Getting sick of John Tillman

A couple of years ago, the university of Maryland hired John Tillman to turn around their lacrosse program. After a couple of years in starting to think that Tillman is part of the reasons why the Terps fail to win on the games biggest stage. Tillman's slow it down offensive game doomed them against Denver in the National Title game.

During the game yesterday, Tillman's offense looked out of step. The hold the ball for a 45 seconds game made the Terps look terrible on offense. There where several different chances that the Terps could have gotten out and run but instead they pulled the ball out and ran lack luster offensive sets. This is a team that has Matt Rambo in attack and they couldn't find a way to get him a good look. 

I'm not saying Tillman needs to go, but a chance in offensive style is needed. If not it could another four decades until Maryland wins the title. 

Professional Tailgating: lacrosse goes west

The NCAA Lacrosse championships have been on Philly before and I decided to not to go but this year that changed. My son and I headed up and loved it and saw Denver become the first team west of the Mississippi to win the National Title. 

Prospects Plus: North Carolina's J.B. Bukauskas

 
Name: J.B. Bukauskas

Team: North Carolina 

Position: Pitcher

Rank:  #2 ranked college player for the 2017 draft

Friday vs Clemson: 5 + innings, 5 hits, 2 earned runs, no walks,  7 strikeouts.

Positives: During the 2014 MLB Draft, Bukauskas was one of my favorite players. He had a live arm and was going to be a top round draft pick. But instead of heading to the draft out of high school, JB told teams not to draft him so he could head to North Carolina. During the game on Friday afternoon, Bukauskas showed a great fastball as well as a wipe out change up. During the game he topped out at 95 mph, his change, which showed great movement was around 84 mph. Looked extremely polished for a young college pitcher. 

Negative: He's got a reliever's delivery with a lot of effort and inconsistent command; small frame inhibits ability to drive with the leg, putting more stress on the arm, and lack of finish could cause problems in the future. Big effort in the delivery will always limit the command upside, but there are flashes that he can at least be average placing the ball where he needs to against advanced hitters.

The WWE Network is perfect for a boring night

BA couple of nights ago after everyone left the house, I went downstairs and was looking for something to watch and put on the WWE Network. I searched for about 5 minutes and decided on SuperBrawl IV feature Flair vs Vader in a cage.

It's fun to sometime take a look back at what wrestling was like before the Monday Night Wars. The thing about watching an old show is you forget the story lines. 

One of the matches on the card is The Equalizer vs. jungle Jim Steel. Yes this was a match and it was boring as anything. The Jungle Jim character was terrible complete with ring music that featured monkey calls, yes monkey calls. 

Just look at this character this would never be allowed to happen today. Shaking my head at this character was one of the highlights of the show. 

The one thing I did really like was stage walkway that WCW used. It made it feel like a big event despite the fact the card was terrible. 

One thing I saw made me really upset was seeing Rick Rude. I was always a huge fan of his work. His mic work was amazing and his in ring skills where just as good. 

Tee Ball for beginners

For those who have never seen a tee ball game this text from a friend sums it up perfectly. 

"So Louie was on second when the last batter was up. When I say on second I mean he was a runner. The ball was hit and he fielded the ball and then proceeded to have a discussion with the other team. Then after tons of screaming at him by all the coaches and the hitter and the guy on first passed him. He finally ran home, with the ball in his hand."

Picture this and you will be laughing for days. 

Prospects Plus: Cord Sandberg

NAME: Cord Sandberg 

TEAM: Blueclaws 

POSITION: Outfield

PROSPECT RANKING: 21st ranked player in the Phillies system, according to Baseball America. 

FRIDAY VS. AUGUSTA: 1-5 with an RBI and run scored. 

POSITIVES: the former Mississippi State QB commit is a plus athlete. Right now is best tool is his speed. He has a body that could put on more muscle as he gets older. When developed he could be a 20-25 HR type of player. 

NEGATIVES: Still incredibly raw. Right now he is a athlete playing baseball, not a baseball player. During the game against Augusta he looked bad a couple of change ups. With any two sports star it's going to take time for them to develop just ask the Royals when it comes to Bubba Starling. 

Playing a piece of history

On Sunday I had the honor of playing Atlantic City Country Club and it was well worth it. The classic design has hosted several USGA Championships and playing you can see why. 

Here are some sights from my round. 

It was such an amazing track despite the fact I shot 96. 

Professional Tailgating: It's supposed to be a spring game

Spring games are supposed to be a sign that warmer weather is here but that was not the case during Rutgers spring game Friday night. Here are some of the sights and sounds from a chilly Rutgers Stadium.

Overall it was another fun night. 

An Interesting list of golf do's and don'ts

This list of the The 36 Most Common Mistakes in Golf  sums up many issues with golf around the country. The one that I take most exception to is that people with over a 36 waist shouldn't wear a white belt. I'm a huge fan of the white belt.

Prospects Plus: Carlos Tocci

Two weeks ago, I went and saw the Lakewood Blueclaws twice in a matter of five days and one thing stood out to me: OF Carlos Tocci looks like a totally different player.

For the last couple of years, Tocci has been the youngest player in the South Atlantic League but this years it looks like it's all paying off. Through nine games, Tocci was heading .361 while slugging .565. 

While it's never good for a prospect to repeat a level, it might have been needed for Tocci. When Tocci got to Lakewoof late three seasons ago he looked like a kid. This year he looks like more put together. With Tocci you have to remember that he is still only 20 years old. Despite being sent back to Lakewood this year, talent evaluators still hold Tocci in high regard and that will continue as he continues to develop. 

The Philly Daily News must love Chip

First he traded away fans favorite players, now Chip has signed Tim Teabow. The Philadelphia Daily News owed Chip a thank you card for providing such great content.

Paging the NCAA

So today the family and I head to Maryland to see my nephew for his second birthday. On the way we stop at Wawa to pick up some food and I picked up Brian Baldinger's free football magazine.

While page through magazine I noticed an ad for Adrenaline training academy. While looking at the ad something struck me: the ad featured two current NCAA running backs. 

Ray Lawry, a former Kingsway HS star now at ODU, and Corey Clement, a former Glassboro HS star and now at Wisconsin, are both featured in the ad. The ad appears to be using their football success to sell its program. 

I'll be the first to say that I don't know the relationship between the two guys and the company but it doesn't look good from afar. Why is this company using the two athletes likeness if they are not getting compensated. Seeing it raised a bunch of question and I'm sure it would with the NCAA. 

Prospect Plus: White Sox's Spencer Adams

Name: Spencer Adams

Team: Kannapolis Intimidators 

Organization: White Sox

Position: Pitcher 

Organizational Rank: third ranked prospect in White Sox organization by Baseball America. 

Friday vs. Blueclaws: 4 innings, 7 hits, 1 ER, 2 ks. 

Positives: Adams is a real battler and that shower on Friday night. On a couple of different opportunities the Blueclaws put runners on and Adams found a way to get out of it. The lanky right handed has an easy motion and touches 92 mph. Adams slider is one of the best in the system.  I really liked what I saw when he was out there. 

Negative: like most athletes playing baseball it will take Adams time to be ready for the show. He is considered a high risk/high reward type of prospect by Baseball America.

Prospects Plus: Crabbing for Prospects

A new season of Lakewood Blueclaws baseball is now here and again the family and I have a ticket package. Last night, we took in the Claws exhibition game vs. Brookdale Community College. While the game was a blow out, it did make me think of a couple of prospects that I want to keep my eye on this year.

• Cord Sandberg: the former Mississippi State QB commit is one of the more interesting players on the blueclaws. During the exhibition game he showed a sweet left handed swing with doubles powered. 
• Rhys Hoskins: the power hitting first basemen is not listed in Baseball America top 30 Phillies prospects. During the game Hoskins hit a monster home run. 
• Deivi Grullon: the 13th ranked player in the Phillies system. Grullon hit a huge home run during the game. Baseball America considers him a high risk/high reward. 
• Carlos Tocci: Tocci is back in Lakewood for a third straight year. This could be the biggest season of his career. Tocci needs a strong season or his career might be in jeopardy. 

Prospects Plus: Hagen Danner

Name: Hagen  Danner
Team: Huntington Beach HS (California)
Position: Pitcher
Organization Rank: One of the top prospects for the 2017 Draft (UCLA commit)
Thursday vs. Puyallup (Wash.) High School at NHSI: 13 strikeouts, 3 hits  in complete game shutout.

Positives: touched 90/91 with his fastball during his outing but can be has high as 93/94. For only being a sophomore he looked incredibly polished. Danner is no stranger to pitching in big games. Danner played and won the Little League World Series. Hagen's curveball is presently a soft hammer with projection, breaking late vertically at 79-80 mph with shape and depth. Danner even showed some feel throwing a pair of 81-82 mph changeups. His curveball was dominant as he locked up hitter after hitter. If his arm hold up he is going to be a top five pick. Looked the part of an ace despite being so young. 

Negatives: Like any players this young, you worry about his delivery and his arm holding up. 

Prospects Plus: Carlos Rodon

A new baseball season  is here and so is the return of Prospects Plus. During the course of the season ,  I will deliver scouting reports on some baseball's up and  coming stars that I have the pleasure to watch on TV or see in person. I have a tickets package to the  Lakewood BlueClaws, so you will see reports about prospects in the South Atlantic League as well as college games I watch on TV. So here is our first report on White Sox prospect Carlos Rodon, who pitched against the Royals last night on MLB Network. 

Name: Carlos Rodon

Position: pitcher 

Organization: White Sox 

Organizational rank: top ranked player in the White Sox system, according to Baseball America.

Wednesday night vs. Royals: 4 innings, 4 hits, 0 earned runs, 9 strikeouts.

Positives: Rodon struck out the side on 12 pitches in the first inning. Looked so polished even against the regular lineup of the American League Champions. Touched 96 with his fastball at one point. The Sox have not yet announced whether Rodon, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 draft, will start the season with the major-league club or will go to Triple-A Charlotte for more minor-league seasoning.

Negatives:  Rodon is still trying to harness his  fastball and could use some time in the minors to smooth that out. While Rodon does repeat his delivery well, he did have a tendency last year to lose command with his fastball and secondary offerings, putting too many men on base via walk for a frontline starting pitcher.

Bring back WWE King of the Ring

One of the best wrestling events of the year is PWG's Battle of LA. This single eliminate three night event features great wrestling action. Tournament type wrestling is something that is sorely lacking the WWE.

Why can't/won't the WWE bring back the King of the Ring tournament to file some of the down time in the wrestling calendar, like the time between WrestleMania and Summer Slam. The Crockett Cup used to  be a staple of the wrestling calendar. Now these type of events have been limited to just independent promotions.

Wrestling tournaments like the NJPW Cup and Best of Super Juniors, I know those two are over a couple of weeks but the semifinals and finals are the same night, have been praised. In addition to providing great action the event would allow the WWE to develop another great star similar to what they did with Steve Austin when he won the 1996 King of the Ring. This event set in motion Austin 3:16 and the company made a ton of money.

Why not bring that back to the WWE.

A tale of two brackets

This year I allowed my 5-year old son to fill out his first bracket for March Madness. He went with SMU, he has a thing for Larry Brown.

While I went with the Big Blue Nation capping a perfect season. 

What a week

The last 10 days have been a theater of the absurd for the Philadelphia Eagles. Maclin and McCoy are both gone. Now Murray and Matthews are birds. The best part of the week has been the classic front and back pages turned out by the Philly Daily News. Here is a look back at them including a shot at the governor of New Jersey and Cowboys fan Chris Christie.  

Could NXT house shows spell the end for ROH

Last weekend NXT took their indy inspired show on the road for the first time.

The developmental arm of the WWE held shows in Cleveland and Columbus as part of the Arnold Sports Festival. The shows were greeted with much fan fare and seemed to be hit. 

For years Ring of Honor has been the standard in traveling independent wrestling shows. Over the years the their roster has been filled with current WWE superstars. 

Over the last couple of years, the WWE has signed many of ROH stars from Kevin Steen to Sami Zayn and weakened ROH's product.  With the loss of talent in ROH and NXT continued growth, things could be changing. 

With NXT now starting to go on the road this could have a huge impact on ROH. Would you rather see a watered down ROH product or a high tempo NXT show. 

While I'm not saying that it will put ROH out of business it could impact their shows and their bottom line. If ROH's bottom line drops then their ability to bring in stars will suffer. It's something to watch out for the next year.