Tag: New York

James Dolan at War with Maggie Gray and WFAN

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New York Post – James Dolan and Madison Square Garden have gone nuclear in their revenge against WFAN and its parent company, Entercom, The Post has learned.

In retaliation for a summer rant by WFAN host Maggie Gray, Dolan’s MSG has ordered all of its businesses across the country to shut down working with Entercom and banned Knicks and Rangers players, as well as MSG broadcasters and personnel, from appearing on the station, according to officials involved in the decision.

Interesting move by James Dolan and MSG yesterday. Of course by interesting I mean petty and shortsighted, because these types of moves rarely work out well.

Full disclosure, I had not heard or read about Maggie Gray’s August rant until yesterday. I also had no idea that Dolan used to be pals with Harvey Weinstein. That’s the main reason why moves like this are wrongheaded. In attempting to exact revenge against Gray, WFAN and Entercom two months later, Dolan only brings more attention to himself and to the rant that got him so upset in the first place. There’s no way I would have come across Gray’s rant two months later if not for this move by Dolan and MSG. They teach this in literally every Sports Marketing 101 class in the country.

If it’s favorable coverage in the media Dolan wants, this move certainly won’t help. That’s another reason why moves like this don’t often work out well. In reacting poorly to unflattering coverage, Dolan only ensures more unflattering coverage. Most media members don’t respond well to these types of actions.

Did Gray go over the line with some of her word choices? That can be debated. But Dolan is worth $1.5 billion. He owns the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers. Even if Gray made those comments on the most popular sports radio station in the country, it feels like Dolan is punching down.

It’s unlikely many fans will side with Dolan in this squabble, given the well-documented struggles of his franchises over the last 20 years. Rather than go to war with WFAN and the fans of his teams (i.e., paying customers), wouldn’t it be a better business decision to try and reach some of those paying customers who also listen to WFAN?

I know it can be hard to take the high road some times, but it has to be easier to take your guitar and go home when your worth more than the Powerball jackpot.

 

 

Oregon Sports Minute: QB Justin Herbert Likely to Stay for His Senior Season

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CBS – Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert is becoming a consensus top-overall pick candidate in the 2019 draft, but multiple league sources indicated it is far more likely that the junior actually remains in school for another year.

Teams have begun falling in love with the strapping prospect – a 6-foot-6, athletic, former multi-sport star who is evolving into a pure passer – and his prospects continue to rise by the game, but numerous sources said that there is a very strong sentiment from the Oregon program that Herbert will remain in school for 2019. Several scouts from NFL teams who have held informal discussions with friends and contacts on the Oregon staff said they would be very surprised if the quarterback opted to turn pro this spring.

Furthermore, there are strong signals throughout the agent community that Herbert is going to stay in school. Several of the top agencies generally in line to represent such talents are becoming pessimistic about him entering the draft.

I love this if for no other reason than it will punish the New York Giants for being morons and taking a RB at No. 2 overall this year when they desperately needed a QB. Well it looked like they were going to fall ass backwards into another stud QB prospect with the No. 1 overall pick this year, thus causing them to learn nothing. Now, according to reports Justin Herbert is likely to stay for his senior season and the Giants are back to being hosed under center.

Now if Herbert does stay at Oregon, it’s for a number of reasons. I won’t bore you with all the details so here are reasons No. 1 and No. 2.

Herbert is a native of Eugene, Oregon, who absolutely loves the school, badly wants to win there and is very eager to play with his younger brother. Patrick Herbert is a four-star tight end prospect who is committed to going to Oregon in 2019.

Herbert is legitimately born and raised in Eugene, Oregon. How a kid from Eugene turns into one of the best quarterbacks in the entire country and winds up playing at Oregon is incredible. Usually those guys go to Florida and Georgia and Oklahoma. The last great QB the Ducks had was a guy named Marcus Mariota and they had to pluck him from the ends of the Earth aka Hawaii.

Reason No. 2 – apparently his brother is a stud Tight End prospect who has committed to play at Oregon next season. Imagine going out on top leading the school you bled for since you were a kid to its first ever national championship while throwing to your kid brother? Yea this guy ain’t going anywhere.

Maybe the Giants can take another RB this year and build the greatest 4-12 team this league has ever seen.

I don’t know if I’ve blogged about how a guy from Boston became an Oregon Ducks fan, but allow me to elaborate. Aside from 2007 when Matt Ryan was tearing up the NCAA or in the 80s when Doug Flutie was at Chestnut Hill, Boston College has never been a legitimate college football team. And they never will be. The best seasons they’ve had were when they dipped into the post-grad pool to pluck former SEC guys like Tyler Murphy. Wouldn’t you know having actual talent at positions other than OL and MLB lead to an upset win over a national powerhouse like USC in 2014?

So I came to grips with despite the fact that I live a mile from the BC football stadium, they ain’t ever gonna compete for anything bigger than a Meineke Car Care Bowl trophy. Enter Chip Kelly in 2009 who was running his team like I ran my Madden franchise in college. 90+ plays a game, HB screens all day, 5 wide receiver bubble screens, mobile QB, speed, speed, speed. And. The. Jerseys.

For a free agent college football fan I was sold, which explains the bright yellow Mariota jersey hanging in my closet.

This has been the Oregon Sports Minute.

Friday Afternoon Grab Bag

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I have ten minutes at work to kill so let’s go.

-I initially disagreed with Mattes’ blog about Dwayne Allen but then I really concentrated on exactly how much we are paying him and I am now enraged. What I texted him, and what I’ll share with you, is that you kind of have to compare his role on the team and contract to players of equals roles and their deals. My example was James Devlin, who lead blocks on just about every significant run play (I think I heard last week the Pats go with more 2 back sets than just about every other team) and now has added catching a key pass every now and again to his repertoire. He also makes a little more (in pro athlete terms) than a quarter of what Allen makes. Fuck that. Allen contributes significantly as a blocking tight end but not 4x of James Devlin significant.

-On the other hand, I respectfully disagree with the assessment of our pass rush. If you recall the hey day of the Pats dynasty, The D relied on a front seven that could hurry the hell out of a quarterback, forcing bad throws and picks (sup Ty Law and Asante Samuel) (No “sup” for you Ellis Hobbs III). We didn’t really fill up the stat sheet back then with sacks either. I think we are doing the same thing nowadays. Adrian Clayborn, for example, seems to be somewhere near the quarterback on a lot of significant pass plays. I’m fine where we’re at right now.

-I feel like there hasn’t been any press yet about “The Sisters Brothers”, a western that stars Gyllenhaal, C. Reilly, Phoenix, and Ahmed, among others. It looks like the shit.

-I’ve tried to get into “Big Mouth” the animated show by Nick Kroll and his childhood friend Andrew Goldberg about puberty and jerking off but just can’t. I guess it’s one of those litmus test shows like “Rick and Morty”, you either get it or you don’t.

-Khabib and Conor will both be suspended from the 15th to the 25th, when it will be decided if they will be suspended indefinitely pending an investigation. You can count on the indefinite suspension. Bob Bennett, the Commissioner of the NSAC is considered one of the more reasonable Commissioners and I don’t think he even can pass up an opportunity to show his power and self-importance. This could take awhile.

-Lewis vs. Cormier for the title at UFC 230 is the fight we deserve right now. I mean leeeet’s fuckin go. Should be a fun one. Sucks about Nate vs. Poirier though. I’d say the event itself nets out even. If both were still on, this would be a can’t-miss card.

-No word on the final fate of Zubair Tughukov, I’m thinking a suspension at this point.

-I know I’m forgetting something….

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-O YA, THE YANKEES SUUUUUUCKKKK HAHAHAHA. O boy. Poor trash bags from the 5 burroughs with nothing to be proud of anymore. If you are in the tri-state area next couple weeks bottle some tears for me. Go Sox, indeed.

 

Red Sox Roll the Yankees in Game 3, Now One Win Away from the ALCS

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I was a little torn on the decision to start Nathan Eovaldi in Game 3 last night. The guy throws absolute gas (Avg fastball velocity was 3rd in MLB) and has been very good against the Yankees the last two months of the season (1 ER in 16 IP), but he’s also a trade deadline pickup starting over your former Cy Young winner. Well Eovaldi put all that anxiety to bed real quick.

“Nathan Eovaldi gave the Boston Red Sox their best postseason start since Jon Lester in Game 5 of the 2013 World Series, allowing just one run in seven innings Monday with an efficient 97 pitches.”

Bravo, Alex Cora. Bravo.

So while Eovaldi was mowing down the Yankees’ uber powerful lineup, the Sox offense was abusing Luis Severino and finished the night with a 16-1 victory. I’m currently in New York so I’m watching all the NY morning sports shows and Aaron Boone is already getting ripped for his managerial decisions in Game 3.

Leaving Luis Severino in to start the 4th inning after he clearly didn’t have it and couldn’t locate his fastball all night. Boone let him start the 4th and he promptly loaded the bases without recording an out. Boone then brought in Lance Lynn who put on a clinic of how not to pitch after figuratively and literally falling down on the mound. Lynn cleared the bases and left the game with a fresh set of guys on 1st and 3rd after only getting 1 out. The Sox were up 7-0 at that point and as they say, that was that.

When asked why he didn’t go to any of his go to guys in the 4th inning, Boone gave an absolutely moronic response:

“Knowing we’re going to want them all potentially up to a couple of innings tomorrow.”

He didn’t use his key bullpen guys because he wanted to save them for the next game, rather than worrying about a game they were only down 3-0 at the time?

“It was completely idiotic from Aaron Boone,” as one talking head put it on SNY this morning.

Meanwhile, Alex Cora is going to his Game 3 STARTER in relief in Game 1.

How do you think David Price felt watching Eovaldi absolutely dominate the same Yankees lineup he couldn’t get out of the 2nd inning against? I mean its not like he makes FIFTEEN times (15x) what Eovaldi makes…

How about the Brock Star, Brock Holt, hitting the first cycle in MLB postseason history? Not to mention the absolute web gem he had at second base?

Have a day kid.

It was also the Yankees’ worst loss in postseason history, which is a great way to pay them back for that embarrassing 19-8 beatdown back in 2004 at Fenway. We all know how that series ended though so lets not take our foot off the gas pedal.

Angel Hernandez continues to do Angel Hernandez things as THREE of his calls were overturned by replay. Get this guy off the field before he actually blows a game for a team.

Tonight the Red Sox have the previously mentioned Rick Porcello who, despite his up and down season, has a 2.31 ERA against the Yankees this year. The Yanks will counter with CC Sabathia who has an ERA of over 4 against the Sox this season. Thanks to Eovaldi’s 7 IP last night the Red Sox disaster of a bullpen is well rested at least so it should be all hands on deck because I do not want to play a Game 5 against this team.

Get it done boys.

The 300s Red Sox Yankees ALDS Preview

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It’s been FOURTEEN YEARS since these teams faced off in the postseason when the Red Sox broke a curse and kicked off an entire generation of young massholes coming up in the world (not to mention completing the greatest comeback in the history of sports). It seems like these two teams used to go at it in the playoffs all the time back in the day, but in reality they’ve only ever faced off four times. That just goes to show you how sports will never be more important to your every day life than when you’re 15.

I wrote the other day about how despite winning a franchise record 108 games, most Red Sox fans don’t seem exactly brimming with confidence. The Yankees, also having won 100 games, have come to town though so it’s time to play for keeps. Lets break down some key things to watch for before making our pick.

  • Game 1
    • Friday, Oct. 5th – 7:32 pm (Fenway)
      • Chris Sale vs J.A. Happ
  • Game 2
    • Saturday, Oct. 6th – 8:15 pm (Fenway)
      • David Price vs Masahiro Tanaka
  • Game 3
    • Monday, Oct. 8th – TBD (Yankee Stadium)
      • ??? vs Rick Porcello
  • Game 4
    • Tuesday, Oct. 9th – TBD (Yankee Stadium) *if necessary
  • Game 5
    • Thursday, Oct. 11th – TBD (Fenway) *if necessary

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  • He’s not even on the team, but Trot Nixon is throwing out the first pitch for Game 1 so I’m listing that as a strength. Don’t even argue with me on that one.
  • Red Sox Offense – Boston led all of baseball with 876 runs this year (NY was second with 851) and have 2 guys in JD Martinez and Mookie Betts who are a coin flip to win AL MVP. Aside from those two they have a pretty, pretty, pretty good lineup:
    • Andrew Benintendi .290/16/87
    • Xander Bogaerts .288/23/103
    • Rafael Devers .240/21/66
    • Eduardo Nunez .265/10/44
    • Brock Holt .277/7/46
    • Mitch Moreland .245/15/68
  • Not to mention we have newly crowned Yankee killer Steve Pearce waiting to pounce. He hits J.A. Happ extremely well (.344 average, 1.419 OPS, six homers and 16 RBIs in 32 career at-bats) so don’t be surprised to see him in the starting lineup tonight.
  • Chris Sale (if healthy)
    • It’s impossible to know what to expect from Chris Sale tonight. I went into my concerns about Sale the other day and I still don’t feel great about it.
      I’ll be honest though, the No. 1 reason I’m less than confident heading into Friday night is 100% Chris Sale’s health. The guy is just not right. According to Felger and Mazz yesterday, his average fastball velocity went down every single start over his last four starts. That is BAD. He was throwing off of flat ground earlier this week, just days before he’s supposed to take the ball in Game 1. Thats something a rehabbing pitcher does, not a guy who is ready to open the ALDS. Maybe he comes out and he’s totally fine, but I’m not counting on it. Even if he does, I’d be concerned about how he bounces back. Remember when he came off the DL and struck out 12 Orioles and was hitting 99 on the gun? Yea well that was on August 12th and he’s thrown a grand total of 12 innings since then.
  • Craig Kimbrel had a down year when compared to his stellar standard, but this guy coming out of the pen throwing absolute gas is about as good of a weapon you can have. Now if the Sox can somehow bridge the gap to him…
  • Red Sox Bullpen: It’s terrible. Despite the advanced analytics saying the Sox bullpen actually has a great WAR, if you’ve watched even one game this season you know it’s anxiety inducing. Hell, it’s been this way all the way since Game 1.
  • So help me god if Alex Cora throws Steven Wright out there in a late situation only to give up a bomb on a knuckleball while Boone sits in the dugout and smirks.
  • Red Sox Starters 2-5: Consistency is the problem here. Rick Porcello won the Cy Young in 2016 for christ’s sake, but I’m not super confident in him. He did throw a complete game shutout against the Yankees in about 90 minutes earlier this season though.
  • Even Tim Kurkjian doesn’t know what to think. I feeeel like they’ll be good, but they’ve also ALL been bad in the playoffs their entire careers….

“The gut feeling here is, despite lots of evidence to the contrary, he is going to be great this October. He will have to be if the Red Sox are to win this series. [Chris Sale] David Price and Rick Porcello also need to be good. Together, those three are 0-11 with a 6.18 ERA in 14 postseason starts.”

  • David Price’s Psyche: He’s gotta break through in the playoffs at some point right? Right??
  • Yankees Home Run Power: These guys can hit the shit out of the ball and half their lineup can hit it to the moon. The Yankees set the single season home run record this year with 267 home runs, which I feel like is somehow getting overlooked here. Stanton led the Yanks with 38 dingers, but Miguel Andujar, Didi Gregorius, Aaron Hicks, and Aaron Judge each hit 27. Oh and Gleyber Torres chipped in with 24 of his own. Yikes.
  • I think more than anything I just want to beat Aaron Boone’s brains in. It’s bad enough what he did to me and my family back in 2003, but for him to saunter out of the ESPN broadcast booth down into the dugout and think he’s just going to manage the Yankees past the Red Sox? Straight up disrespectful.

  • I would rather listen to Michael McDonald for 8 hours a day then hear that obnoxious, awful, victory chant from John Sterling one more time. THAaAaAaAaAaAa YANKEES WIN is the most obnoxious shit in all of sports and is literally the exact opposite of what they teach you in journalism school. So yea, listen to your teachers and stay in school kids.

Official Prediction

Red Sox in 5

I think the best home field advantage in baseball comes into play as the Red Sox are dominant at home (57-24 at Fenway this year) and the Yankees are 1-6 in their last 7 playoff road games. The Sox bullpen will struggle to keep these games in check, but I think some combo of Sale/Kimbrel/Eovaldi/E-Rod get it done with some help from Price. We know this team can hit, it’s just going to be a matter of keeping the Yanks in check and I think the Sox do it by the skin of their teeth as New York pushes them to the brink.

Kyrie Irving Says He’s Going to Re-sign with the Celtics…For Now

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Image result for kyrie irving

Last night, Kyrie Irving uttered the words Celtics fans have longed to hear: “I plan on re-signing here next year.”

At a season-ticket-holders-only event at the TD Garden on Thursday night, Kyrie flat-out told the crowd that, if we’ll have him back, he plans on re-upping with the Celtics next summer:

Obviously, that should be music to the ears of any fan of the Green. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet.

How many times have we heard similar “promises” issued by other NBA stars, only to watch them pull the rug right out from underneath their loyal, naive fans’ feet?

Remember when LeBron made his triumphant return to Cleveland in 2014 and adamantly stated that he would never, ever leave his precious home state again? He just “didn’t have the energy” to even fathom making another move, and he was going to be a Cavalier FOR LIFE. No ifs, ands, or buts about it!

Fast-forward four years and:

Image result for lebron lakers press conference

Or how about Kevin Durant, when he was still with the Thunder in 2015, feeding us this crock of shit (h/t ESPN.com):

“I love it here, man. I love my teammates, I love the city, I don’t really think about anywhere else,” Durant told Revolt TV in a recent interview. “I hear it all the time, don’t get me wrong, and once you hear it you’re kind of like [looks up, thinking]. But for me, I love staying in the moment, and I’m one of those guys that would love to stick it out with one team my whole career.”

Just over a year later, he joined the Golden State Warriors.

I am not criticizing either player for choosing to make the moves they did, and everyone reserves the right to change their mind. I just simply refuse to take any player at their word – in any sport, but ESPECIALLY the NBA – when it comes to long-term commitment or promises of future loyalty.

NBA players are a fickle bunch, and even more so they’re very obstinate. As soon as the opportunity arises for them to team up with one of their buddies or another star who just so happens to become available, they’ll drop their old team quicker than you can say “the next big three.” There’s already been plenty of chatter about Kyrie wanting to team up with biffle Jimmy Butler, and there’s just no way that could ever happen with the Celtics. (Well, it could, but it wouldn’t be worth the effort it would take to do so.) And Thursday night we got a report, per Jay King of The Athletic, that he’s also spoken with Pelicans All-Word forward Anthony Davis about a potential team-up.

While the idea of Davis in a Boston uniform makes me feel things in certain places that I probably can’t mention on this blog, there’s no guarantee Danny Ainge could make that happen. And if there’s another team that can offer a better pathway to get the three of them together, Kyrie would be foolish to not at least consider it.

Image result for anthony davis celtics

GOOD LORD. Just imagine…

Furthermore, there’s also been plenty of credible rumors connecting Kyrie to other teams throughout the Association, particularly the New York Knicks. Besides the fact that he is from West Orange, New Jersey – which is only about 20 miles away from Madison Square Garden – the Knicks have not been bashful whatsoever about how much they covet the 26-year-old guard. Irving also had the the Knicks on his list of short teams he’d like to go to before he was ultimately traded to Boston last summer:

Even former teammates are chiming in on the speculation. Just three weeks ago, in response to an Instagram post from NiceKicks which asked about the chances Kyrie signs with the Knicks next season, Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith responded by posting the simple word: “HIGH.”

Now, to be fair, Smith may have just been letting everyone know about his current state at the time of the post, but in all seriousness the two did play together for two years, so they’re not strangers. Also, again, he is not the first to connect Kyrie to the ole Knickerbockers. Seriously, just Google: “Kyrie Irving Knicks” and you’ll see the rampant speculation out there from all corners of the NBA zeitgeist.

It’s also no secret that Kyrie is about other things than just basketball. That is not to say that he is not a competitor or that he doesn’t care about winning; all I’m saying is that the guy is an absolute ham for the camera and is not shy about self-promoting off the court. While staying in Boston with such a young, talented roster would give Kyrie the chance to compete for championships for at least the next 5-10 years, it simply does not have the marketing clout that comes along with playing in New York or L.A. (I’m talking about the Clippers; I know there’s no way Kyrie is choosing to play with LeBron again.)

Perhaps the one saving grace Celtics fans can rest their hat on is the fact that Kyrie can make way more money by re-signing here as opposed to going anywhere else due to NBA max contract rules. But again, if he can still make just as much – if not more – with endorsements and movie deals off the court, does that really even matter?

So, look, it’s OK to be happy about what Kyrie said last night; I am, too. But let’s not take it as Bible, and do understand that a lot can change over the next year. Until I hear about the T’s being crossed and the I’s being dotted on Kyrie’s next official contract, I’m not counting my chickens.

Stay tuned…

For a Team That Just Won 108 Games, Red Sox Fans Don’t Seem Super Confident

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For a team that set a franchise record for wins with 108, it doesn’t seem like many of us are exactly brimming with confidence heading into the playoffs. Is it just negative overload with all the toxic sports radio, the shaky bullpen, the feeling they peaked too early, or are fans worried that the Red Sox merely beat up on weak competition all year long?

Granted the Orioles were the worst team in baseball this season with 115 losses (getting that hardass Buck Showalter fired in the process), the AL East seemed to regain its stature as one of the best divisions in baseball. The AL East was the only division in all of baseball that had three 90 win teams, let alone two 100 win teams.  The Yankees won 100 games and still finished 8 games back in the division. Tampa Bay Rays won 90 games and finished EIGHTEEN games back and had one of the best pitchers in the game in Blake Snell who may win the Cy Young.

So is it the shaky bullpen? We’ve all been here before and seen this team get its doors blown off in the playoffs the past two years. Chris Sale is obviously less than 100% and David Price’s next quality start in the postseason will be his first. Add all that together with an anxiety inducing bullpen and some Sox fans may just be safeguarding themselves against getting their hopes up. Matt Barnes? Ryan “Brazzers” Brasier? Maybe Steven Wright the goddamn knuckleballer as our setup man? Oh boy. At least Joe Kelly can whoop a guy’s ass if the situation calls for it.

The Sox essentially held open tryouts in September for key bullpen guys as they trotted out Wright, Kelly, Eduardo Rodriguez, Brian Johnson and a whole cast of characters, which for a team that won 108 games is massively concerning. It would not be a surprise at all to see this team get booted in the postseason after a couple of bad nights from the pen because thats all it takes.

Obviously the offense was excellent this year with Mookie Betts and JD Martinez vying for the MVP, but can a team really mash its way to a World Series title? I doubt it, mainly because they’ll be going up against the best starting pitching and the most micro-managed bullpens so it would be foolish to bank on 7-10 runs a night from the Sox.

I’ll be honest though, the No. 1 reason I’m less than confident heading into Friday night is 100% Chris Sale’s health. The guy is just not right. According to Felger and Mazz yesterday, his average fastball velocity went down every single start over his last four starts. That is BAD. He was throwing off of flat ground earlier this week, just days before he’s supposed to take the ball in Game 1. Thats something a rehabbing pitcher does, not a guy who is ready to open the ALDS. Maybe he comes out and he’s totally fine, but I’m not counting on it. Even if he does, I’d be concerned about how he bounces back. Remember when he came off the DL and struck out 12 Orioles and was hitting 99 on the gun? Yea well that was on August 12th and he’s thrown a grand total of 12 innings since then.

So if Sale isn’t 100% and gets bounced out of the game early? Welp lets hand it over to that disaster of a bullpen we’ve all been railing on all year long.

Then if the Sox lose Game 1 they have the absolute headcase in David Price taking the mound for Game 2 with TONS of pressure. He literally might puke on the mound. Get your YUCK shirts ready.

Listen, this team won 108 games for a reason, despite some games against “weak” competition. Maybe they can just mash their way to the World Series, but for a team that set a franchise record for wins I don’t feel nearly as confident as I would like.

The Yankees and all their degenerate fans thats refuse to button their goddamn jerseys come to town for Game 1 of the ALDS on Friday night.

The Sox will have Chris Sale on the mound and the Yanks will turn to a starter to be named later after smoking the A’s in the Wild Card game. I would expect Tanaka after Luis Severino went last night, but the Yankees have yet to officially name a starter. First pitch is at 7:32 pm.

Drink up boys, we’re in for a wild weekend.

Early Morning Grab Bag – October 2nd, 2018

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Note: I kind of enjoyed doing this last time so I am going to try and mix in one a week. Maybe I’ll get a regular day going at some point but not really possible with my schedule right now

–The Patriots did in fact play very well Sunday. I am still not ready to anoint them as Super Bowl contenders again though, yet. There is that something just missing. I guess I just don’t see us cruising to February by dumping the ball to James White and hoping rookie CBs continue lose Cordarrelle Patterson, maybe the worst route runner in football, in the maelstrom of an 11-on-11 football game. Add that to the fact that Gronk has been just less Gronk-like and I don’t know, I’m still worried. The D did look a lot better though and I think that group will continue to improve as weeks go on. But to end back on Offense, next week is the return of the Prince, the Boss….

Image result for julian edelman

 

-Soooo this just popped up:

Whaaaaaat do you know. The guy who signed the MASSIVE extension suddenly just isn’t happy to be in New York. No one, and I mean NO ONE saw this one coming. Truly remarkable. Honestly though I can’t even imagine who has the cap space and that much of a need to bring him aboard. Seattle maybe? I really don’t know? More to come I suppose.

–Khabib vs. Conor is this Saturday which is crazy considering, again, the lack of overall press. They will do, as is customary, another press conference this Thursday, a little over 48 hours before they fight. Huge controversy in The 300s back-channels arose when it was discovered that despite massive hat sales Red would not be flying me out there credentialed. Kind of a missed opportunity but it’s fine. I’ll have my full UFC 229 write up posted sometime Thursday.

–Tom Hardy’s “Venom” movie is coming out, or came out, or something. This is the most perplexing movie pickle I’ve ever been in. I’m just not a comic book movie guy. I’ve explained off-blog but while I am not going to hate on them, they just don’t do it for me. On the other hand, I fucking love Tom Hardy, so what do I do? Add to it the fact that he is kind of a weirdo and could quit at any moment and I probably will end up at least On Demanding it at some point.

(This kills me every time)

Image result for tom hardy the look you give when your phone is plugged in across the room

–To stick with movies, the first trailer got released of Taron Egerton (Eggsy from the “Kingsman” franchise) playing and singing as Elton John. This one should actually be really cool, I thought this kid would have blown up long before this.

–In TV, both “Shameless” Season 9 and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” Season 13 have DESTROYED so far so get on that if you haven’t yet. While the former may be tough to just dive into, I think anyone with a brain could catch a random episode of “Sunny” and still have a good time. It’s honestly a timeless show.

–The first episode for this season of “South Park” also aired and…my Lord. (It was very funny).

–Watch Bill Burr’s “F Is For Family” finally and thank me later.

–Lindsay Lohan thought (see: jumped to an outraaageous conclusion based off of literally nothing) that a couple of refugee kids (in Russia I think?) walking with their Mom were actually being kidnapped and sold into sex trafficking and tried to save them or something. The Mom promptly punched her directly in the face. You should probably find the video, it’s wild. Girl is off the reservation. What’s more she is speaking in I think at times both Russian and Arabic as well as English in a Russian accent. This is very soon after she was asked why on earth she was speaking with an Irish accent. On Wednesdays we wear straight jackets.

–To end with some more #sports, Le’veon Bell has annouced he’ll report for Week 7, which is two weeks from now. This is just after he said “sure won’t” upon seeing fellow hold out Earl Thomas risk playing and probably end his career on account of breaking his leg in a game. I’m not sure what Bell’s play is here apart from the Steelers possibly telling him that another team is making an offer but wants him to show up first to make sure he’s committed to football in some capacity.
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Welp, that’s it for me for now. I’ll be back this afternoon for the fantasy football round up but other than that I got nothing apart from trying to not get fired for the next two working days while I spend all my time on the UFC229 write up. Ts and Ps for your boy.

Oh, also, apart from the night of said fisticuffs, I’ll be participating in Sober October this year. 99% 100% of my friends are booze bags so if you have any suggestions of what in the fuck I should doing for the next ~30 days please let me know. Please?

Red Sox Fan Unleashes Hand Cannon from the Green Monster Seats and Hits Giancarlo Stanton

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That is goddamn impressive! It’s 310 feet from home plate to the Green Monster and a guy in the stands, completely flat footed, tossed a frozen rope and legit hit Giancarlo Stanton rounding second base. That’s gotta be a 200 foot throw from a guy in jeans. Incredible.

It’s also exactly how the 1993 classic Rookie of the Year starts with Henry Rowengartner hosing a dude at the plate from the bleachers.

I imagine Joe Castiglione was in the booth making a face similar to this.

I was at this game sitting in the absolute last row of Section 36 in the center field bleachers this afternoon so I couldn’t really see what happened until I sat down at the bar and saw the video on my phone. I can confirm that this guy 100% got thrown out of the game though.

Credit to Stanton too for laughing it off as the ball barely hit him. I think he was more surprised than anything.

So this Masshole with the hand cannon may not have gotten to see the rest of this meaningless September game, but maybe, just maybe he earned himself a tryout with the team like Henry Rowengartner.

 

Bruins Trade Adam McQuaid to the Rangers for Old Friend and Former Bruin Steven Kampfer

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NHL.com – Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney announced today, September 11, that the team has traded defenseman Adam McQuaid to the New York Rangers in exchange for defenseman Steven Kampfer, a 2019 fourth-round draft pick and a 2019 conditional seventh-round draft pick.

It’s sad to see Adam McQuaid go as he was always a guy ready to drop the gloves and do the dirty work for the Bruins. He was a brawler that I wouldn’t want to run into in a dark alley. However, the Bruins have had a redundancy in the D-pairings for a couple of years now as Kevan Miller is essentially the same player.

So it looks like the B’s were trying to make their D-core a little more dynamic. Enter old friend and former Bruin Steven Kampfer. He actually played on Boston’s Stanley Cup winning team back in 2010-11 when he chipped in with 5 goals and 5 assists.

Kampfer is gonna need a new Bruins number as #47 obviously belongs to Torey Krug. Unless the Bruins trade him as well, which Tony Mazz has said on 98.5 he is convinced they will do this offseason.

Now obviously Kampfer isn’t exactly an elite offensive threat, having registered 10 goals and 16 assists for 26 points in 166 career games. Maybe he’s a bit more skilled defensively than McQuad. Or maybe it’s just the draft picks the Bruins coveted. Perhaps they can dump Kampfer easier than they could McQuaid and make room for the young guys. The Bruins are stocked with young defensemen who are chomping at the bit.  Guys like Jakub Zboril (1st round, 2015), Urho Vaakanainen (1st round, 2017), and Jeremy Lauzon (2nd round, 2015). Some fans are more excited for than others.

Joe Haggerty broke down the top prospects of the B’s and here are a few excerpts on those three guys from Haggs.

“It may be that Zboril ends up being trade bait for the Black and Gold given his talent, his standing as a prospect and the questions they may still have about him as an eventual finished product at the NHL level. Still, the talent is undeniable with Zboril and that’s the most important thing with these prospects.”

“Vaakanainen has the kinds of defensive tools that could make him an NHL player for a long, long time. Vaakanainen is excellent in the defensive zone, solid on the penalty kill and shows a good stick and good instincts in breaking up plays, and combines excellent skating and smart, smooth first passes into good plays out of his own end. All of that adds up to a nice stay-at-home partner to younger puck-moving D-men like Torey Krug and Charlie McAvoy, and somebody that should be a solid contributor for a long time.”

“There is very clearly some raw elements to [Lauzon’s] game that need to be further developed at the AHL level. Lauzon posted five goals and 14 points in 13 games during the junior hockey playoffs to finish things off on a good note, and leave the Bruins with an idea of what they might see when he’s ready to go at the NHL level.”

Some of those guys have failed to live up to their draft billing thus far, but it’s probably time for the Bruins to find out one way or another if these young kids will sink or swim.  Whether they can play at the NHL level consistently remains to be seen, but if theres one thing we’ve seen in recent years with the Bruins is that they needed to even out their roster with younger (and cheaper) players as they’ve rebounded from a non-playoff team back into a Stanley Cup contender once again.