324-kelvin sampson

well, it's official, IU has a new coach. when i initially heard the news, i thought 'i like this guy', but i also remembered he had some sanctions against him. i decided to do a little research on the guy. most of the stories that made the papers and sports site said sampson is a good coach, a good recruiter, and his style of play will fit well in the big ten. he seems to be a good guy -he's involved in USA basketball and ex-president of the basketball coaches association. however, he did make a crazy amount of call to recruits and bob knight can't stand him. supposedly, when sampson gave a speech at a coach's conference on ethics, the general walked out of the room (there is also speculation that texas tech turned in oklahoma for the violations). i also read a site authored by a disgrunteled sooner fan (scoll down to his march 26th post). the guy makes some good points, but doesn't he realize sampson is the best coach they've ever had? then there is gregg doyel. this guy is a f*cking joke. he doesn't even talk about his coaching abilities. he says sampson would have been a good hire every one of the past ten years but not this year. why? b/c of some stupid phone calls? sure, it raises a red flag, but it's not like he was paying kids off. i also heard him ranting on some phone call about how his is a juco recruiter (really? i saw a couple of his recruits in the mc donalds all american game tonight) and that greenspan committed political suicide by not hiring a indiana alum (gimme a break! his job is to hire the best coach, not kiss ass).

anyway, here's my thoughts. this is probably the best indiana fans could have hoped for. i would've like to have seen mark few, but why would he leave gonzaga. in fact, it's getting harder and harder to hire coaches from mid-major schools, b/c why would they leave if they can win there? the guy is a proven winner and the only thing that bothers me is his tournament record (11-12). maybe he can change that at IU as recruiting should be easier. as far as the ncaa violations. they seem pretty minor. how do you not check into that before hiring him. as far as him not being alford or whittman, i think that is good. too often, these guys get built up bigger than they are...it's kind of like a parent not being able to figure out why his kid is sitting on the bench when he is the best player on the team.

good luck sampson!

325-oh, brother!

you know, it's hard being a good brother. my sister barb is in arizona at cubs spring trainging while i'm here in gloomy ol' chicago. anyway, she asked me to watch her dogs. 'no problem' i said...picking up poop is a small price to pay for some free cubs tickets. little did i know what the quigleys had in store for me. they said they left the key in a secret spot. well, of course with my luck, they were the wrong keys. and, of with my luck, i had already told missy to go back home before i tried the keys. and, of course with my luck, my phone battery had died so i wasn't able to call for help. i had to walk to wrigley, use a pay phone...luckily i still remember a calling card number from college (i can't believe it still works!). finally, someone with keys showed up to let me in. moral of the story...there's no such thing as free cubs tickets.

326- beat mok bernok

another fantasy baseball entry, but this is a good one. i decided to form a league for my fantasy friends and foes. i didn't have much time to get a good pay league organized. plus, i hate paying the $150 to use premium services. so, instead i decided to use my money a different way...i will give it to YOU! that is, if you can win my fantasy league. i will put up $50 that i can beat any of you in fantasy baseball. if any of you can, the 1st place winner gets $50, or else i get to keep it. if any of you are feeling cocky, feel free to put your money where your mouth is, but it is not necessary.

details:

• yahoo league id: 284367
• league password: nate30 (or click on the blog title above)
• rotisserie style scoring
• offensive categories: runs, hr, rbi, sb, obp, slg
• pitching categories: w, s, k, era, whip, hr
• 20 teams max
• i will approve trades (to prevent ganging up on me)

good luck!

327 - fantasy baseball

two fantasy drafts today and it drove missy nuts! i always claim sunday as my chore day, but today my chore was drafting two winning teams. the first draft was a 14-team league that has been going on for several years now commissioned by my friend ian brewe. the league is head-to-head scoring using the 5x5 categories. i have been a #1 or #2 seed every year in the playoffs, but have yet to win a championship. so this year i changed my strategy and went after more hitting and not the best available player. starting pitching was my last concern. i was 'lucky' enough to get the second pick which means i get a stud, but have to wait 25 more picks until my next guy. here's my lineup:
c- v.martinez (A+)
1b-a. pujols (A+)
2b-p. polanco (C)
3b-e.chavez (B)
ss-garciaparra (?)
of-pierre (A-), drew (C+), k.mench (C)
util - t.hafner (B+)
sp - o.perez (pit), j.seo, c.wang, t.lilly, p.maholm (D - two guys who can strike people out, but that's it and three young guys who don't strike anyone out, but look promising)
rp - r.dempster, a.benitez, b.fuentes, t.hoffman, j.devine (A for quantity, B for quality).

i think i definitely make the playoffs again this year, but a championship may be out of reach.

the second league is a new league hosted by my 'suspect' friends. this is a rotisserie league that uses 10 hitting categories and 7 pitching categories. so, i went for even more offense. i picked 6th out of 12 teams. i really wanted jason bay in the 1st but couldn't pass on d. lee. here's my lineup:

c: m. barrett (B - 20 hr and i will be happy)
1b: d. lee (A - if last year is no fluke)
2b: c. utley (A+ - #1 2b in my mind)
3b: s.rolen (B - only health is question)
ss: m.young (A - best 2b/ss combo in league)
of: g.sizemore (B), dunn (A - league counts walks and OPS), b.giles (B)
util: k.mench (C), r.baldelli (?)
sp: j.blanton, o.perez, t.lilly, c.wang, j.seo (D-almost identical to my other league)
rp: r.dempster, h.street, m.gonzalez, b.jenks, b.fuentes (B-again, quantity, not quality)

being a rotisserie league, i think i have a good shot here. i think i will have one of the top offenses and since there are more offensive categories that bodes well for me. to win, however, spot starts will be crucial to my strategy.

328-the build begins

today i am feeling better and decided to start building my computer. everything was going well until i hit a small snag. although, my power supply was supposed to have 20+4 pin, it only had a 20-pin. so basically, i got no power. i will have to return it and get a new one. damn. also, i began crunching numbers for fantasy baseball today. i would love to give you my sleepers and busts, but i'm a little selfish when it comes to that. i will say that i am going after more offense this year and waiting on pitching. we'll see, though, as strategies can change mid-draft.

329-sick day

today, i stayed home from worked and spent the whole day on the couch. it wasn't a totally lost day since i rekindled my college love affair with MTV. MTV has changed a lot (pretty much all reality TV shows), but i did learn two things: 1) don't date a model and 2) don't let your parents pick your partner

330-attack of the poptart

had to leave work early today. i was feeling fine until i ate my morning pop-tart with milk. maybe the milk was bad, or maybe the pop-tart, but all of a sudden i was feeling nauseous and sweaty so i headed home and straight for bed. i did wake up to catch some of the tournament and saw adam morrison and the zags blow a game they should have won. the reason i bring this up is because i hate how the media builds people up then tears them down. it's just not fair to people. i mean all season they talk about this kid who has a unique style, battles diabetes, and is an unlikely ncaa scoring champ. now all you hear is how he is an annoying, attention seeking crybaby. get real! which is it?!? let's get our story straight and stick to it! if you think i am wrong read any sports columnists for a year and see how many times they contradict themselves...you'd be surprised. they just change the story to fit how they are feeling that day.