The waiting is over. Weather permitting, baseball season arrives in its full glory today for both of my favorite teams. The revamped Detroit Tigers break spring training camp with high expectations and a potent lineup, but questions about the pitching staff exacerbated by untimely injuries. Rain may delay their afternoon showdown at Comerica Park with the lowly Kansas City Royals. As for the local Colorado Rockies, 2007 National League champions, the season gets underway in St. Louis. Possible rain showers also are in the forecast there. Having waited this long, though, what would be another day? Too long. Let's play ball! … [Read more...]
Bracketology
When it comes to March Madness, the truth is I never learn. No matter whether I follow the season closely or guess at random, my picks are always mediocre at best. Yet each year I come back to the NCAA Tournament Brackets like a sheep to the slaughter. This year is no different. I filled out two different brackets on ESPN, made picks on Facebook's CBS and Sports Illustrated applications, and even decided to accept the McCain Basketball Brackets challenge. We're only a couple hours away from the first game tipping off. How long before my brackets implode in failure? It's just one more piece of the fun and entertainment of March Madness. … [Read more...]
Ohio Can Have Hillary and Terrelle – Colorado Is Just Fine, Thank You
Jim Geraghty looks at the Rasmussen poll data (showing McCain and Obama tied at 46, but McCain clobbering Hillary 52-38) and muses:We've seen Obama running ahead of Hillary in some states, but an 11 or 12 point difference? What's got him so popular there, and her so unpopular? Does Obama come across as a mountain state kind of guy? Is he related to John Elway or something? I don't have a good answer to that question, but many hypotheses abound. Coloradans don't like the old-style Eastern politics that Hillary Clinton represents. Colorado swing voters are more open to vapid liberal platitudes than cynical ones. Frankly, it beats me. Hillary polls terribly unpopular here and would have virtually no chance to win the Centennial State in a … [Read more...]
A Season-Long Baseball Grudge Match with Hugh Hewitt?
The Detroit Free Press has the scoop in today's sports section: "Tribe, Tigers rivalry already intense." Sure, Hugh will do a lot of blustering between now and September that his Cleveland Indians will repeat their American League Central crown. But faced with the harsh specter of reality, he may well find himself hoping and praying for his team to stay competitive with the offensive juggernaut coming out of Motown. Jim Leyland's Detroit Tigers are hungry for payback, with a bolstered lineup that can deliver ... and then some. … [Read more...]
My 90-Year-Old Great Aunt: The “Cool” Florida Swimming Role Model
Featured on the United States Masters Swimming website:Three 90-year-old swimmers -- Kay Schimpf (left), with 1,525 yards, Frances Cichanski (center), with 1,700 yards, and Brud Cleaveland (right), with 1,700 yards, of the Florida Mavericks, completed the popular January postal event. They then joined teammates June Reynolds, 86, Cliff Eastwood, 86, and Charles Edwards, 88, to form a men's, a women's, and a mixed relay - all in the 85+ age group! Margie Hutinger of the Mavericks reports, "They are a special group of swimmers, as they showed a lot of spunk to do their swims, in spite of the adversities they had to overcome. They are cool role models for Masters swimming." [emphasis mine] That's my great aunt Frankie, my grandpa's "baby' … [Read more...]
Pitchers, Catchers Report: Here Comes an Amazing Tigers Season
Baseball is right around the corner. This morning, spring training begins for Detroit Tigers pitchers and catchers. In all my life, I've never looked forward to a season with such anticipation. After a couple spectacular offseason maneuvers, the Tigers sport an absolutely fearsome lineup and a starting rotation that will be the envy of most of Major League Baseball. Don't believe me? How about ESPN's Jayson Stark?Beware of Tigers: How many runs will the 2008 Tigers score, anyway? A thousand? Two thousand? More than the rest of their division combined? That will be one question we'll explore this spring, now that Miguel Cabrera and Edgar Renteria have pulled into Motown. But there's just enough uncertainty about issues like (A) Joel … [Read more...]
Obligatory Super Bowl Prediction
For what it's worth, here's the official prediction of Mount Virtus concerning tomorrow's big game: Super Bowl XLII (Feb 3, 2008 - Glendale, AZ): New England Patriots (19-0) 31 New York Giants (13-7) 17 MVP: Tom Brady But what do I know? … [Read more...]
New Football Coach Allows Maize & Blue Faithful to Rest Easy
A lot of space has been taken up in the Michigan (land of my upbringing) media detailing the University of Michigan's search for a head football coach after Lloyd Carr retired. Today we learn that all the rumors come to an end as West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez has agreed to take the helm in Ann Arbor. One might be forgiven if he came to the conclusion that the Mountaineers' program was the Wolverines' coaching farm system. After all, Michigan hired John Beilein directly from West Virginia this past April to coach their men's basketball program. Now the football team. A direct line from Morgantown to Ann Arbor? Perhaps. Regardless, let me assure you that fans of the illustrious University of Michigan football program - which has … [Read more...]
College Football Playoffs Needed Now!
This is off topic from what I usually write about here. But after tonight's 1-2 knockout of Missouri & West Virginia, I think college football fans of all political stripes can agree that the time for a playoff system is now! No matter who ends up being selected for the BCS Championship Game at the end of this wackiest of all seasons, unending controversy will ensue. If it leads us to a playoff system next year, it will be well worth the result. … [Read more...]
Let’s Get Real: Rox Face Uphill, But Achievable, Climb
Ouch. That hurt. Last night's 2-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox in Game 2 of the World Series was painful, but not fatal. (Regrettably, I missed most of the game, fulfilling a commitment at a Republican event that featured keynote speaker Bob Schaffer.) Nevertheless, I'm here to tell Rockies fans not to panic. The naivete many had coming into the Series is gone, but the most loyal fans know it's a one-game-at-a-time approach now. Let's be realistic: even getting the series back to Boston is an uphill goal at this point, but here's hoping that Baseball with Altitude is a lot friendlier to the home team than to the visitors. And how about a little bulletin board material (albeit from cynical sportswriters) to get the Rox fired up? See you … [Read more...]
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