When I was doing my grocery shopping in Wal-Mart the other day, I happened to walk by the sports cards section and I couldn't help myself. I saw all of those packs hanging up and those boxes sitting on the shelves and I just had to buy a few packs. I picked out a couple of 2011 Topps Baseball packs and tossed them into my shopping cart.
I collected when I was a growing up and I probably stopped when I was about 17 or 18 so my collection ended in 1983. Topps was the only thing I collected because it was about the only brand out there (Donruss and Fleer appeared right about the time I stopped collecting).
I started collecting again right about the time me and my wife got together in the late 1980's (although I couldn't begin to tell you why that triggered the collecting bug again) and it died off again in the late 1990's although I would buy the occasional pack once in a while as a pick me up.
The other day I needed a pick me up and saw those cards and I couldn't wait until I got home to open them up. It brought back a ton of good memories from my younger years and I really don't know if I got anything good out of the two packs or not. I got a Neil Walker (I got to see him play in the minor leagues with low Class A Hickory in 2005) and a Stephen Strasburg. They had the Topps All-Star Rookie symbols on the front of the card so they must be halfway decent.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
Duke vs. Arizona
I am a diehard North Carolina Tarheels fan. It doesn't matter what sport, I pull for the 'Heels. That being written, I will never pull for Duke. Ever. When you mention North Carolina vs. Duke, you immediately think basketball. It's natural. Its college basketballs best rivalry. It has been for years especially since ESPN came onto the scene. I am not like most fans because I do pull for North Carolina in football as well. Almost all Duke fans don't even know they have a football team.
I enjoy watching Duke lose. Especially in basketball. I have got every North Carolina victory against Duke on tape or DVD since the early 1990's. I break them out every once in a while when I am depressed and need a pick me up.
I do not like Coach K. I never have and I never will. I will give him credit and say that he is a good (not great) coach and an even better recruiter. He, however, is a public relations machine for himself. When the cameras are on, his whole persona changes (except during a game). I remember one interview he did with ESPN where he allowed the cameras into one of his practices. That "event" was staged more than a Broadway musical. Whenever someone would make a mistake he would pull all of his team together and he would explain things in a very soft spoken voice and even Jay Bilas, an ESPN announcer and former player for Coach K back in the '80's) said I don't remember him being like that. I remember alot more yelling.
I think this self-promotion goes against everything an "amateur" coach should be. I realize that college sports are the farthest thing from being amateur because there is money to be had for everyone but the players. Everytime talk of the NBA comes up, I hope Coach K goes. He would get slaughtered and he would be exposed and the "aura" of Coach K would be gone.
All of this being written, watching Arizona dismantle Duke gave me a great deal of satisfaction. Arizona outrebounded and outplayed Duke and they did not have an answer. I watched ESPN 3 or 4 times this morning so I could watch the highlights over and over. I do believe Coach K made a bad move by bringing Kyrie Irving back this late in the season. Very few second-guessed that move (Jay Bilas was one of them) and at some point and time, he and the select few in the media will feel the wrath of Coach K. It affected the chemistry of the team. I believe Coach K had something up his sleeve with that move. I have read rumors on the internet that Kyrie Irving is potentially the #1 draft pick in the next NBA draft. Coach K will hound him into coming back. He always does for the good of "his" program.
I am afraid the satisfaction will be short-lived because I do not think the 'Heels are strong enough to win it this year. They may not even get by Marquette. At least I had a 24 hour window in which I could enjoy Duke's season going up in flames over and over again.
I enjoy watching Duke lose. Especially in basketball. I have got every North Carolina victory against Duke on tape or DVD since the early 1990's. I break them out every once in a while when I am depressed and need a pick me up.
I do not like Coach K. I never have and I never will. I will give him credit and say that he is a good (not great) coach and an even better recruiter. He, however, is a public relations machine for himself. When the cameras are on, his whole persona changes (except during a game). I remember one interview he did with ESPN where he allowed the cameras into one of his practices. That "event" was staged more than a Broadway musical. Whenever someone would make a mistake he would pull all of his team together and he would explain things in a very soft spoken voice and even Jay Bilas, an ESPN announcer and former player for Coach K back in the '80's) said I don't remember him being like that. I remember alot more yelling.
I think this self-promotion goes against everything an "amateur" coach should be. I realize that college sports are the farthest thing from being amateur because there is money to be had for everyone but the players. Everytime talk of the NBA comes up, I hope Coach K goes. He would get slaughtered and he would be exposed and the "aura" of Coach K would be gone.
All of this being written, watching Arizona dismantle Duke gave me a great deal of satisfaction. Arizona outrebounded and outplayed Duke and they did not have an answer. I watched ESPN 3 or 4 times this morning so I could watch the highlights over and over. I do believe Coach K made a bad move by bringing Kyrie Irving back this late in the season. Very few second-guessed that move (Jay Bilas was one of them) and at some point and time, he and the select few in the media will feel the wrath of Coach K. It affected the chemistry of the team. I believe Coach K had something up his sleeve with that move. I have read rumors on the internet that Kyrie Irving is potentially the #1 draft pick in the next NBA draft. Coach K will hound him into coming back. He always does for the good of "his" program.
I am afraid the satisfaction will be short-lived because I do not think the 'Heels are strong enough to win it this year. They may not even get by Marquette. At least I had a 24 hour window in which I could enjoy Duke's season going up in flames over and over again.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Jimmer Fredette
Jimmer Fredette of Brigham Young finally ran out of steam against Florida in an Overtime loss in the NCAA tournament. He still had 32 points and they still had a chance to win the game but Jimmer finally lost his legs and his jumpshot along with it. He was 11 for 29 from the field and 3 for 15 from the three point line. He had played every minute of every game for 5 out of the past 6. I think he was just wore out. That is alot of basketball on a very big stage.
I am a huge North Carolina Tarheels fan but Jimmer was one of the rare opposition players that I enjoyed watching. He enjoys the game, he plays with an unbridled passion, he is very unassuming, and he always seemed to put the team first. He carried them on his back for as long as he could especially after their starting big man got suspended. That suspension really changed the dynamics of the team and put more pressure on Jimmer. I do not know how well Jimmer will fare in the pro's but I enjoyed watching him play college basketball.
I am a huge North Carolina Tarheels fan but Jimmer was one of the rare opposition players that I enjoyed watching. He enjoys the game, he plays with an unbridled passion, he is very unassuming, and he always seemed to put the team first. He carried them on his back for as long as he could especially after their starting big man got suspended. That suspension really changed the dynamics of the team and put more pressure on Jimmer. I do not know how well Jimmer will fare in the pro's but I enjoyed watching him play college basketball.
MLB 11: The Show
I have started playing my latest video game acquisition MLB 11: The Show in earnest now as I work my way through spring training. I love this game. It is the most realistic baseball game I have ever played. The graphics, the features, the way it plays, the realism down to the last detail. Its all great!
The realism of the game is so good, it almost mirrors my playing days. The self-proclaimed "Bob Uecker of Little League Baseball" still can't hit a changeup, swings at pitches in the dirt and two or three feet outside of the strike zone, and is a sucker for an outside slider with two strikes. I have played about 20 games so far and I don't think I have drawn one base on balls, not even an intentional one. It is a classic case of life imitating art and this game is baseball art in its purest form.
I am a huge Los Angeles Dodgers fan and I love being able to manipulate the 40 man roster and to be able to control their farm teams. I have to be honest and admit that I have never played the most recognizable feauture "Road to the Show", where you create a player and take him from the minors to the majors, in this game. I can't seem to want to play anything other than the franchise mode. I have never played online either but I have plenty of time to get my butt kicked by some 12 year old in Butte, Montana.
The realism of the game is so good, it almost mirrors my playing days. The self-proclaimed "Bob Uecker of Little League Baseball" still can't hit a changeup, swings at pitches in the dirt and two or three feet outside of the strike zone, and is a sucker for an outside slider with two strikes. I have played about 20 games so far and I don't think I have drawn one base on balls, not even an intentional one. It is a classic case of life imitating art and this game is baseball art in its purest form.
I am a huge Los Angeles Dodgers fan and I love being able to manipulate the 40 man roster and to be able to control their farm teams. I have to be honest and admit that I have never played the most recognizable feauture "Road to the Show", where you create a player and take him from the minors to the majors, in this game. I can't seem to want to play anything other than the franchise mode. I have never played online either but I have plenty of time to get my butt kicked by some 12 year old in Butte, Montana.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
The Sports Goob and the baseball season
The start of baseball season is not official for me until I purchase the Baseball America Prospect Handbook: 2011 and the Baseball Prospectus 2011 guides for the new season. I pour over both ot the guides and being a diehard Los Angeles Dodgers fan, I look at every one of their prospects and follow them as the season progresses.
The Prospect Handbook is my favorite because it has the top 30 prospects for every major league team listed with detailed analysis, strengths and weaknesses, and complete with stats. Some of the prospects have never swung a bat or thrown a pitch at the minor league level but they still make the list.
Evaluating baseball prospects has never been an exact science and when evaluating a player, their value is based on pure potential, and that is what the minor leagues is all about. A young player who was tearing up Spring Training or at one level of the minor league levels used to be called a "phenom" in the 1970's and '80's. Before that if a young player was paid a large bonus he was called a "bonus baby" and I believe he had to stay with the parent team a certain amount of time but with the millions the high draft picks are paid now, I do not know what they are called now outside of millionaires.
The Prospect Handbook is my favorite because it has the top 30 prospects for every major league team listed with detailed analysis, strengths and weaknesses, and complete with stats. Some of the prospects have never swung a bat or thrown a pitch at the minor league level but they still make the list.
Evaluating baseball prospects has never been an exact science and when evaluating a player, their value is based on pure potential, and that is what the minor leagues is all about. A young player who was tearing up Spring Training or at one level of the minor league levels used to be called a "phenom" in the 1970's and '80's. Before that if a young player was paid a large bonus he was called a "bonus baby" and I believe he had to stay with the parent team a certain amount of time but with the millions the high draft picks are paid now, I do not know what they are called now outside of millionaires.
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