired Neal for his scoring abilities and Niskanen is a great assist man when in good form, only had 6 at the time of the trade though. Next trade G.M. Ray Shero made was two days later, acquiring veteran winger Alexei Kovalev from Ottawa in exchange for a conditional 7th round pick in this year's draft. Shero got Kovalev for his veteran leadership and scoring ability. The trade reunited Kovalev and the Pens, as he played from 99-03 with them. All three players Shero went out and got are all great offensively, obviously adding more firepower while Crosby is out and for when he returns.

Crosby has been two weeks free of concussion-like symptoms and has been on the ice skating 10-15 minutes a session recently. Today he got up to 30 minutes ice time, and now the next step in his recovery is a regular practice. Crosby could be back for the end of the regular season, but will most likely return closer to playoff time. When he does return, the Pens will have a very high octane offense with Crosby, Staal, Neal, Kovalev, Kennedy, etc. Combine that with superb goalkeeping from Fleury and Johnson, and the Pens are yet again Stanley Cup contenders. Now you know why the Pens weren't done when Crosby (and Malkin) got injured, and, more importantly, you know the mystery of the Kid-less Pens.

References

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/players/profile?playerId=3114
http://espn.go.com/nhl/team/schedule/_/name/pit/pittsburgh-penguins
http://espn.go.com/nhl/players/profile?playerId=3541
http://espn.go.com/nhl/players/profile?playerId=3339
http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/nhl/news/story?id=6145303
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=6154492

The Young and the Used

The Texas Rangers went to the World Series last year for the first time ever. You can say it was Josh Hamilton's bat or Cliff Lee's arm that rode them to the final series of the baseball , and you no one could say you were wrong. Hamilton and Lee were both a big part of the monster success of the Rangers, but the key to the Rangers clubhouse was a guy named Michael Young. Young is the longest tenured Ranger on the team and he is the only player to survive the turnover of the Texas Rangers over the last decade. This is due to his hitting ability, his versatility in the infield, and his leadership. But over the years, Young has looked like management's mule as well.

Young was originally a second baseman. He made the Rangers team at second in 2000 and became the starter the following year. He only played second base until 2003 though. In 2004, the Rangers asked him to switch to short to make room for newly acquired Alfonso Soriano. Young accepted the move but little did he know he'd be on the move again 5 years later. In 2009, the Rangers asked him to move to third to make room for up-and-coming shortshop prospect Elvis Andrus. Young again accepted the move, begrudgingly at first, but he got over it and worked hard to be the best third baseman he can be. Young has always been known for his excellent fielding, no matter what position he plays. His stay at third was the shortest of all the changes though as this off-season the Rangers signed Adrian Beltre to play third. Young's new position you ask? He doesn't get one. The Rangers have now tabbed him as their DH/super utility man. Young's response to this new change was: "Please try your best to trade me."

Young has had enough with all the change. I would be too. Michael Young is indeed getting older, but his production as not decreased any. None of these changed were because of age, injury, or anything that prevented Young from playing the previous position. All of these changed were about replacing Michael Young with someone else and just moving him like he didn't mind learning a new position every few years. Most starters in the majors have one position throughout their career, maybe two. Michael Young has had 3 already, and will be moving into a 4th this year. The Rangers, knowing how loyal Young has been, tried to accommodate his trade requests, but either the demands were too high or no one wants a 34-year old infielder that gets paid 16 million dollars.

I think this problem can be solved easily. Young is unhappy because he doesn't have one position to play. Being a DH does not really bother him as much as having to play all four infield positions. I say four because he has been seeing action at first this spring training and will presumingly start at that position throughout the year as well as at 2nd, short, and 3rd. My suggestion is to just make him the outright starter at 1st. Right now the Rangers starting 1st baseman is Mitch Mooreland, a young first baseman who was decent in limited at-bats and then caught fire during the playoffs. Mooreland is only 25 and he will get his chance to be a full-time player. I think it is more important to give your veteran leader a specific role on the team rather than making him the DH/super utility player. This is why it makes more sense to put Young at first and have Mooreland either spot him or send him to Triple-A to get in at-bats. You let Young play first for the next 2 years, then you give him the DH/super utility role because at 36 his skills will be on the decline.

In reality, though, Young will have the DH/super utility role this year, whether he likes it or not. He is learning how to be ready to play any position and not let it effect his rhythm. He has been doing it his way as well. Young has said that he has not asked Andres Blanco or any other super utility player how to handle bouncing around the infield, citing that the reason being he wants to trust his own instincts. His own instincts have worked very well to this point, and so the Rangers brass probably has no problem hearing that from him. Rangers G.M. Jon Daniels has said that he will not trade Young this spring, but didn't rule out it out altogether. Another thing we can't rule out is that there is probably going to be more to this 'The Young and the Used' storyline.

References

http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/mlb/news/story?id=6255894
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/splits?playerId=4566&type=batting&year=2001
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/y/youngmi02.shtml#contracts
http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/mlb/news/story?id=6227023

D-Rose, A-Star

Earlier this week, ESPN's Colin Cowherd, host of The Herd on ESPN Radio and co-host of Sportsnation, went on a rant on twitter about how Derrick Rose isn't a true star because he didn't recruit LeBron hard enough to join the Bulls and that the only person he could get to join him was Carlos Boozer. He said Rose wants his own fame, and isn't a "get it guy" who wants rings. He said real stars want to play with other stars, and since Rose didn't make a good enough attempt to get LeBron last summer and refused to call him back or meet with him or whatever, Rose isn't a true star. I think Cowherd had a bad day earlier this week or something because I have no idea how any of this makes sense.

True stars don't want to play alongside other stars...they want to beat them. True stars know that if you win a ring by yourself with good complimentary players around you, then you've accomplished something huge. Kobe Bryant is a true star because he's not a "get it guy." While he's said he wanted to leave on multiple occasions, he never left the Los Angeles Lakers to join a team with more star players. He waited for his team to get players to help him, and they did. Obviously I am talking about the post-Shaq era of the Lakers, but even back then management went out and got Kobe help. More recently they got him Pau Gasol, Ron Artest, etc. The Cavs got LeBron players too, and he made the Finals..and lost. LeBron James is not a true star. What kind of true star agrees to create a super team made of 3 of the best players at their positions. Is anybody honestly going to be impressed when the "Heatles" win their first ring? I know I'm not. I'll be one of the people saying, "You have a stacked team in a league that welcomes decade long dynasties. Not impressive." Sorry for than mini LeBron rant, back to how Derrick Rose is a true star.

If the rumors are true and Rose refused to call back LeBron or meet with him or whatever, then that was the smartest thing he could have ever done. Sure acquiring LeBron would have put the Bulls on the fast track for multiple rings, but at what cost to Derrick Rose? With LeBron, Rose is just a sidekick, no longer a star. Without LeBron, Rose is the face of the franchise, the star. Without LeBron, everything the Bulls accomplish and don't accomplish is directly attributed to how Rose plays, and that is what a true star is. The Chicago Bulls is Derrick Rose's team, no one else's. The Miami Heat is whose team? They have 3 guys that could be the star, but no one is. You think Miami's closing problems and them not having 1 guy that wants the ball at the end of the game are just a coincidence? Heck no. You'd think it'd be easier when a team has multiple guys that have closing ability, but it clearly isn't. It isn't because it creates a controversy. With one star everyone on the team knows who will get the ball at the end of close games. With three stars no one knows what will happen or who is going to get it, hence the controversy.

Cowherd says that the only player Rose could get was Boozer and that proves what other stars think about him. Well considering that there were only 5 great free agents last summer in James, Wade, Amare, Bosh, and Boozer and 3 of them already knew they were probably going to the Heat, that leaves two left. Now consider the fact that Amare's old coach was in New York and that they had a boat load of money to spend since they were most likely going to loose out on LeBron; there goes Amare off the list. This leaves Boozer left, who the Bulls signed. Derrick Rose got the one guy he knew would come to Chicago and not steal his limelight but still help the team a lot. You can call it selfishness, or wanting his own fame, or whatever. I call it being a true star. He recognized when he was drafted that he was going to be the guy in Chicago, and he made sure no one was going to take that away from him, even if it could have meant multiple rings. Derrick Rose wants his own rings, and right now that's trumping forming a super team because the Bulls sit atop the East and the Heat are playing catch up 3.5 games back. Derrick Rose has a simple nickname, D-Rose, and he is A-Star.

References

http://twitter.com/#!/ESPN_Colin
http://search.espn.go.com/derrick-rose/
http://espn.go.com/nba/standings

DJ Dilemma Part 2

Last winter the Yankees and Jeter had trouble agreeing to a new contract. They finally agreed, but not after some spats from both sides. This spring it looks like there will be another Jeter dilemma. Dilemma number two will be where to put him in the lineup, 1 or 2. Last year Jeter batted lead off and had one of his worst years statistically. The year before he batted there also and had one of his best years statistically. The problem is that he's not getting any younger and players decline with age, not improve. The Yankees have a young, blazing fast left fielder in Brett Gardner who would be a much more logical choice at lead off, but manager Joe Girardi might still go with Jeter at the top. Why? According to Girardi, the Yankees signed Jeter to be a lead off man. Now I don't know the terms of the contract, but I'm pretty sure there's nothing written about how Jeter must be lead off man throughout the life of the contract. What I do know, though, is that if Girardi goes with Jeter on top it will be a very foolish decision.

Historically speaking Derek Jeter is a # 2 hitter. Jeter only started hitting lead off everyday a few years ago, and I could see why. Early 30's Jeter was a .300 hitter with good speed, knew how to get on base, and didn't have a lot of power. He was the definition of a typical lead off hitter. But times have changed and Jeter is now mid 30's Jeter. His first year of this part of career did not scream lead off man. His numbers were down across the board, but they weren't really that bad. He hit .270 with 10 homers, 67 RBIs, 18 steals, and a .340 on-base percentage. To me, these are 2 hole numbers. The average could be better, but the main job of the #2 guy is to continue the trend of the lead off guy and got on base before the heart of the order comes up. The only real difference between 1 and 2 is how often you get on base, and while Jeter's average and OBP were decent they were not good enough to lead off. They were good enough to bat behind the lead off man. Brett Gardner was the man who had better lead off numbers last year.

Gardner hit .277 with 5 homers, 47 RBIs, 47 steals, and a .379 OBP. While the average should be a ways higher for a lead off man, the .379 OBP and 47 steals is what makes Gardner fit for the top spot. He is a patient hitter with young, fast legs that can fly around the bases and cause havoc for opposing teams. He is the type of player you want leading off games, not batting las. Russell Martin has above average speed for a catcher, have him bat last. Batting first in the lineup, logically, gets you more at bats per game because you see your first at bat in the first inning not third or fourth. Getting Gardner more at bats will increase his steal numbers and possibly his average and OBP numbers. It could also decrease these numbers, but with Jeter's numbers already decreasing I think it's worth the risk to put Gardner atop the Yankee lineup for the whole season.

In conclusion, I think the rest of Yankee Universe would like to see Gardner at the top of order as well. If Girardi goes with Jeter, the likely thing that will happen, and Jeter starts repeating his numbers from last year, then the fans will definitely want to see a change atop the order. I think fans will be more lenient if Gardner struggles a bit on top because he can cover up his struggles with the ability to get on base frequently and then stealing lots of bases. In reality, Gardner was only 4% more efficient than Jeter in the OBP category, but baseball is not a reality sport In baseball that 4% is a lot. The first Jeter Dilemma was handled in favor of the New York Yankees. Now let's hope the second dilemma is handled in favor of the New York Yankees as well. Because the reality is that...for once...Derek Jeter is not the best option in this scenario.

References

http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/news/story?id=6228324
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?playerId=3246
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?playerId=29174

Life Without Pigskin

If you haven't heard, the NFL owners locked out the players, and the union decertified so the players can sue the NFL. In layman's terms, this means that as of right now NFL football will not happen this coming fall. This does not mean as much to the owners as you may think because all, or most at least, have other businesses besides their NFL team. But as it means little to the owners, it means everything to the players because the NFL is their full-time job. So my question is, what have the players been up to? Well, some players are trying to make sure the players don't get shafted in the next collective bargaining agreement (CBA) while trying to make sure there is football this fall. Other players are organizing workouts with coaches and pretending that this whole dispute never happened. Then there are those players that are turning to other sports to make money for the time being.

It should be no surprise that some of biggest names are fighting for the players and trying to get a deal done one way or another. Some of the big names include are: the three best active quarterbacks in Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, and Tom Brady; Manning's center, Jeff Saturday; and Ravens starting corner Domonique Foxworth. The quarterbacks are part of a 10-player lawsuit against the NFL for violating antitrust laws, named the Sherman Act. Brees and Saturday have been vocal to the press about the whole situation while Foxworth attended some of the meetings between the owners and players. Kevin Burnett, a not-so-big name player and linebacker for the Chargers, took his frustrations to the press as well and tore into Goodell's character calling him a "blatant liar." No one knows if players getting this involved will hurt or help the CBA negotiations.

Why those players are fighting for football in 2011-2012, other players are anticipating football this year and honing their skills with coaches. Chad Henne was the first to do this having (illegal but non-punished) meetings with his new offensive coordinator, Brian Daboll, and quarterback coach, Karl Dorell. These meetings were before the old CBA expired there were rules that disallowed player/coach interaction, but the NFL chose not to punish the Dolphins. The Rams and Browns were also having such meetings and the NFL sent them cease-and-desist letters. All contacts between teams and players is forbidden now that the CBA expired, so it is unknown if teams are still breaking the rules and having player/coach meetings. If not, you can rest assure that the likes of Chad Henne and Sam Bradford are working out alone somewhere preparing as if a lockout never happened.

If I told you Chad Ochocinco was going to play professional soccer in Kansas City, would you believe me? You don't have to answer that because the Associated Press and ESPN have reported that Sporting Kansas City of the MLS has given Ochocinco a 4-day tryout to make the team. Ochocinco loves the sport of soccer and played from age 4 until high school, choosing to focus on football there. Another player switching sports during the lockout is Ravens safety, Tom Zbikowski, who returned to the sport he played in college: boxing. Zbikowski won his second career fight against Richard Bryant, winning 50,000 dollars in the process. While Ochocinco and Zbikowski chose to dabble in completely different sports, two receivers returned to arena football. Rod Windsor and Troy Bergeron, both practice squad players last year for the Browns and Cowboys, both signed AFL contract and both were rookie of the year for the league at one point. I guess for these players it is all about trying to raise income, except for Ochocinco, who I am sure has enough money to sit out this lockout and a few more after that.

One thing can be said in loo of these facts, and that is that the players are not all unified about getting what they want from this deal. I would not be surprised if some players didn't care if the owners took another billion off the top as long as it meant football in the fall. While enough of the star players have stepped up trying to fight for the players, I don't think it will be enough. I think either the owners will win this deal or there will be no football this year. If all the players were unified for the cause it might be a different story, but with players quickly willing to go elsewhere to find work this might be a sign of no 2011-12 season. Everybody brace yourselves for life without pigskin because things are looking pretty grim right now. Good thing there's Madden.

References

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6205936
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6229285
http://espn.go.com/blog/afceast/post/_/id/26490/chad-henne-indicates-dolphins-broke-rules
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6227522