Who Needs it More?

NASCAR

The NASCAR Sprint Cup series returns this Sunday with one of the NASCAR's premier events, the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This race means seven races to go until the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins and today we examine, who need a win the most headed to Indy?

Here's what we can be sure of:

Carl Edwards is a lock for the Chase for the Cup. Mathematically, no one else is. What does that mean? If Jimmie Johnson finishes last in the next seven races he'll plummet to somewhere around 15th, perhaps slightly lower. Yeah, that's going to happen. And even if it did, Jimmie has a win, something only one member of the current 11-20 has. 

So, perhaps not mathematically, but practically, Edwards and Johnson are locks for this year's post season. And since we're speaking practically, it's safe to say that the next three drivers, Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch are safe as well. Kurt Busch's point total should keep him safe while Harvick and Kyle Busch's three wins respectively would keep them safe in 11-20 land because the chances of anyone else in that range landing 2-3 wins in 7 races is extremely low. Our next two, Kenseth and Gordon, could slip out of the top 10 but have two wins each that would automatically qualify them as wild card entries at this stage.

Places 8-20 in the points standings are currently no man's land. If excitement was the intended goal of NASCAR'S point system change for this season, it's going to be successful in the next seven weeks as every race could make a monumental difference in how the final field is set. Which brings us back to the question, who needs it more? Let's examine.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Dale Jr. knows he needs
a win

Let us begin where all of NASCAR nation begins when asked who needs a win. Dale Earnhardt Jr's winless streak has now swelled to 112 races, going back three years. Not only does Earnhardt Jr need the win for his confidence his points total needs it as well. He sits at 9th in points and is the only driver in the top 10 without a win to protect his spot in the Chase should he slide into the 11-20 range. Earnhardt's average finish at Indianapolis is 22.2 so this weekend might not be the weekend but Bristol, Richmond and Atlanta are in the next seven and they are statsitcally Dale Jr's three best tracks. Jr is certainly ready for the win, this week on ESPN Radio's Scott Van Pelt Show, Scott offer Earnhardt Jr the choice of a win or automatically qualifying for the Chase and Jr instantly replied, "A win. I want to win."

Tony Stewart

Tony Stewart's driver Ryan Newman
is currently in the Chase. Tony would love
nothing more than both Stewart-Haas
cars in the Chase

Earlier I referred to 8-20 as no man's land and currently, Tony Stewart is in the capitol of no man's land (assuming it has a capitol...checking wikipedia for that...). Stewart has no wins this season and an identical point total to current 10th place holder and last automatic qualifier, Denny Hamlin. What does Hamlin have that Stewart doesn't? You guessed it, one win. So why does that qualify Stewart to be the President of no man's land? Because if ANY of the drivers in the nine spots behind him win a race in the next seven and he doesn't or if ANY of the drivers in the top 10 (other than Dale Jr) slip into 11th-20th without Stewart advancing into the top 10, he's out of the chase. 11th place and no win will probably mean no Chase this season, even if the driver is tied for 10th. Stewart essentially has 11 drivers that could oh-so-easily disqualify him from Championship contention that he must find a way to win or rack up a string of top 5 finishes here on out or the 2002 and 2005 Champion won't have a shot at a third title. However, on the positive side for Stewart two of the next three tracks (Indianapolis and Watkins Glen) are his best statistical tracks so wins could be on the horizon. Plus, he is tied Hamlin, if he finishes one spot ahead of Hamlin this weekend he'll be one point better, that doesn't necessarily mean it'll be good enough to get into the top 10, but the margin between in and out is that thin. 

Clint Bowyer

For Clint Bowyer it's always
so close but so far

If you thought Tony Stewart was in a precarious situation, take a look at Clint Bowyer. Bowyer's situation is basically the same as Stewart's, out of the top 10, no wins. However, instead of being in a points tie for 10th, Bowyer sits all alone in 12th, 29 points back of Stewart. Those 29 points comprise the largest gap between two competitors in the entire top 20. For those you of paying attention, 29 points is the difference between 1st and 30th in a given race, so that's quite a margin to make up. Bowyer has always seemed like that driver loaded with potential who can't put it all together and right now, it still feels like a Championship run for Bowyer and the 33 team is a stretch. The only way to make that run a reality would be a win, which would both qualify Bowyer as the highest wild card driver but would also help him close the gap on the Hamlin/Stewart tie. As far as what's to come, Indianapolis and Richmond are two of his best tracks but the schedule giveth and taketh away, the Watkins Glen, Michigan, Bristol run that makes up most of August are his three worst tracks.

Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, AJ Allmendinger, Juan Pablo Montoya, Joey Logano, Paul Menard

Mark Martin

Say what you will, but it feels like
Kasey Kahne is driving for the right
reasons in 2011

Remember those drivers that could eliminate winless Tony Stewart? Here they are. For the seven drivers that make up 13-20 in the current standings, it's simple, win and your in (for now). Of the seven, So far as stories go, Kasey Kahne and Mark Martin would be the preferable choices for second wild card of the seven. Kahne making the Chase despite being a lame-duck driver for a team sponsor that's leaving the sport would be quite the headline and quite the example of how true professionals are supposed to work (CC: NFL and NFLPA). And of course, Mark Martin, in his last shot to win a Championship after a legendary career; perfect theater. If the question is which driver could actually contend out of this group, Kahne would be the most dangerous though Montoya could make waves in the Chase (accept winning the Championship will require wins, of which Montoya has one for his career.) Finally, giving the credit where it's due, it would be quite a sight to see AJ Allmendinger in the Chase, as he's putting together his best season to date. 

Brad Keselowski

Brad Keselowski's Coca-Cola 600
win could make all the difference
in this year's Chase

Then there's that one guy who could mess everything up. Speaking strictly in terms of who needs a win, it's Brad Keselowski. Consistency isn't exactly the word you would choose to describe Keselowski's season and he currently sits 23rd in points, 25 points back of Mark Martin in 20th. But, and there's always a but, Keselowski won the Coca-Cola 600. With another win not only could Keselowski close the gap on the Chase qualification range, but if he is scored in 20th place by one point on Sunday with two wins to his credit, he is automatically qualified for the Chase. Keselowski is going to be dancing around this line for the next seven weeks as he is neither decidedly good or bad at any of the upcoming tracks, accept for Atlanta on September 4th, which is Keslowski's worst track, statistically. As important as those stats are, there's another wrinkle in this story. If you have watched Keselowski run in the Nationwide and Cup series then you know that somehow Brad has learned how to run a fuel mileage race. He has pulled off feats on fuel milage this season that surpass amazing and that border on the mystical. Five of the next seven could easily come down to fuel milage and that gives Keselowski an advantage the stats simply can't factor in. When it gets down to it, Keselowski will certainly be the wild card coming down the stretch to the Chase, the question is if his wild card will be the one that enters him in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

What Does it Take?

NFL Football
Today, somewhere in Cincinnati, two men, Bengals owner Mike Brown and Head Coach Marvin Lewis stepped to microphones for a press conference. If you've followed the Bengals enough to have listened to one of these press conferences before then you know that you shouldn't feel positive that one is about to take place. Today's conference was no different.

A.J. Green was Cincinnati's first
round draft pick

Just when the common Bengals fan was feeling optimistic. Feeling like the drafting of A.J. Green out of Georgia and Andy Dalton from TCU signaled the beginning of a new era and a solid season ahead. Out comes the owner and head coach to make sure all of those positive feelings were squashed under a display of idiocy that Bengals fans should be used to by now. Have listened to the highlights of the conference, since I was unable to hear the entire thing, I'm left asking the same question I always end up asking, "What does it take to run a NFL franchise?" 


Seriously.

The drafting of Andy Dalton in the
second round was cause for excitement
among Bengals fans

Because if Mike Brown is the example we're going with of what it means to be an NFL owner, it doesn't take a lot. In fact, I'm convinced I could name 100 jobs off the top of my head that are harder, again, if we're saying Mike Brown is what it means to be an NFL owner. At least all 100 of those jobs require some sort of logic, an ability to know right procedures from wrong ones and, hopefully, call for some pride in a person's work. But judging from Mike Brown's example, none of those things, especially pride in the quality of your work are necessary to being an NFL owner. Let's start on the topic I've already been harming since the end of the lockout began approaching: Carson Palmer. 


Today Mike Brown repeatedly referred to Palmer in the past tense, said he was "retired" and that the Bengals "wished him well". That's it. He's gone. 

As of 7/26/11, Carson Palmer
is "retired"

I could go over this again and again and again and again and again and again and again. Mike Brown and the Bengals gain absolutely NOTHING by allowing Palmer to just walk away. Particularly when it's become clear that Palmer's intentions, as explained by ESPN's John Clayton, is to simply bide his time and then, "...he'll come back next year when they're going to be close to the cap after the season, plant his $11.5 million salary on their salary cap and at that point he'll be able to move on..." Brown says that Palmer is walking away from his commitments and he thinks that granting Palmer's wishes would start a chain-reaction of players coming and demanding to be out of Cincinnati. 


Lots of issues there, first, as Ryen Russillo and Lance McAlister pointed out today, it's wrong for Brown to talk about commitments and delivering on promises when he's failed to deliver time and again on his primary promise, to at least attempt to field a winning team. Moreover, Brown thinks he is maintaining the position of authority in this situation, dictating  Palmer's actions, but is apparently to blind by his own stubbornness to see he isn't. As John Clayton outlined above, Palmer is dictating the situation, no matter how much Brown thinks he is. And let's get right down to it, what is the worst thing that will happen if you let Palmer leave? Someone else (like Ochocinco) marches into your office and tells you he wants to leave? Ouch, so terrible. This entire situation is a problem of pride for Brown that is harming the Bengals, I've been in charge of organizations, you know what I've always said from the start? 


Give me people that want to be here. 


Those people I can work with. I'd rather have a roster full of non-superstars who want to work hard and actually be a part of a franchise than who don't. Shouldn't you start looking for that as an NFL franchise? Is Mike Brown afraid that no one wants to be in Cincinnati? Hmmm...interesting concept. Why could that be?


In case you read what I just wrote and thought, "oh, Joshua is right. There's no way Mike Brown can see miss the logic that this Palmer situation exposes. He'll realize he's a bad owner and the mandate to spend 99% of this year's cap will fix him!" 


You're wrong. And I can prove it. 

Bengals owner Mike Brown thought
being called the worst professional sports
franchise was something to laugh about

Because during the press conference, Brown was asked about the ESPN the Magazine article wherein the Bengals were ranked as the worst sports franchise and the Cincinnati Enquirer article, "122 ways to fix the Bengals". What was Brown's response to that? That there must be something wrong with the people at ESPN the Magazine because he could think of more than 122 things that are wrong with the Bengals. And he laughed about it.


AND HE LAUGHED ABOUT IT! 


I GET MAD WHEN I LOSE GAME ON MY XBOX WHICH ISN'T REAL AND THIS MAN IS LAUGHING ABOUT HIS REAL-LIFE MILLIONS OF DOLLAR FRANCHISE BEING RANKED WORST IN SPORTS WHEN THERE'S A BANKRUPT BASEBALL TEAM THAT'S BOUNCING CHECKS OUT THERE! - yes, I'm shouting.


Apparently, you don't even need to care about your NFL team to own one and at this point! I cannot figure out how somebody could care this little about a team's performance. I still hold out this vain hope that maybe Mike Brown will finally get it, especially now, as I said, he has to spend money. But I doubt it.


At the beginning of this whole thing I was really against Carson Palmer and upset that he wanted to leave, but after today's conference, I totally get it. I wouldn't want to play for that either. Should he walk away? No. Should the Bengals trade him? Yes. But still, I get it. So I wish Palmer lots of luck in whatever he does now and lots of luck to all you Bengals fans who are ready to go out on a new team search of your own. 


I wouldn't blame you.


More to come,
XoXo
-Joshua


Links:
122 Ways to Fix the Bengals
John Clayton on the Scott Van Pelt Show

Let's make this work

Association Football (Soccer)

With all the excitement of this previous weekend's Womens' World Cup final the question has been raised again about the state of international football in the United States. While I think the game is showing some significant growth in the US here are four ideas that could help soccer really take off into a major sport category. 

1. Realize, it's not a replacement for football

US Men's National Team and Everton
goalkeeper, Tim Howard

I truly believe that a big stumbling block toward the popularity of soccer in the United States is the precived notion that we "soccer people" want the game to become popular in his country to replace the NFL and College Football, and frankly, the fact that the rest of the world calls the game "football" doesn't help that perception. The way to help soccer grow is to find ways around this, market the game separate from football and the football moniker, specifically making sure it's never in the same time slots (something the MLS has done a fair job of).

2. Get a network to buy in

ESPN is trying to help soccer along in the US, but it's still all based on money. Until people start watching soccer it's not going to grow. However, it would be one thing to rally all American soccer supporters to patronise as many televised games as possible, but it's difficult when the games are on at all sorts of varied times and on varied media outlets; all of the Columbus Crew's game are broadcast on ONN-the Ohio News Network-how many of you have ONN on your favorite channels list? A major sports network is going to have to buy into soccer and give it a regular time slot. 

Need proof?  When are NFL games? 

Thursday night, Sunday and Monday night.

Spain and Barcelona FC's Gerard Pique
one of the world's top Centerbacks

Part of the reason the NFL and College Football have so taken hold of the country is based on this fact, you know when the games are on and they're always on at this time. This is a change that will help soccer to find its place in American sports awareness, because we base all of our sports awareness around when its televised. I believe the MLS needs one or two set nights to be televised. Moreover the UEFA Champions League and English Premier League need to be on whenever possible, as much as possible, as long it's at the same time slots, specifically because these are the sources of the best soccer in the world and the best foot needs to be put forward. Plus, since the games occur in Europe (obviously) a 7:30 local time game would air at 2:30 our time. That's bad because its during the work day, good because its during a horrible time in a daily television schedule. 

3. Education
I used to hate the UFC, when it first started making its climb to mainstream popularity. I used to look at it and think, "wow, how stupid, two guys beating the snot out of each other; looks like great fun, I don't want to watch that." But do you know what happened? I went to college with some guys who liked it and they invited me to a Bdubs to watch a UFC.

And I watched it.

And I realized it wasn't what I thought it was.

I realized that these fighters are in fact highly skilled and imploying an increadible amount of strategy on the fly.

If soccer is going to go into a mainstream sport in this country, the masses have to undergo a UFC-for-me like transformation.

They need to see some games. (which is why #2 is so important).

People who say soccer is stupid or easy because its just kicking a ball into a net are obviously misinformed and the only way to fix that is to get people to watch games and begin to understand the amazing amount of strategy and physicality involved in a match. The weight of this change is really on the commentators, you need effective communicators who can explain what teams are trying to do while its happening.
People also need to get out to some matches. If you are the type of person who is a passionate sports fan and likes to cover yourself in your team's colors and go nuts at a game, then soccer is the sport for you! This game demands passion and asks the hardcore fans to find as many ways as possible to express this passion.  But you'd never know that if you've never been to a game.

4.Get Creative!
More than anything, growing this game is going to take prolonged exposure to an American auidence, but it has to be done the right way. Do NOT, under any circumstances, make it seem like you are putting it up against football and normalize the schedule so people know that some night or day of the week is always soccer day, should they ever decide to watch. And get people to some games! A live soccer match can be so exciting and so much fun.

In addition, the people in charge of soccer in this country are going to have to be willing to get creative with marketing ideas and to take some risks to help the game grow. Normalizing the schedule could be a bit of risk but I'm going so far as to say something an owner doesn't want to hear: offer free tickets.

Chicago Fire defender
Columbian, Yamith Cuesta

Until you can get people in the door and let the magic of soccer hook them on its own the game won't explode here. How about a promotion like this, in Columbus, Ohio, the Crew are the second game in town behind Ohio State. Why not link up with Ohio State athletics and offer discounted or even free tickets to Crew Stadium with an Ohio State ticket stub? Ohio Stadium holds 102,329 people (well, that's seating capacity) and it is sold out every time it's open. If 5% of the people from Ohio Stadium decided to come to watch a discounted Crew Game,it would provide almost a 50% boost over the average attendance. The average price of the four levels of Crew Stadium tickets is $30. The bonus Ohio Stadium crowd with a 25% discount would generate an extra $115,110! That's before they buy food, beer and merch. Actually, not a risk at all.

Someone get me the number for the MLS Comissioner.

The rest of you go watch a soccer match.

More to come,
XoXo
-Joshua


Links:
ESPN Soccernet
MLS Schedule


E-mail the Pritchard Report

Let's talk football

NFL Football (yes that's still a thing)

Bengals
After the first few days of the blog has seen topics about "old" football, meaning soccer, let's talk some new football with the NFL lockout approaching an end! 

On the podcast I briefly mentioned the Bengals free-agent needs, but digging a little deeper, here's a list of the Bengals key 2011 free agents, according to walterfootball.com.

Position-Name, Age:

QB-Jordan Palmer, 26

RB-Cedric Benson, 28

RB-Brian Leonard, 26

WR-Terrell Owens, 36

WR-Matt Jones, 28

TE-Reggie Kelly, 33

OT-Dennis Roland, 27

OG-Nate Livings, 28

OG-Evan Mathis, 28

C-Kyle Cook, 27

DT-Jonathan Fanene,28

OLB-Brandon Johnson, 27

MLB-Dhani Jones, 32

CB-Jonathan Joseph, 26

S-Roy Williams, 30

S-Chinedum Ndukwe, 25

Before moving on let us first consider this list, recalling that it's not exhaustive, and reflect on what the NFL lockout has done. When the lockout comes to an end, hopefully tomorrow (7/21), the Bengals will have a 72 hour window to evaluate, negotiate with and resign or release all of those people before they hit the free agent market. Hopefully they've already evaluated all of them, but this is Mike Brown and the staff he's put together...but still, a three day period to workout or cut loose all 18 of those players. This is a process that would usually take months and wouldn't see significant development/negotiation for months at a time in some cases, now in three days.

This is going to be the greatest free agency ever.

Anyway, who jumps off of this list at you? I think it's still Jonathan Joseph that you can at 12:01am the day the lockout ends but after that everyone sort of mashes together. Here's that list again in what I think is order of importance.

CB-Jonathan Joseph

RB-Cedric Benson

MLB-Dhani Jones

S-Chinedum Ndukwe

DT-Jonathan Fanene

C-Kyle Cook

OG-Nate Livings

OLB-Brandon Johnson

TE-Reggie Kelly

S-Roy Williams

RB-Brian Leonard

OG-Evan Mathis

OT-Dennis Roland

WR-Matt Jones

QB-Jordan Palmer

WR-Terrell Owens

Naturally, Jones, Palmer and Owens aren't really important at all. I mean, Owens is already gone and recovering from surgery and Jordan Palmer has done a whole lot of nothing in his NFL career. With Dan LeFeavour already a capable back-up and Andy Dalton QB of the future, letting little Palmer go wouldn't be a tragedy.

I put in Dhani Jones at third partly because I think he's very productive, partly because I think he's a strong leader and partly because I just like him. He's a player who is intelligent, well spoken and actively involved in the community (not the kind of player the Bengals need to be getting rid of), that plus a team leading 125 tackles last season makes him worth at least a new 2-3 year deal. 

Jonathan Joseph is the Bengals
top free-agent concern

As I said in the podcast, I think it's not necessary to resign Cedric Benson, but I put him second because one of the Bengals greatest needs is at the running back position. I think with Benson's latest malfeasance he seems less desirable as signing but I feel the arrest can be turned into a bargaining chip. I'm not saying make Benson swallow a crap contract, he's been too helpful for that, but the overall value of the contract should be able to be slightly reduced when you speak to his criminal record and how it will effect other potential team's image of him (side note, did anyone realize Benson was only 28? Seems like he's been around and fatigued far more years than that.). However, running back is place where the Bengals could upgrade, with the likes of DeAngelo Williams, Ahmad Bradshaw and Michael Bush being available. Bush would probably be the best target, but multiple sources are already making it clear he is going to be tendered by Oakland and probably won't be leaving. Of the two, I'd select Bradshaw. He's a strong runner and I think fits the Bengals system.

How about two RB options from outside the box? Arian Foster and Reggie Bush. 

Arian Foster is a free-agent
pipe-dream:The Texans won't
let him leave

Okay, Arian Foster isn't going anywhere. The Texans would rather burn down Reliant Stadium and dance on the ashes than let last year's break out, fantasy stud get away. But, if he hits the market and the Bengals don't make him an offer, especially with so much cap space to make up, it will once and for all prove how worthless this ownership group is. For those of you wondering, John Clayton writes this afternoon the Bengals will have 46.8 million to spend with C. Palmer and Ochocinco off the books. (And yes, I'm sickly pleased that this new CBA means Mike Brown will have to spend money). 

Reggie Bush is a little more realistic, especially if the Saints opt to cut him which actually seems possible, considering the Saints have 11 running backs on their roster and used a second round pick for one of them, Mark Ingram. (the Bengals have 5 RBs and two are free agents). Dumping Bush and his 16 million dollar cap number would be helpful to the Saints who are low on cap room and have 26 free agents (per Clayton's article). 

If the Saints want a trade for Bush and Mike Brown were a smart man, he'd ship C. Palmer off to San Francisco or whoever will take him for a second and third round pick and then offer the third round pick to the Saints for Bush. Seems like even money considering what he's given them.

The Saints and Reggie Bush
say he wants to stay but
money may say different

The greater point of all this is I really think Busch could do well in Cincinnati. Cincinnati seems to have become a haven for second chances (see Benson) and Cincinnati could build an interesting wrinkle into an offense with a rookie QB if they were able to field a reduced-price Benson and Bush. For the first time ever, that I can remember, the Bengals would have an actual "thunder and lightning" type running game - Bush as the speed back and Benson the heavy-hitter. I have high hopes for Andy Dalton, but anything that makes a rookie QB's job easier is a good thing and a Bush-Benson backfield would make his job easier. Plus, all Bush would really have to do to be a success in Cincinnati is be more productive than Brian Leonard, the guy you'd let go in his place, and I'd like to think a former (and I stress former) Heisman trophy winner can do that. The only real hitch in the trade scenario is that 16 million contract that Busch could bring along with him, that amounts to a whopping 34.1% of the Bengals impressive cap space, not sure that's worth it for a half-time back prospect. 

Eagles 

Speaking of free-agents, trades, and the like, I'm naturally hearing more and more chatter about the Eagles' Kevin Kolb and how big of a trade he is going to be once the free-agent frenzy begins. I just want to throw this out there and I believe Ryen Russillo hovered around this idea on today's Scott Van Pelt Show-is Kolb really worth all the hype he's getting? By the sound of it some team needing a QB is going to sell the farm to get Kolb and you know what that means? That you're going to get a 5th year QB who has started 7 games, played in 19 thrown for 2,082 yrds,11 TDs and 14 INTs with a 60.8% completion rate. Not saying Kolb isn't going to be a franchise QB and an Pro-Bowler, but don't you think you need to make sure you're trading for what you're getting not the hype around him? 

Kevin Kolb has thrown
11TDs and 14INTs in
19 games for the Eagles

While we're on the topic of the Eagles I'm just going to say that I think Vince Young could be a good free agent pick-up for the Eagles. The Eagles would get him at a very reduced price and he would be a capable back up for Michael Vick. I think the strength it gives the Eagles is something I think the Falcons with Vick and the Titans with Young in the past is that they can now structure their offense around running QBs giving them the freedom to work with what makes them comfortable instead of having to conform to an offense that is still based around the pocket passers that are their backups. I still hold to the fact that what has harmed VInce Young's career is that the Titans drafted him and immediately told him he had to be someone different. The Eagles wouldn't have to make that choice. 

Moreover, I think Vince Young would be a good thing for Michael Vick. I think it would be a positive for him to have a protege and a measure of responsibility in the development of a younger QB. Casting Vick in the mentor light could really help him in staying focused on what matters at this point in his career.

Looking forward to the end of the lockout and free-agent frenzy™ ;)

More to come,
XoXo
-Joshua


Links:

John Clayton's "Cap Casualties"

Reggie Bush on Twitter

Walterfootball.com

ESPN AFC Noth Blog




E-mail The Pritchard Report

PRP - Pritchard Report Podcast, Episode 1

Topics:

Women's World Cup

Penalty Kicks

NFL Lockout

Bengals Free Agent Concerns

James Harrison

And Another Thing:

Bengals are the worst franchise?

Music in this episode:

"Crawl" by: Kings of Leon

"Easy to Crash" by: Cake

"King of Wishful Thinking" by: New Found Glory

"I Don't Care" by: Fall Out Boy

PK Problems?

Association Football (Soccer)

I knew today the top story across sports reporting would be the Women's World Cup Final and the USA's loss. As I said yesterday, I can't hate the Japan won, but a question was raised today based on if we didn't respond to the loss as we should. The idea was that perhaps we don't respond to women's sports as we do men's. I do suppose that if this had been the men's World Cup Final and the men lost in the same way the women did yesterday there would be more backlash, but let's be honest. The USMNT lost to Ghana in the Round of 16 of last year's World Cup and coach Bob Bradley kept his job. The national team of Argentina fired international legend Diego Maradona after they were blanked 4-0 in the quarterfinals by Germany. The United States interest in soccer is growing, but it's not where it should be yet.  This has little to do with it being the women's side, but has much more to do with the fact that the average person who perhaps watched their first international football match yesterday still believes the US doesn't belong in a place like the World Cup finals and is thus satisfied with the result.

Diego Maradona was fired
as Argentina's coach after
a 0-4 beating by Germany

What was surprising about today's conversations on was that from the early morning all throughout the day much of it had to do with the topic of how yesterday's game was settled. 

Penalty kicks. 

Seems many people don't like penalty kicks as a way to end a match. Skip Bayless tweeted, "Penalty Kicks worst way to decide championship. Like shooting free throws. Just let 'em play sudden-death OT. First goal wins. Golden Goal" then added, "Penalty Kicks are exciting for all the wrong reasons." 

I have to say I was a little put off by the rush to critique a sport that they usually is little more than a joke by the mainstream media, but okay, is there a better way than penalty kicks?  Let me start by saying Skip is vastly uninformed here. "It's like shooting free throws", really? Nobody is standing between you and the basket when shooting free throws. I love penalty kicks. It's incredibly exciting, and yes, in all the right ways. However, I don't hate the golden goal (first one to score) idea. It adds to the drama as well, but it doesn't eliminate the need for penalty kicks, because what happens if no one scores? I don't feel like there are many better ideas to solve a tied match other than penalty kicks. 

Japan seals the World Cup
on penalties

The only idea I heard proposed all day that was even intriguing was replacing penalty kicks with corner kicks. The more I let that idea marinade, the more I liked it. With corners the entire teams is involved and it gives an opportunity for some exciting plays, plus the header is now in play and you even have skilled people like David Beckham who can bend a corner in for a goal. The only hitch is, what do you do if the initial kick is knocked away, do you get to play off the rebound? When does the play stop? But it is an intriguing idea. 


As entertaining as it would be, don't look for FIFA to change anytime soon, this is a group that is more stubborn than Major League Baseball, and that's saying something. So until then, don't listen to people who don't know better, enjoy those penalty kicks. 


More to come,

XoXo
-Joshua

David Beckham scores from corner

Links:

Skip Bayless on Twitter

USA vs Japan Highlight

Click Here to E-mail me your questions, comments or topics.

The Cup, The Cars, The Lies!

Association Football (Soccer)
Have to start on the sad note that the US Women's National team did not win the Women's World Cup this afternoon. That honor went, instead, to Japan. Clearly the United States suffered from the two things that will kill the chances for success in a tournament match: missed opportunities and "preservation mode". Really, I guess there isn't much you can do about the first one except that you have to finish the chances you're given. Football is a fickle game and you only get a few chances. Except...the US got 27 chances! However, 27 chances were enough to produce a 2-1 lead late in extra time when they switched into preservation mode. Let me tell you something, if you play football on Xbox, the back yard or a professional pitch, DO. NOT. DO THAT! It never (well, rarely) works. Sitting back to preserve your lead with one player up front and ten back causes you to make bad decisions, it makes you think back toward your own goal when the better pass may be forward. And it ends with you allowing an inferior team to stay in a match and shock you in penalties. 

The Japanese Women's National team celebrates
winning the 2011 Women's World Cup

That being the case, I can't say I hated that Japan won. I mean, I was disappointed. And as I tweeted, I never call for moral victories, but I felt like while the United States wanted it more than Japan, Japan NEEDED it more. After everything Japan has been through, a World Cup Championship can bring a smile to a stricken nation, and that, is okay with me.

NASCAR

Race winner Ryan Newman (black suit) is
congratulated by car-owner and second place
finisher Tony Stewart

The Lenox Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway today was the 19th race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season. The race turned into a quite literally a perfect weekend for Stewart-Haas racing. Both of the teams cars driven by Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart (yes, the Stewart of "Stewart-Haas" for those of you who don't know) started the on the front row, 1-2 and that's where they finished. Only seven races left to the Chase. 


Point Standings:
1. Carl Edwards
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Kurt Busch
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Kyle Busch
6. Matt Kenseth
7. Jeff Gordon
8. Ryan Newman
9. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
10. Denny Hamlin
     Tony Stewart


As you can see, Ryan Newman's win was vital today, vaulting him into 8th place in the standings so he is, as of now in the chase. Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart are tied in 10th, 82 points back of Edwards. It also means that if the Chase started tomorrow those 11 drivers would be joined by David Ragan as the second wild car driver on the basis of his win two weeks ago at Daytona (Stewart would be the other wild card). 


Sometimes I hear things...


Yesterday on ESPN Radio's Dari and Mel the show reported that this week more allegations of withholding information from the institution surfaced against former Ohio State head football coach Jim Tressel. These allegations were linked back to 2005-2006 where he was docked in performance reviews for not reporting violations in a timely manner. 

Jim Tressel resigned on May 30th

Look, there's not much to say about this. It still feels odd to say former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel. It seemed like he was a really great guy, but it looks like he really wasn't. However, this is what was an interesting concept. On the program yesterday they asked this question, "What if you could hire Jim Tressel tomorrow and in four years your school would win a National Championship but then be on probation for eight years after that, would you do it?"


Naturally, the initial response is no, but as I began to think about it, it's quite the opposite. Oh, now, not for everyone. Naturally any top tier school (Alabama, Auburn, Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, Nebraska, Oregon) wouldn't take the deal. Not even any second tier school (Virginia Tech, Michigan [for now], Georgia, Missouri, Utah, Michigan State, Miami, Cal) would either. But after that? Talking about first and second tier, we're talking about what? Twenty-schools. Twenty-five? 25 out of 120! 20% for those of you on a MacBook like me and can call up a calculator with the push of a button. If you begin to think about some of the "other" teams, who wouldn't jump at that?

"The Coaches' Trophy"
awarded to college football's
National Champion

Take the lowly MAC conference, do you think colleges like Ohio, Akron or Buffalo wouldn't race to the front of the line at the chance to win a National Championship in four years? That's an easy trade for eight years probation. Trust me. Why? Because of what the trade-off actually is, it's trading off being irrelevant since your school started playing football for a National Championship, only to return to irrelevance: back where you were, just with a pretty trophy to go with it. Not just MAC teams though, this proposal would be just as mouth watering to the Washington States, Idahoes and Vanderbilts of the world. 


What does all this mean? In the "win now" world in which we currently habitate, Jim Tressel will be back on a college sideline, even though he "retired". I just wonder if another Big Ten team, say a Purdue, might try to hire him, just to stick it in Ohio State's ear. Truth is it's a sad commentary on the way our world works when the guy that was the gold standard for morals, values and coaching excellence is now the ringer that you hope can bring home a trophy without getting it too dirty.


-More to come,
XoXo
Joshua.


Links:
Tressel Report
World Cup Wrap-Up
NASCAR Standings

E-mail me!

I have a confession...

That simple confession is...

I'm rubbish at running a blog. 

At least a blog about my innermost thoughts and desires, so I thought I'd try something that would keep me coming back for more. 

Generally, there aren't enough sports blogs on the internet...how about one more?

About Me:

In the name of full disclosure, let's start by talking about my sports preferences.

I support:

Baseball: 

Cincinnati Reds 

New York Yankees

Football:

Cincinnati Bengals

New Orleans Saints

New England Patriots

Philadelphia Eagles

Basketball:

Phoenix Suns

Miami Heat

Football (Soccer):

Arsenal FC (London, England)

Columbus Crew (Columbus, OH)

1. FC Nuremberg  (Nuremberg, Germany)

NASCAR:

Carl Edwards

Kevin Harvick

Jimmie Johnson

Kasey Khane

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

So, those are the teams and individuals that I "like" or support. Let's be honest about the people on the other side of the coin:

I do not support:

Baseball:

Boston Redsox

Football:

Pittsburgh Steelers

Basketball:

Boston Celtics

Football (Soccer):

Barcelona FC (Barcelona, Spain)

Manchester United (Manchester, England)

Chicago Fire (Chicago, Illinois)

NASCAR:

Kyle Busch

Brad Kaselowski

Juan Pablo Montoya

...so there. My likes and dislikes, full disclosure. I do hereby vow that I will do my best on this blog to ignore this preferences going either and be as impartial as possible. It is my hope that should I start to lean one way or another, you, the reader/listener will call me out on it: comment and e-mail me, knock me down a peg.

So here we go, blog attempt #2, I've got some good ideas on paper, but we'll see if I login again...you think I'm joking...