Who's Now?

Well, Whitey called it, Joey Chestnut shoved more hot dogs in his grill than Kobayashi. I think the final tally was 66-63. I have to admit that I watched this thing, but I had my eyes glued on the numbers in the upper left hand corner of the screen the entire time. Why? Because watching this stuff makes me physically ill. Kobayashi regurgitated his lunch at the end and tried to force it back down. That's it...even writing about this makes my stomach turn.

A couple points. Number one is obviously the change in appearance of our website. We felt a different look was in order, and hope you agree. On to the sporting world. ESPN came up with a new gimmick: Who's Now. It would be best if I quote them on the idea behind this:

Throughout July, "SportsCenter" will air "Who's Now," a daily series in which viewers will help ESPN determine the ultimate sports star by considering both on-field success and off-field buzz.

As of this writing, only three match-ups have been decided. The contestants look like this:

MICHAEL JORDAN BRACKET
July 1: (1) Tiger Woods def. (8) Matt Leinart
July 2: (4) Dwyane Wade def. (5) Shaun White
July 3: (2) LaDainian Tomlinson def. (7) David Beckham
MUHAMMAD ALI BRACKET
July 5: (1) Peyton Manning vs (8) Amanda Beard
July 6: (4) Dale Earnhardt Jr vs (5) Chuck Liddell
July 7: (2) Alex Rodriguez vs (7) Terrell Owens
July 8: (3) Kobe Bryant vs (6) Ronaldinho
BILLIE JEAN KING BRACKET
July 9: (1) LeBron James vs (8) Kelly Slater
July 10: (4) Jeff Gordon vs (5) Barry Bonds
July 11: (2) Derek Jeter vs (7) Sidney Crosby
July 12: (3) Reggie Bush vs (6) Danica Patrick
BABE RUTH BRACKET
July 13: (1) Tom Brady vs (8) David Ortiz
July 14: (4) Maria Sharapova vs (5) Vince Young
July 15: (2) Roger Federer vs (7) Tony Parker
July 16: (3) Shaquille O'Neal vs (6) Michael Phelps

This ain't rocket science: "The winner of each matchup will advance based upon fan voting (70 percent) and ESPN's three-person panel (30 percent). In the first round, the panel consists of Michael Wilbon, Kirk Herbstreit and Keyshawn Johnson." The interesting thing about this is how much weight one wants to give to "off-field buzz." I like to give a whole lot of weight to it, since otherwise the entire point seems ridiculous.

I don't see anyone beating Tiger, but I'll comment on the results thus far. Shaun White should have beaten Dwayne Wade. Wade may have won a championship, but I've seen White in a Hewlett-Packard and an American Express ad while Wade has been a shill for some car company (I can't even remember which one). Oh yeah, he's in some ad with Charles Barkley too (cell phones I believe). Not good enough; I'll bet White actually gets results. David Beckham should have been a no-brainer. I don't think I'd recognize LaDainian Tomlinson unless he was wearing his helmet. Beckham can't even walk down the street in most of the free (and not-so-free) world without stopping traffic. I have no idea who Chuck Liddell or Sidney Crosby are. I have heard of Kelly Slater, but don't ask me how. Here is who the final four should be:

1. Tiger Woods
   
2. Peyton Manning (maybe Dale Jr.)
   
3. Lebron James (maybe Jeff Gordon)
   
4. Maria Sharapova

Amanda Beard baring all for Playboy got her the desired result: she's in the field. I have no idea how Vince Young made it in. Or Matt Leinart (dating history?). You don't have to wait three weeks for the results here...

Conflicting Numbers?

I have always considered ESPN to be a good gauge of sports fans in their polls. That said, as I was checking on anything but the stupidity that is the IFOCE (the International Federation of Competitive Eating for those of us that use our opposing thumbs, and a fork to eat), I saw a poll that made me think. On Wednesday 4 July at 1300, I clicked on the web page and there was a poll asking what Barry Bonds' Legacy would be. Alleged steroid user or All Time Home Run Champion? I took my stand on Barry in an earlier post, so I voted pro Barry.

At last check he was voted into starting line up of the 2007 All-Star Game in a flurry of on line fan voting. Fans vote for the starting 8 and the players add another 8 fielders and pitchers. With the managers selecting the rest of the team, I would think Bonds overtaking Alfonso Soriano in the last few days of fan voting would reflectin the poll on ESPN. Not so much. Roughly 70% voted him as an alleged steroid user. If 70% of the 40,000 people who took the poll think he used steroids, why is he starting the All Star Game? Sports fans are just people like everyone else, so where is the disconnect? If this is what is thought of Bonds, why will he be standing in the outfield on Tuesday with the beloved Junior Griffey? If 70% of fans think he is dirty, where did the votes come from?

I understand that this is a small portion of the fan vote represented in the poll, but come on. I didn't vote on the All Star Team, so I can't complain about who will be out there; it really doesn't matter to me. It's an exhibition. I think he was doing something to make his shoe size, hat size, and body swell, but so do most people. He has been convicted in the public without any positive test, yet he is starting. I would not have voted for Bonds for the All Star Game, because this year he is not one of the three best - or eight for that matter - outfielders in the NL, but he is going to be the All-Time Home Run Champion.


Professor's Note: I tried to find the poll Whitey is talking about to no avail. So we made our own:

Loyal Fans?

Well ladies, and gentlemen I'm not making this up. Just a few weeks ago I was in the 513; Cincinnati, Ohio. I went to see the Professor for our annual dose of the College World Series, and the Cleveland Indians were in town playing the Reds at Great American Ballpark (GABP). We went to 2 of the 3 games. The first night game was the debut of Homer Bailey, and the other was a Sunday day game in which the Red outlasted the Indians in a great pitching duel, winning in 11 innings. I got to see friends, have a few beers, and watch baseball in one of the best venues I've graced with my presence. Every seat is a good one. We ate at The Montgomery Inn, which Whitey gives two thumbs up. If you're in town, you gotta go.

This morning, as I was perusing the world in which we live, I fell upon this story of a 6'8" gentleman who apparently broke part of his seat away inside GABP and got all the way outside the stadium before being apprehended. In broad daylight. That's right, 4:15 in the afternoon and this cat, Brad Hosler, just pulls up stakes and walks out with the seat like it's his beach chair. Only in Cincinnati. I know the Reds are not very good right now, but this takes the statement, "I'm taking my toys and going home!" to a new level. And the kicker....he showed up at the courthouse in a Reds t-shirt.

The Reds' New Pitcher

Whitey claims this pitch is illegal; I think he's just jealous. I couldn't resist - I found it here so go check him out.

Maybe if Jerry Narron had found this dude a couple weeks ago he might still have a job.

Whitey's Take On Bonds

There seems to be a disagreement amongst the baseball analysts on Barry Bonds. I've heard everybody and his brother tell us what they think Barry has done. Clear, cream, 'roids, whatever you have heard, he has never tested positive for any of them. In this country you're supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. People come down on one side or the other; this is where I come down on Barry Bonds.

When I look at Barry Bonds' full body of work I think he's one of, if not the best, hitters in baseball history. Barry went 13 seasons (1992-2004) hitting at least 33 home runs. During this time he had a batting average below .300 only three times. Only in his rookie year did he strike out over 100 times, averaging less than 70 per year over his entire career. So as baseball statistics go, he's pretty good. With his father, Bobby Bonds, a cousin in one Reggie Jackson, and a godfather in Willy Mays you could say he has good baseball genes.

The thing that raises my eyebrow, as well as other's, is that 2001 season where he hit 73 bombs. He spiked that one year from the high 40's, hit 73, and then back to the high 40's. His stats for that year are gaudy. From 2002 until his injury plagued 2005 season he was intentionally walked 249 times. So that said, it's a legitimate argument to say he was doing something. What? I don't know.

What I do know is that he has the best eye hand coordination that the game has ever seen. Hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports, by far. There is nothing that can make your eyes better at picking up a 90 mph, two seam fastball traveling less than 60 ft. If there were, somebody would be selling it on an infomercial. That's skill, and Barry is the best at it.

I've heard this line countless times: "That ball was just foul." It's not when Bonds is at-bat. He keeps his hands in and drives the ball. Just ask the pitcher he has the most homers off: Greg Maddux. Maddux has a pitch that cuts back over the plate on the inside corner, under the hands of the left hand hitters. Granted, they have both been around a while, and they've been in the same league all their careers - but still - the hitter that can keep that pitch fair has great hands. Maddux has lived and died with that pitch. I would know, I'm a big fan. So for me to invoke Maddux to defend Bonds will spin a few heads. Most likely the Professor's.