tonytalkssports My Take on Sports, particularly the Yankees, Maple Leafs and Browns

R.I.P – Macho Man

I was shocked when I heard the news that Randy "Macho Man" Savage died in a car accident.  In the 1980's, the WWF (that's what it was called at the time) brought professional wrestling back into the national spotlight.  The biggest star was Hulk Hogan.  But who was right up there was Randy Savage.

The Macho Man character captivated audiences all across the world.  One of the best pro wrestling matches ever was the Wrestlemania III match between Savage and Ricky Steamboat.  In fact, that may have been the best Wrestlemania ever as the main event was Hogan against Andre the Giant (no, it was not Bartolo Colon).  R.I.P. Macho Man.

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Make sure you check out tonytalkssports tomorrow as I'll review the first two games of the Subway Series, Game 4 between Bruins and Lightning and a look at the major league baseball standings one week from Memorial Day weekend.

Interleague Play Begins – Do You Care???

Interleague play begins today, with the renewal of the Subway Series in New York, the Battle of Ohio, Marlins-Rays, Cardinals-Royals, the Beltway Rivalry and the Bay Area Battle.  There is also the Chicago Cubs visiting Fenway Park.  But in addition to these match-ups, you have the awe-inspiring Astros-Blue Jays, Twins-Dbacks, Braves-Angels and Tigers-Pirates.

Interleague play does not generate the excitement that it did when it began in 1997.  Of course, the geniuses at MLB needed to continue to bring fans back after the 1994 labor debacle which canceled the season and the World Series.  In my opinion, the interleague scheduling has taken away from the allure of the Baseball All-Star Game.  Baseball's all-star game was always the best to watch and had the most interest because it was the only time, other than the World Series, where you got to see the stars from both leagues play against each other.  Now, who cares when you can see them play aginst each other in May and June.  So in order to drum up interest in the All-Star Game, we now have the league which wins the game gets home field advantage during the World Series.  Wow, hardly causes me to watch.

To me interleague play has worn out its welcome.  The random way these interleague games are scheduled can have a big effect on playoff races.  Historically, the NL Central has been weak while the AL East has been strong.  If you draw the NL Central you will have an advantage over teams that draw the Braves and Phillies in the NL East.  If you draw the AL West, you will have an advantage over teams that draw the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays.  With another wild card team being proposed by the baseball genius, Bud Selig, this will have a greater impact.

I remember a time when the Yankees and Mets played an exhibition game during the season on an off day.  It was called the Mayor's Trophy Game.  I can remember being fired up about this stupid exhibition game and at one point the game was televised over WPIX which we were able to get through the cable system.  As we head toward tonight's game, somehow my anticipation for this edition of the Subway Series is far less than it was for the old Mayor's Trophy Game.  It's time to end interleague play!!!

Bulls, Sharks Win; Yanks Awful

In D.C. and stumbled across a sports bar called, "The 51st State".  The 51st State is a NY sports bar meaning they feature all NY teams when they are playing on their TV screens.  Last night, by the time we got there, the Bronx debacle was already underway as the Yanks were already down 5-0 to the bargain basement KC Royals.  With the Red Sox coming to town today, the lustre of the Blood Rivalry is a little bit worn.  The Red Sox are under .500 and have just been swept by the Blue Jays up in Toronto.  The Yankees have just lost 2 out of 3 to the Royals.  Who knows what to expect.  If I had to predict: probably plenty of runs tonight as Bartolo Colon faces Clay Buchholz.  In the mean time, Tampa Bay is now in first place.  The team that lost Matt Garza, Carlos Pena, Rafael Soriano, Dan Wheeler, Grant Balfour and Carl Crawford.

The other thing that makes The 51st State sports bar stand out is that it was the only bar that had the Sharks/Red Wings game on TV.  We stayed for the first period and it certainly looked like the Sharks were poised to win.  In the end, they did but not before the Red Wings made them sweat. This was a great series and a tip of the hat to the Red Wings.  Canucks/Sharks should be a dandy.  By the way, so much for the great NHL TV contract with Versus.  No Versus in the hotel.  And I'm staying at a major chain.  There is an NHL team here.  It was funny as we were walking back to the hotel we thought we could stop at another bar to watch the second period.  Not one bar on the way back had the game on.  It was NBA.

Which brings me to the Chicago Bulls.  Thankfully, they will advance to face the Miami Heat and hopefully but an end to the Dream Team.  This will be a great series, one that I wil be following which is amazing for me to say since I am not a big NBA fan.

Hoping to check out the Nationals tonight against the Marlins.  Should be fun.

No Justice: Heat Advances

The Miami Heat eliminated the Boston Celtics by winning the series 4-1 and awaiting a possible date with the Chicago Bulls.  While the Bulls hope to eliminate Atlanta, the Dream Team will rest and get prepared to win the Eastern Conference title.  Frankly, it disgusts me.

I do not have any problem with players exercising their right to free agency.  But I do have a problem with the chicanery that went on last summer when Lebron James and Chris Bosh conspired with Dwayne Wade to construct the Dream Team in South Beach.  To hell with Cleveland.  To hell with Toronto.  This is about winning a championship even if it means destroying two franchises and sadly they are 8 games away from pulling it off.

Wade and James are outstanding athletes and great basketball players.  A year ago, I really liked them.  But now they represent to me athletes who really don't give a damn about the fans.  For that, I was really hoping that they would get knocked out of the playoffs sooner rather than later.

The Celtics looked old and couldn't cope with the injury to their outstanding guard Rondo.  His courage to play through injury is to be applauded.  With the Lakers also eliminated, it may rest with the Bulls to do us all a favor and eliminate the Dream Team.  Here's hoping they can do it.

* I'll be in D.C. for the next couple of days and will try to have new posts on Friday and Saturday.  If unable, will definitely be back Sunday morning with NHL predictions and thoughts on the second round of the Blood Rivalry between the Yankees and Red Sox.

Red Wings, Phil Jax & ARod

* A week ago I indicated that Round 2 of the NHL Playoffs was a dud compared to Round1.  However, the Detroit-SanJose series has had as much drama as Round 1 with the Red Wings pulling off another come from behind 3-1 win last night at the Joe Lou evening the series at 3 apiece. 

The Sharks led this series 3-1 and in game 5 led 2-0 and 3-1 in the third period at home.  They were about to put the Red Wings out of their misery.  But, the old guys from Detroit won that game 4-3 and the Sharks somehow began what will be the biggest choke act of the playoffs if they lose game 7 at home on Thursday night.  The Canucks were in the same boat in their Round 1 matchup against Chicago, seeing a 3-0 series lead evaporate which led to a Game 7 at home.  However, the Canucks won Game 7 to advance and they await the survivor of the Red Wings-Sharks series. 

I really believed that the Sharks had the better team.  But, from where I'm sitting it's not looking good for them right now.  Thursday ought to be something.

* Phil Jackson is calling it quits.  The former Knick has had an outstanding career as a coach, winning a number of championships with both the Bulls and the Lakers.  One has to wonder how successful he would have been without Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Kobe Bryant and Shaq. 

* Now that Derek Jeter has raised his average, the media scrutiny has gone to ARod.  Last night, ARod delievered with 2-run single that provided the winning runs to lead the Yankees to a 3-1 win over the Royals.  Baseball is a marathon and you would think NY media scribes would understand that.  Instead, they jump on whoever has hit a down period.  First it was Jeter now its ARod.  If you get a chance, check out Tim Smith's article:

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2011/05/11/2011-05-11_hits_keep_coming_for_yanks.html

Fantasy Ups & Downs

With a little over a month into the 2011 Fantasy Baseball season, I have had my share of ups and downs.  I'm in a head-to-head league with the opportunity to change my line-up on a daily basis.  There have been surprises, disappointments and injuries.  After starting the season 0-2, I've bounced back to win my next 3 games. 

Injuries and Pick-ups:  The most devastating injury was that to Ryan Zimmerman.  3b is a weak position and losing Zimmerman has forced me to make all kinds of move.  I first picked up David Freese who was doing really well until he went down with an injury which forced me to pick up Placido Polanco.  Polanco has filled in admirably.

The injuries to Phil Hughes and Brad Lidge has led to a bunch of pitching moves.  In a massive Monday morning massacre, I dropped Joe Nathan, Lidge, Hughes,  and Colby Lewis.  In return I picked up Kyle Lohse, Justin Masterson and Michael Pineda.

With Dan Uggla, Torri Hunter and Adam Dunn struggling, I moved to pick up Ryan Theriot, Jeff Francoer and Adam Lind.  I dropped Theriot and picked up Orlando Cabrera.  The 2b, SS, 3b positions have been a constant shuffle with injuries to Zimmerman and then Freese.  Francoer and Lind have been big, particularly now with Nelson Cruz being on the DL.

Disappointments:  I can kick myself for drafting Ian Desmond over Starlin Castro.  I still don't know why I took Desmond and he has been a disappointment though he does have 10 steals, the most on my team.  Adam Dunn has not provided the power boost I was expecting.  I'm hopeful he will turn things around. 

While I knew Dan Uggla would not hit for average, he has also not hit for power and RBI's.  Juan Pierre has not provided the steals that I thought he would.  Nelson Cruz was not hitting well before he went on the DL and Matt Wieters has been middling at best.

Ted Lilly has not pitched well and has disappointed me big time.  Brad Lidge, Joe Nathan and John Axford was suppose to anchor my relief corp.  So much for that!!!  Joaquin Benoit started out strong but was getting bombed and has since been dropped.  Clay Buchholz has been a disappointment however he pitched well his last outing so I'm remaining positive.

Steady Performers and Surprises:  Miquel Cabrera has been the anchor of my offense providing power, RBI's and average.  Curtis Granderson leads my team and the AL in home runs.  Justin Verlander has pitched well, including a no-hitter on Saturday which pulled out a win for me this week.  Gio Gonzalez has been everything I thought he would be and Matt Capps has filled in well for the aforementioned Nathan.

Waiver pick-ups have helped big time.  Offensively, Francoer, Polanco and getting Adam Lind have saved me.  Pitching-wise, I'm really happy with Michael Pineda and have been helped by Gavin Floyd and Kyle Lohse.  But probably the biggest surprise has been Justin Masterson.  He is finally pitching the way the Red Sox felt he would only now he is doing it with the Indians.

With four big months ahead, hopefully the injury bug leaves me alone the rest of the way.  Time will tell.

Don't forget tomorrow:    Tuesday's Thoughts

Predators Stave Off Elimination…Red Wings Next??

While the Eastern Conference semi-finalists, Tampa Bay and Boston, await the start of their series, the Western Conference quarter finals still roll on.  Last night, the Nashville Predators staved off elimination by overcoming a 2-1 deficit and winning in Vancouver 4-3 to bring the series back to Nashville for Game 6.

It may be unrealistic that the Predators will be able to knock off the Canucks but you have to be impressed with the heart and soul of a team devoid of superstars.  Coach Barry Trotz deserves a lot of credit.  Year in and year out this team is always competitive.  Pekka Rinne has been solid in net and has been a force all year for the Preds.  And GM David Poile has done a great job building a team on a budget.  The late season acquisition of Mike Fisher has worked out well.  Here's hoping the Preds can push a Game 7 by giving their fans a win at home in Game 6.

In the other series, it seems hard to believe that the Red Wings are on the verge of being eliminated by the Sharks 4-1.  However, one has to truly wonder how good the Red Wings really are.  I had the opportunity to see the Red Wings in person this season and while Pavel Datsyuk was not in the lineup, I was not impressed.  I also watched Game 2 last Sunday and was again not impressed.

While one would think the Red Wings will send this one back to Detroit, it wouldn't surprise me if the Sharks end the series this evening.  They are the better team.  One has to wonder if the Red Wing dominance is over.  Should be interesting.