Cover Story: #champions2013

The race for the Barclays Premier League title is over and the title is coming home as Manchester United cliched its 20th league title. Here is how papers in England covered it.

Back where it belongs

It was a total team effort and the best team has been crowned champion. Number 20.

WWE Classic Fail

For the last year, I have been subscribing to WWE Classics on Demand and for the most part its been great. I love reliving some of the old classic matches from WWE, WCW, ECW, and WCCW. Every time I put it on its like a trip down memory lane.

So this month, when I looked at the events on offer one caught my WCW Sin. It was one of the final PPV events that WCW put together. The card was a mess and the story lines where all over the place, which was typical for that time in the WCW.

But the real reason, I wanted to see it was the main event between Sid Vicious, Jeff Jarrett, WCW World Champion Scott Steiner and a "mystery opponent" for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in a Four Corners match. The match begins with only three competitors, without the mystery opponent. Vicious gains the advantage over Jarrett and Steiner in the start of the match, but was then double-teamed by Jarrett and Steiner. As Vicious is making a come back into the match, he attempts an aerial maneuver, which is unsuccessfully performed as he slips on the turnbuckle legitimately fracturing his leg. The injury is one of the worst that I had ever seen. I wanted to watch it and see how it played in the match and how it was handled by the announcers. 

Below is the real incident as it was shown on the PPV


Lets just say I never got that chance. The producers and editors at WWE Classic decided not to show the incident that led to Sid breaking his ankle. All you see is Sid on his back, with no idea how he got there except one of the announcers saying that he serious hurt leg. 

As shown on WWE classics




I understand that WWE wants to be all PG, but to not showing an incident that happens because you don't think that it works is just wrong especially when its part of ppv channel. 

Prospect Plus: Vanderbilt's Tyler Beede

Name: Tyler Beede
Position: RHP
Prospect Statues: First round pick of the Toronto Blue Jays in 2011, but did not sign. Beede is expected to be a top 10 pick in the 2014 MLB Draft.
Saturday vs. Missouri: 7 innings, 3 hits allowed, one earned run, 10 strikeouts.



Positives: During the course of his start, Beede hit between 92-95 miles per hour. The tigers hitters looked completely over matched. Beede's change up is something special, the bottom completely dropped out of it. During the 2011 Draft, Beede was considered the 14 best right hand prospect in the draft. Beede, who's 6ft 4 in, was the only first round pick in the 2011 draft not to sign. According to the 2011 Baseball America Draft Preview, "Beede has advanced command, feel, and offspeed stuff, and scouts are impressed by his approach to the game.'' Smooth mechanics. Could be a top of the rotation type pitcher.

Negative: Can you sign him. That would be mine question. The only little concern I would have that he does not have an elite fastball. His control can be a little off, 36 walks in more than 50 innings that is a concern.

Cover Story: Tigers Balls

Yesterday was a dramatic day at Augusta National Golf Club. From Tigers penalty shots to the leaders struggling down the stretch. Just notice the different in class between New York Times and the New York Post. Stay Classy New York Post.

The peacefulness of a empty golf course

I played a quick nine holes after I finished working yesterday at Hamilton Trails Golf Club and snapped this photo. Show the peacefulness of a golf course in the late afternoon.

Professional Tailgating: Dollar Dog Night

So baseball season is in full swing and the OTWT head to Philly for our first trip to Citizens Bank Park for dollar dog night. By the way the Phillies hammered the Mets 8-3 during the game but the real story was the hot dogs.

Cover Story: In the Cards

 Last night Louisville beat Michigan to claim the national title here are a couple of front pages covering the story

And You Thought the US Press was Bad

For the last week the press in this country have treated Louisville Kevin Ware injury with great respect. Then Sunday, The Sun, a popular English tabloid, decide to show a huge lack of respect. The tabloid printed a photo showing Ware with the bone sticking out of the skin. This move shows the total lack of respect the British press has.

Click to see the page The Sun ran on Sunday. Warning its Graphic.

WrestleMania 29 Live Chat

Prospects Plus: Lakewood's Roman Quinn

Name: Roman Quinn

Team: Lakewood BlueClaws
Position: Shortstop
Prospect Status: Second ranked prospect in Phillies organization
Friday vs. Kannapolis: 2 for 5 (video highlights of his performance Friday below).





Positive: The perfect replacement for Jimmy Rollins.Quinn has excellent speed and that showed on a bunt base hit he picked up during the game on Friday night. Last year he stole 30 bases in short season ball. His speed impacts all aspects of the game. Has developed into a solid switch hitter.

Negatives: His positioning on defense can be questions as well as his foot work. He is never going to hit for a huge power. He is still three years away from making the big show. He is a high risk high reward type of prospect, according to Baseball America.

Professional Tailgating: Baseball is here

On Friday night the Only Time Will Tell Tailgating crew returned to the Lakewood Blueclaws. The gang now has a right game plan. Here are some of the sites and sounds from the game.

Thank you Tim

First of all I'm not a huge Rutgers basketball fan, but am I a season Rutgers football ticket holder for the last seven years. So today has been hard for me. The president of the school decided to fire Tim Pernetti as athletic director in wake the Mike Rice mess.

Three years ago, a friend of mine, who's son was a corner back on the team, made the six hour trip up to Syracuse to see the game. Before the game we stopped at the Varsity for lunch, while we where eating lunch Pernetti stopped by and sat down to talk. Sure a lot of the talk focus on family and thing likes that. Pernetti did not have to stop and talk he could have just walked by and continued on his way, but that is not who he is. I know that former AD Bob Mulcahy would have never done that. 

Every game day, Pernetti would greets the team getting off the bus right before the Scarlet Walk. He was part of the family. Not an outsider and that is why people loved him on that campus. And lets not forget, Tim helped lead the school from what potential could be an athletic abyss and joining the Big 10. 

Since coming back to Rutgers, Pernetti has transformed Athletics making several key coaching hires in various sports. He has further helped Rutgers to generate new sources of revenue in venue naming rights concessions, Nike merchandise and corporate hospitality and tailgating Rutgers Block Party. 

Sure he did not handle the Mike Rice situation that well but one mistake does not shape a career. As a fan of Rutgers football, I will always be thankful for what Tim did for us and in 2014 when we first host our Big 10 game I will as they say pour some out for Tim. Thanks again Tim. 

Mike Rice is not the only one

So Mike Rice is now out at Rutgers but is he really the only coach in America that has done this. I think not.  Just look around college sports and you will see more of the same. The outstanding blog, Outkick the Coverage, breaks down Coaches Gone Wild and the point is very simple, this happens all over the place and Rice is not the only one.

Prospects Plus: Colin Moran

Name: Colin Moran
School: North Carolina
Prospect Status: 2013 draft eligible
Position: 3B
Monday night vs. Clemson: 1 for 4 with a home run and 3 RBI

Positives: Watched him during his game against Clemson on Monday night. During his first at bat Moran showed a good eye in drawing a walk. During his second at bat Moran hit an opposite field home run, nice powering going the other way. If a team drafts him, they are drafting a bat. Moran is one of the best pure hitters in his class and his bat has the potential to carry him a long way at the next level. While power development will eventually play a large role in how successful he is as a hitter, the pure hitting tools are evident and he has the statistics to back them up

Weakness: Moran isn't exceptional defensively and he won't be anything more than average at third base at the next level. 

Really people

So Louisville is going to Final Four after being Duke. But the bigger story is Cards Guard Kevin Ware breaking his leg in a horrific accident. People took to twitter to show support for him but other took to twitter to make fun of the situation. Those people should be banned from social media for life.

A Twitter BroMance

In this social media world we live in its easy for people to connect. That is what Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel and Ole Miss cult hero Marshall Henderson have done. The duo exchanged twitters all but shutting down the SEC. The best BroMance in the history of sports.

Prospects Plus: Red Sox Jackie Bradley Jr.

Baseball season is almost here, so that means the return of our Prospects Plus feature. During Prospects Plus we break down the up and coming players in the minor league and college players.

Name: Jackie Bradley Jr.
Organization: Red Sox
Position: Outfield
Stats Wednesday against the Yankees: 2 for 4 with a double

Strengths: Has a great eye at the plate. Bradley knows the strike zone better than most players at his age. He has a great commitment to the game. A tremendous outfielder he can chase anything down in the outfield. A winner, won back to back National Championship at South Carolina. When he was at USC he was one of my favorite players in college baseball

Weakness: There aren't many. The only thing that would keep him off the major league roster is that the Red Sox don't want his free agency clock to start.

It will never be the same

For all of the talk last week of Big East Tournament ending as we know it. The grand daddy of them all, The ACC Tournament, is set to go through changes that will change it forever. With all of the talk of the possibly moving the ACC tournament to NYC, Greensboro and ACC are at a crossroads. As a fan of the ACC, the last place that I want to see the tournament its home is in Greensboro. Yes Greensboro.

My Bracket

The Front Page: Selection Sunday

The teams have been selected, the brackets have been now all we are waiting for is the games. Here is how newspapers all over this great country covered Selection Sunday.

   

Once a Heel always a Heel

So it did not go the way of the Tar Heels in the ACC final.
Despite the loss this team continues to grow and one of those in particular that has grown is freshman point guard Marcus Paige. After the game Paige tweeted about the loss and former Heels All American Sean May was quick to offer so positive words for the point guard. It's good to see a former Heel supporting a current one

OTWT NCAA Selection Committee Thoughts

So we have our field of 68 for the NCAA Tournament and for the most part you can't argue with the teams selections. The biggest issue I have with this committee is the seeding of the teams that they selected.

Here are some quick thoughts about the field:

• How is Miami not a number 1 seed. They won the ACC regular season and tournament title and they are only a 2 seed. Would that have happened if this was UNC or Duke.
• The committee must hate Larry Scott the Pac 12. How does the Pac 12 tournament champion, Oregon, ended up with a 12 seed. A 12 seed from a power conference is usually saved for one of the last at-large bids from a power league, not a tournament champion that was ranked for most of the year. 
• A couple of upsets: Colorado over Illinois; Ole Miss over Wisconsin; and Oregon over Okie State.
• Players that America will get to know: Colorado guard Spencer Dinwiddie and Ole Miss guard Marshall Henderson. 

A different story

Two years ago the Eagles broke the bank on free agents, this year they took a lower key approach. Their signings left many asking: Who are these guy."

The power of TV

There used to a time when I would have to watch the Premier League on an illegal box at my then girlfriend's, current wife, parents house. Fast forward 15 years and you can watch a variety of different leagues on your tv. This week that is what I did.

Friday:
French League: Stade Rennais vs. AS Saint Etienne

Saturday:
FA Cup: Wigan vs. Everton
Premier League: Aston Villas vs. Reading
League Championship: Crystal Palace vs. Leeds United
MLS: New England at Chicago
Spain: Barcelona vs. Deportivo La Coruna
Mexican League: Cruz Azul vs. Jaguares

Sunday
FA Cup: Millwall vs. Blackburn
FA Cup: Manchester United vs Chelsea
Premier League: Spurs vs. Liverpool

Now I'm not saying I watched all of these games in their entirety, but I did flip between all of them. It's amazing to know that soccer fans in this country have more options than people in Europe or even South American. Isn't cable great.

Eskin Fail

Yesterday I received a text alert about the the Eagles releasing Nnamdi Asomugha later in the day. The report came from Philly sports personality Howard Eskin. Today Nnamdi is still with birds and Eskin is still full of shit and terrible sources.

The end of the treble

Manchester United saw their dreams of a second treble come to end earlier today. The game against Real Madrid turned on a terrible red card against Nani. It's not often you get all of the English papers to agree but they did on the red card, using words like robbed and cheated.

The Global Munich

Last year Bayern Munich broke the bank and signed Javi Martinez for a German record 40 million euros from Athletic Bilbo, that move may have set the wheels in motion to the turn the German giants into a truly global club.

Not saying that Munich is not a global club. For generations Munich has a been a club that has been rooted in German players and coaches but that might be changing. Last years move for Martinez may have been the start of it.

Earlier this year, the German Giants tabbed former Barca manager Pep Guardiola to head the revolution. This is not your typical hire for Munich. In the past they would have targeted someone like Jurgen Klopp to run the show. The Guardiola hire shows that the largest club in German is up for more than more than German domination.

Then today more signs that Munich want to be global club. Rumors all over Europe are linking Munich to signing Neymar for 86 million pounds, according to the British press. The club is no stranger to signing Brazilian. Munich currently has three Brazilians on their roster, no of the quality or cost of Neymar. Munich brought the three in for a total of $30 million Euros.

Would getting Neymar allow Munich to be a force in Brazil? It might.

The changes are coming fast at the German giant, I want to see how this all ends.

How Bale Almost Left Spurs

The idea that Gareth Bale was going to be a star at Spurs was not always a forgone conclusion. Lets go back four years ago when Spurs wanted to sent him out of White Hart Lane. Boy has times changed. Thanks to 101 goals for the photo.

Premier League Playoffs?

The Premier League Title race looks like its over and all that is left to play for Champions League, Europa League and relegation spots. Will this be enough to hold the interest of the avid soccer fan around the world. 

The idea that every season is going to come down to the final minutes like it did last year, is just nuts. Last year was a once and a lifetime type thing. 

Would the Premier League be suited to moved to a NFL type model to crown their champion. Daily Columnist Adrian Durham makes the case for moving in that direction.  

"It’s flexible but you could have the top four involved – fourth plays third, winner plays second and winner of that plays the 'champions' after 38 games in a huge Grand Final at Wembley,'' Durham wrote. "It would generate more money from TV and sponsorship and it would mean more football and extra excitement for fans."

As an American, I'm very familiar with the playoff system and for one I'm not the biggest fan. When you move to the type of system you don't always get the best team as your champions. The best example is the when New York Giants beating the undefeated New England Patriots in the Super Bowl a couple of years ago. 

As the old saying goes "The Table Never Lies" and that is true the way Premier League stands now, if playoffs are introduced to determine the champion, that statement would ring hollow. I would hate to see them change the current format of the league. 

Two faced.

The British press has had a field day with United goalkeeper David de Gea. This photos sums up their feelings. They go back and fourth between him being superman and a terrible keeper.

This is Gus Baby

This is not Dave O'Brien at the World Cup, but I was afraid that it would be. Gus Johnson became the voice of soccer on Fox Sports when he called the first leg of the Champions League epic clash between Real Madrid and Manchester United.

For a first outing it was not that bad. I was at work for the game, so I listened to it on Sirius and they used the Fox Sports audio featuring Johnson and Warren Barton. To be honest, I'm not the biggest Johnson fan to begin with. Never been a huge fan of his over the top style.

But to his credit he was a true professional during the game, he seemed to do a great deal of research in preparing for the game and that showed during the broadcast.

My concern about Gus was that he would not let the game breath and he allowed the game to breath, which was good to see. What makes English announcers so good is that they don't talk over everything and Gus did not. Fair play to him.

Gus said a couple of little things that annoyed me, the main one being when he called the ball a "football"

I think that Awful Announcing summed up Gus's performance perfectly.

"Gus didn't sound like a basketball announcer calling soccer, he sounded like a soccer announcer,'' Awful announcing wrote. "The rhythm of his calls and his excitement as the action reaches a crescendo is a fantastic pairing."

The Premier League Fashion Runway

From track suits to baseball caps to suits. The touchline fashion in the Barclays Premier League is something that is up for debate from Wenger's puffy coat to Sir Alex and Harry suits to Jol's track suit. Recently the NY Times took at the fashion in this great story:  Premier League Soccer Coaches Struggle With Fashion. I wish more coaches would wear suits, I understand that weather can be an issue,  but at least try to look professional.

National Signing Day: An Ode to the Fax Machine

Over the last couple of years as the use of email has become more and acceptable, the fax machine has been rendered useless. Sure most offices still have them, but the constant hum of them has been replaced for the most part by the bing of email in a person inbox. 

But on the National Signing Day, the fax machine takes its spot at the top of the technological chart. Recruits from all over the country will be sending their National Letters of Intent by fax to their schools. Without the fax machine recruits would have to FedEx their letters of intent and that would not be good for television. 

While the concept of fax machine has been around for nearly 70 years, it really gained in popularity during the 60's. A landmark year for fax machines was 1964, in which the Xerox Corporation introduced (and patented) what many consider to be the first commercialized version of the modern fax machine, under the name (LDX) or Long Distance Xerography. This model was superseded two years later with a unit that would truly set the standard for fax machines for years to come. Up until this point facsimile machines were very expensive and hard to operate. In 1966, Xerox released the Magnafax Telecopier, a smaller, 46-pound facsimile machine. This unit was far easier to operate and could be connected to any standard telephone line.

The use of fax machines is not without its negatives, early on National Signing Day FSU officials told ESPN that they were having issues with the fax machines. Lets hope that they got that fixed, so they can get their letter of in intent.

So as we get excited for the classes that our schools get, just remember that the real star of the day is the fax machines. This is one of the few days in the sun that this machines has, so lets respect it.

National Signing Day Giveaway

A National Signing Day giveaway at a liquor store, yes its happening. @birds60 send me this photo of a local liquor store that was offering car magnets to people who stopped by on National Signing Day. Now that is something new.

Social Media: a recruits worst nightmare

As National Signing Day has grown, so has the reach of the recruits. Social media has also increased that reach and also that danger. Social media pose risks for recruits from photos of co-eds to photos at bars. Social Media has really changed the recruiting landscape.

It's not your normal game

Its Super Bowl Sunday and that means everyone in this country is a football expert. We are going to live blog Super Bowl XLVII, starting at 6 p.m. Sunday so please join us..

Oh Golden Balls

The winter transfer closed all over Europe and the biggest story in England was no other than Golden Balls. Ole Golden Balls signed with money bags club PSG on Thursday. The move was the lead of all the sports section in the England.

Teenage Drama

With the NHL season reduced to a sprint instead of a marathon, teams are trying to figure out if they are going to keep their 18-years on the roster or send them back to junior hockey. Here is a great breakdown by the New York Times of what teams face when they have to make that choice: Teenagers Pose Hard Choices.

A Plan to get Seth Jones to Brooklyn

Could a Patrick Ewing type lottery scam be heading to the NHL Draft this year, it might if you listen to writers The Prospect Park, they put the idea out there that the NHL would love to have Portland Winterhawks defense man Seth Jones with the Islanders next year.
While it sounds crazy, it does makes sense. Next season the Islanders are moving from Long Island to Brooklyn. Seth Jones would give the Islanders an African American star that would attract new fans to the game. I know it sounds crazy but it could happen.