Well, the Yankees have done it again. I mentioned last week after the signing of CC Sabathia that the Yankees are what is wrong with baseball. I realize that they are not doing anything against the rules, however this off season is the perfect example of the need of a salary cap in Major League Baseball.
With the signing of Mark Teixeira for $180M over the next 8 years the Yankees have now spent just under $430M in the past month. Let's look at that number again, $430,000,000.00.
So, that got me wondering and I hit the research lab. Here are some tidbits that I came up with:
* With $430M dollars the Yankees could purchase nearly one quarter of General Motors, and help the entire US economy by doing so.
* The Yankees now have the rights to the four highest paid players in baseball, Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia. They owe those players $805M dollars throughout the life of their contracts.
* The Yankees just received a $26.9M bill from commissioner Bud Selig for the luxury tax the Yankees owe from the 2008 season. That is more than the entire Florida Marlins team salary last season.
And the tough one for any Pirates fan to read...
* Through the Pirates current streak of 16 consecutive losing season the team has spent a TOTAL of $478.2M in salary over those 16 seasons. The Yankees spent nearly that much in the past few weeks.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
THE TROUBLE TRACKER
It was a big week for The Tracker. This week we add a coach for the first time in Tracker history.
The Coach:
The head coach of the Ole Miss basketball team, Andy Kennedy, had a very rough trip to Cincinnati this past week. While he accompanied his team he assaulted a cabbie in the Queen City. He is accused of punching the cabbie and calling him “bin laden”. To make matters worse he then coached his Rebels to a 77-68 defeat against Louisville in the Big East / SEC Challenge.
The Football players:
Michigan State joins Michigan in beating up its own schools hockey players this season. Two Spartan freshman, Glenn Winston and Mitchell White, face misdemeanor charges for assault after hospitalizing a Spartan hockey player after an altercation at a house party in East Lansing.
SEASON STANDINGS:
The "U" - 7
Florida State Criminoles - 5
The State Penn - 5
Indiana - 4
WVU - 3
the Ohio State University - 2
Tennessee - 2
MeCheatAgain - 2
Florida - 2
Michigan State - 2
Mississippi State - 1
Nebraska - 1
Texas Tech - 1
UCONN – 1
Kansas – 1
Syracuse - 1
Ole Miss - 1
CONFERENCE STANDINGS:
Big Ten - 5 schools (45% of schools in conference)
SEC - 4 (33%)
Big XII - 3 (25%)
Big East - 3 (19%)
ACC - 2 (16%)
The Coach:
The head coach of the Ole Miss basketball team, Andy Kennedy, had a very rough trip to Cincinnati this past week. While he accompanied his team he assaulted a cabbie in the Queen City. He is accused of punching the cabbie and calling him “bin laden”. To make matters worse he then coached his Rebels to a 77-68 defeat against Louisville in the Big East / SEC Challenge.
The Football players:
Michigan State joins Michigan in beating up its own schools hockey players this season. Two Spartan freshman, Glenn Winston and Mitchell White, face misdemeanor charges for assault after hospitalizing a Spartan hockey player after an altercation at a house party in East Lansing.
SEASON STANDINGS:
The "U" - 7
Florida State Criminoles - 5
The State Penn - 5
Indiana - 4
WVU - 3
the Ohio State University - 2
Tennessee - 2
MeCheatAgain - 2
Florida - 2
Michigan State - 2
Mississippi State - 1
Nebraska - 1
Texas Tech - 1
UCONN – 1
Kansas – 1
Syracuse - 1
Ole Miss - 1
CONFERENCE STANDINGS:
Big Ten - 5 schools (45% of schools in conference)
SEC - 4 (33%)
Big XII - 3 (25%)
Big East - 3 (19%)
ACC - 2 (16%)
Friday, December 19, 2008
A TRUE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
VS
#7 Richmond Spiders (12-3) vs #4 Montana Grizzlies (14-1)
Four former WPIAL players have a chance at winning a REAL college football national championship tonight. The Richmond Spiders are playing Montana in the D-1AA (also known as the Football Championship Series) Title game in Chattanooga, TN.
D-1AA is the highest level of collegiate football that plays a playoff to determine their champion. Imagine that, a playoff determine the true champion. Richmond and Montana would have both been left out of this game had it been set up with the BCS system that ruins the current system of college football. Montana entered the 16-team playoff as the #4 seed and Richmond as the #7 seed. Both teams had huge upsets along the way. Montana defeated top-seeded James Madison last Friday in the first semifinal, while Richmond has defeated two top teams each of the last two weeks. Richmond defeated third seeded Northern Iowa last Saturday, one week after beating 3-time defending champion and Big Ten runner-up last season Appalachian State. Richmond held the high-powered Mountaineer offense to just 13 points, matching the lowest output they scored all year. The other time they scored that few came against LSU, the defending BCS Champion. The Spiders also forced star QB Armanti Edwards to throw five interceptions. He had thrown just four all season prior to that game.
The Spiders have a little Western Pennsylvania flavor on the team. Four players on the Richmond roster hail from the Greater Pittsburgh area including three players that see the field quite a bit. On offense starting LG Matthew McCracken (Mt. Lebanon) and TE Joe Monteverde (Chartiers Valley), lead the way, while red-shirt freshman OL Jason Sakoian (Upper St. Clair) has also gotten reps during the year. On defense starting LB Jordan Shoop (Knoch) ranks fifth on the team with 63 tackles, he also has 3.5 sacks and 2 interceptions on the season.
The Spiders have certainly had their struggles this season starting the year 4-3 after a heart breaking loss to James Madison where Richmond allowed 15 points in the last :59 of a 38-31 loss to the top team in the nation. After that game, the chances of the Spiders even making the playoffs seemed bleak, let alone making it all the way to the title game tonight. From that point forward, though the Spiders defense has led this team on an incredible run. They have won eight straight games allowing only 13.25 points per game during that span. To put that in perspective, if they had done that all year, they would rank fourth out of 118 teams in the FCS in scoring defense.
The Spiders play in the CAA, which is basically the SEC of D-1AA. Five of the 16-playoff teams selected came from this 12-team conference. Maine was seeded 14th to begin the playoffs and lost in the 1st round to Northern Iowa 40-15. Villanova, which beat Richmond early in the season, was seeded eighth and lost to James Madison in the 2nd round. New Hampshire was the six seed and they also lost to Northern Iowa, this came in the 2nd round. James Madison also plays in the CAA and as mentioned above lost last week to Montana.
You can watch this National Championship game live tonight on ESPN2 at 8pm.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Just Syracuse Being Syracuse
Last night Cleveland State shocked the Syracuse Orange at the Carrier Dome with a 60 foot buzzer beat to beat the Orange and hand them their first defeat, 72-69. However this is nothing new to the Syracuse teams in recent history. Losing at home, early in the season, is almost a given for Syracuse now-a-days. Since winning the National Title in the 2002-03 season Syracuse has lost at home to a no-name, automatic win on the schedule every year but one.
You know the old saying, "Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence and anymore is a problem." Well, maybe that isn't the exact quote but you get the picture. While most of these teams that beat the Orange put together good seasons, they should never be on the level as a program like Syracuse. Take a look at some of the games the Jimmy B and the Orange have lost int he past few years:
Nov 26 2003:
96-92 loss to Charlotte - The 49ers had just lost to George Washington nine days earlier.
Nov 22 2005:
74-69 loss to Bucknell - Bucknell lost to Santa Clara and N.Iowa that year, but beat Syracuse.
Dec 19 2006:
84-79 loss to Drexel - Drexel were coming off back to back losses to Penn and Rider before beating Team Boeheim.
Nov 28 2007:
107-100 loss to UMASS - The Minutemen followed that game up by losing to IUPUI
Dec 8 2007:
91-89 loss to Rhode Island - Rhode Island finished the year 21-10
MONDAY:
72-69 loss to Cleveland State - The Vikings were 6-4 going into that game beating 6 nobodies.
Here is the last shot again!
You know the old saying, "Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence and anymore is a problem." Well, maybe that isn't the exact quote but you get the picture. While most of these teams that beat the Orange put together good seasons, they should never be on the level as a program like Syracuse. Take a look at some of the games the Jimmy B and the Orange have lost int he past few years:
Nov 26 2003:
96-92 loss to Charlotte - The 49ers had just lost to George Washington nine days earlier.
Nov 22 2005:
74-69 loss to Bucknell - Bucknell lost to Santa Clara and N.Iowa that year, but beat Syracuse.
Dec 19 2006:
84-79 loss to Drexel - Drexel were coming off back to back losses to Penn and Rider before beating Team Boeheim.
Nov 28 2007:
107-100 loss to UMASS - The Minutemen followed that game up by losing to IUPUI
Dec 8 2007:
91-89 loss to Rhode Island - Rhode Island finished the year 21-10
MONDAY:
72-69 loss to Cleveland State - The Vikings were 6-4 going into that game beating 6 nobodies.
Here is the last shot again!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Congratulations Darrelle Revis
Former Aliquippa and Pitt star Darrelle Revis was named to the NFL Pro-Bowl today in just his second season in the league. Revis was named as a reserve DB to the AFC team. Revis was selected 14th overall after the Jets traded up to pick him in the 2007 draft.
I sat down with Darrelle Revis right before that draft and was at his house for the draft. Here is one of my first interviews for this site, with Pro-Bowler Darrelle Revis.
Other Pittsburgh related players to make this years Pro Bowl include Steelers, James Harrison and Troy Polamalu, both of who will start, as well as James Farrior who was named as a back-up. A Jet teammate of Revis' and former Steeler Alan Fanaca was selected as a starter. Former Pitt standout Wide Receiver Larry Fitzgerald was also named a starter for the NFC team.
Here is a complete list of players to make the 2009 NFL Pro-Bowl.
I sat down with Darrelle Revis right before that draft and was at his house for the draft. Here is one of my first interviews for this site, with Pro-Bowler Darrelle Revis.
Other Pittsburgh related players to make this years Pro Bowl include Steelers, James Harrison and Troy Polamalu, both of who will start, as well as James Farrior who was named as a back-up. A Jet teammate of Revis' and former Steeler Alan Fanaca was selected as a starter. Former Pitt standout Wide Receiver Larry Fitzgerald was also named a starter for the NFC team.
Here is a complete list of players to make the 2009 NFL Pro-Bowl.
TROUBLE TRACKER
What happens when you give an Ohio State player an extended period of time off?
They show up on the Tracker.
Freshman defensive lineman Nathan Williams was arrested last Wednesday for shoplifting shirts from a Macy's department store in the Dayton area. He entered a plead of not guilty today.
This is just another reason the Big Ten should extend its regular season to fit with every other conference in America. The Big Ten ends their season every year before Thanksgiving, forcing the teams sometimes up to 6 weeks between the end of the season and their bowl games. This also allows players at these Big Ten schools (which lead all other conferences in getting in trouble this season) that much more time to go out and do something stupid.
SEASON STANDINGS:
The "U" - 7
Florida State Criminoles - 5
The State Penn - 5
Indiana - 4
WVU - 3
the Ohio State University - 2
Tennessee - 2
MeCheatAgain - 2
Florida - 2
Mississippi State - 1
Nebraska - 1
Texas Tech - 1
UCONN – 1
Kansas – 1
Syracuse - 1
CONFERENCE STANDINGS:
Big Ten - 4 schools (36% of schools in conference)
SEC - 3 (25%)
Big XII - 3 (25%)
Big East - 3 (19%)
ACC - 2 (16%)
They show up on the Tracker.
Freshman defensive lineman Nathan Williams was arrested last Wednesday for shoplifting shirts from a Macy's department store in the Dayton area. He entered a plead of not guilty today.
This is just another reason the Big Ten should extend its regular season to fit with every other conference in America. The Big Ten ends their season every year before Thanksgiving, forcing the teams sometimes up to 6 weeks between the end of the season and their bowl games. This also allows players at these Big Ten schools (which lead all other conferences in getting in trouble this season) that much more time to go out and do something stupid.
SEASON STANDINGS:
The "U" - 7
Florida State Criminoles - 5
The State Penn - 5
Indiana - 4
WVU - 3
the Ohio State University - 2
Tennessee - 2
MeCheatAgain - 2
Florida - 2
Mississippi State - 1
Nebraska - 1
Texas Tech - 1
UCONN – 1
Kansas – 1
Syracuse - 1
CONFERENCE STANDINGS:
Big Ten - 4 schools (36% of schools in conference)
SEC - 3 (25%)
Big XII - 3 (25%)
Big East - 3 (19%)
ACC - 2 (16%)
Friday, December 12, 2008
America's Former Pastime
The New York Yankees gave baseball fans across the country 161 more reasons to hate the Yankees on Wednesday.
The Yankees have received nearly $850M in taxpayer investments from the city and state of New York and have recently asked the city taxpayers to pitch in another $259M to complete the new teams new stadium. Then the next day the team goes out and out-bids only themselves to offer free agent pitcher CC Sabathia a record contract of $161M over seven years.
Something needs to be done in baseball to change these spending methods, not just by the Yankees but all teams. Sabathia will make more per year in this deal than the entire Florida Marlin team made last year.
I understand that the Yankees are playing by rules and are not doing anything wrong. I understand that they have the money to spend, and that is exactly what they are doing. I do not understand two things about this. First, how can Major League Baseball can sit around, watch this spending, and not see anything wrong with it? Secondly, how are the taxpayers of New York not rioting in the streets about the Yankees asking them to pay more towards their new stadium, when the they go out and spend their money like they do?
This is not good for the people of New York. Yes, the Yankees ownership has the money and can afford to do this. I understand this. The Yankees ownership is also very dependent on the people of New York City to sell out the brand new, two billion dollar stadium that will open in April. Now not only do they want to the city to come up for more money, but they will also need them to by the tickets to their stadium, tickets that cost up to $2,500 a seat. In this current economic struggle that most of America is dealing with, this is a terrible message being sent by the entire Yankee organization.
Okay, let us move past the economy factor and look at why this deal is terrible for baseball.
Sabathia is from the west coast. He is currently building a house in southern California. The Angels, Dodgers, and Giants were all very interested in his services for the next few years. They were all offering him substantially less than what the Yankees originally offered ($140M). Yet, Sabathia considered these offers (the highest reported offer excluding the Yankees was $115M). Sabathia did not want to play in New York. He did not want to be a Yankee, but the Yankees upped their offer another $21M and he took it because nobody else stepped to the plate.
Can you blame Sabathia? Not at all, I do not think anyone can blame him. However, you can blame baseball.
Baseball has not been played on an even playing field since the 1994 strike. This move by the Yankees just shows how uneven that playing field really is. The story out of Las Vegas this week during the Winter Meetings was that GM’s were told to cut back because teams were cutting back their budgets due to the economy. Not the Yankees, they did not have any competition for Sabathia so they started out-bidding themselves. How can cities like Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Kansas City and Cleveland compete with a team like the Yankees unless Major League Baseball steps in and does something? Cleveland offered Sabathia a $72M deal for four years during this past spring training and he turned it down. Again, do not fault Sabathia, fault the system that he knew would allow him to make much more in the open market of free agency. These smaller cities just become farm systems for the bigger market teams like the Yankees, Dodgers, Cubs, Red Sox and Angels.
Look at the Pirates. This year will mark their seventeenth straight season with a losing record. This will set the all-time mark by any professional team in any professional sport. During this time, the Pirates lost players like Tim Wakefield, Bobby Bonilla, Barry Bonds, Doug Drabek, Jay Bell, Denny Neagle, Esteban Loaiza, Jason Schmidt, Jeff Suppan, Brian Giles, Oliver Perez, Jason Bay and Xavier Nady because they could not afford to sign them. All of these players have gone on to very successful careers for other teams.
A signing like the Yankees made with Sabathia give little to no hope to the smaller market teams and shows everything that is wrong with the game I love. And that is exactly the reason that baseball is no longer America’s Pastime.
The Yankees have received nearly $850M in taxpayer investments from the city and state of New York and have recently asked the city taxpayers to pitch in another $259M to complete the new teams new stadium. Then the next day the team goes out and out-bids only themselves to offer free agent pitcher CC Sabathia a record contract of $161M over seven years.
Something needs to be done in baseball to change these spending methods, not just by the Yankees but all teams. Sabathia will make more per year in this deal than the entire Florida Marlin team made last year.
I understand that the Yankees are playing by rules and are not doing anything wrong. I understand that they have the money to spend, and that is exactly what they are doing. I do not understand two things about this. First, how can Major League Baseball can sit around, watch this spending, and not see anything wrong with it? Secondly, how are the taxpayers of New York not rioting in the streets about the Yankees asking them to pay more towards their new stadium, when the they go out and spend their money like they do?
This is not good for the people of New York. Yes, the Yankees ownership has the money and can afford to do this. I understand this. The Yankees ownership is also very dependent on the people of New York City to sell out the brand new, two billion dollar stadium that will open in April. Now not only do they want to the city to come up for more money, but they will also need them to by the tickets to their stadium, tickets that cost up to $2,500 a seat. In this current economic struggle that most of America is dealing with, this is a terrible message being sent by the entire Yankee organization.
Okay, let us move past the economy factor and look at why this deal is terrible for baseball.
Sabathia is from the west coast. He is currently building a house in southern California. The Angels, Dodgers, and Giants were all very interested in his services for the next few years. They were all offering him substantially less than what the Yankees originally offered ($140M). Yet, Sabathia considered these offers (the highest reported offer excluding the Yankees was $115M). Sabathia did not want to play in New York. He did not want to be a Yankee, but the Yankees upped their offer another $21M and he took it because nobody else stepped to the plate.
Can you blame Sabathia? Not at all, I do not think anyone can blame him. However, you can blame baseball.
Baseball has not been played on an even playing field since the 1994 strike. This move by the Yankees just shows how uneven that playing field really is. The story out of Las Vegas this week during the Winter Meetings was that GM’s were told to cut back because teams were cutting back their budgets due to the economy. Not the Yankees, they did not have any competition for Sabathia so they started out-bidding themselves. How can cities like Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Kansas City and Cleveland compete with a team like the Yankees unless Major League Baseball steps in and does something? Cleveland offered Sabathia a $72M deal for four years during this past spring training and he turned it down. Again, do not fault Sabathia, fault the system that he knew would allow him to make much more in the open market of free agency. These smaller cities just become farm systems for the bigger market teams like the Yankees, Dodgers, Cubs, Red Sox and Angels.
Look at the Pirates. This year will mark their seventeenth straight season with a losing record. This will set the all-time mark by any professional team in any professional sport. During this time, the Pirates lost players like Tim Wakefield, Bobby Bonilla, Barry Bonds, Doug Drabek, Jay Bell, Denny Neagle, Esteban Loaiza, Jason Schmidt, Jeff Suppan, Brian Giles, Oliver Perez, Jason Bay and Xavier Nady because they could not afford to sign them. All of these players have gone on to very successful careers for other teams.
A signing like the Yankees made with Sabathia give little to no hope to the smaller market teams and shows everything that is wrong with the game I love. And that is exactly the reason that baseball is no longer America’s Pastime.
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