American Idle Returns

Yanks starter Chien-Ming Wang is having a rougher start to 2009 than Natasha Richardson, and ran the opening leg in a total curb stomping at the hands of the Cleveland Indians yesterday. Memo to Phil Hughes: get to the Scranton airport...good friends and one-time teammates starting against each other on the bump is interesting enough, but when one is former New York Yankee Carl Pavano ("American Idle"), pitching at Yankee Stadium against the team he fleeced for $40 million over four years, it gets that much more interesting. Of course, the other is AJ Burnett. If this were 2008 at this time, there would have to be a line on whether both get hurt, but Burnett's working a second calendar year without a drip to the DL, knock on wood...RM reader TS passes on the 16 Greatest TV Catchphrases. What, no "If you smell what The Rock is cookin'"?...Arizona Diamondbacks starter Dan Haren is 0-3 this year despite a 1.50 ERA. The D-Backs have scored a single run - total - in his three starts...as broadcasting trainwrecks go, Brad May working for TSN is certainly the most recent. Poor guy sounds like he's going to have a nervous breakdown. Far more impressive is The Little Ball of Hate Ray Ferarro...good-bye, Chuck Lidell, nice knowing you...Derrick Rose dropped 36 points for the Chicago Bulls in an overtime win over the Boston Celtics. Way to clutch up, Paul Pierce, and rim the potential game winning free throw in the dying seconds of regulation...a group of Italian ladies have a pool going that will see the winner net $30,000 if they can sleep with David Beckham. It is not tough being DB...the Florida Marlins are now 10-1 to start the year. Anybody saw that coming?...playing Manchester United in the FA Cup at -.5 +127, enjoy.

It doesn't matter that the Boston Celtics are "struggaling", the Toronto Raptors will need a big effort - particularly from the Killer B's - to down them today. Tip off is at 12:30..just hours away from the huge English Premier League tilt between Chelsea and hosts Manchester United. It is always a heated affair when these two giants lock horns and my prediction is today is no different. Hard to not like United at home, even with Chelsea captain John Terry returning from suspension, but United has struggled to find the net this year a lot more than last, so could be real tight. Catch it on The Score at 11am (Eastern). One small request - please don't give that score up here. I've got the PVR rolling and am aiming to not find out the score, a tough task to be sure...burning through Jeff Pearlman's "Boys Will Be Boys" book on the Dallas Cowboys of the 1990's and it is an incredible read for any fan of the game. Michael Irvin slept with twelve ladies in four days during Super Bowl Week ahead of their first trip against Buffalo. Reputation enhancing depictions come to Troy Aikman and Jay Novacek. Emmitt Smith? Not so much. Selfish and self serving. Charles Haley is crazy, no better word to describe him. Well worth the read...when running back Brandon Jacobs is out of the New York Giants lineup, they average 93 yards rushing as a team. When he's in, they average 171. With Jacobs in, tough not to like the defending champions at home against the Philadelphia Eagles...updating the Wayne Fleming story from yesterday, turns out he wasn't fired between periods. He was benched. Seriously. He's back next game..."American Idle" Carl Pavano, now of the Cleveland Indians, had this to say of his time as a New York Yankee: "When you're down, you expect your organization to pick you up, not kick you when you're down. I've had to pick myself up quite a few times the last four years." The only thing he picked up was a paycheque with a gun and ski-mask. Did Yankees GM Brian Cashman ever question his effort? No. They just kept paying him and rehabbing him and giving him chances. What a tool. The Tribe best make sure his feelings aren't hurt - he could end up out for the season...the latest Pat Quinn rumor has him going to the Pittsburgh Penguins...the Baltimore Ravens may not have deserved to beat the Tennessee Titans yesterday, but when you pick up that many key turnovers deep in your own zone, you did something right. 13-10 winners over the Tennessee Titans and they move on to the Conference Final. Oddly, if the San Diego Chargers - they of the 8-8 regular season record beat Pittsburgh today, the Bolts will host the Conference final. Strange, no?...outwitted myself yesterday in the Prime Time Picks by gunning for positive dollar value and looking for the extra goal. Of course, Arsenal fell short and didn't cover the -1.5. Today, and I know it wreaks of "sucker bet", but how can you not love the New York Giants, at a mere -4 -107, at home against the Philadelphia Eagles? If you're telling me the Eagles will not only go on the road and win, but do it for the second time this year at the Meadowlands, I call LIES. The rested conference champions and defending Super Bowl champions should feast on the Eagles, and let's be serious, Donovan McNabb vs. Eli Manning - who do you trust? Has to be Eli, no? The Eagles beat a Vikings squad that was intent on giving the game away, and if there's one thing the Giants don't do, it is beat themselves (that's what she said). Bet the Giants, bet the Giants hard with your good friends at Pinnacle...have a great Sunday.

Thursday, November 20th, 2008

Average lifespan of an offensive lineman? 52. That is scary...remember that block the Pittsburgh Steelers' Hines Ward dropped on Cincinnati Bengal Keith Rivers that broke his jaw? Be on the lookout tonight for the Bengals to even the score...a couple interesting "name" stories in the soccer world. Manchester United's Gary Neville's father's name? Neville. And in Germany, there was once a coach named Wolfgang Wolf. And guess what team he coached? Who else but Wolfsburg.....UFC President Dana White vows that Ontario and the rest of Canada will soon be open for business for live UFC events. Right now, Quebec is the only province where MMA is sanctioned. Good for white, and shame on the Ontario Athletic Commission for pandering to boxing by not allowing MMA to go live here...two years and $24 million for Jason Giambi to be a Toronto Blue Jay? That's the prediction of one...either Pacman Jones has made a real impressive turnaround in rehab, or Roger Goodell is mellowing out some. Pacman has been reinstated and will be eligible to play December 7th when the Dallas Cowboys face Pittsburgh, which will start a murderous December schedule...Lew Wolff, owner of the Oakland A's, thinks the first round of the MLB playoffs should be a single game knockout. That's a great idea, if you think that a team that wins 98 games should be at risk of a knockout to a team that won 83. Lame idea, Lew, don't be making any plans for that one to fly...how about the Top 20 Victoria's Secret models of all time? All I know is I've got no beef with #1..."American Idle" Carl Pavano is open to returning to the Florida Marlins, and called his four years with the Yankees "exhausting". Right, those 26 starts over four years were a real grind...I've got two words for you: Bacon Hitler...of course, Brett Favre went Brett Favre - no, he didn't throw an INT, the other part of his personality - and brought up retirement...earlier this year, Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo stopped to help an elderly couple change a tire in the pouring rain. His latest act of kindness? He ran into some homeless guy on the street and took him to a movie. Seriously. Love that guy. Also, because he rocks out with Mr. Belding of Saved By The Bell fame and Metal Skool on the Sunset Strip. Minus a hat!...the Boston Red Sox are in the AJ Burnett hunt, which can only mean his price is rising and fast...former New York Giants coach Jim Fassel has been linked to the Oakland Raiders and Toronto Argos coaching jobs in the same week. Not sure what is a less desireable place to work...have a great Thursday.