That clever Peter King

Last week on HBO's Inside the NFL, pro football and Starbucks guru Peter King reported that Cowboys head coach Wade Phillps was quoted as saying, in effect, the Patriots Super Bowl victories were tainted by NE Coach (as he is known on Madden per Mr. Belichick's request not to be included in the game) and his "misinterpretation of the rules."

Now Wade's World has come out to say that he was misquoted, and goaded into making derrogatory statements about said Super Bowl team. First of all, trying to decipher the agendas of the New England Sports Media Sewing Circle can get quite complicated when extreme homerism comes into conflict with moral superiority, but that's a question for us to ask and Dan Shaughnessy to answer. Why PK is scrounging up material to blast Tom Moynihan and Co. when all he's done in recent weeks is continue to gush about them, who knows? But the conversation probably went something like this:

PK: So Wade, how great is Amtrak?

Wade: Huh?

PK: When Jerry Jones gets an unsighly wrinkle on his forehead that requires laser treatment, isn't that Norv Turner's fault?

Wade: What? Oh yeah, everything is Norv's fault.

PK: Patriot-gate.

Wade: That's not really a question. And I could probably hear you better without a bear claw in your mouth.

PK: OK, let me re-phrase. Yes or No?

Wade: Ummmm, if you're asking me if I want that Manny Delcarman bobblehead you're holding, the answer is no. Did they even give those away, or did you make it yourself?

PK: Can I print that?

Wade: I guess so.

PK: Cool. See you tonight at the indian casino for the Sheryl Crow concert, right?

Wade: F*ck ya. And pick me up a triple mocha latte. With some biz-natches!

PK: LOL, That's my dawg.

Wade: Did you just say LOL instead of acutally laughing?

PK: Yeah, all the kids are doing it.

Time to turn the sound down.

There's been a lot of hating on TBS' broadcast coverage of the MLB division series. These people have apparently forgotten the horror that is Fox.

Well, they'll be reminded this week, and for the rest of the month, as Joe Buck, Tim McCarver and Scooter all return to mangle the LCS and World Series. Lo, how they will beg for the minor annoyance that is Craig Sager's wardrobe when compared to the migraine inducing repetition of commercials for new Fox shows that will cancelled before Christmas! Oh, how they will pray for the irritating lack of crowd noise after McCarver mispronounces the starting pitcher's name for the fifth time!

To paraphrase the great Joni Mitchell: You don't know what you've got 'til its been replaced by the broadcasting equivalent of getting hit by a truck driven by your worst enemy from high school again and again and again.

Round Two!

The Indians pulled through and now we can move on to the next round of the playoffs. Major League Baseball does their playoffs right, don’t you think? First round, best of five series, second round and finals, best of seven. I’ve heard MLB wants to change it to best of seven series for all three rounds, probably to recoup more ad revenue, but I really hope they don’t. The NBA and NHL playoffs go on for way too long.

Anyway, on to the picks!

National League
Rockies vs. Diamondbacks

The Rockies have been on a crazy tear lately and it would be cool to see them go all the way to the World Series, but I think the Diamondbacks are going to stop them

My prediction? Arizona in 6.

American League
Indians vs. Red Sox

I’ll admit that in the last round, when I picked the Angels to win, I was being somewhat superstitious. Or at least a little stitious. I felt like picking my team would jinx them. I thought the Sox had a chance against the Angels. I am still shocked at how the Angels didn’t even show up for that series, but I’d had a feeling the Sox could win it in four or five games.

The Indians, I’m not so sure about. They’re a young team with two great pitchers and a solid bullpen. They can beat you at small ball and they can beat you at American League ball. The Red Sox beat them in the regular season, but the Yankees were 6-0 against the Tribe in the regular season, so you can see how much that matters. The Sox are playing great now, probably the best baseball they’ve played all year. They have a chance. This should be a good series.

My prediction? Cleveland in 7.

Come on Cleveland!

The Cleveland Indians cannot dispose of the New York Yankees fast enough.

All the MLB division league series wrapped up quickly with sweeps (Arizona over Chicago, Colorado over Philadelphia, Boston over Anaheim (yeee!)) and Cleveland stood to take theirs just as quickly, going up two games to none over NY. But then, of course, the Bronx Bastards had to come back and take game three.

Cleveland needs to win this for two reasons: 1) The Red Sox have played them better this year, and (2) for non-selfish reasons, the city of Cleveland deserves it. That city hasn’t had a sports team win a championship since the Browns won the 1964 NFL championship, which no one even counts anymore because it was pre-Super Bowl. On Thursday at the ALDS opener, Cavaliers forward LeBron James, the face of their city and an Ohio native was prominently seen wearing a Yankees cap. The Indians were once so bad they were the obvious choice to play the horrendous ball club in Major League. Cleveland sports fans have suffered a lot of heartbreak over the years but they still come out in force to support their teams. The Indians need to beat the Yankees.

After which, they need to fall promptly to the Red Sox in the ALCS.

And so it begins...

Apologies to the Padres fans who contribute to this blog, but the playoffs are upon us and its time to get on with it.

Here are my predictions for how the Division Series will shape up:

American League

Red Sox v. Angels

The Red Sox tied for the best record in the American League. Josh Beckett has been Cy Young caliber all year and while Matsuzaka and Schilling stumbled after the All-Star break, they’ve shaped up down the stretch. The Sox defense is solid; Ortiz is leading the offense again; and even Mr. Listless, JD Drew has picked it up going into the playoffs.

The Angels stumbled into the playoffs. They had the advantage of a weak division that didn’t give them much of a run all season except the brief appearance of Seattle in August.

So why am I so worried?

The Angels run like crazy, which is always bad for the Sox. They have the superior manager, and they are an all around different team than the one the Sox faced early in the season and beat handily.

My prediction? Angels in 5. God, I hope I’m wrong.

Indians v. Yankees

Just a few weeks ago, I was telling people the Yankees were going to win the World Series this year. That could still happen, but I’m leaning that way less.

The Yankees have more playoff experience than any other team, their manager is proven, Rivera can still shut ‘em down, Jeter (how I loathe him!) is one of the most clutch players in the game, and none of these things have helped them in the past 4 years. Six years if you’re counting years since they won it all. Time and again, younger, fresher teams with better pitching have beaten the Yankees.

You don’t get much younger and fresher than the Cleveland Indians, and the Tribe boasts some powerful pitching as well. CC Sabathia may win the AL Cy Young, and Fausto Carmona has lived up to his expectations. The Indians did this year what they were supposed to do last year – let their youth and talent carry them to a heck of a lot of wins. (They actually tied the Sox for the best record in MLB, but since the Sox had won the season series, Sox got the benefits).

My prediction? Indians in 5. The Yankees will not go quietly into that dark night, but they will go.

National League

Cubs v. Diamondbacks

My NL-IQ is admittedly and regrettably lacking, but I’ll do the best I can here.

Nothing like a dugout punch-out between your starting pitcher and the catcher to jumpstart a season. The Cubs were languishing but seem to have picked it up not long after Carlos Zambrano and Michael Barrett duked it out. (At least that’s how I remember it. Again, the IQ here is low). They came from behind and handily took the NL Central away from the upstart Brewers.

The D-backs had a pretty nifty come-from-behind division win as well, though. The team started with few expectations and then rattled off a torrid mid-summer through the end of the season.

So who’s momentum will carry them further? Looking at their stats, the Cubs have more players batting over .300, their pitchers have better ERAs and more wins. Plus I think Chicago’s North Siders present a better 10th man than all of Phoenix.

My prediction? Cubs in 4.

Rockies v. Phillies

OK, I said we were moving forward, but let’s shed one more tear for the Padres. That game was one of the most heartbreaking I’ve ever seen, and I’m a Red Sox fan! San Diegans are lucky to have that mild disposition; in a lot of other cities, you’d have people lined up on the Coronado Bridge right now.

But on to the task at hand. The Phillies are kind of sneaking into this thing thanks to the Mets collapse, though they could have won the Wild Card if not for that. Jimmy Rollins had a great year, as did Chase Utley (eventually). Ryan Howard blasted a mammoth 47 homeruns. They have a hell of a lineup. Their pitching leaves something to be desired though. Ace Cole Hamels won 15 games with a 3.39 ERA, but after him, the ERAs climb into the 4s and the wins barely crack the double digits.

The Rockies came out of nowhere. Aside from Todd Helton, a lot of people probably couldn’t name one player. But they’re a strong hitting team, and while their pitchers' ERAs are high for a playoff team, a lot of that probably comes from pitching in Coors Field. The Rox got hot at just the right time, which may be why so many Wild Card teams have won the World Series in recent years.

My prediction? Rockies in 5. I’m not sure they’ll make it all the way to the World Series, but they are flying very hard right now. Sorry Phillies fans, you’ll always have ’80.

Link-O-Rama

-We now have a new world rock skipping record. It's 51, all natural, no asterisk. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

-Trojan fans are taking shots at Cal receiver DeSean Jackson for snubbing U$C. Bitter, party of two, your table's ready. [The Displaced Trojon]

-University of Colorado head coach Dan Hawkins of Boise State fame loves Newfoundland indie band Great Big Sea. [Blogging with Hawk]

-Check out Evander Holyfield's new "Real Deal" grill. Might be a good idea, but does it have the disgusting fat-catcher tray? [Engaget.com]

Peace out, happy Tuesday.

Shoot! Pass! Kick their a$$!

With scores like 22 –1, I’m not sure you can call it good hockey, but on weekends this fall at the Kroc Community Center, you can at least see some hockey in San Diego.



With the Gulls gone, fans of The Great Canadian Pastime have been left with nothing but the occasional Kings game on the Versus network to satiate their thirst - until now. For the next few months, San Diego State’s club hockey team is tearing up the ice on University Ave.

The home opener last weekend was a barnburner, as the Aztecs annihilated the hapless College of the Redlands in the aforementioned 22-1 game. You knew things were bad when Redlands first showed up and everyone had a different jersey on. It was a little like the Mighty Ducks’ first game against the Hawks. I don’t know if the Redland’s coach was there doing community service for a DUI bust, but he was wearing a Budweiser cap.

It’d be fun to see SDSU against a better-prepared team. The Aztecs had some good skaters, but their passing game left a little desired (of course, it was rendered unnecessary about seven minutes into the first period). Maybe cross-town rivals UCSD – they’re the next home opponent – will make for a more even match. Find out for yourself on Oct. 19 at 9 p.m. Tickets are $5 at the door, or $3 with a valid SDSU student ID.

The (semi) Weekly Weddle

I have the power to crush your knee with one hand, but you are spared, Tony Gonazalez. For now.

Well, the Chargers sit at 1-3 after losing to the Chiefs 30-16 on Sunday, and the team is spiraling downward faster than a post-divorce Kirk Van Houten. Unfortunately for Bolts fans, Norv Turner is not just our "Weekend Dad," and things don't look to get much better as the Denver road game looms next.

After blitzing and covering receivers on 3rd downs, E-Dub has been lacking the extensive playing time he received in week one, and was only able to tally two tackles in the last contest. There is a growing sentiment that an increased "Weddle Factor," will lead to more wins, and at this point, it would be a hypothesis worth testing.

In other news, I wore the Weddle ebay jersey during the game, and although I felt that the karmic energy was flowing, somehow it did not get the job done. So it's 0-1 in the jersey, we'll see how it pans out over the course of a full season.

Either way, just a reminder to SD fans: now is NOT the time to stop taking your medication.

They Said it Better

No one to blame really. Rumors and Rants pretty much says everything I'd want to say.

Except, how crappy the TBS coverage was...talk about Awful Announcing. They basically only gave the Padres credit for Jake Peavy...when, for once, our hitting came through. And they called Heath Bell fat. I think I'll boycott their coverage for that one.

I'm depressed...

People I Hate (Vol. 2)