The Daily Grind

I thought today I would dive into some links and so forth. It is a lazy column, in the sense that I will not be on my soapbox as much as usual. That is mostly because, look at the papers, there isn't much to get into. I'll do what I have to, and get into the links/thoughts on other writers, because I am excited to do that.

-The Sox had a 3-7 road trip. But won tonight on their first game on a six-game homestand against their chief Wild Card rival, the Minnesota Twins. Their Wild Card lead is at 1.5 games, still fairly tenuous with two more games against the Twins. Blackburn vs. Lester and Hernandez vs. Beckett are the next two pitching match-ups. It is probably safe to give the Sox the edge in those next two games.

-I do not wish to bother commenting on the All-Star game selections. Keith Law wrote it so well, and really covered all the bases. So, just read his column here. NOTE: Its one of those free ESPN Insider dealies. So, if the page becomes locked. Let me know. I have the text saved.

-The more I think about it. The Indians seemed in an unnecessary hurry to deal C.C. Sabathia. They got a nice haul from the Brewers in Matt LaPorta, and some other pieces. Maybe they would have been able to get more for Sabathia. Maybe they would not have, because those are two top-shelf prospects. But, it is unlikely that that deal gets pulled off the table by the Brewers at any point between last Sunday night and the trade deadline.

-The Mets were up 8-0 tonight against the Phillies. It is now a 10-7 game in the Mets' favor. Only the Mets could do this. A freakshow of a major league team. UPDATE: The Mets won a squeaker 10-9. This team is pathetic.

-Onto the blogs and links. First up, I have pimped Joe Posnanski here before. I will do it again. View From the Press Box, Dr. Stat Attacks, and The Grady Chronicles are three of his latest columns. Each one highlights another strength of Posnanski's as a writer; one is funny (Stat), one is sentimental while being thoughtful and authentic (Press Box); and one is deeply analytical (read: stats, stats and more stats) without being boring and drawn out (Grady).

-Jeff of CelticsBlog.com is the head writer of the aforementioned site, and a solid writer overall. He writes rather eloquently and thoughtfully from the position of a die-hard fan. His latest column made me rather uncomfortable as a Celtics fan:

I hate losing Posey and there's still a chance that he'll accept less money to say in Beantown (or that the Celtics will up the ante and give him market value) but I'm not banking on it.

So moving on, here's some additions that could find their way to Boston.

I'll go ahead and predict that the Birdman will be signed. Then we''ll bring in someone to battle Gabe Pruitt for the backup PG spot - lets pencil in Tyronn Lue, though I'm not crazy about that pick. (If House can be convinced to come back, I'd prefer him)

So that's 9 players on the current roster, plus the 2 stateside rookies, plus the 2 additions above. To finish out the roster we'll need 2 more live bodies.

I think Danny will target Mickael Pietrus to sort-of replace the defense we lose with Posey.

For the last spot, I'm thinking Danny will take a flyer on a high risk, high reward type of guy. I'm thinking either Shawn Livingston or maybe even Darius Miles.

So, the Celtics are going to lose Posey, not sign Maggette, but they will sign Tyronn Lue and Michael Pietrus? He better be wrong... God, is that depressing. I will rant more about this on Wednesday, and the days that follow. When Posey and Maggette are definitely going elsewhere. Anyway, Jeff's always had good stuff. He always coveted Kevin Garnett. Man, was he right about that one.

-Steve Weinman, also of CelticsBlog.com is another frequent read of mine. He covers the NBA as a whole for the site, and his inclusion on the site is certainly a reason the site stands out from other NBA team blogs around the 'Net. He has written two solid columns in the past days concerning Nenad Kristic and Jameer Nelson. He goes into great detail about the two, and how they have probably underachieved in the eyes of their teams, who probably did like them more than other teams' scouts and personnel departments.

-Neil Best's Watchdog blog out of New York City is probably my favorite Sports Media Blog. Best, since he does work for the New York Post, does favor the NYC scene. But he does do a strong job covering sports television and radio on the whole. He got an early jump, breaking the story about the possible breakup of Mike and the Mad Dog.

-I also read Boston Sports Media Watch, which is a mixed bag for me. I enjoy their coverage of Boston sports media personalities, especially their approval ratings pages. But, I am turned off by their attempts to analyze the sports themselves. I find it to be lackluster compared to some of the better offerings out there, some of which I have highlighted here.

-In time I will start discussing college football soon. The Wizard of Odds blog is the best college football blog I have found. It is updated fairly regularly during the off-season, which is important to me, for when I get the urge for some REAL football (I do hate the NFL, by comparison, that cannot go understated). A lot of the off-season post are concerning the massive amount of arrest piled up by members of Mark Richt (Georgia) and Nick Saban's (Alabama) crews respectively. I was particularly fond of this article from last fall, concerning former Miami Dolphins OT, a member of their undefeated 1972 team, and Notre Dame alum, Bob Kuechenberg. Kuechenberg feels that Charlie Weis, on top of all the losing he's been doing... Quick side note: Remember, Weis has not won a good game in his time at Notre Dame. I don't care about recruiting classes, which have been supposedly better than Ty Willingham's, his teams haven't been better than Willingham's. Back to point, Kuechenberg feels like, in addition to the losing, Weis has not been concilatory to the Notre Dame alum and the Notre Dame administration. Here's a taste:

“I want to start the movement — Charlie’s last name is four letters, and so is ogre, because that’s what he is. Look it up, and you’ll find some other adjectives that fit him to a tee.

“This man has not been a good ... human being might be a little bit broad ... but this man has not been good to anybody who came to Notre Dame. Within the Notre Dame family, when former All-American players say to a man that this guy’s an [expletive], and for no reason, to me it’s karma that he’s getting his ass handed to him.”

Kuechenberg was just getting started. Weis came aboard three years ago when Notre Dame was in a vulnerable position, having lost George O'Leary to a resume flap and Urban Meyer to Florida. Weis was able to get the university to renegotiate his six-year deal into a 10-year deal after only seven games by getting his name involved with several expected NFL openings.

“In the face of all of those embarrassments, to then have Charlie Weis back out on you a couple of weeks into his career would have been really embarrassing, which is probably why they succumbed to that type of blackmail,” Kuechenberg said. “It’s the mark of the man. I can see after a couple of years to say let’s talk about an extension. But right away? It’s karmic justice that Charlie Weis is getting what he deserves for his actions.”

So, that's the stuff for today. I had a good time. I read a ton more blogs/sites on a fairly regular basis, so I will tap this well again. It may not be a full article again, but a blurb here and there. Just to plug a good site maybe not all my readers' know about. But, then again, if you're reading my blog, you should have already found all of the above sites. But, if you haven't: ESPN recently launched a site. They seem to have a lot going on over there. Check it out.

Miscellaneous Video of the Day:
Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus Trailer
I recently watched this documentary for the second time. Its a very interesting movie. The alt-country and folk music interpersed in the film is fairly impressive. Jim White narrates the film, and guides its filmmakers through a journey of the deep South. The Deep South. I cannot emphasize that enough. Just watch the trailer. Its not about sports, so I am not smart enough to articulate what a breath of fresh air the film was, what a unique experience it was, how it exposed me to a world I have never known and probably never will.

Old School Rap Video of the Day:
Geto Boys- My Mind Playing Tricks on Me