Oh God, Dontrelle Willis Is Pitching

Dontrelle Willis is having a terrible year, even by Vin Baker standards. Coming into tonight’s game, he has allowed 16 walks and only 3 strikeouts in 10 innings pitched. He has spent most of the season on the DL and after tonight’s outing, the Tigers should look into having Willis head to the minors.

He started tonight against the Cleveland Indians and only lasted 1 1/3 innings, gave up 5 walks, allowed 8 earned runs on 3 hits (two of them being home-runs). After striking out two batters tonight, his BB:K ratio is 21:5, which Jose Canseco could do as a starting pitcher in the major leagues.

I’m not sure what is wrong with Dontrelle, he came into the majors with lightning stuff and a deception with his release that makes the ball hard to pick up for the batter. Questions about his performance started to appear last season when he went 10-15 with a 5.17 ERA for the Florida Marlins. Willis was then traded to the Detroit Tigers in the Miguel Cabrera for Cameron Maybin/Andrew Miller trade in the offseason.

Willis could end up being another tragic figure like Mark Prior. Willis has not had the extended trips to the disabled list like Prior, but I believe that his arm could be tired. In his first five seasons, Willis amassed 15 complete games and averaged 200 innings a season. He was a big part of the magical 2003 season in which the Marlins came out of nowhere to win the World Series, but ever since, his teams have been playing for nothing important and using his arm as much as possible.

The Tigers are in need of pitching, so they could end up using Willis a few more times before they become cautious. They just found out that Jeremy Bonderman, the staff’s #2 starter, will be lost for the season due to blood clots, but Joel Zumaya will be back soon from various injuries. Their farm system isn’t very deep, since they traded their best prospects to obtain Willis and Cabrera. Brandon Inge could become expendable, but it looks like their pitching woes will not be cured by an addition of one starting pitcher.

I wish the best for Dontrelle Willis, but it looks like this season will be a long one.

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Song Of The Day – Run Kid Run (We’ve Only Just Begun)

While I was researching yesterday’s “Song Of The Day,” I ran across some nice information. Run Kid Run, a band that I just recently found, is made up of members of a band that I used to love, Side Walk Slam. Run Kid Run’s album, “Love At The Core,” is a nice, energetic album that is worth a listen.

I will save you from my usual “I love Tooth & Nail Records” rant, ’cause it happened yesterday. I will say that their bands usually play nationwide at very accessible venues and put on great shows. Most of the bands tend to tour together, so you end up seeing a few bands for a cheap price.

Run Kid Run should be in a city near you this summer, especially the Sonshine Festival in Minnesota. Here is the video for “We’ve Only Just Begun.”

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It’s Official, Benson Is Still A Bust

The Chicago Bears had enough of Cedric Benson. He has been arrested twice for operating while intoxicated this offseason and he has refused to admit any wrong-doing. If Benson was Barry Sanders, the Bears would have been more apt to offer counseling or rehab, but since Benson averaged 3.4 yards per carry, they released him today.

Benson was a top-10 talent coming out of the University of Texas, but came into the league with an awful attitude. He missed his first spring training and lost his job to Thomas Jones. He ended up sharing time with Jones for two seasons and the Bears traded Jones before last season to see what Benson could do. They found out what he could do, and he couldn’t play running back for them.

You could sense that something was going to happen to Benson. You could even say that they were looking for an excuse to get rid of their bust of a running back. They drafted Tulane’s Matt Forte early in the draft and they like what they see in the young man. Benson has been soft in the league and has spent a lot of time on the shelf. I look for a team to give him a shot, granted it may be a few games into the season before he could play. I’m guess that the commish will end up suspending him for at least 4 games for his actions off the field. The NFL is turning into a 2-back system, so some team will need a change-of-pace running back or just looking for a backup. He will be signed before training camp, probably by a team who has little to no chance of making the playoffs.

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Song Of The Day – Emery (Party Song)

Tooth & Nail Records has a great track record of discovering talent. T&N started out as a predominantly Christian label, but currently are denying that they are a strictly Christian label. Most of their bands do admit that they are Christians and some of them have faith-based songs, but don’t paint them into a corner. MxPx, Underoath, Classic Crime, Joy Electric, mewithoutyou, Anberlin, Mae are all started on Tooth & Nail Records, as you can see, they have a pretty good track record.

I first heard of Emery back in 2003. I received a pre-release of their album “The Weak’s End.” I received the album with many others and it kind of got lost in the shuffle. I ended up finding the album a few months later and once I listened to it, it stayed in my cd player for a long time. Screamo was just a beginning genre at that time and their incorporation of keyboards made them just a little different than the rest. I would compare them to the band Silverstein, if you like them, you’ll like Emery. Emery released their latest album in late 2007/early 2008, it’s called “I’m Only A Man,” it’s a step in a new direction with more slower-tempo songs than previous albums.

Here is the video for “Party Song.”

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The Reason I Watch Women’s Tennis

Ana Ivanovic won the French Open today. She is currently the #2 ranked women’s tennis player, but the #1 hottest in my book. Ivanovic is beautiful and she has the ability to win major grand slam championships. Maria Sharapova has that same double threat ability, but she hasn’t won anything lately. After the win today, Ivanovic will become the world’s #1 player, surpassing Justine Henin, who abruptly retired last month.

Ivanovic is only 20-years old, so she isn’t at her peak age. Women’s tennis players usually peak in their early 20s and fade out before their 28. The Williams’ sisters have dominated this sport for the last ten years, but they are both in the downside of their careers. The woman’s side of tennis needs a Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer to dominate, without a dominate player, every tournament is up for grabs. Ivanovic has the ability to dominate, but we’ll see if she can keep her focus as the demand for her will increase. She has already showed interest in modeling, which could distract her. I think a picture of her can distract me from pretty much anything.

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Collins Found Out Jordan Isn’t Playing Anymore

Contrary to previous reports, it looks like Doug Collins is no longer a candidate for the Chicago Bulls coaching vacancy. Someone must have told Collins that Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen are no longer on the team. I’m glad that he is no longer a candidate, I didn’t think that the players on the Bulls roster would benefit from having Collins as the coach.

I’m guessing that Avery Johnson has to be in the running for the job. He had a lot of success with the Mavericks and he deserves another shot. As a player, he played under Greg Popovich, he can coach a defense and he was an assistant coach under Don Nelson, so he can coach offense. I think he brings a great balance to a team, but the expectations in Dallas were too high. The expectations in Chicago wouldn’t be a “win a championship or be fired,” as long as he makes the playoffs consistently, his job would be safe. Chicago, please hire Avery Johnson, you would have a good coach and some amazing soundbites.

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Song Of The Day – Katy Perry (I Kissed A Girl)

I admit that I only picked this song so I could talk about Katy Perry. I kind of have a crush on her. She’s dating the dude from Gym Class Heroes, but I don’t hold that against her. I first saw her on Perezhilton.com and her music isn’t half-bad either. She has kind of a classic beauty look, a little better looking than Dita Von Teese. I’m a sucker for brunettes.

Her album, “One Of The Boys,” is pretty good. “I Kissed A Girl” will probably be the lesbian anthem for awhile. She also has a song called “Ur So Gay,” where she states “You’re So Gay And You Don’t Even Like Boys,” what a great line. I can probably say that about a lot of dudes, probably the more douchey ones.

Here is the video for “I Kissed A Girl.”

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Big Brown Is Still A Stud

Even though we have to wait another year for another Triple Crown winner, Big Brown is still a beast. Kent Desormeaux, the jockey riding Big Brown, tried to get the horse to make a move, but the horse didn’t have much left in him. Desormeaux did the smart thing by pulling up on him and saving him from getting injured. The owners of Big Brown will be making tons of money off of him when they put him out to stud. They didn’t want the horse to get injured and risk the future stud fees. He ended up finishing 9th, which is last, but won’t be remembered for this race. Da’Tara, who was a 38-1 odd favorite, picked up the victory and made a few people rich.

Big Brown had an amazing Kentucky Derby and Preakness, he will go down as one of the best horses over the last 30 years. I doubt that they will have him run in the Breeder’s Cup, another sub-par finish could hurt him.

I think I need to be put out to stud, I probably wouldn’t charge much.

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Yahoo! Sports Shows Its Bias

Yahoo! Sports has an MMA section on it’s main page, which is unique, kinda. Yahoo! and UFC has an agreement that let’s internet users buy their pay-per-view events and watch them online. They heavily promote UFC events on its website and they seem to have an interest in the UFC doing well. That being said, Yahoo! Sports writer, Dan Wetzel, is calling EliteXC’s primetime event on CBS an “entertaining disaster.” He went on to call the event things like “a circus act” and “an absurd exhibition.” His article is full of back-handed compliments and in-your-face criticisms. I’m not saying that Yahoo! told Wetzel to write a trite article about EliteXC, but you have to think that after covering many UFC events and promoting the heck out it, he is showing his bias.

I took enough journalism classes that I can read an article and usually spot bias when it is there, especially when it is blatant. Knowing that Yahoo! and the UFC are in bed together makes it even easier to spot.

I know EliteXC isn’t the UFC, it’s probably like comparing the WWE and TNA Wrestling. UFC is the pinnacle of MMA and EliteXC is an up-and-coming fighting league. EliteXC does have something that the UFC has attempted to obtain, but never been able to, a network television deal. UFC could have had a deal, but when it came to money, they were in different tax brackets. Dana White, the president of the UFC, has to think that EliteXC’s network exposure will give them a leg up that the UFC never had when they began. It will be interesting if UFC will try to steal a few of their big names away if EliteXC starts to grow.

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Song Of The Day – Green Day (Working Class Hero)

“America’s White Boy” has a conscience and we support those that support great causes. A compilation was released a year ago that the proceeds goes to saving Darfur. The album is full of John Lennon covers and Green Day’s “Working Class Hero” is one of the best covers on the album. Green Day does a lot of philanthropic work and they even played Live 8 to help save Africa. They have grown as a band and as people and doing great things with their fame.

Green Day started in a smoke-filled basement in Northern California. Their name derives from marijuana and their earlier works sounds like they were high while playing their instruments. Their 3-chord tunes grew into full orchestra-filled ballads within a 15 years. Green Day is an example of a band painting themselves into a corner as a “punk band” and then grabbing a new paint color and paint the entire room while the entire world stood in awe. Green Day had their most critically-acclaimed album with “American Idiot” and I the rumor is that an upcoming album will be released by the end of the year.

Go out and buy “Instant Karma: The Campaign To Save Darfur” and help out a great cause.

Here is the video for “Working Class Hero.”

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Prior Is Out For Season…Again

The San Diego Padres released a statement today that Mark Prior will have another surgery on his shoulder. This will end his attempt to pitch this season and could possibly be career-threatening. The Padres will not be sure when or if Prior will be able to return until after his surgery, which may take place this week. The last surgery that Prior had was performed by the best in the business, Dr. James Andrews. It was to correct a torn labrum, which could have been a problem since Mark Prior and Marcus Giles collided in the base-path back when Prior was with the Cubs.

Everything was looking good for Prior until two weeks ago. He felt a pop or “explosion” in his shoulder during extended spring training game for the Padres. At that time, it was looking like he would be able to return this season.

I’ve always liked Mark Prior, he was the reason the Cubs had a shot at the World Series back in 2003. I haven’t felt bad for the Cubs that they had to pay Prior while he was rehabbing at all. He wasn’t getting paid a huge contract and he deserved every penny he received while on the DL. Dusty Baker rode his arm and could possibly be credited with his early demise. I hated that the Cubs didn’t offer Prior a two-year contract, I thought he still had some promise. He will still be under contract with the Padres next year and I hope he comes back and does very well.Keep your head up Mark, I hope to see you on the field next season.

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Song Of The Day – The Cure (The Only One)

If you poll the top alternative bands of today and ask them who were their most influential band, most would mention The Cure. Robert Smith introduced himself to a new generation when he sand on a Blink-182’s “All Of This.” Even though the self-titled Blink-182 album wasn’t a huge success Robert Smith proved that he was still able to be “current.” The Cure’s self-titled album came out later in 2004 and did better than expected.

The Cure is set to released “13” later this year and will be touring the country. They haven’t went on a national tour in awhile and catch them while you can. Their single “The Only One” is doing pretty well and let’s hope The Cure sticks around for many more years.

Here is the video for “The Only One.”

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