This tracks ends the first week of ‘Cover Song Month.’
I have to be honest, the first I heard of Frank Ocean was when he worked with Kanye West. I checked out his own stuff and I really like him. I would have never thought that he would cover a Coldplay song, but he pulls it off.
The New England Patriots released Chad Ochocinco today. He struggled with the offense last season and lacked chemistry with Tom Brady. The Patriots signed Jabar Gaffney and Donté Stallworth in the off-season, two wide receivers who have already played with Brady. Their signings made Ochocinco expendable.
Ochocinco is in great condition and is known to be all business behind the scenes. He keeps his nose clean off the field and didn’t do any of his usual outlandish antics with New England.
The league is full of teams in need of a veteran receiver, which one will pull the trigger on Ochocinco?
ESPN Insider had a post earlier today about possible teams that could make a run at signing Ochocinco. They listed St. Louis Rams, Minnesota Vikings, Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, and Miami Dolphins as teams in the market for a veteran receiver. These teams are full of young receivers, but they also have young quarterbacks who need a reliable receiver as a safety net.
Out of the teams that ESPN lists, Miami would be the best fit. Not only would Ochocinco make their season of HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’ watchable, but he would be the best receiver on the team. The Dolphins have a short-term question at quarterback, so they have bigger issues at hand.
Ochocinco has ties to the Miami area. He went to high school in Miami Beach and he currently spends a lot of time there. He is engaged to ‘Basketball Wives’ Evelyn Lozada, the former partner of former NBA player Antoine Walker.
I would put money on his agent getting in contact with Miami, whether they want him is another issue. I believe Ochocinco has a year or two left on his legs. I am crossing my fingers that the Indianapolis Colts take a gamble on the veteran.
We are a week into ‘Cover Song Month‘ and we have only scratched the surface.
I’m a fan of Neon Trees…even though they covered a Justin Bieber song. It was done in a very old school way by meshing it with “Stand By Me” and I can respect that.
The Orlando Sentinel reported last week that Phil Jackson was a serious candidate for either the Orlando Magic‘s coaching vacancy or to fill a spot in their front office. The talks were rumored to fall apart last week, but former Magic player Sam Vincent sparked them back up.
Vincent played with the Chicago Bulls while Jackson was an assistant and he spent the final portion of his playing career with Orlando. He is trying to broker a deal that would land Jackson and other well-known basketball figures in Orlando.
Jackson has a large compound in Montana and his girlfriend is in the Los Angeles Lakers front office. Would Jackson be able to commit enough time in Orlando? Would Dwight Howard stay if the Magic hired Jackson?
Vincent’s proposal to the Magic would land Jackson and himself in the Magic’s front office. The head coaching vacancy would be filled by current Indiana Pacers assistant Brian Shaw, who was Jackson’s lead assistant during his tenure as coach of the Lakers. Shaw has ties to the Orlando area. He played on the Magic during their successful run with Shaquille O’Neal and Anfernee Hardaway leading that squad.
The crazy part of Vincent’s proposal would be the inclusion of Scottie Pippen. He would be Shaw’s lead assistant. Pippen hasn’t had any coaching experience and his only post-playing career NBA job has been as the Bulls team ambassador. He played most of his career under Jackson, so he could be there to help teach how to play the ‘triangle offense.’
Jackson will come with a hefty price tag. He made $12 million in his last season as the coach of the Lakers. He wouldn’t be in the same position with the Magic, but having him associated with the franchise won’t come cheap.
Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins is rumored to be looking for a front office staff that would spend a lot of their time locally. In Vincent’s proposal, Jackson would dedicate one week every month in Orlando along with various community appearances sprinkled throughout the year.
Dwight Howard and Jackson have communicated throughout the young center’s career. Jackson has told Howard that he would love to coach the him at some point. If the Magic hired Jackson as an employee, even as a figurehead, Howard could change his mind about leaving Orlando.
If Vincent’s proposal is turned down, a person could argue that Brian Shaw would accept a coaching job in Orlando. The GM position will be filled before the coaching vacancy is addressed. Shaw would be on any newly-hired GM’s list. Shaw was in line to get the head coaching job with the Lakers, but he was leapfrogged by Mike Brown. He went to the Pacers as an assistant and along with coach Frank Vogel, improved the team.
Martins is rumored to be looking at a laundry list of front office candidates. Former New Orleans Hornets general manager Jeff Bower, San Antonio Spurs vice president/assistant general manager Dennis Lindsey, Oklahoma City Thunder vice president/assistant general manager Troy Weaver, Thunder assistant GM Rob Hennigan and Indiana Pacers director of player personnel Kevin Pritchard are on his short-list.
‘Cover Song Month‘: Day 6
Two years ago, I saw Ben Folds live and he played this song. He said the band was bored and decided to do a cover of the song that was #1 on iTunes that day…it happened to be Ke$ha’s “Sleazy”.
I have a running joke with my friends, if you listen to Ke$ha, your ears get ‘Ke$ha Krab$’…I think you’re safe when Ben Folds sings.
Over the last three years, I have written three separate posts about Skip Bayless. I believe that he is the Glenn Beck of ESPN and I am proud to have went on a rant about it on this blog.
YouTube is full of Skip Bayless videos of him doing Skip Bayless things. He plays the role of devil’s advocate and makes empty opinions about polarizing athletes. He was once a very respected journalist, but he has turned into a ‘talking head’ on a television show where the loudest person wins the argument. When he shares the debate desk with Stephen A. Smith on “First Take”, I instantly change the channel and watch some “Party of Five” re-runs on Lifetime.
*We updated this post with new videos, please click on the link below*
‘America’s White Boy’ has been Starlin Castro Central over the past week. I had an opinion on the latest Chicago Cubs trade rumors that possibly involved Castro and had a post where I compared the current Castro situation to the 1988 trade Rafael Palmeiro.
Castro committed a pretty bad defensive gaffe when he didn’t even attempt a double play because he thought he already recorded the third out of the inning. He held onto the ball and the tying run scored on the play. The Cubs lost 3-2 to the San Francisco Giants.
Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein shot down rumors they were shopping Castro. Trade rumors can affect a person’s confidence even when they are not involved in the rumor.
What is the best way to deal with his lack of concentration? Is benching him the right answer?
Cubs manager Dale Sveum hinted that Castro could see himself out of the lineup tonight against the Milwaukee Brewers. Sveum has been vocal when the 22-year old has made a mistake and even called his last error “unacceptable.”
This wasn’t the only lapse in concentration that Castro has committed recently. He pulled up on a steal attempt because he thought Joe Mather had fouled off the pitch. Mather didn’t make contact and Castro was caught in a rundown. He had a problem last season when Bobby Valentine, current manager of the Boston Red Sox and former ESPN baseball analyst, criticized him for not being set defensively when the pitcher threw the ball. Castro had his back to the play and was bashed by the rest of the media after Valentine pointed it out on live television.
Castro has been the only consistent offense for Chicago this year. Bryan LaHair and Alfonso Soriano have been hot at different times, but Castro has batted over .300 since Opening Day.
Chicago has one of the worst records in baseball (18-36) and it isn’t going to get any better this year. They will be openly shopping Matt Garza, Ryan Dempster, Soriano and other players at some point in the season.
Castro needs to look at the team’s struggle as a mental test. Unless you are Derek Jeter, a player isn’t going to be on a winning team every year. If he handles losing poorly, he will not progress in his development. I hope Sveum continues to be hard on him. I believe he deserves to be benched for a couple games, but then openly praised if he comes back playing harder than ever.
The Cubs fans are rooting for you, Starlin. Please lead by example and your teammates will follow.
It’s Day 5 of ‘Cover Song Month‘.
I actually had this song in mind when I decided to dedicate a month to cover songs. I got a music sampler in a magazine a few years back and Clem Snide’s version of Journey’s “Faithfully” was on the disc included inside. I am a closet Journey fan, but Clem Snide’s version is more intimate.
“Glee” may have ruined this song, but Clem Snide brought it back to life.
Game 4 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals was another instant classic. Dwyane Wade missed a game-winning 3-pointer at the end of overtime to give the Boston Celtics a 93-91 win over the Miami Heat. Miami was without Lebron James for a portion of overtime due to him fouling out. James and Wade had a hard time getting space between them and their defenders all night. They missed Chris Bosh…a lot.
Erik Spoelstra started Joel Anthony at center and James at power forward. He hasn’t found the right combo to start the game with. Miami has fallen behind by double-digits by the end of the first quarter in two out of the last three games.
Before Game 4, Spoelstra said that Bosh is considered ‘out indefinitely.’ He has been getting evaluated before each game and has shown improvement. Will Chris Bosh be back for Game 5 back in Miami?
Chris Bosh must play in Game 5 if the Heat has any shot at making the NBA Finals. He will have the entire off-season to heal his lower abdominal strain. Miami said they did not want to rush him back in fear of a setback. If Miami doesn’t game Game 5, there will not be another series for them to play this season.
ESPN reported that Bosh is rumored to be coming back for Game 5, but the report has not been confirmed yet.
Udonis Haslem has filled in for Bosh adequately. He is giving exactly what Haslem can give you in a game. You can’t replace what Bosh gives the Heat with Haslem. Ronny Turiaf didn’t even enter into the game. James committed seven turnovers as the starting power forward.
Boston is ‘cheating’ defensively. I don’t mean cheating in as doing something illegal, but in a way that a cornerback plays close to the line because he thinks the quarterback will throw a quick pass. The Celtics don’t have to respect Miami’s low-post scoring. James and Bosh cannot get the space to shoot if Bosh isn’t there to draw an extra defender.
Boston pulled down 11 offensive rebounds in Game 4. Bosh is not the best rebounder, but he is long and would have disrupted a few of those rebound attempts. Kevin Garnett had 14 total rebounds and could have had a few more rebounds if he wasn’t worried more about hustling back to play defense.
Bosh is a competitor and we know that he wants to play. They have been showing him on the bench and he looks like a lost puppy. Miami just needs to give him a green light. Even if Bosh could contribute 20 minutes, Miami would be a much better team.
If Matt Kemp was the MVP of April, the May award would go to either Giancarlo Stanton, Melky Cabrera, or Carlos Gonzalez. Their bats started to heat up as the degrees raised on the thermometer.
If I had to chose between Stanton, Cabrera, and Gonzalez, I would have to go with Stanton. He hit a grand slam that hit the scoreboard. It made a large portion of the scoreboard go black. If the Miami Marlins want to keep a left-field scoreboard, they may want to move it deeper into the park.
May is a month when teams start getting an idea if their roster needs tweaked. Players start getting called up from the minors and veterans begin to get “designated for assignment.”
Here are some things that we learned in May…
– Jamie Moyer is a bad ass. Yes, a middle school pitcher could beat him on the radar gun, but you have to respect what he has done. The Colorado Rockies released him last week, but he set the age records for wins and oldest person to get an RBI. I hope a team gives him an opportunity to pitch at age 50 next season.
– No one can hit Ernesto Frieri. The Los Angeles Angels reliever did not allow a hit during the entire month of May. He has registered 30 strikeouts in 14 innings and saved his first game. He currently shares the role of closer with Scott Downs. I have a feeling that Frieri will have that job by himself if he keeps this up.
– Aroldis Chapman? (see: Ernesto Frieri)
– Matt Kemp’s hamstring pisses him off. He spent nearly the entire month of May on the disabled list. He came back, but re-injured his hamstring and will be out the entire month of June. Kemp was so mad that he had a mini-tirade in the dugout.
– Bryan LaHair falls back down to Earth. He was the only Chicago Cubs offense in April. He looked to have a stranglehold on the first-base job and block Anthony Rizzo from being called up. He is now stuck in a platoon with Jeff Baker and sits when the Cubs face a left-handed starting pitcher.
– Alfonso Soriano found the Fountain of Youth. He reduced his bat weight by an ounce and a quarter and his power has returned. He hit eight home runs in the last 30 days. The Cubs are hoping that he can keep this up so they can finally trade him.
– Justin Smoak can be called “The Smoak Monster” once again. He started the season off horribly, but he had seven home runs and a .280 average in the month of May. He now has a .241 average, which is much better than hitting around the Mendoza line.
– Bryce Harper and Mike Trout are really, really good. No one thought they would hit this well so early in their careers. Harper is a ball of energy and is a threat with his bat and his cannon of an arm. Trout looks like he could turn into a 30/30 guy. He will definitely have over 30 stolen bases this season, since he has nine in only 127 at-bats.
– Mark Trumbo ate Albert Pujols. Going into the season, analysts had written off Trumbo. They thought that he could end up in a platoon with an outfielder and spell Pujols at first-base. Trumbo currently has a line of 10/27/.331 and Pujols has a line of 8/23/.238. Pujols hit all of those homers in May, so he is headed in the right direction.
– Jared Weaver and Roy Halladay are human. Both pitchers started off the year very hot. Weaver pitched a no-hitter earlier this season and Halladay had a few games in which he has no-hitter stuff. They both landed on the disabled-list at the end of May. Weaver will only miss a couple starts, but Halladay’s season is at risk. He is having a second opinion on his shoulder and could need surgery.
– The Pittsburgh Pirates have a talented pitcher? James McDonald came out of nowhere and has been phenomenal. In May, he had 39 K’s in 35 innings with an ERA of 1.54 and a WHIP under 1.00. His BABIP doesn’t do him any favors by showing that he has had a bit of luck. His K/BB is currently at 63/19, a rate that he needs to keep up if he wants to continue his early success.
– The AL East is too close too call. In the month of May, every team in the division were either 15-13, 15-14, or 14-14. You can’t get any closer than that.
– Will Middlebrooks made Kevin Youkilis expendable. Middlebrooks is a younger version of Youk, but with more power. The Boston Red Sox will get a nice return for the “Greek God of Walks”.
– The Chicago White Sox are showing that they could be a playoff team. They went 18-11 with a +34 run differential in the month of May. Davan Viciedo, Alejandro De Aza, Alex Rios, Gordon Beckham, and Paul Konerko all lead a stat category for their position in May. The 2012 roster is almost a mirror image of last year’s team. They are responding to a new message and probably grew tired of Ozzie Guillen’s method. Robin Ventura is getting the most out of the team.
– The NL East is as close as the race in the AL East. The Washington Nationals are currently leading, but only 3.5 games separate them from last place. I can see this race still being a three or four team race at the trading deadline.
– The St. Louis Cardinals are confusing. They have a +52 run differential but are only one game over .500. The Cincinnati Reds are looking like the team to beat, but don’t count out the Pirates. This is definitely a three team race.
– The NL West will be won by either the Los Angeles Dodgers or the San Francisco Giants. The Arizona Diamondbacks aren’t getting as many balls fall as they did last year. The pitching staffs for the Dodgers and Giants look dominant. The NL Cy Young winner could be won by a pitcher in this division. Matt Cain, Ryan Vogelsong, and Madison Bumgarner and the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw in the discussion.
The following pictures are a monthly treat for my female readers. I’m not a huge fan of this section of the post, but it has been a hit. Female sports fans have been very kind to this site, so here’s a little eye candy for the ladies…I hope you enjoy shirtless photos of Hunter Pence, C.J. Wilson, Ryan Braun, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Lance Berkman. (yeah, sorry about the Berkman photo)
George ‘The Animal’ Steele is a former professional wrestler whose career lasted from 1967-1989. He is best known as the wrestler with a blue tongue who ate the stuffing out of the turnbuckle.
Steele was in Rochester, New York for the Collectorfest monthly card show. He had the opportunity to throw out the first pitch at a Rochester Red Wings game. The Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins didn’t realize that he would make an epic first pitch.
Steele was handed the ball and he proceeded to eat away at the cover and started eating the inside of the baseball. After he was done eating, he threw the remaining piece as the game’s ceremonial first pitch.
I’m done describing it, you have to check it out for yourself. The video is after the jump… Continue reading