Duke Is Lucky That They Landed Austin Rivers

Brian Kelly Made The Right Decision By Naming Dayne Crist The Notre Dame Starting Quarterback Over Tommy Rees

Notre Dame has had a difficult 18-year stretch. Since the Fighting Irish finished 2nd in the coaches poll in 1993, they have not finished a season ranked in the top 10. In the last four years they have had a record of 24-26 and have made just 2 bowl games. It's been a tough run for a program that has 11 National Championships. This year however there is reason for optimism with Notre Dame being ranked as high as number 16 in the AP poll, their highest preseason ranking since they were number 16 in 2006. The biggest question mark behind how successful the Fighting Irish will be this season will be the play of their quarterback. Brian Kelly had to make a huge decision on who would open the season at that position. It took Kelly all of spring football and nearly all of training camp to make the decision, but he chose to name senior Dayne Crist the starter over sophomore Tommy Rees. Brain Kelly said about Crist, "He is a much better football player [than a year ago], he's a much better quarterback and quite frankly and honestly he's the kind of guy I want to coach. He's tougher mentally. He handles himself in a leadership position the way I want our quarterbacks to handle it. Dayne will be the starter and I expect him to be the starter for 13 weeks. We have great confidence in his ability to lead us to a championship." Although neither Crist nor Rees were head and shoulders above the other, Crist was the better option for the Irish than Rees.

Crist's ability to sling the ball all around the field and to make difficult throws is something that Rees's can't quite do yet. Crist threw for more than 200 yards in every game he played in besides the Navy game. He also threw for over 300 yards on the road at Michigan St. and again in South Bend against Stanford. Crist threw 7 picks in 8 games, and had just one 2-interception game. With Rees, the Irish were much more limited in their passing attack. Rees only threw for more than 215 yards once, and he had the same number of interceptions as Crist in three less games. Rees threw three picks against Tulsa in a horrible loss at home 28-27, and he also had three interceptions on the road at USC. Notre Dame's star wide receiver, Michael Floyd, the only wideout with over 415 yards last season, averaged about 10 more yards per game with Crist as his quarterback.

Although last year Dayne Crist was 4-4 in games where he played the majority of the game and Tommy Rees was 4-1 in games where he played the majority of the game, Rees got a lot of help from his defense and from his running game. In the 8 games Crist played, the Notre Dame defense allowed an average of 24.5 points per game. The Notre Dame rushing attack averaged just 112 yards per game, including less than 100 yards in the big games against Michigan St., Stanford, and Pittsburgh, which left most of the responsibility on Crist to put together scoring drives for the Irish. In the 5 games Rees played, the Notre Dame defense was significantly better as they allowed an average of just 13.4 points per game. The Irish rushing attack averaged about 150 yards per game when Rees was playing, which was nearly 40 more yards than the rushing attack averaged with Crist. Obviously, it wasn't entirely on Crist for the 4-4 record, and it wasn't entirely Rees's great play that gave the Irish a 4-1 record to end the season.

If Crist can get some help from his running game and the defense can hold down the fort, then the Irish have a chance to once again become an elite college football team. They play just three ranked teams, and two of them are at home against #17 Michigan St. and #25 USC. Let's see if they can win one for the Gipper!

Top 5 College Football Games In Weeks 1 and 2

#3 Oregon vs #4 LSU in Week 1: Only once last season did two teams that were ranked in the top 5 play each other, and that was in week 10 when number 3 TCU beat number 5 Utah 47 to 7. Therefore, when you have a non-conference game between two top 5 teams in the first week of the season, there is obviously going to be a ton of hype. Oregon was a field goal miss away from winning the National Championship last season and starting quarterback Darron Thomas and Heisman Trophy runner-up LaMichael James have returned to school to win that title. Their quest will begin right away when the Ducks play LSU at Cowboys Stadium in week 1. James will have to carry the Oregon offense once again this season, as he did last year when he led the FBS in rushing yards with 1,731. He will have to come up big against the Tigers defense, which held great running teams like Alabama to just 102 years last season. Darron Thomas will have to find a new target on the outside as star wide receiver Jeff Maehl graduated. LSU head coach Les Miles said about containing the Ducks offense, "We're going to do the things that we've done, and done well on defense. I don't know that we'll have a lot of changes." If the LSU defense has difficulty stopping the Duck's attack, it will be imperative that Jordan Jefferson leads the LSU offense to some scores. The dual threat quarterback will have to improve upon last season when the Tigers averaged just 155 passing yards per game.

#5 Boise St. vs #19 Georgia in Week 1: The last four years Boise St. has had to go out and play a difficult non-conference schedule to try and validate their case that they are good enough to make a BCS Bowl, and even a National Championship game. In 2008, Boise St. beat number 12 Oregon in week 3 in a high scoring game 37-32. The next year the Broncos beat number 14 Oregon once again 19-8 and went on to finish with an undefeated record of 14-0, concluding with a Fiesta Bowl victory over TCU. Last year the Broncos beat number 6 Virginia Tech at FedEx Field 33-30 in week 1. Boise St. is hoping that Georgia can be their next non-conference victim when the two preseason top 20 teams square off in Atlanta in week 1. The Broncos have their Heisman Trophy candidate Kellen Moore back at quarterback, but he will have to adjust without his great wide receivers Titus Young and Austin Pettis. The Georgia defensive will still have a lot to handle with the Broncos offense that scored the second most points in the FBS last season. Georgia will be expecting their sophomore quarterback Aaron Murray to build upon his performance from last year when he set a Georgia freshman passing record by throwing for 3,049 yards. If the Bulldogs lose to the Broncos, they could be in grave danger of falling to 0-2 as they play number 12 South Carolina the following week in a big SEC East game.

#20 Mississippi St. at #23 Auburn in Week 2: Auburn is just the second defending National Champion to be ranked outside the top 15 in the preseason rankings. In 1961, Minnesota was unranked in the preseason poll after winning the National Championship in 1960. Auburn is missing a whole lot from their National Championship team last season. The Tigers can no longer rely on Heisman winning quarterback Cam Newton, or wide out Darvin Adam, or Vince Lombardi award winning defensive tackle Nick Fairley, all of whom have left for the NFL. The Tigers will look a lot different this season and they won't have a long time to adjust to each other because right out of the gates in week two they play their first top 25 opponent, Mississippi St., at home. A lot of pressure will be on sophomore running back Michael Dyer to run well against the Bulldogs because Cam Newton's successor, Barrett Trotter, threw just 9 passes last season and is very inexperienced. That might be a tough ask though because Mississippi St. held Auburn to their second fewest yards rushing last season. The Bulldogs were one of the biggest surprises in the country last season. After going 5-7 in 2009, the Bulldogs improved their record to 9-4 last year and had one of the best running games in college football. Their running combination of quarterback Chris Relf and running back Vick Ballard is going to cause an Auburn defense that lost 9 starters from last year's team havoc.

#16 Notre Dame at Michigan in Week 2: The Big House will be packed to its capacity in week 2 when the beloved Michigan Wolverines take on Notre Dame in the first ever night game at Michigan Stadium. Michigan athletic director David Brandon said, "This also adds a new chapter to the storied rivalry between our two great programs." The rivalry, which Michigan leads 22-15-1, has been won by Michigan the last two years, but Notre Dame will be motivated to get a statement win on the road. With Brady Hoke replacing Rich Rodriguez as the new head coach at Michigan, there will be changes on both sides of the ball for the Wolverines. Quarterback Denard Robinson was worked a lot last year, as he was in the top 20 in the FBS with 256 rushes. Although he was second in the FBS with 1,702 rushing yards, Michigan offensive coordinator Al Borges has said he will not run as much this season because he wants to keep him healthy for the entire year. He said, "[We'll] try not to [get him] beat up...Because we’re trying to get to more of a power-offense style, we’re trying to take some of the burden off him as a runner and more than anything, try to keep him in one piece.” However, we will see if Borges isn't tempted to let Denard run wild if Michigan begins to struggle offensively, especially after last season when Robinson ran for 258 yards in a 28-24 victory over the Fighting Irish. After a solid 8-5 season in Brian Kelly's first year at the helm in South Bend, the Irish will be looking for even more success this year. The biggest question mark for the Irish is at the quarterback position. Brian Kelly has still not named a starter, although the season is right around the corner. How it all works out for Kelly remains to be seen. If Kelly chooses Dayne Crist for example, Crist could feel pressure to perform knowing that Tommy Rees is right behind him ready to play. Either way, the Michigan defense that allowed an average of 35 points per game last season will be ready. Brady Hoke said about the new look defense, "They’re getting more comfortable. We've made really good strides from practice 7 to 14."

Utah at #25 USC in Week 2: When Utah officially joined the Pac 12 on July 1st, Utah athletic director Chris Hill said, "We're not afraid of the high expectations. It's not easy, but at the same time our fans expect us to do well... We didn't win a game today, but I feel like we won our future at the University of Utah." Utah's dream move to the Pac 12 will begin with a splash when they travel to the Coliseum to take on the 11-time National Champion USC Trojans. Utah has 7 returning starters on the offensive side of the ball, including quarterback Jordan Wynn and his two top receivers DeVonte Christopher and Jereme Brooks. The Utah secondary will be a key to watch against USC because of the Trojans ability to throw the ball around the field with quarterback Matt Barkley. Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said, "Defensively we are on track. We've done a lot of good things, particularly the secondary. That has been a pleasant surprise, the way the secondary has performed through the first half of camp. We felt all along the line was strong and it has been." If you look ahead at Utah's schedule, they don't play another ranked team all season because they don't play number 3 Oregon or number 7 Stanford this year. If Utah can come away from the Coliseum with a victory, who knows what could happen. This is the final season of USC's two-year postseason ban, so they will be looking to finish with a great record, despite not being able to play in the Pac 12 championship game or a bowl game.

If Arsenal Wants To Contend In The Premier League, They Will Have To Spend Some Money

The last time Arsenal finished out of the top four in the Premier League was more than 15 years ago in 1995-1996 when they finished in 5th place. Arsenal has not looked like a top four team this season. They have just 1 point in two games and have not scored a goal in their first two games for the first time in 42 years. The Gunners lost to Liverpool at home for the first time in more than ten years, and their next premier league fixture is against the defending league champion Manchester United. If Arsenal isn't willing to spend any money to bring in some new players, they will likely be watching the Champions League next season instead of playing in it.

Arsenal has had a thin roster for their last two games because guys have left their team or are on loan. On July 4th, Arsenal lost their starting defender Gael Clichy to Manchester City as he signed a four-year deal worth 7 million dollars. He was tied for the team led with 33 starts at outside back last year. On August 16th, Arsenal lost another defender, Emmanuel Eboue, to the Turkish club Galatasaray for 3.5 million dollars. Without Clichy and Eboue, Arsenal has been struggling to find a solid defender. They have experimented with both Kieran Gibbs and Carl Jenkinson, but they are both very young and unproven. The Gunners have also been troubled with whom to pair in the middle with Laurent Koscielny, as they have gone away from Sebastien Squillaci and they have begun to use the inexperienced Thomas Vermaelen. 

Considering that last season with Clichy the Gunners let up 43 goals, 10 more than Chelsea and Manchester City, they will be conceding much more this season with unproven guys in the back. Arsenal needs to some cash and bring in some fresh faces to play in the back, and even Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admitted that. "Certainly, we will have to find one more defender. We are working on it." Arsenal's 12 million dollar bid for center defender Phil Jagielka was turned down by Everton and it will most likely take an offer around 18 million for the English defender to come to Emirates Stadium. Although 18 million is a lot for a defender, Jagielka would be a great pairing with Koscielny in the middle and it would please many of the very unhappy Arsenal fans who want the team to spend some money in the market. If Arsenal is reluctant to spend that much on Jagielka, they could also look at Gary Cahill of Bolton, Chris Samba of Blackburn, or Scott Dann of Birmingham City, all of whom would cost less than Everton is asking for Jagielka. 

Although bringing in a defender should be Arsenal's first prior, they also need some help in the midfield and up front. Arsenal no longer has their captain, Cesc Fabregas, in the mix. The Spanish midfielder returned to his former club Barcelona on August 15th after years of speculation if he would go back to play for them. He was signed for a fee that could be worth as much as 39 million, which would obviously give Arsenal a lot of room to make some moves. More money should be available to Arsenal as their French midfielder, Samri Nasri, is reportedly close to going to Manchester City for around 25 million. 

Without Fabreags or Nasri in the middle, Arsenal will need to bring in a quality player in the midfield. Jack Wilshere is still out with an ankle injury and Andrei Arshavin has really struggled with the club since his great start in 2009. Mathieu Valbuena of Marseille and Eden Hazard of Lille are the two most likely targets for Arsenal. Although Marseille said that they would listen to offers for Valbuena, they are unlikely to deal him at this time. The more likely option is Eden Hazard, but it will definitely cost the Gunners a lot of cash. Arsenal will have to be willing to pay Lille 30 million for the Belgian winger. It's more likely that Arsenal signs a defender before they would spend 30 million on Hazard, but the French League One Player of the Year would be a great threat to a depleted Arsenal side.

While Arsenal have lost Clichy, Eboue, Fabregas, Vela, and Denilson on transfers or loans and are about to lose Nasri and Bendtner, other top premier league teams have bolstered their squads in hopes of making a run at the premier league title. Liverpool were big buyers this summer. To sure up their midfield issues, they brought in Stewart Downing and Charlie Adam. Liverpool spent about 20 million to get Downing from Aston Villa and the long suspected transfer of Adam to play in Anfield Stadium finally concluded for a cost of about 7 million. They also shored up their left back position by bringing in Jose Enrique from Newcastle for about 6 million. As always, Manchester City spent a lot of money to make a run at the title. Besides the signing of Clichy for 7 million, they also bought defender Stefan Savic for around 6 million. Their big splash came when they signed Argentinean striker, Sergio Aguero, in the second biggest Premier League transfer deal for 35 million dollars from Atletico Madrid. Chelsea signed Orio Romeu from Barcelona for 5 million and the young Belgian striker, Romelu Lukaku, for about 20 million. Manchester United spent the most money of any premier league team with their three big signings that cost a combine 54 million dollars. They bought young England defender Phil Jones for about 16 million, Atletico Madrid goalkeeper David De Gea for about 18 million, and Ashley Young from Aston Villa for about 20 million. With Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, and Manchester United all spending a lot of money to bring in quality players, Arsenal will have to bring in some new players or they will likely fall out of the top four.

Jim Thome Is A First Ballot Hall Of Famer

After hitting his 599th home run over the porch in left-center field in the 6th inning, Jim Thome wasted little time to join the exclusive club of 600 home run hitters. With a 2-1 count, and Daniel Schlereth on the mound, Thome got a breaking ball on the outside corner and crushed it over the fence in left to become the 8th player in major league history to hit 600 home runs. Thome has now joined the 600 homer club, but that is not the last club he should be joining. He should also be recognized as one of the greatest baseball players of all-time and enter Cooperstown as a first ballot hall of famer.

Only 7 other players aside from Thome have hit at least 600 home runs in their career. From April 27, 1971 until August 9, 2002, a span of over 30 years, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, and Willie Mays stood as the only three players in MLB history to have hit 600 homers. Although Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, and Sammy Sosa joined Aaron, Ruth, and Mays in the 600 home run club, all three have had connections with performance enhancing drugs. Baseball numbers, like 600 home runs, are sacred and the numbers that Bonds, Rodriguez, and Sosa have put up are tainted and inflated. In contrast, Jim Thome has never failed a steroid test and he has, by all indications, never used performance enhancing drugs. Therefore, if you take out guys like Bonds, Rodriguez, and Sosa, Thome is just the 5th player in MLB history to have hit 600 home runs. It should be noted that Ken Griffey also hit 600 homers, so he would be the fourth man to have accomplished the milestone. If you think about all the great power hitters that have played in the big leagues such as Frank Robinson, Mike Schmidt, Mickey Mantle, Jimmie Foxx, and Willie McCovey, none of them hit 600 home runs in their career, and all of them were first ballot hall of famers.

Although Thome's lifetime batting average is just under .280, he had 8 seasons where he batted over .280, including three seasons where he has batted over .300. His career average has dropped a few points as he has gotten older, but when he was in his prime, he hit for power and average. In 2002 he hit 52 home runs and had a batting average of .304. There have been many other first ballot hall of famers with similar averages as Thome. Willie McCovey was a career .270 hitter and never batted over .280 in his final 10 seasons. Johnny Bench had a .267 lifetime batting average, Joe Morgan had a .271 lifetime batting average, and Ernie Banks had a career .274 batting average. 

Thome is not a very fast guy by any stretch of the imagination, but he is a run-scoring-machine. He scored over 100 runs 8 times during his career, including 2002 when he scored over 100 runs on an Indians team that was 74-88 and finished more than 20 games out of first place. Thome's 1,553 runs scored are more than first ballot hall of famers and speedsters Rod Carew, Tony Gwynn, Ozzie Smith, and Jackie Robinson. 

Thome has also been very productive at driving guys in. He has had 9 seasons where he has driven in over 100 RBIs, including a career high of 131 in 2003. Here is an unbelievable stat - if you combine the 100 RBI years of Jackie Robinson, Kirby Puckett, Robin Yount, and Paul Molitor, it equals the amount of 100 RBI years of Jim Thome. His 1,662 RBIs are good for 27th all-time, ahead of guys like George Brett, Mike Schmidt, Al Kaline, Mickey Mantle, Tony Gwynn, and Rod Carew. Thome's on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and on-base plus slugging percentage have always been at the top of the league. His on-base percentage was in the top 5 of his league six times, with his career high at .450. Thome's career on-base percentage of .4033 is better than first ballot hall of famers Carl Yastrzemski, Willie Mays, and Frank Robinson. His ability to be very patient at the plate and take his walks has really helped his on-base percentage. He led the AL in walks three times and is eighth all-time in career walks. He led the AL in slugging in 2002 and his .558 slugging percentage is good for 20th all-time. His on-base plus slugging percentage for his career is .961, which is 17th all-time and better than hall of famers like Ty Cobb, Willie Mays, and Carl Yastrzemski.

Thome's productivity and longevity shows that he deserves to be a first ballot hall of famer. This is Thome's 21st season in the big leagues, and he has had season after season of solid hitting. From 1994 to 2010, that's 17 years, he's had more than 20 home runs every year except for 2005, when he missed over 100 games with an injury. He's had 12 seasons of 30 or more home runs, including one as recently as 2008 with the White Sox. It's pretty impressive that a guy who began his MLB career in 1991 can hit 34 home runs at the age of 37. He's also had six 40 home run seasons, the most recent in 2006, also as a member of the White Sox. To put how good Thome has been for an extended period of time in perspective, in Willie McCovey's final 10 seasons in the big leagues, he never hit more than 30 home runs and had less than 20 homers 6 times. In Brooks Robinson's final 6 seasons, he never hit more than 10 home runs and never scored more than 53 runs. The ability of Thome to be productive and consistent for more than 20 seasons, through the age of 39, is something very special. Only a very few ball players can lay claim to his accomplishments over the course of 20-plus seasons.

Some people argue that Thome shouldn't be a first ballot hall of famer because he never won an MVP. That is ridiculous! Thome has been a consistent MVP candidate although he has never won the award. In 2002 he hit 52 home runs, but finished 7th in the AL MVP voting because his Indians team finished more than 20 games out of first place in the AL Central. The next year he finished in fourth place in the NL MVP voting after he hit 47 home runs and drove in 131 runs in his first year with the Phillies. Thome was unlucky because that same year, Gary Sheffield, Albert Pujols, and Barry Bonds all hit at least 39 home runs. Barry "Steriod" Bonds won the MVP that year. Of the last 9 batters that were first ballot hall of famers, seven of them, Tony Gwynn, Wade Boggs, Paul Molitor, Eddie Murray, Ozzie Smith, Dave Winfield, and Kirby Puckett never won an MVP. All-time greats and first ballot hall of famers Al Kaline and Lou Brock never won an MVP during their careers as well. Others argue that Thome made just 5 all-star games in his career. Robin Yount made just three all-star games and was a first ballot hall of famer. Lou Brock, Willie McCovey, and Jackie Robinson made just one more all-star game than Thome and were all first ballot hall of famers. 

To keep in perspective what a prolific home run hitter Jim Thome has been, over 17,000 people have played major league baseball, and only 8 guys have hit 600 homers!

MLB Awards Watch

AL Cy Young: The AL Cy Young is a three man race between Justin Verlander, Jered Weaver, and CC Sabathia. Verlander has been the ace of the AL Central leading Detroit Tigers, and has been their horse the entire season. Verlander began the season 2-3, even though his ERA was just 3.75 at the time, but since then he has gone 15-2, including an outstanding 9-0 record in the months of May and June. Verlander's unhittable stuff has been highlighted by his 1 walk no hitter on May 7th against the Blue Jays and his two other near no hitters against the Indians on June 14th and the Angles on July 31st. Verlander leads the league in nearly every pitching category including innings pitched, strikeouts, wins, WHIP, and is also 3rd in ERA. With the inconsistency of A.J. Burnett and the injuries to Phil Hughes and Bartolo Colon, CC Sabathia has been the main cog in keeping the Yankees in reaching distance of the first place Boston Red Sox. Sabathia has eaten up innings when the bullpen has needed rest, evidenced by being second in the MLB with 190.2 innings pitched. He went 11-1 from May 19 to July 16, and kept the Yankees in the AL East race. Sabathia's 16 wins are second in the MLB, and the only thing holding him back from winning the AL Cy Young is his struggles against the Red Sox. CC is 16-3 against every team other than the Sox, but is 0-4 against the Yanks arch rivals. In his last three starts against the Red Sox he has been rocked for more than 6 runs each time. Jered Weaver has had a roller coaster season. He began the year 6-0 with a sub 1.00 ERA, but then lost his next four starts and fell to 6-4. Weaver bounced back once again and improved his record to 14-4 with an unbelievable 1.79 ERA. However, Weaver was knocked around yesterday in the shortest start of his career, as he was lit up for 8 runs in just 4.2 innings. His ERA skyrocketed from 1.78 to 2.13 and Verlander has now surpassed him as the front runner for the award.

AL MVP: The AL MVP will most likely go to either Adrian Gonzalez or Curtis Granderson. When Gonzalez was acquired by the Red Sox, they knew he was a great player, but they could of never have expected him to be this good in his first season with a new team in a different league. Gonzo has exceeded expectations and has the Fenway faithful jumping with joy every time he steps up to bat. The power hitting first basemen leads the MLB in hits and has a .351 average, which is 15 points higher than any other player in the league. He also is second in the AL in RBIs and doubles. Gonzalez has never been held hitless for more than 2 games in a row, and he is also a gold glove first baseman to go along with his outstanding batting numbers. The only thing that Gonzalez is struggling with is his power numbers, especially since the all-star break when he participated in the home run derby. Before the All-Star game, Gonzalez had 17 home runs and was 10th in the AL in the category. Since the home run derby, he has just 1 home run and is now 20th in the AL in homers. Curtis Granderson has no doubt been the Yankees MVP and the surprise of that team. Coming into this season, Granderson's career high in home runs was 30 in 2009, and his career high in RBIs was 74 in 2007. With 44 games remaining, Granderson has an astonishing 33 home runs, which is tied for the most in the league, and leads the AL in RBIs with 94. Joe Girardi said about all the home runs Curtis is hitting, “The real difference is really against left-handers too, I think he has 11 home runs off left-handers, and more homers off lefties than anyone in baseball and that's not common that you see a left-handed hitter be the guy leading in that category. He just seems to make solid contact and he's got bat speed and pulls the ball, and we've seen him hit homers the other way into left-center and we've seen them all over, he just has a lot of power and when you look at his frame, that's not what you necessarily think of, but he does." Granderson also leads the league in runs scored with 107, 22 more than any other player, and leads the AL with 9 triples. If the Red Sox win the division, Gonzalez will likely win the award, but if Granderson can continue to hit well and lead the Yankees to a division win, he will likely take home the MVP.

NL Cy Young: Unlike the AL, where Verlander, Weaver, and Sabathia have been the three dominating pitchers, the NL Cy Young race is much more up for grabs. The most likely candidate is last year's winner, Roy Halladay. Doc is once again having a great season with a 15-4 record and a 2.51 ERA. There was a stretch from mid-May to early July when in 10 straight Roy Halladay starts, the Phillies were victorious. During that stretch, Doc allowed 2 runs or less 6 times. If Halladay were to win the award, he would be just the fourth pitcher to win the NL Cy Young award in back to back years. The only other contenders to Halladay are Ian Kennedy of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Kennedy has revived his career in his second season with the NL West leading Diamondbacks. He struggled mightily as a starter for the Yankees, but he has looked great in Arizona as he has a 15-3 record with a 3.12 ERA. Kennedy has made a furious charge for the award in the last month. Since July 8th, he is 7-0 and hasn't allowed more than 3 runs in any of his starts. Clayton Kershaw is 14-5 and leads the NL in strikeouts with 193 and is tied with Halladay for the most innings pitched. Clayton has had 6 games where he has struck out more than 10 batters. Kershaw began the year 2-3, but turned it around and went 6-0 in May and June, and is now 14-5. 

NL MVP: Much like the NL Cy Young, the NL MVP is still up in the air and still has many contenders for the award. The leading candidates for the award, Prince Fielder, Justin Upton, and Matt Kemp, and all have a chance to gain a stronghold on the award in their last 40 games or so. Fielder looks like the frontrunner today. His team is beginning to run away with the NL Central, and he is having a career year in all categories. Fielder has always been a big power hitter with the ability to drive in runs in a very good Brewer lineup. He is third in the NL in home runs with 27, and is second in RBIs with 89. Those kinds of numbers are expected from Fielder, but his average is also way up from last year and he has cut down on his strikeouts. Last year he batted .261, but this season his average is up 47 points to .308. In the Brewers 15-2 stretch since July 26, Fielder had 5 home runs, 16 RBIs, and his average had risen from .287 to .308. Just like how Fielder has been instrumental in helping the Brewers stretch their lead in the NL Central to 5 games over the Cardinals, Justin Upton has done the same thing for the Diamondbacks. His hot hitting has led the Diamondbacks to a 1.5 game lead over the Giants in the NL West. Upton has had an all around solid year and is in the top 10 of nearly every single NL batting category. He is batting .306, has 24 home runs to go along with his 74 RBI's, and also has scored 78 runs, which is tied for the 4th most in the NL. Like Upton, Matt Kemp has had an all around solid season. He is fifth in batting average at .318, third in home runs with 27, third in RBIs with 88, and is fourth in the NL with 30 stolen bases. Although Upton may have slightly worse numbers than Kemp, Upton probably has a leg up on him in the race because the Diamondbacks are leading the West, and the Dodgers are 12 games behind.

August 9

Today is August 9, 2011 and it's my 16th birthday. I am currently spending my last summer as a camper in Maine, and today was the culmination of our Olympic games. Senior camp is divided into two teams, the greens and the greys. There are many different kinds of sporting activities that occur during the four day competition, with the last event being the wacked-up-relay. The final event in the relay, which usually decides the entire Olympics, is the pie-eating contest. Today was the closest Olympics in my eight years at camp, and fortunately, MY TEAM WON!

Exactly 75 years ago today on August 9, 1936, Jesse Owens won his fourth gold medal in track and field at the Games of the XI Olympiad in Berlin, Germany. He became the first American to win four gold medals in one Olympiad. Owens was the most successful athlete at the games, and the victory was noteworthy as Adolf Hitler had intended the 1936 games to showcase “Aryan racial superiority.” Hitler was upset with the success of Jesse Owens, and wanted to ban Africans from partaking in future games.

On the world stage, the Olympics can bring people together from all different backgrounds and unite them in competition.

At camp, Olympics create a bond amongst the campers. Tomorrow, it will not matter if you were on the green team or the grey team because the memories will bind everyone who competed together.

How 'Bout Those Bucs?

Go ahead, try and name 5 players on the Pirates. No, their starting lineup doesn’t include Willie Stargell and Roberto Clemente, but that hasn’t stopped the Bucs from leading the NL Central. The Pirates haven’t been above .500 after the All-Star break since 1992. They haven’t had a winning season since that year either, and their 18-year drought is the longest in history of the four major sports. And by the way, that losing streak which began in 1993, well it is the same year that Barry Bonds left for San Francisco.

To show you what winning does, the Pirates have had the second-largest attendance increase in the National League this season and television ratings are up 32%. What makes their success even more unbelievable is that they have nine players on their roster that opened the year in the minors, including 7 who made their major league debut this season. In addition, injuries have forced the Pirates to use 7 catchers. The Bucs opening day payroll was about $ 45 million, the lowest in the National League. Interestingly, the Pirates have spent more than $ 30 million signing draft picks the last 3 years. That is more than any other team in the majors, and it’s a result of having many top draft picks. Things are usually so hopeless around the end of July that the Pirates have typically traded veterans to contenders. Now the Pirates are looking to add salary for the pennant race.

The Pirates rank 13 amongst the 16 NL teams in runs scored, and their .245 team batting average is near the bottom as well, but their pitching staff has a 3.34 ERA, 5^th best in the league.  Ironically, the pitching staff ranks last in strikeouts, and they’ve issued very few walks, so they challenge the opposing team to put the ball in play. This only magnifies the cliché that good pitching and defense is what wins ballgames. Clint Hurdle has brought an enthusiasm to the team that has obviously been contagious. It is amazing what winning can do for a team’s confidence. Hurdle is a master motivator, and he has made sure to surround the clubhouse with photos of the 5 Pirate championship teams between 1909 and 1979.

Maybe now the Pirates can break another streak. They haven’t hosted a national Sunday night telecast in 11 years! 

It’s A Numbers Game!

There is something about baseball and numbers that fans love to talk about and debate. If you say the number “56” one immediately thinks of DiMaggio. If you say “406” everyone knows that was Ted Williams batting average in 1941. There is something about our national pastime that makes these numbers so sacred, and why the steroid era infuriates the baseball purist who can’t stand that their sport has been tainted. As Derek Jeter approaches his 3000^th hit, the argument heard around office water coolers is what stat is more significant, 500 homers, 3000 hits, or 300 wins.

Years ago, 500 homers was a plateau few guys reached. For a long time the big three were Aaron with 755, Ruth with 714, and Mays with 660. You also had guys like Frank Robinson, Mickey Mantle, and Ernie Banks as members of the club. Now you have Bonds, A-Rod, Sosa, McGwire, Palmeiro, and Ramirez in the top 14, and all have been implicated in steroid usage. Their inflated home run totals have tarnished this previous gold standard of success. Also, parks are smaller now and the pitching is watered down from yesteryears. There are currently 25 men in the 500-homer club, but many are in hot pursuit.

Two hundred hits in a season has always been the benchmark of a very good offensive year, so if one can do that for 15 years, they would have 3000 hits. Jeter is set to become only the 28^th player to join that club, which shows that it’s a terrific accomplishment. There is also a great amount of consistency, and good health, needed to accumulate that many hits. There are also 3 active players with more than 2700 hits – Ivan Rodriguez, Omar Vizquel, and A-Rod.

However, getting 300 wins is the most difficult! One must average 20 wins a year for 15 years. From 2006-2010 the number of 20 game winners in the majors was 0, 1, 4, 0, 2. Not an easy task in any one year, let alone doing it 15 straight years! Remember also that pitchers now have 5-7 fewer starts with a 5-man rotation than years ago. When talking about records that will never be broken, one has to mention the 1971 season when the four Oriole starting pitchers each had at least 20 wins – Palmer, Cuellar, McNally, and Dobson. To reach 300 wins, the pitcher has to play on a very good team and have a solid bullpen so as not to increase the likelihood of leads being lost. The stats also bear out the fact that there are far more non-decisions for pitchers now than at any other time in baseball history. We may not see another 300 game winner for many, many years. Jamie Moyer leads all active players with 267 wins and he is followed by Tim Wakefield’s 198! Roy Halladay is third amongst active players with 180 wins to date. If the season ended today, Halladay would have to pitch 6 more seasons and win 20 games each one. To gain a perspective on how hard it is to win 20 games, as great a pitcher as Halladay is, he has won at least 20 games only 3 times in his 13 year career. It is a pretty safe bet than to say that Halladay will not win 300 games either. Any by the way, I think it is a pretty safe bet to say that no one will ever top Cy Young’s record of 511 wins!

Men's Notable Wimbledon First Round Matches

27. Marin Cilic vs Ivan Ljubicic: The Croatians will meet for the second time in their careers at the All England Lawn Championship in the first round. Cilic had two nice wins over Arnaud Clement and Thomaz Bellucci at Queen's Club on grass before he had to withdraw from the tournament due to an ankle injury. It seemed like a precaution so that Cilic wouldn't further injure the ankle before Wimbledon. Cilic is looking to make it past the round of 16 at Wimbledon for the first time in his career but he has played pretty well in his four years at the All England Lawn Championship. Ivan Ljubicic also played at Queen's Club but he only survived two rounds, as after his first round victory over Ryan Sweeting, he lost to Radek Stepanek in three sets. Ljubicic's worst surface is grass. His career record on grass is under .500 at 22-25. The farthest he has ever gone at Wimbledon is the third round.

Prediction: Marin Cilic over Ivan Ljubicic in 3 sets.

22. Alexandr Dolgopolov vs Fernando Gonzalez: The 22 year old Dolgopolov will only be playing in his second Wimbledon this year. In his first tune-up for Wimbledon, he beat Robin Hasse in the first round before losing to Philipp Kohlschreiber in the second. He lost at Eastbourne in the first round to Carlos Berlocq in two sets the next week. Dolgopolov has only played 9 matches in his young career on grass, so he doesn't have nearly the experience that Gonzo has on the surface. The advantage for Dolgopolov coming into the match is that he has played a lot of good tennis in 2011, while Gonzalez has not been able to get on the court much. After the U.S. Open, Gonzo had to get surgery on his right hip and his right knee. He didn't return until the end of April but has been out since then. Wimbledon will only be Gonzalez's second tournament of the year and first on grass. He will definitely show some rust because of his long layoff. Gonzalez has played pretty well on the surface before, as he made a quarterfinal run back in 2005.

Prediction: Alexandr Dolgopolov over Fernando Gonzalez in 4 sets.

John Isner vs Nicolas Mahut: The rematch of the longest men's tennis match in history is upon us. Last year for three days, John Isner and Nicolas Mahut battled it out on court 18 in the first round for an astonishing 11 hours and 5 minutes until John Isner finally won in the fifth set 70 to 68. To put that in perspective, the longest match in Australian Open history between Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco back in 2009 lasted 5 hours and 14 minutes. The fifth set of John Isner's match against Nicolas Mahut took 8 hours and 11 minutes alone. The fifth set of their match required a record 138 games. Isner also set the record for most aces in a match with 113 and Mahut also had 103 aces, which is the second most by a men in a match. Before the draw for Wimbledon came out this year, John Isner joked with his now close friend Nicolas Mahut, "Watch us play each other." Mahut replied, "No, there's no way. That's not even funny." Although there was a 0.7 percent chance that Isner would play Mahut in the first round for the second year in a row, it has occurred and obviously there was a lot of reaction. Andy Murray said, "Isner vs mahut drawing each other in the first round after last year is the most amazing thing I've seen in tennis! Centre court anyone?!" Andy Roddick said, "Isner/mahut again. Unreal Do they play it on the same court???" Patrick McEnroe said, "ISNER MAHUT rematch in round 1. Since I have'nt been able to get my big brother on twitter yet I will say it-you cannot be serious." Isner said about the rematch, "we're going to enjoy it and laugh at it at the same time." 

Prediction: John Isner over Nicolas Mahut in 5 sets

32. Marcos Baghdatis vs James Blake: Marcos Baghdatis has always loved to play on grass. He made it to the semifinals in 2006, the quarterfinals in 2007, and the round of 16 in 2008. In his tune-up tournament for Wimbledon at the UNICEF Open in the Netherlands, Baghdatis won three matches before losing to Ivan Dodig in the semifinals. The success that Bagdatis has had on grass is the opposite of how Blake has been on the surface. He has lost in the first or second round 6 out of 8 years and in the other two years he only reached the third round. The combination of Blake's lack of success of grass and his recent play makes it a difficult task for him. The last ATP tournament Blake played in was in the beginning of April. He has been recovering from a knee injury that caused him to miss much of the clay court season including the French Open.

Prediction: Marcos Baghdatis over James Blake in 4 sets