And yes, even though this is old its still funny. Or maybe its funny because its 12:45 AM…
Mood In Gotham City Rogues Training Camp Upbeat
GOTHAM CITY—At a press conference following Monday’s practice, newly appointed Rogues head coach Adam Kewell said the team was feeling cheerfully optimistic about the upcoming season despite the constant reminder of the devastating terrorist attacks that killed thousands in the city last winter. “Obviously football had to take a backseat for a while there, and our thoughts are with all the victims and their families,” said Kewell, referring to the bombings that destroyed much of the city’s infrastructure and obliterated the field at Gotham Stadium, forcing the Rogues to play home games at Gotham Tech Stadium. “We only have one player left on the roster from last season, but everyone in this organization knows how important football is to the Gotham community, especially this year. If we can help the healing process by winning some football games, then that’s exactly what we’re going to do.” Rogues officials later unveiled the team’s new jerseys, which feature 89 black patches commemorating the Gotham City players and coaches who lost their lives during the tragic attacks.
Okay, terrible game-costing decision by Josh Morgan and bonehead of the day move….but I partly believe this came from boiled over anger from the chippiness of this game. The Rams took plenty of cheap shots all game long and these replacement referees are a joke. Also I lost every game I bet on…
Not the first time Courtland has angered a player to the point of insanity…
I thought so. After our “brief” vacation, First Pick is back in black and on the attack. Like that? I thought it was catchy. Although not nearly as catchy as Mace’s celebratory BrettFavresque return to hip hop in 2004 .
Anyway, it is my belated honor to bring you the first of my many in-game diaries. I have been doing these since high school through my personal blog, The Sports Fehr, but, having decided to bring my talents to First Pick, it is now time to pop my diary cherry. I probably will get one of these done a week with no particular schedule in mind and they will vary in terms of the sports being covered but, seeing how democracy is kind of a big deal in this country (at least it was in the 18th and 19th century) I’m open to reader suggestions.
Tonight I will be covering the third game of the Braves/Nats’ series which will be broadcasted on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball at 8 PM ET. The Washington Nationals will send out their heir apparent ace Gio Gonzalez, a lefty who is in pursuit of his major league leading 20th win, and simultaneously look to win their 90th game of the season, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since the Nats moved to DC from Montreal in 2005 and hasn’t been achieved since 1993 within the franchise. The Atlanta Braves counter with their own lefty, a sophomore in Mike Minor, a product of Vanderbilt University who looks to complete the sweep that his teammates began over friday night and saturday afternoon as they close in on the Nationals in the NL East pennant race.
WSH Lineup= 1. Werth RF 2. Harper CF 3. Zimmerman 3B 4. LaRoche 1B 5. Desmond SS 6. Espinosa 2B 7. Moore LF 8. Suzuki C 9. Gonzalez P
ATL Lineup= 1. Bourn CF 2. Johnson LF 3. Heyward RF 4. Jones 3B 5. Freeman 1B 6. Uggla 2b 7. Ross C 8. Simmons SS 9. Minor P
Lets get started shall we……
7:49- The first words uttered out Dan Shulman’s mouth were “Despite the loss of Stephen Strasburg…” Should i start a counter for the amount of time his name is mentioned. I think yes. At least they spent time describing the efficiency of the 2012 Nats offense.
7:52- I wish more people liked baseball because Baseball Tonight is the most in-depth, well-thought, and insightful (Yes I realize those are synonyms) look at an individual sport that ESPN offers. Olney+Kurkjian+Kruk+Larkin+Glanville= GOLD. Kicks the shit out NFL Live’s repetitiveness.
7:55- I’m going to try and eat my dinner in five minutes before the game starts. Time me.
8:00- Alright, I couldn’t finish. But you try to finish a plate of brisket, baked beans, and cole slaw in five minutes without savoring every bite. I doubt my mother could escape her Kansas City roots even if she was paid to. This is a woman who spends every night religiously watching the Royals play baseball on MLB Extra Innings and purchased season tickets at Arrowhead Stadium to see her Chiefs play when she got her first ever paycheck. I’ve learned a lot from my mother but, one thing I will never take for granted is the lessons she’s taught me on loyalty/fanhood. Is fanhood a word? Whatever.
8:01- Strasburg’s name mentioned by Shulman twice in one sentence when trying to compliment Gonzalez’s performance this year. (3)
8:02- I feel like most of the baseball world forgot how bad the Braves were to close last season. Kinda got swept under the rug behind the Red Sox’ chicken and beer fiasco.
8:06- Werth steps up to the plate and were off.
8:08- Every time Bryce Harper steps up to the plate i always stop what I’m doing. Even if I’m looking at a game-cast on my iphone, I frantically refresh the page with hopes of a home run or extra base hit…. as he grounds out to Simmons for the second out.
8:11- “Strasburg shutdown” in back to back sentences from Shulman bringing our count to 5. Zimmerman lines one in to right field for the first hit of the ball game. Quick tangent: Is it just me or are one team athletes the rarest thing in sports nowadays. Even franchise quarterbacks with years of history and loyalty to a team are given the boot with the excuse that the league is a business and nothing else ( see Manning, Peyton). Zimmerman is locked up in DC til 2019 at least and has no intentions of leaving. Hes the reincarnation of Ripken minus the ridiculous durability.
8:12- “Strasburg and Harper are the most well known players” (6).
8:14- Michael Bourn is in a contract year and is playing arguably his best season. Mike Rizzo, Nats GM, expressed intrest in the outfielder during several interviews this season. AWKWARD.
8:17- The Braves hitters probably have the best two-strike approaches since the 07′ Red Sox, a team notorious for their long at-bats and extraordinarily long games.
8:20- Stoned asian in a white tall tee and cargo shorts makes what is probably the highlight of his month, listing slightly to the left and making a phenomenal catch on a Reed Johnson foul ball down the right field line. Did I mention his navajo dreads? Imagine if Troy Polamalu braided his locks and then let them grow for like 4 days. Yeah.. that long.
8:23- I can’t decide if Jason Heyward is the next Alfonso Soriano or the next Joe Carter. Either way kid can ball. My future rankings with absolutely no statistics to back them up ….. 1.Harper 2.Giancarlo Stanton 3.Matt Kemp/Heyward 4. Big Mike Trout
8:24- Chipper steps in for his first AB of the night. How fucked up is it going to be when he comes back and plays in the American League next year as a DH for the Rangers instead of retiring. No competitor, unless they were on drugs or forced at gunpoint, retires until they absolutely have to. Coming into this game he is hitting .296 with 14 home runs and 59 rbis. Does that sound like washed up and ready to leave behind the game you love? NO! I think its ridiculous that some ballparks have honored him with video montages, surfboards, and other gifts. Like hes goddamn Joe DiMaggio or something. I say he comes back. Jones grounds out to end the 1st. One hit for both sides.
8:34- Looking back on the past few months of consumption, the Doritos Locos Tacos are only good if you are intoxicated. I don’t think there is that much of a difference between eating doritos with bean dip and cheese and grass in between. But of course if you’re hammered, a $1.70 is worth as much as the lead in a mechanical pencil. Plus you dont have to find the grass once you are at the restaurant.
8:38- Freddie Freeman could be a stunt double for the lead singer of Smash Mouth, Steve Harwell. Their facial characteristics and mannerisms are uncanny.
8:40- Dan Uggla has the fattest lip I think I have ever seen in his left cheek. I wonder what brand/what flavor? With the exception of one of my former baseball coaches,who will remain nameless, that is the largest amount of chewing tobacco I’ve ever seen someone spit on television. I thought Selig was cracking down on players dipping? Anyway, I think he should be overseas with the marines. Have u seen the forearms on this dude? Takes a walk after a Freeman strikeout.
8:42- Strasburg count has risen to 7. Give the kid a break. He’d be out there if he could. And i applaud the balls that Davey Johnson and Mike Rizzo had in shutting him down. Gotta protect your investment. It is a business nowadays anyway…
8:46- Gonzalez walks Ross to put two on with two out as Minor steps to the plate. Gio’s thrown 45 pitches thus far. Gotta knock that total down a little to be effective in the playoffs.
8:49- Gonzalez strikes out his opposing pitcher to end the inning. Still no score here at Turner Field.
8:52- If you had told me that Oakland and Baltimore would be leading the AL Wild Card spots with close to three weeks left in the season I probably would have laughed in your face. By no means are they in a position run away with their respective leads but, still it’s pretty impressive. Especially considering how the O’s have been outscored by 22 runs by their opponents this season. Gotta love baseball.
8:57- Harper lines out to left field to end the inning after strikeouts by Gonzalez and Werth. Still no score.
9:02- Bourn leads off the inning with a base knock. Johnson lines out hard to Desmond shortly after.
9:07- I’m starting to notice that the better players in baseball are wearing their socks up nowadays. Heyward pops a single by LaRoche and Bourn advances to third. Huge AB coming up for the fan-favorite Chipper. All of his plate appearances this year remind me of Rob Redford in The Natural.
9:10- Gio is coming right at him as we reach a two-two count. 70 pitches thrown.
9:11- Three-two count. Seventh for Gio. The crowd is on their feet..
9:13- And of course, Chipper knocks an RBI single into the left-center gap. Here comes the unbelievably racist and also unoriginal “Tomahawk Chop”. Where have i seen this before?
9:15- OH SHIT… I forgot the 49ers and Lions were on tonight. Looks like my first diary is going bi-racial. How fitting.. I’ll flip over to NBC once the inning is over. Another three-two count for Gio as Freeman takes the 78th pitch. You guys are in luck. two for one Sunday!
9:17- Freeman scores Heyward on a sac fly. Craig Stammen begin warming-up in the Nats’ bullpen.
9:18- Strasburg count is at 8
9:19- Gonzalez strikes out Uggla to end the inning. Braves 2- Nats 0… Now for some football…
9:20- I love the 49ers so much (Sorry Ben)! Funnest team to watch in the NFL if you love defense. And how their special teams dances together on kickoffs? I think it’s at least some what intimidating for the other team. And how they returned close to all 22 starters for this season? Gotta love great football. I’m rooting for the Harbaugh brothers to make it to the Super Bowl this year. That is if RG3 doesn’t lead the Skins’ to glory (Hah).
9:21- Not to mention two of their best players, Aldon and Justin Smith are Mizzou alumns…. M-I-Z… anyone?
9:22- Everytime I hear Javhid Best’s name I think of his concussion at Cal. “Epic”.
9:23- Back to baseball. Zimmerman works a three-one count before spraying another base hit into right field to lead of the inning.
9:26- Espinosa grounds in to a double play after a LaRoche fly-out and a Desmond single to end the top of the inning. Braves 2- Nats 0
9:28- Flip back to NBC to hear my man, Randy “Straight Ca$h Homie” Moss, make a first down completion. So glad this man is back and playing for a contender. Check out my section of First Pick for a feature on Moss’s career written around his “retirement” last season.
9:30- Literally just said, “Suh is probably trying to keep a low profile this year”, as he makes a sack on Alex Smith for a loss of at least eight yards. Simultaenously, Gio works two quick outs to start the bottom of the fourth.
9:32- Gio strikes out Minor to end the fourth inning. Braves still up two. Pitch count: Gonzalez(92), Minor (48).
9:36- Some incredibly vague and incoherent words are spoken from Braves manager about Chipper Jones.
9:38- Terry Francona’s Montreal Expo’s rookie card is displayed as a segway into the topic of franchise relocation. Shulman lists off the remaining and unsensational Expos in the majors, of which there are 11 if I heard him correctly.
9:40- 22 of the 25 players on the current Nationals roster came up with their farm system or were acquired during Rizzo’s tenure. Thats money-ball for ya.
9:42- Werth ends the inning on an unceremonious ground ball to second. To the bottom of the fifth we go.
9:45- HAH! Its apparently bark-in-the-park night at Turner Field. Fans have brought their dogs to the game with them. Does anyone agree with me that this is the most ridiculously unplanned event in a baseball park since Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park in 79′? Who is going to pick up the after the animals. Plus its raining lightly. So they are going to smell. I know this is common in other parks but come on… really. Just give out bobbleheads or bags or lower your beer prices. I guarantee you’ll have better customer satisfaction. Heyward grounds out to end the inning. Braves 2- Nats 0.
9:51-Harper leads off the inning as Buster Olney presents the viewer voting for the NL Cy Young. Apparently Gio is the favorite. To be determined..
9:53- Harper smashes a ground ruled double on one-two count. This kid is a show-stopper. The rain comes down harder. The fans look for their doggie umbrellas.
9:57- After a swinging strikeout from Zimmerman, LaRoche grounds out to second and Harper advances to third.
10:00- As we enter the tenth hour, Desmond hits a strong blooper (if there is such a thing) off the handle of his bat into center, scoring Harper. Braves 2- Nats 1.
10:02- Desmond gets caught leaning and is thrown out at second.
10:06- Gonzalez walks Chipper to lead off the sixth. The rain is starting to become a factor. Freeman then blasts a double off the wall in right-center. Second and third no outs. Gonzalez gets the hook from Davey. Stammen exits the bullpen onto the field. Looks like Gio’s quest for 20 wins will have to wait another few days.
10:11- Seriously these dogs are about to smell like wet garbage. You have to wonder if the Umps will want a delay.
10:17- Stammen masterfully throws his slider. Gets Uggla, Ross, and Simmons in order. Braves 2- Nats 1 going into the seventh
10:20- Orel Hershiser celebrates his 54th birthday with Franconca and Shulman. Awkwardly blows out candles and shakes hands of peers. Happy birthday Orel. You cheeky bastard. Braves groundscrew eagerly works away on the diamond. The rain is dying out slightly.
10:27- Nats’ go quietly with Cory Gearrin relieving Minor of his duties. Tight game going into the bottom of the seventh.
10:29- I have seen the Firestone “We are a car company that doesn’t make cars. We are a tire company” at least eight times tonight. Didn’t their tires cause a string of accidents in the early 2000s? Seems just as phony as every Obama/Romney campaign commercial. Stammen takes the hill for the Nats and gets Eric Hinske to flyout to center.
10:33- Shulman reports that Chris Carpenter, ace of the St. Louis Cardinals, will return later in the week for the rest of the season. More bad news for Pirates fans. Not that they’ve had any good news since McCutchen got drafted. Bourn walks.
10:38- Zimmerman takes a tricky hop allowing Bourn to reach third on what would’ve been a double play ball. First and third with one out as Heyward walks to the batter’s box. Sean Burnett relieves Stammen.God only knows what Martin Prado would be doing tonight.
10:42- LaRoche takes a gamble by getting the sure out at first and fires an off-line throw home that allows Bourn to score. Braves 3- Nats 1.
10:46- After an intentional walk to Chipper, Burnett hits Freeman in the ass to load the bases. Still two outs.
10:48- Uggla rips a base hit, scoring two and Freeman is thrown out at third on a cut-off by Zimmerman. Braves 5- Nats 1. LaRoche has got to be punching himself in the dick after that half inning. Hindsight is always 20/20.
10:51- Another Taco Bell thought… Your slogan is “Live Más” which translates to “live more” in English. Just out of curiosity, who in the world at the T-bell corporate office came into a meeting and said “I have this brilliant idea for our new marketing campaign..we are going to get a renowned chef to tell us what ingrediens make Chipotle successful then have her be the spokesperson for our new menu item, based completely off of Chipotle’s bread and butter, and advertise it with a Spanish word to make it seem more exotic (not that many people speak Spanish anymore right) and follow up with a taco made out of old doritos to get every stoner and binge drinking teenager more attracted to our cheap junk.” Probably a very rich man. I do enjoy ripping Taco Bell in my diaries FYI. But I can’t deny that the crunch-wrap supreme is our greatest accomplishment since the moon landing.
10:56- Strasburg Count to 10. Shulman and Orel criticize Davey for his decision using the Braves handling Kris Medlen’s tommy john surgery.
10:58- Nats go down in order. Braves 5- Nats 1. Five hits respectively.
11:00- Do Drew Storen and Gio share the same necklace. Or are they friendship chains?
11:01- I may only be saying this as Virginia native and a Nationals fan but, I honestly believe if we had Drew Storen from game one to now he would have better numbers than Braves closer Craig Kimbrel. Call me bias and call me crazy but, Drew’s special.
11:04- Storen throws an eight pitch, three up-three-down inning and we head to the top of the ninth. Nats lead off with Zimmerman followed by LaRoche and Desmond. Braves 5- Nats 1.
11:07- Is it just me or is dubstep taking over the commercial industry? Every car commercial, with the exception of truck commercials, incorporates some type of techno music.
11:08- Zimmerman lines out to short for the first out of the ninth.
11:10- After LaRoche singles, Desmond pops up to Freeman for the second out. Steven Lombardozzi pinch hits for Espinosa.
11:13- Lombardozzi strikes out to end the game and the Nationals hope of 90 wins. Minor takes the win, Gio takes the loss. The Braves sweep the Nats in their final series of the season and sit five and a half games back of Washington for NL East lead.
Brace yourselves, hockey fans, it’s about to be a long lockout. Simply put, the NHL and the NHL Players Association (NHLPA) are too far apart on one simple concept: revenue sharing.
It’s the same problem that we had in the NBA and the NFL; the players want more money, but the owners don’t want to give it up. In the NHL, however, it has been taken to a whole new level.
In the previous collective bargaining agreement (CBA), which expired last Saturday night, the players got 57 percent of the total revenue. However, in talks for the new CBA, the owners have offered the players as low as 43 percent of the total revenue. That’s absurd.
More recently, however, the owners have reportedly been offering more and more to the players. Reports have stated that they have offered them 47 percent and 49 percent in their most recent proposals. Both numbers are still too low and don’t expect the players to agree to them.
In my opinion, the players should settle for nothing less than 52-54 percent of the total revenue. They are the ones on the ice playing night after night and they are the reasons for the revenue. They should get a majority of the money that they, inadvertently, raise. Fans buy tickets to see them and fans buy their jerseys.
Unfortunately, the NHL is much like the NFL, MLB, and NBA in that it is a business and all about the money. I agree that players should be paid less than 57 percent, but I definitely think it should be more than 50 percent.
Another thing you have to look at is the fact that the NHL has grown since the last lockout. The NHL is making more and more money every year. Since the lockout, D.C. has caught hockey fever and the Capitals fan base has grown ten-fold. People that watched hockey once in a blue moon were starting to make time to watch a game.
In comparison to 2005 (when the last lockout ended), 57 percent of the total revenue is a lot of money. Like I said above, the NHL has grown in popularity and therefore it brings in more money. Lowering the percentage owed to the players makes sense, and in my opinion, they’ll still be making a lot of money.
As a hockey fan, I hope that they can reach an agreement soon. I have grown to be a huge hockey fan in the past eight years and it has even come to be a part of my sports blog (The Skinny on Sports).
But, as a journalist, I don’t see the NHL hockey lockout ending anytime soon. Barry Melrose said something interesting in an interview on ESPN the other day. He said that once the money stops rolling in to the players, negotiations could pick up speed because they need that money. It’s a small little statement that makes a lot of sense. They need to pay for their fancy cars and big houses.
Melrose also went on to say that he thinks the NHL will back in November. Pierre LeBrun and Katie Strang, both also of ESPN, think that the lockout will end in December. I agree with all three in a sense that I think it will end before the new year. I don’t expect the NHL to lose another season in ten years due to a lockout.
It’s all about money. The owners want more and the players want a majority. I think that the players deserve more than 50 percent of the revenue. It’s them and their names that are making that money. Pay them and give them their due.
As the Chase for the Sprint Cup closely nears (tomorrow at Chicagoland Speedway), NASCAR fans desperately await to see how this season of a new playoff system will play out. For those of you who are not familiar with this system, the way that drivers got into the Chase this year was that the Top 10 in points got in automatically. The rest though had to base their chances off the number of wins that they achieved over the whole ‘regular season’. This made for an extremely close finish for the 12th and final spot as both Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon had 1 win going into the final race and was separated by only 13 points. Gordon’s car was barely handling all throughout the first half of the race and was fell back to 25th. That was when an hour long rain delay prompted discussion about proper adjustments to get him back towards the front A gutsy call on Gordon’s part to get fresh tires late in the race paid off as he finished 2nd with a late charge through the field while Busch was left coasting along to a 16th place finish a whole lap down.
So as NASCAR’s playoff’s closely nears, here is my analysis of the 12 drivers involved in their standings order
1. Denny Hamlin (4 wins, 11 Top 5’s 13 Top 10’s) Hamlin is having by far his best season of his career as he has won two key races late in the regular season that has boosted his momentum into the Chase. Tony Stewart had the same kind of momentum last year, and you saw his name on the Champions trophy at the end of November.
Why he can win: Look for Denny to really do well on the shorter ovals such as Dover and Phoenix. His relies on consistent Top 5 finishes and winning at “his tracks”. His calm demeanor on the track keeps him well out of harms way which is key when every race matters.
Why he will not win: Hamlin has struggled in the past in the Chase and has completely fallen off contention many times. This may be a factor of luck or a stress factor for racing well when it really matters.
2. Jimmie Johnson: (3 wins, 12 Top 5’s, 17 Top 10’s) Even if you know absolutely nothing about the sport of auto racing, Jimmie Johnson is a household name. The way him and his crew dominate the circuit is undeniably incredible. Watching him make all the right calls on root to 5 straight championship was nothing short of a dynasty.
Why he can win: He is the eptimome of consistency. The man knows how to keep his car clean to the finish and find a way to salvage a mediocre car into a 8th or 9th place finish. So when he does have that perfect set-up…watch out.
Why he will not win: That being said, Johnson has had his fair share of unluckiness this season. He has DNF’d 5 times this year and had engine failure’s 3 of those times.
3. Tony Stewart: (3 wins, 10 Top 5’s, 12 Top 10’s) The defending champion of the Sprint Cup. He is no doubt a favorite to repeat this year. He has an aggressive strategy and has a knack for doing well when it matters.
Why he will win: The defending champion always has an advantage going into the next Chase and we will see him up front a lot. He plays off his own momentum very well, so once he gets on a roll with a string of stellar performances, watch out.
Why he will not win: Plain and simple, there is just too much competition in his way for him to repeat this year.
4. Brad Keslowski: (3 wins, 10 Top 5’s 15 Top 10’s) A breakout year for the Wisconsin man, who many thought was going to be struggling to find a ride at Penske after this season.
Why he will win: In my opinion, he is just the underdog. He has a lot of support in the garage and he will try to use that to his advantage. Being the new guy out there might be a little tough at first; but he can use this to make more aggressive calls to go for the win.
Why he will not win: He just does not stack up well against these other drivers. He is the only driver in his first ever Chase.. He needs a couple of more years of experience in these high-pressure situations before he can fully conquer the 10 race system.
5. Greg Biffle: (2 wins, 10 Top 5’s, 15 Top 10’s) A solid season for the Biff. He really did step it up on the Mile and half and 2 mile tracks. Which the Chase has 4 of them.
Why he will win: Biffle’s performance in the regular season under the old system of points would have put him first in points. Enough said.
Why he will not win: Biffle is a Chase Veteran, but in this wide-open field this year, it will be very tough for him to make enough of a run to land up on top.
6. Clint Bowyer: (2 Wins, 6 Top 5’s, 15 Top 10’s) Bowyer made a bold move with fuel strategy stretching his car 123 laps to take the win at Richmond. His year so far has surprised even himself with the amount of success he has had.
Why he will win: The guy has overcome much adversity this season to be the top representative of the relatively small team, Michael Waltrip Racing. Even in the last race he overcame spinning out and won at Richmond. His quote going into the next 10 races: “better watch out!”
Why he will not win: His can-do attitude and newly found swagger has him in a place where he’s never been before: Title contention. He has to be willing to be more aggressive then he’s been in the past to help his team make the full turn around.
7. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (1 win, 10 Top 5’s, 17 Top 10’s): By far the favorite driver in NASCAR still; Junior possesses the amount of fan support that can overpower a TV telecast when he takes the lead. Will it be enough though to win him his first title?
Why he will win: He has had, in almost all of the races this year, been running up front or up near the front. His car just seems to be running well no matter what.
Why he will not win: Even though he has the backing of all of NASCAR and all of his loyal fans, and been called a true contender all year. Junior still has to once for all prove that he is ready to step up to the next level and win a championship like his dad.
8. Matt Kenseth: (1 win, 10 Top 5’s, 16 10 Top 10’s): It seems that every single year, Matt Kenseth finds his way to the Top 10 in points and settles in there for the rest of the season.
Why he will win: Pure and utter consistency on the track put him in this position. It might just carry him into Victory Circle in Homestead in November.
Why he will not win: Distractions: He announced only a couple of weeks ago that this will be his last year at Roush Fenway racing as he is moving to Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyotas. Even though he believes it will not inhibit his performance, there is a possibility that it might.
9. Kevin Harvick: (0 Wins, 4 Top 5’s, 11 Top 10’s): To be honest I had no idea this guy even made the Chase. This guy has not been making much noise going in and might continue so.
Why he will win: Last year, Tony Stewart did the impossible, by going completely under the radar in the regular season. He did not win a single race, but yet he won a staggering 5 races and won the Championship to set the stage for the most dramatic end to the season ever; so just because Harvick has flown under the radar, should not mean you should count him out, by any means.
Why he will not win: Following his year of 4 victories last season, Harvick has struggled late in races on finishing. With Richard Childress racing putting immense pressure on Harvick to do well this season after Clint Bowyer left for MWR, Harvick has to prove that 2012 is his year.
10. Martin Truex Jr: (0 wins, 6 Top 5’s, 14 Top 10’s) The other contender from Michael Waltrip Racing, Truex Jr. has done more than impress people by taking a struggling team and getting them to where they are now, Championship contention.
Why he will win: Along with Keslowski, I think Truex Jr. is really the underdog pick. After signing an extension to Michael Waltrip Racing earlier in the month, he has an extra incentive to make this season a special one.
Why he will not win: Having the longest streak going into the Chase of 194 races, Truex has got to get into Victory Lane if he were to have any chance of making a run for the Championship
11. Kasey Kahne: (2 Wins, 7 Top 5’s, 13 Top 10’s) He along with his 3 teammates from Hendrick Motorsports, the “Fantastic Four” have all made the postseason with a chance to win. Looked at as the new kid of the team , being in his first year on the team, Kahne has a lot to prove this Chase.
Why he will win: If he is to do well in the Chase, he has the right people around him. 9 Championships compliment his 2 teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. It can be noted that his last three wins also have come on Chase tracks
Why he will not win: His early season struggles have put him in a hole going in and his overall inconsistency might haunt him later on.
12. Jeff Gordon: (1 Win, 7 Top 5’s, 12 Top 10’s) A man with nothing but bad luck throughout the beginning to middle of the season found his way to crawl all the way back into the Chase.
Why he will win: The simple reason, he’s Jeff Gordon. He’s won 4 championships and knows what it takes to win. He is on such a roll going into the Chase that it does not seem improbable for him to win a couple of the races in the Chase.
Why he will not win: Even though he is tied with 4 drivers with 12 points back, he will have nothing but an uphill battle going in. As he will not only depend on how he finishes, but how others finish.
According to ESPN.com, “side judge Brian Stropolo was pulled from today’s Saints-Panthers game when it was discovered on his facebook that he is a Saint’s fan.” Not included in the article were the various statuses posted by Stropolo, but don’t worry, the crew here at The First Pick dug them up for you…
Brian Stropolo
Don’t worry guys, been outside in the backyard practicing all week! The flag arm is ready for Sunday! LOL @ Cam Newtown 😉
Brian Stropolo
Pass interference is when the defender doesn’t even touch the receiver right? ;-ppppp #DownwithCam
Brian Strop0lo
Just talked to Drew, he’s pumped i’m assigned to the game! Can’t to show him my ref skillzzz! #WhooooDatttt!
Brian Stropolo
Hey facebook friend! If anyone from the NFL asks….i’m not a Saints fan! Tell them I like the…Browns! Yea i’m a Browns fan! #T-Richforlife!
Did you miss us? The First Pick Blog crew is finally ready to return from our brief hiatus. We put on 25 pounds of solid muscle and are ready to finally end the debates on why Tom Brady is the anti-Christ and how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie-pop (3,273). So fasten your seatbelts, double tie your cleats, and prepare for the return of the BLOG!!!…….
As free agency approaches the Redskins have one huge decision to make: what to do with safety LaRon Landry.
The Redskins safety is set for free agency when it begins. The Redskins have a few directions to go: franchise tag, new contract, or release.
My answer? Release him.
I know! You all think I’m crazy! Hear me out! Here’s my biggest issue with him: he can’t seem to stay on the field anymore!!
What good is a player that can’t even play?? He’s as good as the water boy is! Instead of spending $15 million a year for someone to ride the pine let’s just go out and get a really good water boy!!
When Landry first entered the league he played a $15 million a year player. In his first three seasons, he played in all but one game. Through those three seasons, he totaled 250 total tackles. That is great!
In the two seasons since then, he’s missed 9 games and has had 133 tackles. What happened??
Injury. LaRon Landry got injured and he has not been the same since then. The Redskins can’t be guaranteed that he will give them at least 14-15 games through each year of his contract. Unless he can guarantee me that, I don’t want him!
The Redskins have a tough decision. To give him credit, when he’s on the field he’s a difference maker. The problem, however, is that he can’t seem to stay on the field.
My advice to Bruce and Danny Boy: save yourself some cash and move on. LaRon Landry is a health liability now. Turn to free agency and the draft over the next few years to look for his replacement.
