Friday, June 30, 2006

Winthrop's Gregg Marshall says April Fools to College of Charleston

Gregg Marshall, the Winthrop Mens Basketball coach, just two days ago accepted the Head Coaching position at C of C. He was a former assistant coach under former legendary coach John Kresse. They held a major news conference at the school to announce his hiring, but no contract was signed. Well news came out today that he had second thoughts and returned to Winthrop leaving C of C jilted at the alter.

Seems Coach Marshall has been following the career of former Georgia Tech coach Bobby Cremins. If you can remember way back, 15 years to be exact, he pulled this same stunt. He was offered the coaching job at South Carolina where he graduated, only to decide two days later his heart was still with G. Tech. Cremins would later retire from the school and the game as a coach and is now a commentator. Time will tell if this will have an effect on Marshall's career. I would imagine he won't be at the top of any AD's list because of this stunt so in effect his entire career could be spent at Winthrop. Though he's made 6 NCAA tournament appearances in his 8 years there, there is only so much that a small D-1 school from the Big South can do in the post season. He's going to have trouble landing with a big school, the likes of which come with big money and national championship hopes. He won't get either at Winthrop.

Gregg Marshall is a good coach and I'm sure a great person but he basically just shot himself in the foot.

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Dead time...here's some sports pics I've collected















Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Additional notes from previous posts and other news.

Here are some updated news from previous posts and other news.

- Isiah Thomas has now been given only one year to turn around the team he put together. In a press conference today, NY Knicks owner says that since Isiah is the person that put this team together he felt it best to let him coach it and in turn is only giving him one year to turn around the mess. The Knicks finished this past season with a record of 23-59 and I'd have to say he would need at least 15 wins or more to show improvement. I don't see that happening, bye Isiah, you will now have failed at everything you've touched since your playing days ended.

- It's looking more and more like College of Charleston will be hiring former Kresse understudy and current Winthrop coach Gregg Marshall. They have officially contacted the school to seek permission to speak with him about the vacant position. The Post and Courier says that the position is basically his if he wants it. C of C wants someone that has ties to the school instead of what they got in Tom Herrion 4 years ago where they wanted to start anew.

- Ghana was eliminated by Brazil today in the World Cup by a score of 3 - Love. Though the score would indicate a blow out it was far from that, in fact Ghana really played Brazil tough and won the battle but lost the war, Brazil getting a few breaks to score a couple goals. Ghana is the team that eliminated the USA team from the Cup. This was Ghana's first time in the World Cup and they made it to a round the USA can't seem to get to.

- The Braves finally ended their 10 game losing streak this past weekend, their longest since 1988, as they took 2 of 3 games against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. But they still don't seem to be out of this funk yet having getting beat by the Yankees last night 5-2 as Tim Hudson, the Braves ace, continues to struggle. He gave up 5 ER in only 5 Innings. If the Braves are to get this season going the way it should, Huddy needs to get right soon.

- Since Clemson was eliminated from the College World Series I really didn't follow it quite as much but I did catch a little of the Championship series between UNC and Oregon St. From the first game it appeared that UNC would run away with the Championship but as Oregon St has done since it lost in their first game they continued to battle and scrapped their way back to claim their first National Championship in baseball. The ACC sent 4 teams to the CWS and none were able to claim the title.

-If Atlanta Braves fans think they have it tough right now, well they need to think again. It could be worse, much worse, we could be Pittsburgh Pirate fans. The Pirates are in the mist of a 11 game losing streak with upcoming games against the White Sox (3), Detroit Tigers (3), at Mets (4), at Phillies (3). So that 11 game streak could end of being a 24 game losing streak. Ouch!!!

- If you care, the NBA draft is tomorrow at 7pm. The Toronto Raptors have the first pick but there is no clear cut #1 pick out there. Top prospects include; LSU PF Tyrus Thomas, Italy PF Andrea Bargnani, Texas PF LaMarcus Aldridge, Washington SG Brandon Roy and Gonzaga SF Adam Morrison.

- Let the countdown begin. NFL training camps are now only a month away from opening up which means college and pro seasons are just two months away. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of team Clemson and Dallas can be on the field. I will have my football predictions posted later in mid august.

Friday, June 23, 2006

Ghana knocks US out of World Cup

Ghana took advantage off Claudio Reyna's error to score the first goal then they took advantage of a bad call on a foul to score the winning goal to knock team USA out of the World Cup. Now I know that Ghana is in Africa but I couldn't tell you where. This is their first World Cup and they have now gotten to the second round that has been illusive to the US in previous Cups.

So this leads me to my Ghana list, feel free to add to this list.

Ghana knock USA out of the World Cup
USA is Ghana with the wind
Ain't no sunshine when she's Ghana
Watcha Ghana do when they come for you
Ghana Ghana Ghana Ghanacameleon
Bruce Arena is Ghana as Head Coach

Is Jeff Francoeur in a slump?


I'm starting to wonder if Jeff Francoeur is just in a really bad slump or is this really how good he is? Its hard to tell since this is just his first full season after only half a year last year. I've heard of the sophomore slump and it seems Jeff i in the middle of it. There is doubt the kid has talent. Last year he came to the Braves from AA and just lit up the league finishing 2nd in the Rookie of the Year voting, hitting HR's Hank Aaron style and was even pegged by Sports Illustrated as the "The Natural".

Remember last year when the announcers and everyone was joking about him not receiving a walk until about after 140 ABs, well that was all fine then because he was hitting .400 at one time and was driving in runs. One year later though and him not taking walks is starting to cost the team. To this point in his sophomore year he has been to the plate 300 times, 27 more than any other Brave. With those 300 at bats he has produced a .250 AVG, an on base percentage of .269 with 75 hits, 61 Ks and only 6 walks. That walk to strikeout ratio is an alarming 1-10.

Now I'm not blaming the Braves failures on Jeff alone, that blame could be extended to Adam LaRoche, Marcus Giles, Ryan Langerhans and everyone in the bullpen. But if this team is to catch fire and get back into the NL East race or at least the Wild Card then Francoeur has got to figure out how to take walks and eliminate his strikeouts. He's supposed to be the next Dale Murphy for this franchise, we need him to look like Dale now. I think its time to sit Jeff and put someone else in right who can get on base cause .269 OBP just isn't good enough to help this team win.

Additional Notes:

The Braves now have a 10 game losing streak. Last time a Braves team lost that many in a row was back at the start of the 1988 season, a season in which they lost a franchise record 106 games. Back then, John Smoltz was 3 months away from his major league debut and Tommy Glavine only had 11 starts under his belt. The Braves record now is 30-43 and 15.5 games behind the Mets and 9 games behind Wild Card leader Cincinnati Reds. To make it worse the Braves winning % of .411 is ahead of the likes of the Royals .310, Pirates .351 and Cubs .394.
Here's the upcoming series for the Braves; at Tampa Bay, at Yankees, Baltimore, St. Louis, Cincinnati then the Allstar break. Things ain't looking good.

Isiah Thomas has lost his marbles

The Miami Heat haven't yet finished enjoying their moment in the spotlight but it can to an abrupt end today, well at least was put on pause, as the news of the firing of Larry Brown started spreading like wildflower. NY Knicks GM, none-other than Isiah Thomas, fired the legendary coach after only 1 year and with 4 years remaining on his contract.

His firing could be considered his own fault for stepping into this mess that Isiah himself has created. So next season Isiah is going to try and duplicate the success that Pat Riley has enjoyed from building the Heat as the GM then hiring himself as the coach. But Isiah is the mad scientist that thinks above else that because of his success as a player it automatically translates into success as a Head Coach. Well he's going to find out it doesn't happen like that.

In his 3 year head coaching career he guided the Indiana Pacers to three straight playoff appearances with regular season records of 41-41, 42-40, 48-34. Lets also not forget that on that team was Jermaine O'Neal, Reggie Miller, Ron Artest, Scott Pollard, Jamaal Tinsley, Kenny Anderson, All Harrington and Anthony Johnson. That's a team that if I were coaching, I too could lead them to at least the same amount of victories. This current Knicks team is led by 3 Guards that want the ball all time in Jamal Crawford, Steve Francis and Stephon Marbury, other members are Eddy Curry and Jalen Rose. That's a mess that even Larry Brown couldn't turn this team into a winner (23-59)and he has made himself by turning around teams. But then again he wasn't given a chance, it's hard to turn dust into gold in one year. In the season of 88-89 , his first year with the Spurs he had a 21-61 record, the following season he was 56-26. Same with this 76ers, his first year with them in 97-98 they finished 31-51, second year 28-22.

So on comes Isiah Thomas with ego in hand to try and turn this once proud franchise back into the NBA's elite. Well he's going to fall flat on his face and there won't be anyone there to pick him up because he's the genius that put this squad together. I give Isiah two years as coach before he or the owner realize that he's not fit to be either a GM or a Head Coach. They just let one of the games best coaches just walk out the door.

It's been rumored that Larry Brown's next stop could be back in his college state of North Carolina coaching the Charlotte Bobcats. He's built a relationship with now part owner Michael Jordan as both were part of the great UNC teams of Dean Smith. He'll look back at laugh as Isiah rides this sinking ship even further into the dark sea.

Here's a look at Larry Browns coaching career:

Larry Brown timeline
Years Team Record
'72-74 Carolina Cougars 104-64
'74-79 Denver Nuggets 251-134
'79-81 UCLA Bruins 42-17
'81-83 New Jersey Nets 91-67
'83-88 Kansas Jayhawks 135-44
'88-91 San Antonio Spurs 153-131
'91-93 Los Angeles Clippers 64-53
'93-97 Indiana Pacers 190-138
'97-03 Philadelphia 76ers 255-205
'03-05 Detroit Pistons 108-56
'05-06 New York Knicks 23-59
Now compare that to Isiah Thomas:

Isiah Thomas Coaching Record
Season Team Record Playoffs
'00-01 Pacers 41-41 1-3
'01-02 Pacers 42-40 2-3
'02-03 Pacers 48-34 2-4
TOTAL
131-115 5-10

Its easy to see that the Knicks will continue to be a bad team well into the future as long as Isiah Thomas is making the decisions.

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Clemson Tigers Baseball season comes to an end

The Clemson Tigers baseball season came to a bitter end today as they lost to Cal State Fullerton in the elimination game 7-6. It's a disappointing end to an otherwise very successful season. This team started the season as #1 in the nation and went on to win the ACC regular season title and the ACC Tournament Championship.

Though I'm proud of the teams accomplishments this year, I'm very disappointed the way we played in this College World Series. We were the #1 seed in this tournament but from the first game against Georgia Tech we didn't look like it. We came back from a 4-0 hole going into the 8th to win 8-4. In game 2 against UNC though we couldn't do anything, only accounting for 3 hits. In the elimination game against Cal St Fullerton our starting pitcher couldn't even complete the first inning putting us in a 3-0 hole though we did manage to post 3 runs ourselves to tie it, we still had to lean on the bullpen for 8 innings to shut them down and we couldn't. The way we played at the end of the season, anything less than a National Championship would be bust.

Not sure what to expect from the Tigers in 07 as we had 10 players and 4 recruits drafted two weeks ago. I don't expect for a repeat of this year.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Congrats to Carolina Hurricanes


Congratulations to the Carolina Hurricanes. They became the first major professional organization in the Carolinas to win a Championship. They outlasted the Edmonton Oilers to hoist the Lord Stanley Cup winning game 7 3-1.

I'm not a big hockey fan but I did manage to turn the channel a couple times to NBA to watch the Raleigh based team in action.

With a southern team winning the NHL Championship, it's time for those in the marketing dept to take advantage of this and promote the game the way other leagues do. The Hurricanes can increase their fan base by touring around both North and South Carolina with the Stanley Cup to drum up interest in hockey and in their merchandise sales. The have a golden opportunity now to do this.

Congrats again to the Carolina Hurricanes, you have another fan on board.

Friday, June 16, 2006

Bachelor Party weekend has begun






The Bradford and Bushido's good buddy, Mark Campbell, is two weeks away from entering into the world of constant chores and can't-make-decisions-by-myself. He's getting married in two weeks to a great girl. But we're now into the Bachelor party weekend, well it's actually already begun with Jim, me and the Bachelor going downtown to get some $1 Corona's at Coast only to be heartbroken to find out it was canceled due to serving underage kids. The fun continued this morning as us three finished off the remainder of a 18 pack Jim bought the previous night. Things continued to Wild Wings where we did some damage on the lunch buffet. Re-enforcement were called in today as Rich made the trip down from Greenville and just arrived a few minutes ago. Tonight we're heading to Isle of Palms to watch Cowboy Mouth
in concert at the Windjammer. If you haven't seen them in concert you need to get to one, they put on one hell of a show.

More trouble is due in town tomorrow when Craig, Stephen, Ed and Shawn make the trip from Charlotte. The plan for Saturday is to spend the day on the water drinking and who knows what.

There are already stories being told and knee slappers being created. With this group together who knows what will be said so we've started recording quotes being said during endless moments of running of the mouth.

Update from the weekend.

Saturday morning we were in recovering mode from friday nights fun, ears were still ringing from the concert. Things finally got going saturday around noon once everyone got rehydrated. Finally at around 2pm the remainder of the crew got into town, Craig and Stephen, unfortuantly Shawn and Ed weren't able to make it. We lounged around a little then got into a game of Assh**e and of course Mark the bachelor wound up the assh**e the most and as such ended up drinking the most, beer after beer but isn't that what the bachelor is supposed to do? Anyways we finally got ready to hit downtown, everyone getting showers. Finally when it came time for the bachelors turn a plan was in place to pull off one of the funniest pranks in our groups years together. I took a vase in my apt, filled it with ice and put some water in, steered it around a bit so the ice would met some, added a few more ice cubes for good measure. I gave the vase to Craig so I could record it on video.

Here's the result of the prank.

As for what happened saturday night, well, what happens on a bachelor party stays with the bachelor, but somehow no one was arrested or sent to the hospital. So the Party was a success and we've sent Mark out with style.




Thursday, June 15, 2006

Braves looking like a fish out of water

If the Braves are to win another division crown this year they better figure out how to win back to back games. That's something they haven't done since they swept the Cubs back on May 27th and 28th, a span of 16 games. In the same span they have a abysmal record of 3-13 including a four game sweep by Arizona. With the loss to the Marlins tonight they have lost the last 5 series against the Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Nationals, Astros and Marlins. They now stand 12 games back of the Mets and are just half a game ahead of the fourth place Nationals. Things don't get any easier for them in the next two weeks as they have to play Boston, Toronto, at the Devil Rays and at the Yankees.

Offensively they aren't really getting much production out of the leadoff spot which Giles currently owns. He sports an avg of .238, to say that the Braves miss Furcal in this spot is a huge understatement, he was the table setter. Giles isn't your prototypical leadoff guy.

Here's a look at the current lineup and their respective stats.

Hitter Avg H R RBI BB SO OBP (on base %)
Giles .238 59 36 21 32 47 .327
Renteria .328 75 39 28 26 34 .401
C Jones .291 58 39 34 32 42 .386
A Jones .269 66 39 56 22 57 .333
McCann .368 49 19 21 13 13 .421
Francoeur .252 69 32 47 4 55 .269
LaRoche .246 47 30 35 27 51 .338
Langerhans .246 43 21 16 22 52 .333

See anything there that just pops out to you? 5 hitters average .270 or worse and only two players with an OBP higher than .400. Players just aren't getting on base enough and strikeouts are at an alarming high as 4 players have 50+. The only two bright spots in this lineup right now are Renteria and McCann who's been hurt some.

Pitching wise it doesn't get much better. The Braves supposed staff ace is Tim Hudson who has a 6-4 record with a 3.79 ERA. The rest of the starting staff has a losing record and Jorge Sosa isn't getting it done at all, he's got a record of 1-8 with a ERA of 5.58. It also doesn't help matters that the bullpen has questions everywhere including former closer Chris Reitsma who has an ERA of 9.11 with four blown saves in 12 chances. Only one player with at least 20 innings pitched has an ERA in the 2's and that is Ken Ray who was promoted to the closers role and his ERA is just under 3 at 2.93.

Things aren't looking good for the Braves and the Braves faithful fans. You knew the time would come when we wouldn't continue this record streak of Division Championships but you'd hope that we could at least be competitive but that isn't happening.

The Braves need to use some of the talent in minors as trade bait to bring someone in to juice up this lineup. Where's Fred McGriff when you need him.

C of C fires Coach Herrion


College of Charleston Men's Basketball Coach Tom Herrion received his walking papers today as the school decided to go in another direction. Coach Herrion was about to enter his 5th year at the school, in his four years there he compiled a record of 80-38, not a shabby record at all. But the problem with Herrion is that he's not Kresse. Kresse would be the legend that preceded him, the Coach that took C of C to 4 straight NCAA tournament appearances and once beat Maryland only to lose to eventual Champion Arizona and the coach that has his name on the building.

Herrion is known for his temper on the bench, he can often be seen running on the court or jumping fanatically on the sideline. One of his other problems is that he didn't run a very disciplined program, players often were in trouble with the local law but somehow weren't punished on the court.

Now it is a strange time for a school to be firing it's basketball coach as most firings usually take place at the very end of the season in March. Something tells me that there were things going on behind closed doors that the public hasn't been made aware of, maybe it was a difference in personalities with the AD or just that he hasn't had the success on the court this program is accustomed to. Whatever the underlying issue was, the school now has to find a coach at a time when most coaches have either found other jobs or signed extensions.

The replacement list has to start and end with Winthrop coach Gregg Marshall. He's a former assistant coach to John Kresse and he runs a very clean, very successful program at Winthrop, a school not known for basketball until he got there. In his 8 seasons at Winthrop he has led them to 6 NCAA tournament appearances and has been named the Big South Coach of the Year three times in 1999, 2003 and again in 2005. He turned down the opportunity to return to Charleston when the job was available in 2002, something tells me he won't turn it down a second time.

So for the first time both local colleges, Citadel and C of C, will have new basketball coaches starting the same year. Citadel's coach being Ed Conroy who replaced Pat Dennis.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Team USA in serious trouble at FIFA World Cup

The worst possible scenario going into this World Cup for Team USA would be to lose against the Czech Republic and be put into a do-or-die game against Italy, one of the more powerful soccer nations there is. Well that scenario has unfolded in a nightmarish way for Team USA and all American soccer fans.

USA lost today to the Czech Republic and the mere term "lost" just doesn't do justice to the Czech Republic. It was more like the Czech Republic destroyed team USA. The game was only 5 minutes in when the Czech Republic put a header into the corner of the goal for a 1-0 lead, not even enough time for the fans to get settled into their seats. That first goal would be the deciding goal as the other two scores only further added to the humiliation team USA faces for this loss.

Team USA was ranked as the 5th strongest team entering this Cup, that ranking now looks very much misapplied. There was plenty of finger pointing going around as players blamed the coach and the coach in turn blamed the players. One thing is for sure, if they don't find a way to regroup and forget about this loss they will be going home much earlier than planned.

Italy is all the stands between USA now and a date home or an extended stay in the World Cup.

I hope we can turn it around and beat Italy but it maybe too late to call off the wolves. This is going to be a fast exit for a team thought to be USA's best. I don't think we have what it takes to beat Italy in a game they have so thoroughly dominated, they have won the World Cup 3 times.

Good luck Team USA, I'm afraid you're going to need every bit of it to advance.

Monday, June 12, 2006

My first installment of "What were you thinking"

I'm going to start a new subject line or rather finally begin one. I'm calling it "What were you thinking" for those out there in the sports world that make either dumb plays or make stupid off field decisions.

This first edition will start with Ben Rothlisberger, who was involved in an accident today with his motorcycle. There are no details available yet as to whom was at fault but what is known is that Big Ben's bike collided head on to a car and he was tossed off the bike an into the car's windshield. He suffered a 9 inch cut on the back of his head, lost some teeth and has knee injuries from hitting the payment. He is in serious but stable condition as of this afternoon.

To think that this could've been avoided, the injuries that is, as Big Ben being the risk taker he likes to be, refused to wear a helmet while riding. He received stern advice from Pittsburgh Coach Bill Cowher, his mom, teammates and former Steelers QB Terry Bradshaw to wear the helmet. He says that he is a careful driver and says as long as the law says you don't have to wear a helmet he won't, likes the freedom without it while he's driving.

Where he earns my "What were you thinking" Award for stupidity is that he knew the dangers of motorcycles and chose to ignore them. He should've learned the lessons of previous athletes involved in motorcycle accidents. Two of those high profile athletes were Cleveland Brown's TE Kellen Winslow Jr and NBA Bulls Guard Jason Williams. Winslow’s accident was just last year when he hit a curb at 35 mph and tore ligaments in his knee forcing him to miss the entire 2005 season. In 2003, Jason Williams crashed his bike into a light pole, fracturing his p
elvis, tore knee ligaments and damaged nerves in his left leg. He has yet to return back to basketball. What Ben doesn’t understand or chose to ignore is that since he’s the starting QB he is the face and leader of the team, meaning that if he fails they fail and that in turn effects teammates play which correlates to money.

Why on earth with all the money available now and in the future would you risk your life and career riding a motorcycle without a helmet? Ben should be lucky to still be alive after flying off his bike into the windshield of a car. I think he'll learn a big lesson from this and maybe stay far far away from motorcycles.

Found my name sake on Google's "I'm feeling lucky"

If you haven't seen a recent picture of me check out my friend Jim's blog for a Memorial Weekend boat party.

The reason for me posting this is I did a google search of my name and hit the "I'm feeling lucky" button and this is the page that came up. Ever since I've hit 280 I tell everyone that I'm a NFL lineman on paper but not in physical stature since I'm not built like a brick house. I come it at 6'4 285 but I carry my weight well, if I were 5'10 or smaller you'd have to roll me everywhere. I digress; the site that came up was my name sake. He's an offensive lineman for the Florida Gators and he's listed as being 6'6 weighing 288.

Now I'm pretty sure he's built better than me but it's funny that my name sake is an offensive lineman that pretty much on paper is the same size as me. Maybe he can find his way to the NFL and I can really say on paper I am a NFL Lineman.

USA to open play today in FIFA World Cup




Team USA opens play today in the FIFA World Cup against the Czech Republic in Germany. Both teams are in Group E along with Ghana and Italy. The top 2 teams in each group advance to the next round.

USA goalkeeper Kasey Keller is considered to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world but against the Czech Republic he is going to be tested early and often. Other notable names on this team include Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Claudio Reyna, and if you follow Clemson Soccer you'll recognize Defender Oguchi Onyewu.

In the last World Cup in 2002, USA finished 2-2-1 and in 98 went 0-3.

Now I don't normally follow soccer since it's just not as popular in the States as Baseball or Football but when it comes to the World Cup I do sit up and take notice. I hope we can escape the CR and beat Ghana to move on to the 2nd round. If it comes down to win or go home against Italy we maybe in trouble.

Come on Team USA, make us proud.

Sunday, June 11, 2006

Arena League Championship game Sunday at 3pm, Orlando vs Chicago


























I realize some of you maybe wondering, why on earth are you writing about the Arena League Championship game? Well the reason isn't because I'm a big fan of players wishing to be in the NFL or the fact that it's the only football being played, nope, it's because one of the Lowcountry's very own is playing in this game. Berkley county product and Macedonia High grad, Joe Hamilton, is playing for the Orlando Predators. He's not only playing for them but leading them into this game as their starting QB.

In case you're from another state and not familiar with his name, let me give you some info on him. After a stellar career at Macedonia High he went to Georgia Tech where he led the Yellow Jackets to 3 straight bowl games and finished his career as the ACC leader in total offense and finished 2nd to Ron Dayne for the Heisman Trophy. He was taken in the 7th round of the 2000 Draft by Tampa Bay. He would remain with the team as they won the SuperBowl in 2002 though he didn't play due to an injury. He was released the next year and had no interest from other NFL teams so he signed with the Orlando Predators of the AFL. Orlando's coach is Jay Gruden, the brother of Tampa Bay coach John Gruden. After one very successful season there he was signed to the Indianapolis Colts to backup Manning but was subsiquently released after three games and again signed with Orlando. Does he sound somewhat familiar to you now?

Well to make a long story short, which maybe too late now, he has a chance to be the only quarterback to win both a SuperBowl and Arena League Championship. So far through his 3 year AFL career he has thrown for 9,823 yards, including a career high of 3,670 this year, 181 TDs with only 35 ints.

From the tiny town of Alvin, SC to the big city of Orlando, Joe Hamilton has become a star. He even has a billboard with his picture on it. In Orlando, the Predators are the biggest sports attraction, even over the NBA Magic. They draw an avg of 13,ooo people to home games with twice as many season ticket holders as the Magic. Thus he has become one of Orlando's most recognizable faces.

So come Sunday at 3pm, turn your tv dials to NBC to see the local product on the biggest stage of his career. Good luck Joe and keep representing the lowcountry well.

Seeking a Sponsor for the 2006 WSOP Championship

Pre-registration has begun for anyone that thinks they can or know how to play the ever-popular game of Texas Hold'em Poker. The World Series of Poker's main event, the No-limit Texas Hold'em World Championship, is scheduled to begin on July 28 and will run through August 10th.

Last years winner was Joseph Hachem who took home a record payout of $7.5 Million. That payout is expected to increase this year as there is expected to be an increase again in players. Last year there were a total of 5,619 players. The top 560 people, or the top 10%, finished in the money and won at least $12,500 with increases according to finishing order. If you were skilled or lucky enough to finish in the top 81 you won at least $107,950., not too shabby.

So I'm on a journey to see if I can find someone to sponsor me to play in this tournament. Entry fee is a whopping $10K and at last count, my empty water cooler bottle only amounted to a measly $85 not even close to 10K. So if I were to place in the money I'll give you back the $10K plus 10% of my winnings. In case you're wondering I've been playing poker online and in local garage tournaments for the last 3 years and I've honed my skills pretty well. So I think I can hold up to the pressure of such a tournament in the city of sin. So will you sponsor this guy???

Come on rich people, help send this blogger to Vegas so I can do some investigative reporting on the WSOP and write about it here.

Friday, June 09, 2006

Super Regional Poll

inner of Clemson/Oral Roberts
Clemson
Oral Roberts
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Winner of College of Charleston/Georgia Tech
College of Charleston
Georgia Tech
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Winner of South Carolina/Georgia
South Carolina
Georgia
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inner of UNC/Alabama
UNC
Alabama
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Winner of Cal State Fullerton/Missouri
Cal St Fullerton
Missouri
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Winner of Rice/Oklahoma
Rice
Oklahoma
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Winner of Miami/Ole Miss
Miami
Ole Miss
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Winner of Oregan St/Stanford
Oregan St.
Stanford
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3 South Carolina teams to play for Omaha

It's said that Texas and Ohio are pure football states, well the same could be said for South Carolina being a baseball state. Well college at least. In this past NCAA regionals there were a total of 4 teams competing to go to the Super Regionals; Clemson, South Carolina, College of Charleston and Winthrop. Three of those teams won their respective regionals and will open play Friday in the Super Regional in hopes to win 2 games to advance to the College World Series. Winthrop is the odd team out here but they did lose to UNC in the regional championship.

So out of the remaining 16 teams left to play, 3 of them are from South Carolina, I'd say that's quite impressive. I wasn't the only one to write about 3 SC teams left of the 16 teams playing in Super Regionals. Click here for Post and Courier's Gene Spackoff's article.

Here is a quick break down for each of the 3 schools in their Super Regional matchup:


Clemson Tigers 50-14 vs Oral Roberts Golden Eagles 41-14
This is a great matchup featuring two of the hottest teams in the country. Clemson comes in this matchup having won 22 of its last 23 games while Oral Roberts has won 31 of its last 34 after starting the season 10-11. These two teams have only met once and that was just last year in the Clemson regional with the Tigers taking a 8-3 victory.

Clemson boasts a record of 34-5 at home while Oral Roberts is 14-8 on the road.

Offense

Clemson is hitting .306 and is led by Tyler Colvin (.359 22 doubles, 5 triples and 12 HR, 65 RBIs and 23 SB.) Other offensive leaders are Brad Chalk .358 and Andy D'Alessio .321 22 HR and 80 RBIs.

Oral Roberts as a team is hitting .327 and averaging 8 runs a game. They are led by Andy Bouchie hitting .377 with 12 HR and 53 RBIs. Other leaders include Brendan Duffy .363, Chad Rothford .337 12 HR and 60 RBIs and Tim Torres with 10 HR and 38 RBIs.

Pitching

Clemson has a staff ERA of 3.18 and opponents batting avg of .240. The starting pitchers, Jason Berken, Stephen Faris and Josh Cribb have combined for a record of 27-5 and an ERA of 2.71 . The closer is Daniel Moskos with 10 saves and a 2.19 ERA

Oral Roberts has a staff ERA of 3.47 and opponents batting avg of .247. Pitching is led by Sean Jarrett 7-1 1.98 ERA, Chris Ashman 10-1 2.02 ERA and Nick Jones 7-4 3.67 ERA.

My prediction is Clemson wins this Super Regional in 3 games.



College of Charleston Cougars 46-15 at Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 48-16

These two teams haven't played since Feb 93 and G. Tech has won all 7 games played.

C of C won the Lexington Regional by beating Notre Dame 5-4, Ball St 11-0 and host Kentucky 7-4. They are 23-8 on the road. As a team they are hitting .325 with 38 HRs, 129 doubles, 372 RBIs and have 124 SB in 158 attempts. The pitching staff boasts a team ERA of 2.87.

Georgia Tech won the Atlanta Regional by beating Stetson 7-5, Vanderbilt 7-3 and Vanderbilt again 8-4. They are 32-5 at home. They are hitting .320 as a team with 84 HRs, 151 doubles, 530 RBIs and have 51 SB in 66 attempts. Former Stratford standout Matt Wieters is one of their offensive leaders with a .354 Avg, 13 HRs, 19 doubles and 67 RBIs. They have a team ERA of 4.44.

C of C has had a hell of a season and their offense if based on speed but I'm not sure their pitching can shut down the Tech offense. Georgia Tech takes this Super Regional in 2 games.



South Carolina Gamecocks 40-23 at Georgia Bulldogs 45-20

These two teams have played 4 times this year and all 4 times Georgia was the victor, three times during the regular season and once in the SEC Tournament.

South Carolina won the Charlottesville Regional with wins over Evansville 4-2, Virginia 8-2, lost to Evansville 15-5 and won the championship game against Evansville 5-1. South Carolina is 9-12 on the road. Offensively they are hitting .306 with 82 HRs, 115 doubles, 432 RBIs and are only 24 of 42 in stolen bases. Pitching wise they have a team ERA of 4.43.

Georgia won their Athens Regional beating Sacred Heart 11-0, lost to Florida St 6-4, beat Jacksonville 15-8, beat Florida St 7-1 and beat them again 3-2. They have a home record of 27-10. Offensively they are hitting .310 with 74 HRs, 128 doubles, 426 RBIs and are 63 of 79 in stolen bases. Pitching wise they have a staff ERA of 4.64.

S. Carolina is playing good ball but their record on the road isn't good and Georgia seems to own Carolina this year as previously mentioned at 4 and 0. This Super Regional will definitely come down to the third game with Georgia winning the regional. Georgia in 3 games.


View 2006 NCAA Baseball Championship bracket here.

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Picture of the day

This is a real picture and was on tv. They are players for the Arkansas Razorbacks. Something tells me they did this on purpose. If you don't think this picture is funny you need to check you sense of humor.

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Diamondbacks P Jason Grimsley open up new can of worms for MLB

MLB and Comish Bud Selig had thought they had put the steroid era behind them and moved on to clean baseball. Well thanks to the Diamondbacks relief pitcher Jason Grimsley, they maybe in for a bigger headache than what Jose Canseco brought to them.

Grimsley had been the subject of a federal investigation since April and was just recently busted by the fed investigators with two "“kits"” of HGH, otherwise known as the human growth hormone. The two kits were to be his year supply of the drug. He has been cooperating with the investigators and volunteered names of players that he has known or seen using HGH. I read part of the warrant issued for this search of his home and in that he list at least 10 players. Keep in mind that he has played for 7 teams in his 17 year career so that list of players could range from superstars to the unknown. He played with the Phillies from 89-91, Indians 93-95, Angels 96, Yankees 99-00, Royals 01-03, Orioles 04-05 and the Diamondbacks 06.

Here'’s part of what was included in the search warrant:

When asked what other current MLB players used athletic performance-enhancing drugs, Grimsley named former players (name blacked out) and (name blacked out). Grimsley stated that this past winter , (name blacked out) told him of a doctor in Florida that he was using at a "“wellness center"” to obtain HGH. (Name blacked out) told him, "“if you a’re going to do this, you should do it right."” (Name blacked out) told Grimsley that he has blood work done by this doctor. (Name blacked out) first told Grimsley about the doctor in Florida last winter.

Grimsley was asked about his knowledge of other MLB players who took anabolic steroids. Grimsley named, (name blacked out), (name blacked out) whom Grimsley stated was very obvious and had the worst back acne he’d ever seen and (name blacked out) as anabolic steroid users. Grimsley also stated that (name blacked out) had a doctor in Colorado that supplied him (name blacked out) with amphetamines.

I'’d type more but the story just keeps going on and on. Click here for the link to the whole document to read.

If you thought MLB was done having to worry about Congress looking over it'’s shoulder well this is going to bring congress face to face again w/MLB leaders. This time I'’m sure congress won'’t hesitate to lay the hammer and set the drug testing guidelines for baseball.

Thanks to Grimsley we might have a pure clean sport one day where we don’t have to question whether he’s taking some type of steroid.

Looks like the heat is off Bonds for now but it could get hotter for a few other players real soon.

Inman has been captured!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just saw that the Clemson murder suspect has been captured. Police staked out his sister's home in Tennessee after his parents told them he was at her house. There was no report as to whether there was a struggle or not. This is great news for the Souers family and the Clemson community. I hope that he is convicted of this crime and executed but execution just seems to be too easy of punishment. Too bad there aren't any town hangings any more.

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Suspect in the Clemson murder case of Tiffany Souers


There is new information into the murder case of Tiffany Souers, the Clemson student found strangled over a week ago. Investigators in Greenville have released a suspect named Jerry Buck Inman. There is now a nationwide manhunt underway to locate him and bring him to justice.

Inman was born on 12/19/1970 and is 5'10" tall and weighs around 159 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes. He has tattoos all over his body including a tattoo all over his back, a skull on his left chest, a skull pentagram on his left hand, a skull dagger on his left leg, a bat on his neck, a skull dragon and cross in memory of brother on his right arm, a skull on his right hand, and a female with a gun on his stomach.

Investigators found Inman using DNA samples taken from Ms. Souers apt, they then matched that DNA with Inman's DNA by scanning a database of DNA in Tennessee.

Invesitgators warn that Inman is considered extremely dangerous and any sitings should be reported immediately. He most likely will be driving a red and silver 1990 Chevy S10 Blazer or either a green Chevy Camaro or a maroon Ford van w/Tennessee tags.

If you or anyone you know has information, call the Souers Homicide Tip Line at 800-442-2746 and press "2."

If and when they catch this guy they should hang him in Death Valley and cut of his Johnson before doing so. What a worthless human being.

Braves nab HS Outfielder with first round pick in MLB Draft


The 2006 MLB amateur Draft is being held today and Wednesday. There are a total of 50 rounds, 20 the first day, 30 the next.

Atlanta did something they haven't done since 2002 when they drafted some kid named Jeff Francoeur and that is take a High School Outfielder with their first overall pick. Cody Johnson, 17, is a power hitting left hander. He has played some at first base but the Braves are going to play him in the outfield, a position he is still learning. He comes in at 6-4 weighing 195. As a senior this past year he hit .525 with 15 homers, six doubles and 43 RBI's all of which led him to be named Florida's 5A State Player of the Year.

As a youth growing up his favorite player was none-other than Chipper Jones as they both come from the same area. So naturally his favorite team was the Atlanta Braves. He had this to say about being drafted by Atlanta, "It's an honor to be drafted by the Braves. I grew up watching them and it's the only team I've really ever rooted for. It's the one place I've always wanted to play. It's amazing to be drafted by the Braves."

Lets hope that he projects to be as good of a player that Chipper is and follows the same path that Francoeur on his way to the show.

Here's a look at the other Braves draft picks on the first day.

#38 RHP Cory Rasmus Russell County HS
#43 LHP Stephen Evarts Robinson HS
#51 LHP Jeffrey Locke A Crosby Kennett Sr HS
#68 RHP Dustin Evans Georgia Southern
#72 SS Robert Fountaine Daytona Beach CC
#100 LHP Chad Rogers Walsh Jesuit HS
#130 LHP Gary Hyde Georgia Tech
#160 LHP Kevin Gunderson Oregon St U
#190 RHP Steven Figueroa Edgewater HS
#220 3B Adam Coe Russell County HS
#250 RHP Casey Beck San Jacinto Col North
#280 RHP Timothy Gustafson Georgia Tech
#310 RHP Kristopher Medlen Santa Ana Col
#340 RHP Michael Mehlich Bishop Moore School
#370 1B Joshua Morris Georgia
#400 RHP Joseph Johnson Louisburg Col
#430 RHP Matthew Small Ipswich HS
#460 3B Stephen Shults Walters St CC
#490 RHP Jack Tilghman Walters St CC
#520 LHP Clayton McMillan Texarkana CC
#550 C Joseph Paxson Walters St CC

If you're not keeping count that's 16 pitchers out of 22 players, to say Atlanta is focusing on pitching would be a huge understatement but then again pitching is where Atlanta hangs its proverbial hat.

Holly City Charity Poker Challenge

I recently received an email from the North Charleston Coliseum and Performing Arts Center advertising the 1st Annual WTMA Holly City Charity Poker Challenge. Now when it comes to poker I'm not one to say no as I just recently won $100 in a 6 man tournament this past weekend. I think it's always good to give to charity if you can afford to but I'm not one to give someone $20 to play poker and not get something in return for the time it takes to play. That is basically what this tournament is, you give someone $20 so you can basically play for fun, who really wants to waste a whole days activities for nothing.

I looked at the official rules for the tournament and for 1st play is a trophy with no cash value and it doesn't say anything about prizes just that "Contest prizes are not transferable. Prizes may not be substituted for or redeemed for cash". They will also have a cash bar there so you can throw more of your money away. The cash bar will also have food and beverages available. So if you expect to be around for a while to be Crowned the Poker King of Charleston, you better bring a few more $20 bills with ya.
To make this tournament even more of a flop is that they are starting it at 8pm, so if there is at least 100 people in this tournament, well I hope you don't have any plans for sunday morning/afternoon cause you'll still be playing poker.

I'm not sure who or what committee thought up this idea but they need to take this plan back to the drawing board because it's in desperate need of fixing. I love playing poker but not for that long and with no pay out or prize at the end.

Click here for the link to the official tournament brochure.

Michell Wie fails in bid to earn spot in US Open

Michelle Wie the gifted 16 year old female golfer failed in her attempt to earn a spot in the PGA's US Open. She was playing in a qualifying tournament at Canoe Brook in Summit, New Jersey. She finished at +1 after 36 holes. She was one of 153 players trying to earn one of the 18 spots in the tournament.

I think this talent young lady should start winning on the LPGA before she attempts to try and take on the men. Granted she can hit the little white ball on long ways for a woman but her game isn’t anywhere close to being able to compete with the big dawgs of the PGA. Though she just recently gained her tour card she’s been competing in LPGA sanctioned events for a while but has yet to win a championship. No one has dominated women’s golf like Annika Sorenstam and even she wasn’t able to make the cut on a weekend tournament she attempted to play in. So how does Michelle think she can do pull off playing with the men?

I think she needs to start focusing on her game and show that she has the capability to compete with woman on her tour before she again attempts to play with the men. Of the 14 tournaments played so far in 2006 LPGA season, Wie has yet to finish in the top 2. In 2005 as an amateur she finished second 3 times. There’s no doubting she has the talent to win on the LPGA tour but until she does so and proves she can win there, she should stay away from the boys on the PGA.

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