Thursday night is the first night with a full slate of NFL preseason games.  Most people tune in because they have been itching to watch some football, and halfway through the first quarter the field is full of guys they have never heard of and stop paying attention.  Tonight, do yourself a favor and stay tuned.

I will start off by saying I can’t stand giving ESPN credit, let’s face it, they haven’t been a credible source for news since about 1997.  The “Butt Fumble” has made an entire network giggle like a group of 12 year olds that just made a dick joke for eight months. 

I digress, this time, ESPN got one right.  ESPN’s first preseason game is a matchup between the Cincinatti Bengals and the Atlanta Falcons, but the player to watch isn’t A.J. Green, Julio Jones, or Matt Ryan, no, the player to watch is a 28 year old rookie free agent linebacker who never played a down of football in college.

The man I am referring to is Brian Banks.  There have been countless, yet still not enough, stories documenting his journey, the most incredible is his first-hand account on the Rich Eisen Football Podcast. 

Banks was a star high school linebacker at powerhouse Long Beach Poly and was committed to USC where he would be teammates of Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart and win National Championships.  But that never happened.  Instead a girl in his class, Wanetta Gibson, asked him to meet her in in a known make out spot on campus, where they made out and went about their day, but that was a day that would change Banks’ life forever.

Gibson accused Banks of raping her.  Banks’ mother sold her home to pay for an attorney to help defend her son’s innocence, but that attorney had a motive of her own.  Banks’ attorney was looking to move up in the legal system, and instead of building a strong case to prove Banks’ innocence, she negotiated a plea deal and explained to him that it was his best option. 

At the age of 17, Banks took the word of his legal counsel and agreed to plea guilty to a crime he never committed and was sentenced to five years in prison and five years probation.

Then, in March 2011, after serving his full five year term behind bars and three years into his probation, where he walked around as a registered sex offender, Banks logged onto Facebook.  There he had a message from Wanetta Gibson herself, and she wanted to meet.  After dealing with plenty of emotions, Banks spoke to his best friend’s father, a private investigator, and agreed to meet Gibson, and recorded their meeting.

Gibson admitted to fabricating the story, but refused to testify as much because she did not want to lose the $1.5 million she had won from the Long Beach Unified School District.  (She has since been ordered to pay back $2.5 million)

The taped admission was enough for Banks to get his name cleared thanks to the help of the California Innocence Project.

With his name finally cleared nearly ten years after he went to prison for a crime he never committed, Banks refocused his life to accomplishing the dream that once belonged to that innocent 17 year old kid, to play in the NFL.

Thursday night, on ESPN, after the starters have finished their token series or two and are standing on the sidelines with hats on, a linebacker wearing the number 53 for the Atlanta Falcons will take to the field.  The man under that Falcons helmet, the man with the NFL jersey with a 53 on his back will be Brian Banks.  

Time will tell if he is able to make the final roster, but dream seemingly gone on that day in July 2003, the day after his 18^th birthday, when he walked into prison to serve his first day of a five year sentence, against all odds has become a reality.  He will play in a real NFL stadium, for a real NFL team, and he will become a real NFL player.

So, do yourself a favor, don’t change the channel  tonight, instead, keep an eye out for number 53, and cheer him on, because the man deserves this opportunity.

You can follow Shaun Kernahan on twitter @shaunkernahan, add him to your network on Google, and like Shaun on Facebook.

Torsten’s take on his picks 11-15:

11)  Warren Spahn – SP – I said I was going to address my starting pitching and I did. Fortunately for me, it’s a deep position, as evidenced by my being able to grab Spahn here. One of the greatest ever, his 363 career wins are tops all time for a lefty. The dude has an award named after him for MLB’s best lefty, and despite not being known as a hard thrower, still struck out more than 2,500 batters. If Koufax’s career had not been cut short by injury, the award would probably be his, but Spahn stayed healthy, and excellent, into his 40s.

12) Roberto Clemente – OF – With every starting position filled, it’s time to start working on the reserves. It does sound kind of weird calling a guy with 3,000 career hits and 12 gold gloves a “reserve,” but there it is. He’s one of two players in history to have the five year waiting period for Hall of Fame eligibility waived. (the other is Lou Gehrig.) He represents an incredible value pick here.

13) Christopher “Christy” Mathewson – SP – The National League’s all-time winning pitcher with 373, Mathewson was the most dominant pitcher of his era. He pitched 79 career shutouts and finished his career with a 2.13 ERA. Ridiculous. Need someone to win a big game? He tossed THREE shutouts in the 1905 World Series. They say pretty much everybody liked him, but I’m pretty sure there were quite a few people who eventually got frustrated by their inability to hit anything he threw.

14) Dennis Eckersley – RP – Remember, we’re drafting a team to win a 7 game series, not a fantasy team. Eckersley’s run in the late 80s and early 90s was every bit the level of Mariano Rivera. Mo just sustained his dominance for his entire career. Eck makes an awesome addition to the back part of my bullpen, which is going to be a huge strength.

15) Billy Wagner – RP – These days, every team has a LOOGY (lefty one out guy). I’m not saying that his 422 career saves don’t give him the credentials to face hitters on both sides of the plate, but if I needed to bring someone in to face a tough left handed hitter (see Williams, Ted) with the game on the line, I’ll take Wagner and his 100mph fastball. I was convinced Wagner wouldn’t be here to snag, which is the reason I went back to back reliever here.

I couldn’t be more thrilled with how these picks turned out. My bullpen is going to be dominant. Spahn and Mathewson give me the starters to matchup to Sandy and Gibson. And my 4^th outfielder is Roberto freakin’ Clemente. To quote Lou Brown, “It’s all coming together, Pepper. It’s all coming together.”

 

Shaun’s take on his picks 11-15:

 

11)  John Smoltz – RP – This pick is the epitome of taking a guy that fits the roster over pure talent.  That is not to say Smoltzy isn’t extremely talented, but he is nowhere near a top 20ish player in the history of the game.  He is, however, as valuable a guy as there has ever been.  Need a guy to go out and win 20 games, he can fill that role.  Need a guy to get 40 saves, done.  Need a guy to eat three innings when the starter is struggling, he will give you three scoreless.  He represents insane value.

12) Ernie Banks – SS – The best hitting short stop of all-time, I was shocked to get him this late.  If this draft were to be handled by a Cubs fan, he would go first overall.  He is a guy that can hit near the top of the lineup and get on base, or in the middle and drive in runs.  He wasn’t incredible defensively, but I have the Brooks Robinson at third, so Banks won’t even have to worry about a ball to his right.

13) Hoyt Wilhelm – RP – Wilhelm is a monster.  I am not going to slide him in as my closer, I like him as a guy to come in in the 6^th, 7^th, or 8^th when the opponent is in the heart of the lineup, and shut them down.  He is really the only guy that made a career in the bullpen with the knuckler, but he rode that pitch to the Hall.  He is a great guy to come out of the pen as a knuckle ball doesn’t care what side of the plate you hit from, it will eat you up.

14) Randy Johnson – SP – Here is my third starter, and my second power lefty to go with Sandy Koufax.  Randy Johnson had as good a slider as anyone, and, at 6-10, was as intimidating a sight as the game has ever seen.  He stopped 125 strikeouts shy of becoming the second pitcher to ever reach 5,000, and also had the biggest gap between no-hitters.  Plus, in a pinch, say a 2001 World Series, he can come in and close a game.

15) Greg Maddux – SP – Maddux is my fourth starter added to my team, but will actually fill my fifth spot in my rotation.  There are two power righties I want to fill my fourth spot in the rotation, so I will let Torsten break the tie for me, but I know I want Maddux to be the change of pace pitcher.  He is as cerebral a pitcher the game has ever seen and regardless of how good his stuff was on any given night, he made hitters look absolutely foolish.  He was one of the greatest fielding pitchers of all time, winning 18 Gold Gloves, with 2003 the only season in a 19* season stretch he did not win the award. 

 

Torsten’s take on Shaun’s picks:

 

I think Shaun slipped a little here. To be fair, Ernie Banks, Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, and Hoyt Wilhelm are all names that belong in the discussion for this exercise. And you can’t argue with going 4 pitchers out of the five picks at this stage. But were they the 4 best pitchers remaining for the spots they fill? Maybe Maddux and Johnson are. Smoltz gets an uptick in value because of his versatility. Shaun is picking great players, which I fully expected, but I’m not convinced they’re the right ones. Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks was a wonderful ballplayer and is a great dude, but does he offer anything that Ted Williams, Junior Griffey or Henry Aaron didn’t? When I chose Clemente, it was him specifically because he makes the ideal late inning defensive replacement for The Babe and his limited foot speed. The devil is in the details, as they say. Regardless, the last ten picks are going to be important because the cliché is correct, it takes 25 guys to win.

 

Shaun’s take on Torsten’s picks:

Cleary we both went on a pitching run, and see the value of specialists in the bullpen.  Wagner is a great lefty, and I can’t fault him for making that pick here, but I do feel it is a bit early.  Torsten clearly has an affinity for dead ball era pitchers, and that is fine, Spahn and Mathewson are phenomenal, just an interesting take on the structure of his staff.  A little surprised to see a Dodger fan pick the guy that gave up the biggest home run in Dodger’s history, maybe sentimental, maybe just being smart enough to realize Eck gets Gibby about 90 times out of 100 in that spot, and is a huge value to his team.  Love the Clemente pick.  Yes, it is a bench guy, but he is as good a guy coming off the bench I can think of.  He can steal a bag, rob a home run, or deliver a long ball of his own.  Not bad.

Torsten’s take on his picks 6-10:

6)  Josh Gibson – C –  Looking back, since Shaun already grabbed Johnny Bench, I probably could have waited on the Negro League legend. That said, even though much of the history on Gibson is anecdotal, his offensive exploits are borderline mythical. Some of his estimated stats (nearly 800 home runs) may be on the high end, and potentially bloated by exhibition games against lesser competition, but you can also argue that since he died at the age of 35, four years after being diagnosed with a brain tumor, he didn’t get to fully experience the tail end of his prime years.

7) Willie Mays – CF – This (brilliant, if I do say so myself) pick by me accomplishes two things. It allows me to have one of the greatest defensive players in the history of baseball patrolling center field, and it allows me to move Rickey Henderson to left.  Of players who didn’t cheat, only Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron hit more than his 660 Major League home runs.

8) Mariano Rivera – CL –  Shaun took an early run at the starters so I’ll build my staff in reverse. Mo is in his own category of excellence. By time he hangs up the spikes at the end of this year, he will have in the neighborhood of 700 saves, counting the post-season. At 43 years old, he’s on his way to posting his 12^th season with an ERA of less than 2. Not counting his rookie year, he’s had exactly one season where is ERA was over 3. That was in 2007 when it was 3.15, and he still saved 30 games. His cut fastball is the single greatest pitch in history. Need proof? He’s thrown it 99% of the time over a 19 year career and big league hitters still can’t hit him.

9) Miguel Cabrera – 1B – I don’t adore picking active players in exercises like this, but he’s our generation’s greatest hitter, and a Triple Crown winner. That, and his first base eligibility based on our 100 game minimum criterion, allowing me to go after a better defender to play 3^rd, makes him a steal. The scary thing about him, he keeps getting better, maintaining his elite power while his strikeout totals drop. His gaudy batting average is made even more impressive by the fact that he’s righty, and with his portly physique, he’s not exactly out there legging a bunch of worm killers out.

10) Chipper Jones – 3B – Close call here between Chipper and Mike Schmidt. I’d love Schmitty’s 10 gold gloves manning the hot corner, but ultimately, Chipper’s switch hitting and superior average wins out. Could be a generational thing too, but ask any of my contemporaries who are not under the influence of anything, and Chipper is the best third baseman of this era. Want confirmation? Ask any Mets fan who their biggest nemesis was between, say, 1996 and 2008.

Shaun’s take on his picks 6-10:

 

6) Ken Griffey Jr. – CF – Yes, I took Ken Griffey Jr. over Willie Mays, and I feel good about it.  Mays was incredible, and will not argue with those who say he is the greatest center fielder of all-time, but I want “The Kid” to patrol center for my team.  Nobody played the game harder on D, I still cringe thinking of the time he snapped his wrist leaping into the wall.  He also had the prettiest swing I have ever seen.

 

7) Bob Gibson – SP – After I got Koufax early, I looked at Bob Gibson and knew how I wanted my staff to work.  I want lefty-righty-lefty-righty power pitchers that can scare the crap out of a hitter, then finish it off with a guy that will outsmart everyone.  Gibson is the most intimidating man to ever step onto a pitcher’s mound.  Championships are won with pitching and defense, and I am well ahead on the pitching category with this pick.

 

8) Joe Morgan – 2B – Morgan might be a bit overrated because he was on so many championship teams loaded with hall of famers, then had an great run on Sunday Night Baseball, but he was a damn good second baseman.  He will provide some pop on the back side of my lineup and will be a great glove when turning two.

 

9) Stan Musial – 1B – His name is not Stan Musial, it is Stan “the man” Musial, because he is just that, the man.  He played in the perfect city for him in St. Louis and was an incredible ambassador for the game all the way up to his death.  On the field though, all he did was rake, which is reflected in his triple slash line of .331/.417/.559.

 

10) David Ortiz – DH – I mentioned in the last installment that I feel this is too early for a DH, but with Torsten taking Edgar Martinez to lead us off, I had to secure Big Papi for fear of Torsten completely screwing my lineup and picking him as those are the only two DH’s worthy of making either team.  Ortiz is the greatest DH ever, so I can’t complain about getting him here at 10.  He holds all the records for the position, and has even flashed some speed this year with a career high 4 steals.

 

Torsten’s take on Shaun’s picks:

 

Shaun landed a couple of my favorites with Stan Musial and Ken Griffey Jr. And the front end of his rotation is rounding out nicely with Bob Gibson following Sandy. I’m also not against the Big Papi pick. Because of the DH not being around all that long, he’s really the only other guy in Edgar Martinez’s zip code. Who else was there really? Chili Davis? If I have a criticism of any of his 6-10 picks, it’s Joe Morgan. I’ve always thought he wasn’t as good as he got credit for. Nice player who came up big in the clutch? Absolutely. In the same echelon as Roberto Alomar, who I would have taken if Shaun had swiped Hornsby from me? Not in my book.

 

So far, I like how it’s looking for me. I’ve got all of my starting position players lined up and I literally got all 8 guys I wanted. Shaun’s got the head start on pitching, as I’d love to have ended up with either Sandy or Gibson, but there’s still plenty of talent there to be scooped up, and you can bet I’m addressing that in my next five picks.

 

Shaun’s take on Torsten’s picks:

Torsten started off well.  Josh Gibson is the greatest offensive catcher to ever play and it is an absolute shame he never played a game in the Major Leagues.  Stories about Gibson are incredible, from a 580 foot home run in Yankee Stadium to the near 800 he hit in the Negro Leagues, he was incredible, and a little jealous he is not on my team.  I let my feelings on Willie Mays be known when defending my Griffey Jr. pick, he was simply terrific.  Mo Rivera is the greatest reliever of all-time, and there is nobody close so a solid pick there.  I am not in love with his last two picks of this sequence.  Miggy is a beast, and who knows where he will fall in the all-time first baseman list, but I doubt it will be ahead the likes of Gehrig and Foxx.  I like Chipper, and I do like adding a switch hitter to the lineup, but too early for him.  He was not even on my list, Schmidt would be a better selection, as would George Brett or Eddie Mathews.

At this point, I feel my team is superior, but am nervous on one position.  After Torsten took Mariano Rivera, I know his team will win on the rare occasion they get to the ninth with a lead, I looked and realized there really isn’t another closer I can rely on, so I need to build a strong bullpen.

One of the great things about having a blog is that you wax poetic, conspiracy theorize, and operate in the realm of “what if” as opposed to absolute fact. When Ryan Braun’s initial suspension was overturned, we pretty much laid it out there that Braun WAS a doper, and there was possibly a conspiracy in place because of Commissioner Bud Selig’s connection to Braun’s Milwaukee Brewers.
That theory was floated by others with more exposure than us, and quickly shot down those in the know over some nonsense about the “integrity of the man” and how they knew him to not be that type of person. “I know Bud Selig and he would never!!!” Oh, you know him? Well in THAT case, let’s all go on our way!

The question is now this. The numbers 150 and 100 have been floated out there a lot in regards to how long some of the suspensions in connection with the recent Biogenesis Labs controversy. Why did Braun only get 65? Was it because he came “clean?” Was it because MLB wanted a number that wouldn’t be appealed? Was it because Milwaukees prodigal baseball son gets special treatment? Who the hell knows…

But the real question that should be asked is, why did Braun suddenly change his tune and cop to his PED use? After months upon months of brazenly lying about his innocence, he’s suddenly admitting “mistakes.”

Reports are that there was overwhelming evidence pointing to his PED use. Overwhelming evidence? As in more overwhelming than a testosterone level 20-something times above what any normal adult male would have? Color me skeptical. What is overwhelming evidence, anyway? Do investigators have overwhelming evidence that Aaron Hernandez committed the murder of Odin Lloyd? What exactly does “overwhelming” mean, and whose whelm is it that needs to be overed?

Here’s what I think, evidence be damned. I think the Brewers are out of contention. I think Braun has had an injury-plagued season, and may require surgery on his thumb. Copping to his guilt now will allow him to get his thumb taken care of in a season that is a lost cause for the Brew Crew, so him missing the rest of it has no real effect. Now the team can focus on getting rid of the contracts of Yovanni Gallardo and Aramis Ramirez, and start over next season with a rebuilt squad around Braun and baseball superstardom’s latest member, Carlos Gomez.

Could I be wrong? Of course I could. But I don’t think I am. We’ll see what kind of punishments eventually come down for the other Biogenesis guys, but it’s unlikely so you’ll see such a sweetly reduced penalty negotiated for any of the others. And to be clear, THIS one I don’t necessarily think has Bud Selig’s dirty hands on it. I think this is a smart team of advisors around Braun devising a very sneaky plan. Only time will tell.

Everybody loves to debate who is the best of all-time at this position, or at that position. Everybody loves to debate lists of the top 10 players of all-time. Here at The Stain Sports, we love doing those things too, but we are too competitive to just put down a measly list. Instead, we decided to draft teams. 25 man rosters, 5 starters, 6 man bullpen, and a five man bench. This draft was not to just pick the greatest players of all time, but the best team we could draft. There are defensive replacements, left handed specialists, and even long relievers. We will be doing a weekly Smear breaking down 5 rounds at a time, then a final Smear looking at the rosters as a whole, debating which team would win a 7 game series, and highlighting the best players to go undrafted. We will each show off our picks and why they are the perfect fit for our team, then we will both explain why the other guy got their picks wrong. Without further ado…Torsten take it away:

Torsten’s take on his first five picks:

1) Edgar Martinez – DH – No, I don’t think he’s the greatest player ever. However, as far as full time DHs go, there’s some real position scarcity. Big Papi’s the only one close, and has comparable numbers, but has played in a hitters’ park for the last 100 years. Martinez spent a long time as one of the most feared and complete hitters in baseball. His excellence was sustained over a lengthy period, and while Papi is great in his own right, his numbers are also bloated a little by two or three massive seasons that make up for some middling ones. This was a pick I had to make to ensure I got the best player in history at his position.

2) Babe Ruth – RF – I’m not sure I really need to justify this pick. But in case I do, if someone hit a dozen home runs a season, they were considered a power hitter. Okay, slight exaggeration there, but you get what I mean. Then The Babe came along. He was unquestionably the hitter who set the standards of slugging for future generations. Plus, who couldn’t use a not-too-shabby left handed emergency pitcher should a game go into the 20^th inning?

3) Rogers Hornsby – 2B – His .358 lifetime average is second to only Ty Cobb, and Hornsby played a premium position. His .424 single season mark is still the highest ever. Grover Alexander, one of the greatest pitchers of that era, said about Hornsby, “I’ve tried to fool him every way possible but it just cannot be done. Personally, I don’t think a more skillful man ever stepped up to the plate.” High praise, no?

4) LF – Rickey Henderson – LF – Remember, we’re drafting a REAL team. And a real team needs a leadoff hitter. Why not the best ever? Before he hung on too long at the end of his career, and his play failed to live up to his boasting, he was the single most disruptive force at the top of a lineup that baseball had ever seen. He got on base, had power, and drove pitchers to apoplexy with his speed. Few players, if any, could change a game like him. The career stolen base record is icing rather than a primary reason he gets picked this high.

5) SS – Alex Rodriguez – SS – We didn’t make a PED rule before we did this draft. A Rod, controversy being what it is, is indisputably the greatest offensive shortstop in history. Power, speed, the whole package. And unlike many power hitters who also run reasonably well, he didn’t abandon that aspect of his game as his career went on, stealing 24 bases as recently as 2007, his 14^th season in the league. By the way, that season he also hit 54 home runs, drove in 156, and led the league in runs scored and slugging percentage.

Shaun’s take on his first five picks:

1) Ted Williams – LF – As a Red Sox fan, there is no way I am passing on starting my team with the greatest bat in baseball history. The guy could hit in his sleep. He is the last .400 hitter, and it is well known he could have sat out the final game of the year to secure the .400 average, but refused, went out to play, and raised his average. Oh, and he fought in two wars, won a bunch of military accommodations, and may or may not have turned water into wine a time or two, just saying.

2) Brooks Robinson – 3B – Mike Schmidt is often referred to as the greatest third baseman of all time, but I disagree. At the age of 63 I had the pleasure of watching him in a legends game at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, NY. At that age, he was still the best fielding third baseman in baseball. He may not have had the greatest bat at third, but he was no slouch. His overall value to a team was an easy choice for me here.

3) Johhny Bench – C – Johnny Bench is only the greatest all-around catcher in history. He was masterful behind the dish, and could have made the Hall on offensive ability alone. He mashed 389 long balls while gunning down 43% of the guys who dared to run on him. In addition, based on stories I have been told by a guy a used to coach with that spent 7 years playing with Bench, and a guy whose name I will not disclose to protect the not so innocent, Johnny Bench used to host toga parties that made Animal House look like priests. He is worthy of a top 5 pick just for the post game festivities.

4) Sandy Koufax – SP – Not gonna lie, I may have taken Koufax here because I was very upset with Torsten for taking Rickey Henderson just before this pick. That being said, there isn’t a better pitcher in his prime than Koufax. He went 165-87 with an ERA of 2.76 and racked up 2,396 strike outs in just an 11 year career. It is unfortunate his career didn’t last longer, but calling his career short did prevent his arm from falling off.

5) Hank Aaron – RF – I get the real career home run leader and RBI leader at the fifth pick, steal. The man dealt with as much hate mail as Jackie Robinson, but just went out every day and played with class. He hit for a high average, crushed home runs, and simply produced runs. He had 150 or more hits in an MLB record 17 consecutive seasons and made the All-Star game just 25 times.

Torsten’s take on Shaun’s picks:

There’s no way to argue Teddy Ballgame, a worthwhile number one choice, the greatest hitter of his generation and a war hero. I think he reached a little on Brooksy, but the guy did invent the gold glove… or something like that anyway. I think Johnny Bench, his excellence notwithstanding, may have been a bit of a reach too, considering the abundance of excellent catchers available. If I made a mistake, it was in not grabbing Sandy before Shaun could. For my money, the greatest pitcher that ever lived was worthy of a top five pick. I’m just not sure who I would have put off grabbing in order to get him. Baseball’s all-time LEGITIMATE home run king in the fifth round is great value any way you configure it. So far, I think I’ve got the edge but we’ll see how the next five rounds shake out.

Shaun’s take on Torsten’s picks:

One pick into the draft and I won the series. Edgar Martinez was a fantastic hitter, and there can be an argument over who is better, he or David Ortiz, but either one will do, and #1 overall is way too high. Now, I will admit, in a later edition you will see I grab Ortiz, and I grabbed him earlier than I would have liked because Martinez was off the board and I couldn’t risk Torsten taking him and screwing me at a position. Then Babe Ruth and Rogers Hornsby, no argument can be made, both are the best there was at their position. I will bypass my feelings for Ricky Henderson going in the fourth because it would simply be an expletive laced rant that Torsten received via text that day. A-Rod fifth is fine, assuming our make believe commish doesn’t ban him for life for his part in the biogenesis investigation. While Torsten way over reached for Martinez, he is off to a solid start, but I love the makeup of my squad so far. There is a bonafide ace, defensive wizard, a power source, the greatest hitter ever, and hands down the best guy at his position, a pretty good way to start off for me.

I’ll spare you all my usual vitriol about how I don’t like basketball and all that nonsense. Bottom line, I am a sports fan, and as such, I do sort of pay attention. I still don’t like it, but I sort of keep track. So I know that Dwight Howard, this year’s premier free agent in the NBA, has decided not to stay with the Lakers and seek greener pastures in Houston. Ok. Good riddance. Life goes on.

But whiskey tango foxtrot (how many of you all know your nautical alphabet?) is up with the sudden influx of “Los Angeles is now a Clippers town” crap that every idiot with a sportswriting job is now vomiting up?

Correct me if I’m wrong, but shouldn’t you have to hang a couple of banners, or at least one, before you piss on the fire hydrant? The Lakers have won a ton of championships since both teams have been in Los Angeles, while the Clippers have only made the playoffs a scant few times, and haven’t exactly gotten very far when they have.

ESPN’s Rick Reilly is a chief culprit of this crap. You can read his article here. Really, dude? The disappointing thing is, Reilly is one of the last true sports journalists. The guys that care about their craft. The guys that write about stuff that matters. He doesn’t have to pander for clicks. His excellence stands on its own. So why does he have to write this nonsense?

So Dwight Howard left. So Kobe is getting old. So Gasol is a shell of his former all star self. Every team, in any sport, eventually has to go through a rebuilding process. Key guys eventually just get old. Guys leave. It’s life.

Now, let’s look at the Clips. Chris Paul is elite, one of the best five players in the NBA. If I had to start an NBA team, and I admit that my NBA and basketball knowledge is not at the level of some others, I would do it with the best point guard in basketball. LeBron is obviously the best “player” these days. But I’d take CP3. What else do they have? Blake Griffin? An amazing athlete to be sure, but he’s not a complete player, and more concerned with making highlight reels than he is with doing the dirty work required of the elite 4s in the NBA. Kevin Garnett never had an issue doing that stuff. And I can’t imagine that Zach Randolph ever played Garnett out of the building like he did Griffin in the Clips Grizzlies playoff series. DeAndre Jordan? Caron Butler? No doubt, the Clips will probably lead the league in appearances on Sportscenter’s Top 10. But they’ll never win a title. Not unless they get some guys who are as concerned with winning as they are with their own hairstyles.

Now, you might be thinking, “Clipper hater…” Quite the opposite. I grew up a Laker fan during the Showtime period. I still think Magic Johnson is the best player that ever lived, and Michael Jordan is number two. But in the period that followed, I just couldn’t get as attached to Shaq and Kobe, their excellence not withstanding, and grew disenchanted with basketball in general and the personalities of the main players. But I always hoped that one day the Clippers would emerge and be an elite team. Then, the city in which I was born and raised, and have loved unconditionally since I’ve known how to love, would have TWO elite teams in the NBA. That never changed. I would be ecstatic if the Clippers won the title in 2014. But it ain’t happening. So all of you professional writers out there who are in such a hurry to pass the keys of Los Angeles basketball over to the Clippers, put your drink down and look in the mirror. Do you believe what you are writing? I didn’t think so.

And let’s face it, it has been. Don’t let the current modest 4 game winning streak fool you. Any time a team with a 200-million dollar payroll is in last place in its division this far in, it’s a disaster. And as with most disasters, people like to point finger. It’s “fire Colletti!!!” or “fire Mattingly!!!” or “trade EVERYONE!!!” Though the late great George Steinbrenner may disagree, the solution is rarely as simple as just firing everyone. But, when a supposed juggernaut is instead a giant suckbag of fail, someone needs to be held accountable. Let’s take a look at the usual suspects and see who in fact is most likely to shoulder the blame.

General Manager, Ned Colletti

His detractors will point to the cataclysmic decision to sign Brandon League to a big contract, despite League never having shown extended periods of success as a closer, though he had some track record as a decent set up guy. They can point to Josh Beckett’s lost season so far, or Ted Lilly’s, or the fact that with Jerry Hairston, Skip Schumaker, Nick Punto, and Luis Cruz, you essentially have the same player. Who the hell needs four utility infielders!? They can also look, with the assistance of hindsight, at the contract extension given to Andre Ethier, who now pretty much amounts to a 85 million dollar fourth outfielder. Let’s not even get started on (suddenly resurgent) Juan Uribe. His apologists will say that once he was freed from the shackles of the McCourt’s stranglehold on the pocket book, he was tasked with going out and getting the best available players. He got Carl Crawford, he got Adrian Gonzalez, got Hanley Ramirez, signed Zack Greinke, extended Matt Kemp, is likely to soon lock up Clayton Kershaw, what more do you want from the guy? The players have to perform, and the manager has to make good decisions!

The verdict: It’s really a mixed bag with Colletti. When he was hamstrung by a skimpy budget, he was able to still cobble together a decent enough roster for the team not to embarrass itself with, though never really contend. Now that he has money to spend, he has gotten the best available guys. But he’s also thrown around quite a bit on players who probably shouldn’t have had it thrown around on them… and somehow managed to assemble a roster with four facsimiles of one another. The team’s current situation is probably less his fault than it is more, though.

Manager, Don Mattingly

Give him a team of Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Clayton Kershaw, and a bunch of has beens, never will bes, an who the hell is this guys, and he navigated a half way decent ship. He seemed to make good decisions at vital times, wasn’t afraid to charge out of the dugout and embarrass an umpire who had just screwed them on a call, and seemed to be respected by his players and the media. Hand him a team flush with allstars, and he makes the unconscionable decisions to batt Jerry Hairston clean up, continue to use a foundering Brandon League in high leverage situations, keep Justin Sellers to open the year as the starting shortstop under the guise that he’s superior defensively, when in fact he’s average at best, and any one of the four (with the defensively excellent Luis Cruz the best option) utility guys already on the roster could have done the job better.

The verdict: It’s tough, because Donnie Baseball is revered by a lot of different people, most of them for his exploits as a player. But there were high hopes for him as a manager too. Whether or not he’s to blame for all of the team’s current dire straits is debatable, but you can’t continually mismanage a bullpen and make haphazard lineup decisions and come out with zero blood on your hands.

The Players

Players have to play. That’s what they say, right? Well, through the first 50 games of the season, the Dodgers were historically bad with runners in scoring position and even worse than that with the bases loaded. Star outfielders Kemp and Ethier were struggling. Hanley Ramirez barely played due to injury. The team was languishing at the bottom of the league in runs scored. This is despite solid contributions from the guys hitting atop the lineup, and A-Gon in the middle. It truly was befuddling. How do key guys hit, and the team doesn’t score? Now, with sensation Yasiel Puig playing every day and the return of Hanley Ramirez, the offense is showing some life… but it’s still only when someone muscles up and hits one out of the park. This team remains incapable of manufacturing runs.

The verdict: Well, players do have to play. And when they don’t play well, guys get shipped off for other guys who will. But the thing is, nobody has gone anywhere. It’s hard to say whether or not the players are getting too much or not enough of the blame for the team’s poor performance thus far, but if the Dodgers are riding into battle on the horses that took them this far, and things don’t improve, it’s glue factory time for some of them.

Nobody (injuries)

Matt Kemp, Hanley Ramirez, Zack Greinke, Mark Ellis, Carl Crawford, Chris Capuano, Chad Billingsley, Ted Lilly. What do they have in common? They make gazillions of dollars and have all spend significant time on the DL this year. Guys can’t play if they’re hurt right?

The verdict: I don’t buy it. Freak injuries happen. Jackasses like Carlos Quentin will charge the mound and snap your collarbone like a toothpick from time to time, sure. A guy getting up in age will tweak a groin trying to hustle out an infield it sometimes. We all get old. But there is no excuse for muscle pulls and strains. You get those when you fail to prepare, stretch, or in general give a damn about your body. Which when you’re an athlete, that’s what you’re paid to do. I don’t care if you have a Stay Puff Marshmallow Man physique (see: Sandoval, Pablo) or an Adonis-like one like Matt Kemp. You can’t get hurt with crap like hamstring strains. Anyone counting injuries as the primary blame for poor performance can just go ahead and file the blame with the players… or wait, shouldn’t the manager motivate the players to get and stay ready?

The truth is, everyone needs to shoulder a bit of the blame. But the only one who has no excuse is Mattingly. You can make every decision right, and still lose sometimes. You can make 50/50 calls and get most of them wrong. But you can’t make terrible decisions day in and day out and get away with it for very long. If the key acquisitions Colletti has made pan out, people will ultimately overlook him paying a servicable middle reliever 7 million a year for three years to be a closer, and see that he did what a GM with money is supposed to do; buy the best players available, damn the cost. The players are what they currently are. Even if they are underperforming, they are going to stay because the alternatives that are AVAILABLE (see; guys their current teams aren’t intent on keeping, all you Cano to the Dodgers shouters) are no better. No matter what angle you look at it from, Mattingly is really the only one who has no excuse for his performance so far. Make a gutsy/innovative/questionable decision and turn out correct, you’re a mad genius. Make the same decision over and over again, and have it blow up in your face over and over again, you’re just mad. And ultimately, unemployed.

Kyle Love was cut by the Patriots after being diagnosed with Type-2 Diabetes.  I have several family members and friends that have diabetes, and know the struggles it can cause.  That being said, it is also a disease that can be managed and you can lead a relatively normal life.  There have been some mild grumblings that the Patriots cut Love for having diabetes rather than working out a situation to help him with his newly diagnosed condition.  The Jaguars did claim him on waivers, so he is still in the NFL.

I am happy Love got picked up, but part of me is really interested to have seen what would happen had he not been claimed on waivers.  Now, he can be put on the non-football injured reserve and continue to get medical care and consultation from top class physicians, but I argue the non-football part of this.  Here on in is completely hypothetical and risk being poorly informed, but that is part of the reason I would be interested to see what would have happened.  I know that most if not all NFL players have a playing weight set forth by their team and can be fined for being above or below said weight.  Therefore, can’t Love argue that a high weight requirement was a factor in him being diagnosed with diabetes?  Would he be able to successfully sue the Patriots for cutting him for a disease their requirements may have caused this diagnosis?  I don’t know what the tenure is required to receive health insurance after retirement, but if Love were to retire due to this, could he sue to have the Patriots cover his health bills?  I am no lawyer, but I feel Love would be able to successfully sue for damages.  I understand the NFL is a cutthroat business, and I know their focus is on concussions and other injuries, but had Love not been picked up, maybe there would be a focus turned to the health of the guys in the trenches and more awareness could be brought to diabetes.

David Beckham played possibly his last game as a professional today (I don’t buy it… Coca Cola Championship player manager, anyone???). If he did, it marks the departure from the professional game of a true legend. As my friend, George Ogier (find him on Twitter at @georgeogier) accurately put, anyone who thinks David Beckham was overrated simply does not understand soccer. That’s paraphrased, but whatever.

I’m not here to convince anyone of his excellence. You either believe it and you are right, or you don’t and you are wrong. But there is one thing that is indisputable; he never failed to represent his country. In a day and age where many international soccer players retire from playing for their country in their mid 20s, Beckham played for England until they no longer wanted him to. Well into his mid 30s, he was still representing. Even after he was no longer being included in the international squad, he still made himself available.

There’s something to be said about that. There is way more money in club play, which is why so many young guys decide they don’t want to play for their country. Where’s the patriotism!?

To this day, when you bring up the name, John McEnroe, more people point to the tantrums than they do his brilliance in tennis. Even fewer, nearly none in fact, will remember that McEnroe always played Davis Cup. It was important for him to represent his country.

So for those of you who may be unenlightened in soccer and David Beckham, if for nothing else than his undying desire to represent his homeland, give him a bit of respect and knock off the overrated nonsense.

Thoughts From Five Beers Deep

It’s now several weeks since NBA center, Jason Collins came out as gay. And, like I’d hoped, nobody gives a sh*t. What Collins did took guts, and he’s had his moments on Oprah to talk about his experiences as a closeted player and why he decided to come out. And that’s great. Know what’s greater? Nobody gives a sh*t. He’ll probably get signed to a contract this offseason, and whichever team (I’m betting the Lakers… yep) signs him will probably have to deal with a brief period of media frenzy and then once again, nobody will give a sh*t. I have said it before and I will say it here, I am proud of how society… well, doesn’t give a sh*t. If you can play, you can be on my team. Gay, straight, bi, I don’t give a sh*t. And by all appearances, the majority of athletes who play in games that actually matter feel the same way.

This is why I’m befuddled by Rick Reilly’s recent article for espn.com about Glenn Burke. Burke was a talented young outfielder for the Dodgers in the 70s, and gay. His story, a sad one, has been told before. And if it’s indeed true that the Dodgers offered him money to marry a woman so talk about him being gay would be quieted, that sucks. But why would Reilly publish this article now? If it’s NOT a dig at Collins, then it should have written differently. As I’ve said plenty of times above, nobody gives a sh*t, but what Collins did was still brave as all getout. And Reilly publishes an article quoting Abudl Jalil al-Hakim (Burke’s agent) attempting to change the direction of the spotlight. Why would you do this? Sure, al-Hakim would say that because he’s as consequential as a bug carcass on your windshield these days, and is probably hoping someone remembers his name. But why would Reilly publish it? A brainfart is all I can think of. Reilly is an excellent journalist but he crapped the bed on this one.

Homer Corner

If you’re the Texas Rangers, and Ned Colletti calls you and offers you Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, and a couple of spare parts (perhaps Matt Guerrier and Nick Punto, both in the last years of their contracts) for Jurickson Profar, Craig Gentry, and a couple of prospects, you do it, right? You’re instant World Series favorites.

Think I’m overreacting to a poor Dodgers start? This team has problems. And, much to many people’s surprise, it’s not the deal with Boston last year that added gazillions in payroll last year. Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez are pulling their weight easily. Punto has played well. Josh Beckett’s numbers are ugly but his pitching has actually been decent. Any luck whatsoever and he has a few wins and his ERA is two runs lower. The poor start can be laid squarely on the atrocious start by Kemp and patently mediocre play by Ethier, both of whom have newly minted contracts. Think we’re overpaying for Profar? What’s so bad about opening up a spot for your all World prospect, Yasiel Puig, and finally giving an extended look to Scott Van Slyke to see if he can really produce at the big league level. Meanwhile, you also get a potential franchise shortstop, allowing you to move Hanley Ramirez to third base where he’s much better suited. Meanwhile, your staff is still anchored by Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, with a solid supporting cast led by Hyun Jin Ryu, a hopefully improved Beckett, and a resurgent Chris Capuano. Telling me that team can’t contend for the playoffs? You’ve had more to drink than I have tonight.

I didn’t have a quarterback in the first round of my first mock draft, and I still don’t. But, some things have changed so I figure I should probably…well, change some things too. So here it is.

1.       Kansas City – Luke Joekel, OT

2.       Jacksonville – Star Lotulelei, DT – Remember when he was a possible first overall pick? Heart is good, so he still is.

3.       Oakland – Sharrif Floyd, DT – This pick makes sense, so it probably won’t happen…

4.       Philly – Eric Fisher, OT

5.       Detroit – Dee Milliner, CB

6.       Cleveland – Ezekiel Ansah, DE – Raw, but looks like the real deal. Way higher than I had him earlier.

7.       Arizona – Lane Johnson, OT

8.       Buffalo – Dion Jordan, LB

9.       Jets – Chance Warmack, G

10.   Tennessee – Sheldon Richardson, DT

11.   San Diego – Tyler Eifert, TE – Yeah, you heard me. A certain HOF tight end in S.D. ain’t getting any younger.

12.   Miami – Barkevious Mingo, DE

13.   Jets (from Tampa) – Tavon Austin, WR – Two high picks, address the line, address Mark Sanchez’ lack of weapons. This would be a good draft for them…

14.   Carolina – Jonathan Cooper, G

15.   New Orleans – Bjoern Werner, DE – He’s falling, for some reason, in other mocks. I don’t get it. If you like Chris Long, you should like Werner.

16.   St. Louis – Cordarelle Patterson, WR – Because the whole project thing worked out soooo well with Brian Quick, they figure they’ll just make the same mistake twice… because that’s what the Rams do. 17.   Pittsburgh – Kenny Vaccaro, S – Polamalu does get hurt from time to time… and Vaccaro is good…

18.   Dallas – Alec Ogletree, LB – Personally, I think they trade down. But if not, Ogletree’s talent is too much to pass on.

19.   Giants – DJ Fluker, OT

20.   Chicago – DJ Hayden, CB – From near death to the first round, great story comes full circle. Plus, by putting him here, I have consecutive DJs being drafted… and that’s just cool…

21.   Cincy – Eddie Lacy, RB

22.   St. Louis – Jonathan Cyprien, S – I can only pray…

23.   Minnesota – Sylvester Williams, DT – There’s this thing there with guys named Williams on the defensive line…

24.   Indianapolis – Menelik Watson, OT

25.   Minnesota (from Seattle) – Justin Hunter, WR

26.   Green Bay – Matt Elam, S

27.   Houston – Robert Woods, WR

28.   Denver – Jarvis Jones, LB – There’s really no reason he should still be on the board at this point…

29.   New England – Manti Te’o, LB

30.   Atlanta – Zach Ertz, TE

31.   San Francisco – Xavier Rhodes, CB

32.   Baltimore – Desmond Trufant, CB

Yes, there are probably some oversights here, but with only 32 teams picking in the first round, and probably 40 or so guys who deserve to go in it, someone gets shafted. That’s how it works. Kevin Minter is a first round talent. A guy like Kawann Short might go towards the end of round 1. Keenan Allen who was a slam dunk first rounder not too long ago fits. Who knows, I could be wrong about the whole quarterback thing and Denver might pick Peyton’s heir at 28. More likely, if they decide they want that from this draft, they target Mike Glennon in Round 2. But anyway, wouldn’t it be hilarious if I got more picks right my first time around?