Well, it's that time of year again. The following month may very well be one of my favorite months of the year (October a close second). March is something sweet and oh-so fulfilling. It's not the "March Madness" (not a fan of basketball) or even spring that compels me the most. No, it's baseball's spring training. Yes, you read that right. Baseball. One of my favorite sports along with hockey and soccer. It doesn't take a genius to know that I am a Boston Red Sox fan, and have been for a dozen years. I'm not one of those fucking bandwagon jumpers who began to call themselves "Red Sox fans" once they won their first World Series in over 86 years in 2004. They piss me off. I am not only a Red Sox fan; I also follow Atlanta Braves and the Florida Marlins.
Instead of rambling on and on about baseball, I will only say a few things about it. If there are any questions or if you want to carry on the discussion, then please feel free to leave a comment. For the entire month of March a surplus of players (40 or so) of every baseball team (MLB, 30 teams) head south of the USA to practice, play exhibition games, while some will try to make the team. It's similar to hockey's pre-season, but with more sunshine, more positions to fill and more exhibition games (25-30). I am pretty sure a lot of people, especially non-Americans, hate the sport simply because they deem it "long" and "boring." The one thing I hate about that opinion/arguement is that baseball is not the only sport that can be "long" and/or boring. Hockey can be very boring if you watch to teams playing the trap. Soccer can be very boring (and long!) if both teams play defensively or don't have enough talent to score goals. However, the length of each baseball game (nine innings minimum, extra innings if game is tied) averages close to three hours. That may be very long to some, but to others time is not important. Personally, I don't look at how long a game is or how long it may be. I don't watch games thinking about it. Sure, there are some games that feel long, but what sport doesn't have that? I am more interested in the technique of the sport. The pitching. I love pitching. That is one of the reasons why I am a huge Red Sox fan, and also follow the Braves and Marlins.
I am not a die hard fan of the Braves or the Marlins - far from it - but I would like to think of myself as a real (die hard) fan of the Boston Red Sox. Sure, Boston's payroll is around 130 million (top 5 in the league, but far from New York yankees #1 with 200+ million) but they do develop a lot of good prospects. The reason I like the Florida Marlins is because of their ample young players with massive potential - not many teams have this. The ironic part is that the Marlins have the lowest payroll (if not lowest, then certainly very very close). They cannot afford to buy star players, but they do develop many of their players into stars. As soon as a Marlin player begins to get near star status the Marlins trade him for younger prospects. The reason? Money. They simply cannot afford to sign them to long deals worth a lot of money. That, or they just don't want to. Then again, hardly anyone comes to watch their games.
To give you an idea of what the Marlins produced before shipping away to other teams: Miguel Cabrera (3B, traded to Detroit), Josh Beckett (SP traded to Boston), Brad Penny (SP traded to LA - he isn't good now, but he certainly was in 2004), Jeremy Hermida (OF traded to Boston - not a star, but a pretty good young player), etc etc.
That said, I am very excited for the Red Sox this year. Arguably the best rotation (Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, John Lackey, Daisuke Matsuzaka & Clay Buckholtz) and defense entering this season. However, our offense is a question mark. Oh, and I love the addition of John Lackey - a real fucking bulldog on the mound.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
The Olympics: Men's Ice Hockey
This is not going to be about how well/awful a country is doing in the men's ice competition, but more-so about the roster each country has. Now, let me say this: I do not assume everyone will agree with me. Also, I would like to add that it is also hard to imagine Canada's Men's Ice Hockey team without so many bloody NHL star players.
For the purpose of whatever argument I bring up, I will focus on Canada's team. Their roster is pretty damn disgusting and terrifying. Their team is built to win Gold and nothing less - hell, a silver or bronze would seem like the greatest disappointment in Canadian sports history. Believe me, it would be to Canadians. As I said, Canada's roster is disgusting and terrifying. Every player on that roster is a star (to a certain extent) for their NHL team. The thing about Canada is that they lack real role players like they used to with Draper and Maltby (I cannot remember others at this point). No matter how much offense a team has, no matter how big and strong the defense is, every team needs role players (hard workers who simply finish their check, create motivation, may play better two-way hockey, etc etc). Canada doesn't really have that. Correct me if I am wrong, but they don't really have forwards that play good two-way hockey other than Patrice Bergeron and somewhat Jonathan Toews; no real role players. Sure they're powerful and should score plenty of goals, but they can't just rely on that because it will hurt them badly when they play countries like the US, Russia, Sweden and Finland.
The next thing I wanted to mention is Canada's roster compared to other countries. They're stacked everywhere, but I already briefly touched upon that. They have everything. As for other countries such as Germany, Latvia (what are they doing there, seriously?), Norway and Belarus .... well, they really cannot compete. They can't. Each of those countries has maybe a handful of NHL players, while the rest of the roster is more european and somewhat lesser talented. Now, don't get me wrong. I am NOT trying to say that the NHL is better and far superior than any other league (well, maybe it is), but talented players do come from other national leagues. What I am saying is that it seems that when Canada, Russia, United States (even though they are not as good) play Germany, Latvia, Norway and Belarus the viewers are watching the NHL players vs. AHL players; experienced players vs. inexperienced players. You get my point. You start feeling bad for these countries when they play Canada, Russia and the USA. It's more unfair then them being a terrible team. It's like having a baseball team like the New York Yankees (payroll ++ 200 million dollars) against the Florida Marlins (practically tied for lowest budget, 30-45 million.
I saved this point for last because it's about Patrice Bergeron. There was this article by John Grigg of The Hockey News. I think it just speaks for itself on how fucking stupid John Grigg is. The Ironic part, this is a guy that vowed for Alexander Burrows to be on the team. I encourage you to read it.
Link
Hopefully I made myself clear on these points. As I have mentioned within this blog, I am not trying to bash countries other than Canada, USA and Russia. What I am saying is that it's unfair
For the purpose of whatever argument I bring up, I will focus on Canada's team. Their roster is pretty damn disgusting and terrifying. Their team is built to win Gold and nothing less - hell, a silver or bronze would seem like the greatest disappointment in Canadian sports history. Believe me, it would be to Canadians. As I said, Canada's roster is disgusting and terrifying. Every player on that roster is a star (to a certain extent) for their NHL team. The thing about Canada is that they lack real role players like they used to with Draper and Maltby (I cannot remember others at this point). No matter how much offense a team has, no matter how big and strong the defense is, every team needs role players (hard workers who simply finish their check, create motivation, may play better two-way hockey, etc etc). Canada doesn't really have that. Correct me if I am wrong, but they don't really have forwards that play good two-way hockey other than Patrice Bergeron and somewhat Jonathan Toews; no real role players. Sure they're powerful and should score plenty of goals, but they can't just rely on that because it will hurt them badly when they play countries like the US, Russia, Sweden and Finland.
The next thing I wanted to mention is Canada's roster compared to other countries. They're stacked everywhere, but I already briefly touched upon that. They have everything. As for other countries such as Germany, Latvia (what are they doing there, seriously?), Norway and Belarus .... well, they really cannot compete. They can't. Each of those countries has maybe a handful of NHL players, while the rest of the roster is more european and somewhat lesser talented. Now, don't get me wrong. I am NOT trying to say that the NHL is better and far superior than any other league (well, maybe it is), but talented players do come from other national leagues. What I am saying is that it seems that when Canada, Russia, United States (even though they are not as good) play Germany, Latvia, Norway and Belarus the viewers are watching the NHL players vs. AHL players; experienced players vs. inexperienced players. You get my point. You start feeling bad for these countries when they play Canada, Russia and the USA. It's more unfair then them being a terrible team. It's like having a baseball team like the New York Yankees (payroll ++ 200 million dollars) against the Florida Marlins (practically tied for lowest budget, 30-45 million.
I saved this point for last because it's about Patrice Bergeron. There was this article by John Grigg of The Hockey News. I think it just speaks for itself on how fucking stupid John Grigg is. The Ironic part, this is a guy that vowed for Alexander Burrows to be on the team. I encourage you to read it.
Link
Hopefully I made myself clear on these points. As I have mentioned within this blog, I am not trying to bash countries other than Canada, USA and Russia. What I am saying is that it's unfair
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Just around the corner
Honey, I can feel it. I can feel it. Right around the corner! Itching for a break. For some relaxation. Itching, just itching. Spring break. Soon. Begins Thursday afternoon for me. I can feel it. Damn. Not the right moment for me to sound all poetic. You know what makes this feeling even better? A music band with a specific name. Do you know who I am talking about? No, not Guns N' Roses or Rage Against the Machine. Bruce "The Boss" Springsteen, that's who. Such great music for this time of year.
Anyone going to watch the Olympics? Hockey (not the NHL)? I guess I should blog about the pros and cons about hockey (with NHL players) in the Olympics. Maybe later this week when I have ample time.
Anyone going to watch the Olympics? Hockey (not the NHL)? I guess I should blog about the pros and cons about hockey (with NHL players) in the Olympics. Maybe later this week when I have ample time.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
The Usual Shit: Fuck, I Need A Cigar!
This is not about hockey. There, happy? However, as usual, I don't fucking know what I will be writing about. Again. Don't worry, nothing pornographic. A chuckle here, a chuckle there. Nothing school related since I do not believe this blog should be a tool for it. I'm sure I mentioned something related to school way back when, but that was then. This is now. So, no school related shit.
I guess I can write something briefly about my lyric/poem blog, which is limited to a handful of people. I think 2010 will be a quite year for the blog only because I won't blog just about anything I write - not that I have in the past, but I tend to notice some lyrics/poem don't belong in the blog yet. The last one I blogged, Start of Something, is probably one of my worst ones I have written in a while. Not because of a friend's "critique" of the poem/lyric, but more due to the fact that despite the message being clear, it doesn't give me much of a vibe. Hard to explain, I know. That said, I will not take it out. You got to take the bad with the good.
Moving along. I cannot wait until spring break arrives. February 18th being my last class of the month. Feels like it is just around the corner. I plan to keep busy; other than writing fucking essays and studying for an exam, which takes place the first day back, I plan to go skating, relax, hang out with friends/cousins, sleep more and I'm sure other stuff will come to mind.
Oh, and just like the title says. I haven't had one since last September. Cuban cigars are amazing. Soon, soon.
I guess I can write something briefly about my lyric/poem blog, which is limited to a handful of people. I think 2010 will be a quite year for the blog only because I won't blog just about anything I write - not that I have in the past, but I tend to notice some lyrics/poem don't belong in the blog yet. The last one I blogged, Start of Something, is probably one of my worst ones I have written in a while. Not because of a friend's "critique" of the poem/lyric, but more due to the fact that despite the message being clear, it doesn't give me much of a vibe. Hard to explain, I know. That said, I will not take it out. You got to take the bad with the good.
Moving along. I cannot wait until spring break arrives. February 18th being my last class of the month. Feels like it is just around the corner. I plan to keep busy; other than writing fucking essays and studying for an exam, which takes place the first day back, I plan to go skating, relax, hang out with friends/cousins, sleep more and I'm sure other stuff will come to mind.
Oh, and just like the title says. I haven't had one since last September. Cuban cigars are amazing. Soon, soon.
Friday, February 5, 2010
The Boston Bruins (and Ilya Kovalchuk trade): Season Down the Drain (Part faux Deux)
OK, I said I would have a part two concerning my frustrations on the Boston Bruins, who lost for the ninth (9) straight time last night. But I decided to back off and bury my frustrations on the team for now. Yes, it took a lot in me to keep away for a while. That's all I wanted to say.
Well, since I'm on the subject I guess I'll briefly talk about the Ilya Kovalchuk trade that took place last night. He is, of course, one of the few players in the league along with Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby and (yes, him too) Evgeny Malkin that can be called a superstar. Ilya Kovalchuk. Yup. Sniper. Yup. Well, he was dealt to the New Jersey Devils. Who would have thought the Devils of all teams would trade for him? I certainly didn't. Not many did. In my opinion, Don Waddel (Atlanta's GM) once again failed to achieve a substantial return for Kovalchuk - just as he failed to get anything for Hossa two years ago.
New Jersey sent Atlanta the following: this years first round pick, Niclas Bergfors (FW), Johnny Oduya (D) and Patrice Cormier (NJs second round pick last year). Bergfors has potential to be a second liner at best; Johnny Oduya is a solid defenseman who is having a tough season; Patrice Cormier could be a bust like Angelo Esposito (part of the return from Pittsburgh for Hossa two years ago) and the first round pick (looks like it will be somewhere between 25-30) can be a toss up. Now, I understand that Kovalchuk is considered a rental player as far as anyone is concerned. And I can also understand Waddel desperation to trade Kovalchuk now before the Olympics to avoid any possibility that Kovalchuk gets hurt (if that were to happen than it is safe to assume Atlanta was fucked), however, Waddel did not get any player that would generate any excitement from Atlanta fans to attend home games. Lets face it, a good chunk of Atlanta fans, or any hockey fan attending a Trashers game, went because they wanted to see Ilya Kovalchuk. Now who do they go watch? Certainly none of the New Jersey players coming to Atlanta. That's a safe bet. Rich Peverley? Hmm, OK. Good hands, but who will he pass to? Maxim Afinigenov? That's a charm *sarcasm*. Nik Antropov? lol.
Not much there. That's not to say Atlanta will suck for the next couple of years. Oh, no. They won't be great or as entertaining, but they will be an OK team in the mist of developing their D and offense. What puzzles me is that Waddel stated that New Jersey's offer was the best. Why didn't Waddel pry Travis Zajac from New Jersey. I know I would have. Maybe he tried, and he most certainly failed. Despite all of this, Don Waddel is still one of the worst active GMs in the league. Oh, yes he is.
Well, since I'm on the subject I guess I'll briefly talk about the Ilya Kovalchuk trade that took place last night. He is, of course, one of the few players in the league along with Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby and (yes, him too) Evgeny Malkin that can be called a superstar. Ilya Kovalchuk. Yup. Sniper. Yup. Well, he was dealt to the New Jersey Devils. Who would have thought the Devils of all teams would trade for him? I certainly didn't. Not many did. In my opinion, Don Waddel (Atlanta's GM) once again failed to achieve a substantial return for Kovalchuk - just as he failed to get anything for Hossa two years ago.
New Jersey sent Atlanta the following: this years first round pick, Niclas Bergfors (FW), Johnny Oduya (D) and Patrice Cormier (NJs second round pick last year). Bergfors has potential to be a second liner at best; Johnny Oduya is a solid defenseman who is having a tough season; Patrice Cormier could be a bust like Angelo Esposito (part of the return from Pittsburgh for Hossa two years ago) and the first round pick (looks like it will be somewhere between 25-30) can be a toss up. Now, I understand that Kovalchuk is considered a rental player as far as anyone is concerned. And I can also understand Waddel desperation to trade Kovalchuk now before the Olympics to avoid any possibility that Kovalchuk gets hurt (if that were to happen than it is safe to assume Atlanta was fucked), however, Waddel did not get any player that would generate any excitement from Atlanta fans to attend home games. Lets face it, a good chunk of Atlanta fans, or any hockey fan attending a Trashers game, went because they wanted to see Ilya Kovalchuk. Now who do they go watch? Certainly none of the New Jersey players coming to Atlanta. That's a safe bet. Rich Peverley? Hmm, OK. Good hands, but who will he pass to? Maxim Afinigenov? That's a charm *sarcasm*. Nik Antropov? lol.
Not much there. That's not to say Atlanta will suck for the next couple of years. Oh, no. They won't be great or as entertaining, but they will be an OK team in the mist of developing their D and offense. What puzzles me is that Waddel stated that New Jersey's offer was the best. Why didn't Waddel pry Travis Zajac from New Jersey. I know I would have. Maybe he tried, and he most certainly failed. Despite all of this, Don Waddel is still one of the worst active GMs in the league. Oh, yes he is.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
The Boston Bruins: Season Down The Drain (Part One of Two)
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