When did umpires become part of the story???

One more baseball rant until spring training. In recent years it seems that umpires have become a big part of the story in baseball. Every year I get more and more frustrated when I see an umpire instigate arguments and fights, seems like not too many years ago they would walk away and not push it further. I remember specifically this year during a Braves game on tv when an umpire made a ball call on a pitch and Tim Hudson shrugged his shoulders and before the next pitch the umpire walked out in front of the plate and clearly asked Huddy what you said and started yelling back at him. The umpire needs to realize that his calls are going to generate reactions and just move on to the next play. More and more umpires walk towards dugouts to continue arguments with players and managers alike. Umpires are supposedly graded by MLB for their performance, I just hope they teach umps to stay out of the play and make calls.

No wonder this AA manager freaked out, he is tired of umpires too!!

Chris Rainey....Time to Play

There has been a lot of outrage by the media and other persons associated with the Florida Gators football program over Georgia’s Defensive Coordinator, Todd Grantham, giving the choke sign numerous times to Florida’s kicker Chas Henry at the end of the October 30^th game. The part that is not being talked about a lot is that the kicker made the kick and Florida won the game. I found it to be very funny that these same people with their moral outcry had nothing to say about Urban Meyer reinstating Chris Rainey, especially after Florida had lost three games in a row and their offense was struggling. For those that do not know, Chris Rainey was arrested back in September for stalking. He sent the following text message to his girlfriend, “Time to die, bitch.”

If this was not Florida, choke-gate would not have made national news. For the record, Grantham’s act was bush league and it has since been addressed, get over it. The Gators have had 30 arrests for felonies or misdemeanors since Urban has become the coach. I am a Georgia Bulldog fan and I am not pleased with the amount of arrests in Athens, but I have no doubt that Chris Rainey would have been kicked off the team no questions asked at Georgia (see Zach Mettenberger). Urban has always talked about his moral values, by reinstating Rainey he is saying his actions were okay versus the right message of this is unacceptable behavior and I won’t tolerate it on my team. The worst part was the week leading up to the game Urban could not quit saying how great of a kid Rainey is. Maybe he is a good guy who threatens women with death.

Here We Go Replay...Here We Go!!

With the baseball season coming to an end it is time that Bud Selig take the lead and do something right for a change, baseball needs some form of a replay system. Today the umpires, if they choose, are allowed to review home runs or potential home runs. While it is good that a home run call is right, what about the rest of the game that seems to be screwed up? Just like in every other sport the athletes are bigger, faster and stronger. The picture below is a prime example of a blown call that can change a game.

Here is my idea for a simple solution. The home run review stays how it is now; the umpires have the ability to review all aspects of home run calls. Each manager has the ability to challenge one time with the ability to earn a second challenge. The only plays that cannot be reviewed would be balls and strikes, which is the one part of the game that cannot be altered; if you allowed balls and strikes to be reviewed the game would take an hour longer at least. So from the beginning of the game each manager would have one challenge, the challenge must be made by the manager before the next pitch is thrown. Once challenged the crew chief would have no more than 5 minutes to watch a replay of the game and make a call. If the manager who challenged wins the challenge he would be awarded one more challenge to be used at anytime. If the manager loses the challenge, he does not have any more for the game. A manager can only have two challenges max per game. This would make the challenge an important tool in the game and the manager must use it wisely. Seems simple enough. Come on now Bud, do something good for the game and make the right choice and implement replay for the 2011 season. More on umpires in a future posting.

Also, I wanted to wish my dad and step-mother Happy Anniversary, love you guys!!

Boise State.....Stop Whining

I am tired of hearing about Boise State and how they might get screwed over. The system is what it is and you are not going to be awarded a National Championship when you play in a horrible conference (WAC) and do not play more than one or two decent games on your schedule. Not only that, when is the last time you saw a big name team (i.e. Alabama, Texas, etc) play on a Tuesday night on ESPN?? Also, get rid of the blue field, its a gimmick and you should not need gimmicks. As far the non-conference schools go, TCU and maybe even Utah are better in my opinion. Boise State always steps up when they play a good school at the beginning of the season or in a bowl game, but it is not that hard to get up for one or two big games a year. The other argument is that no big school will play them....that is because Boise wants them to come to play there. Two schools from what I heard offered to play Boise, one of them Nebraska and Boise turned it down. Nebraska agreed to play two games at home and one at Boise. Sounds like a good deal to me, you have not earned a home and home, there has to be some advantage to the big schools when it comes to playing Boise.  Boise has travelled to the South for a game and if I remember correctly Georgia put a pretty good beating on you to kick off the season, maybe that is why you stay in the West now. Boise has to have a mentality like a USC or Tennessee, you will play anyone, anywhere, anytime. That will start to get you even more respect. So enjoy the BCS second or third tier game, you are not getting to the big show!!

“It’s okay to be fat. So you’re fat. Just be fat and shut up about it.” - RB

Happy Birthday Roseanne Barr, today she turns 58 years old. Roseanne was definitely a pioneer in her time. Roseanne was one of the best shows on back in the day, too bad she has gone off the deep end. Check out her website, she is running for President (and the Prime Minister of Israel).

http://www.roseanneworld.com/blog/home.php.

I always have said I wish Ross Perot would have been voted into office, but do not know if I can go that far here, even though it can’t get much worse. I have posted her performance of the National Anthem in 1990 below, a video below of how I wish to remember Roseanne.

Controlling Destiny!?!?!?!?

A familiar phrase in sports is that a team or player “controls their own destiny.” This really is thrown out a lot towards the end of the season or heading into the playoffs. Well I was under the impression that destiny could not be controlled, the sheer definition alone makes me further believe it. Destiny is defined as a predetermined course of events. It is another saying that has taken off and it does not make any sense. Every time I hear an announcer or sports radio host say that I get heated up. Destiny was never intended to be changed, altered or controlled. We are just along for the ride. How about just state the facts, if this team wins out they can play for the championship, seems simple enough!

Here is a quiz related to controlling your own destiny, if it was possible: http://www.chatterbean.com/fun-quizzes/destiny/.

Fight For Your Right!!!

The beauty of being an American, you have the right to vote and the right not to vote. If you choose to vote, then November 2, 2010 is a big day for the future of our country. 37 of the 100 seats in the Senate are up for grabs, these are important as Senators serve a six-year term and will not get out of office until 2017, unless they become President and someone tries to sell off their seat. Please try not to vote for too many candidates that will vote “present,” please! There are also some Governor races and other state or county specific things on there as well depending on your state.

AARP has a great link I have put down below, all you do is type in your address and it lets you know everything that will be on your ballot.

http://vote4.aarp.org/?cmp=BAC-VOTE&sfr=1288197216790