Quick Notes

Sad Messi wants more blogposts!

I'm working on some posts to get this site up and running on a regular basis again, but for now here are some quick notes from around the Justin G. sports world.

- The NFL Draft starts tonight. Yeah, I have no clue who the Ravens are drafting nor do I care. If they drafted the resurrected corpse of Bubba Smith I would think it was a good pick. I like watching the draft coverage because Mel Kiper is so earnest when talking about the draft picks.  As if it really matters in the long run. 

- Speaking of resurrections - we renamed one of our cats JesusCat.  I can't wait to take him to the vet and let them know of the name change. Added bonus - he'll get reminders in the mail addressed to JesusCat when it's time for us to schedule a visit.  Awesome.

- The O's are in first place.  Yes I'm enjoying it.  Yes I know it won't last.  I'm not worried where they finish in the standings, I'm more concerned with the possibility of them destroying the record for strikeouts by a team and errors by a third baseman.

- Roberto Luongo may be heading to the Lightning. Or the Maple Leafs. Or the Blackhawks.Or he might stay with the Canucks. Or he might retire and open a pizza joint.

- I just had a card-tastrophe.  Went to grab a box off the shelf in my closet and a piece of paper on top of it started to slide off.  So I went after the paper and dropped the box. Five-thousand cards crashed onto the ground, well some of them on the cat (not JesusCat). While I was initially upset, a part of me is excited to sort them all out again.  I LOVE sorting cards.

- If you want to get a lot of page hits over the next couple of months just throw "Roberto Luongo" and "Trade" in a title.

- Two songs stuck in my head over the last two weeks.  Gotye's "Someone I used to know" (pronounced goat-ee-A apparently) and fun's "We Are Young." Not sure if I like Gotye, but it's growing on me.  First heard "We Are Young" at Wrestlemania where they used it to pimp the John Cena/Rock match-up.  Probably would have been better for the Undertaker/HHH match.  Yes, I am a dork.

- Went to my first roller derby match last weekend.  Liked it, will probably write about it (sometime in the next three months).

- Three straight games for Messi not showing up..is he hurt or should we start the "Messi can't perform in a big game" articles. Whoops.  Already there.  Although "rendered impotent" is a bit harsh.

- Yeah, I'll go over my horrible first round picks this weekend once the first round is over.

A Lazy, Rainy Quick Hit Post

Some quick hits for this rainy Tuesday afternoon:

* If you have a question on if you should start a quarterback who has broken ribs, a punctured lung and no receivers to throw to -- don’t do it. That’s how you lose your match up by 4 points.



* Mayweather vs. Ortiz - Protect yourself at all times. Ortiz wasn’t going to win that fight, but by losing the way he did, there is a good chance he gets a re-match and Mayweather gets to dodge the Pac Man for a few more months. Oh, and why isn't more being made of one of the most blatent headbutts in the history of boxing? There is no excuse for what Ortiz did in that round, and amount of hugging or kissing is going to change that.

* Red Sox collapse - Couldn’t happen to a better fan base Of course, now we get to hear about how tortured they are for the entire off-season.

* Hockey season is right around the corner. It’s AWESOME! There will be previews coming up some time in the next week or so.

* I just saw the preview for 2012 Heritage. I think I might be collecting that set instead of the base set this year. Even with the short prints and the higher sticker price it’ll be more fun to collect. So, I’m starting to save my pennies for a box come next winter.

* The Ravens are 2-1 after three games (just like I thought they’d be if not in the way I thought they would be). However, I’m still not sold on their secondary. Great game for Torrey Smith, but he’s still a rookie. There will be weeks where he disappears.

*Ozzie Guillen talked his way out of Chicago. I would be surprised if he makes it all the way through his new four-year contract down there. The Cubs need a GM and the White Sox need a coach, at least the hot stove will be steaming in The Windy City this winter.

* Bloggers out there - are there any posts that you wrote and didn’t post after thinking about it?

* Survivor - Russell’s nephew - annoying or most annoying? Hey, kid why not focus on being your own person?

And a bonus photo from the greater Chicago-land area



The view from Starved Rock.

Quick Hits - Pending Weather Event Version

* I am not worried about Brian Roberts missing two days of camp because of a sore neck. Not worried at all. He’ll be fine, yeah it’s not a lingering problem. Just breathe easy and it will be fine.

* Good-bye Dan Ellis. We’ll always have your twitter high-jinx and that one night in Phoenix.

* Actually, I like the Dan Ellis trade. A lot of fans think it’s a precursor to a larger deal, but I think it’s Yzerman taking advantage of a team in need (Anaheim) and getting rid of an unwanted asset to clear $1.5 million off of the books for next year. Dan Ellis had no future in Tampa and would have been shopped in the off-season or bought out. Now if he can find a suitor for Mike Smith…….

* I haven’t written much about Liverpool this year, mainly because I no longer have FSC so I haven’t actually watched a game since December. I’m not quite sure how I feel about rooting for a team that’s linked directly with the Red Sox (for those that don’t know John Henry and New England Sports Ventures are the owners of Boston’s baseball team and they bought Liverpool this fall).

On one hand I’m glad that the team has stable ownership, but can’t stand the thought that Liverpool’s success might some how help the Red Sox. As for the departure of Fernando Torres, well El Nino, you gave us some fine memories, but that’s about it. I think you started to turn the fan base against you when you started complaining that the Premier League was too physical for you. Have fun at Chelsea.

* Oh and who else is a part of NESV? Jeff Vinnik - owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning. So let's review. In about a year, one of the teams I dislike the most (the Red Sox) have woven themselves firmly into my primary rooting interests. Their owners own my favorite hockey team and Premier League team. To top it off they used their vast resources to lure my former favorite player, Carl Crawford, away from the Rays. As Cam Neeley once said...."Wanna kick my dog while you're at it?" John Henry you are my sports nemesis!


* Should I write another post insinuating that Lecavalier might not fulfill his full potential because of Matt Cooke? All Vinny has done since then is mold himself into the best player on the team (3 goals and 7 points since I wrote that one).

* Random thing that I used to get a kick out of - when you did a Google search of “Toe Nash”, my old blog used to be the first hit. Now it’s down to the third or fourth. Still one of my favorite pieces that I wrote.

* December snow is fun. February snow is annoying.

* Despite my general disregard for the NBA I am amazed at the ineptitude of the Los Angeles Clippers scouts. Take a look at their draft history I am 100% sure that given 30 minutes of research I could have had more success with drafting talent.

* Have you ever expected a card to be waiting for you in your mailbox and it has yet to show up? Man, even as a 30-something year old it’s a let down. Well maybe tomorrow.

* I ordered a bunch of padded envelopes off of eBay and they arrived today. When my better half saw the packaging she rolled her eyes and guessed that it was another bobble head (which I haven’t even bought in years!). I think she was more disappointed when she saw that they were envelopes. But it was a deal! $0.29 an envelope even with shipping!

* The first trades from the Allen & Ginter trade away have trickled in. I really like this year’s Topps and need to sell some stuff on the Bay so I can justify buying a box.

* Song I'm inexplicably listening to way too much on my iPod right now - Aloe Black's I need a Dollar

That’s all.

Quick Hits - It's Damn Cold Edition

Some thoughts while I watch the Ravens make this Monday night game way closer than it needs to be.


* The Linus Omark Spin-o-Rama Shootout Goal. I love the Lightning, but c'mon guys relax. It's a shootout, if he wants to add some flair let him. It wasn't that long ago that Marty St Louis suffered the same criticism for his backwards skating shootout goal. And Dan Ellis - if anything has been "disrespectful" this season it's been your goaltending.

* It was nice of Steven Stamkos to let Sidney Crosby back in the goal scoring race.

* Like (not love) the O's moves in the off-season so far. I have a feeling that Mark Reynolds will end up around .240 and 35-39 HR's. Look for Nick Markakis to rediscover some of the power he lost last year.

* Did Brett Favre die or just miss a game? Kind of hard to tell with ESPN's coverage today.

* In the middle of a Carl Crawford column in which I'll announce the fate of the personal collection.

* Not sure which verbal crutch I'm a bigger fan of - Jon Gruden's "THIS GUY" or Jaws' "NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE".

* Caps fans panicking over a six game losing streak in December is HI-larious.

* Loving the cold weather so far. Gives me an excellent excuse to not do anything except surf the web and drink hot chocolate.

* A lot of folks bemoaning the "demise" of the Rays. With their starters they'll still be in it at the end next year. Don't lose faith in Friedman & Co. Rays fans.

* Don't look for Steve Yzerman to make any rash moves in regards to the goaltending woes for the Lightning. There really isn't much out there that's available. The asking price for Tomas Vokoun is going to be too high and trading for Dewayne Roloson or J.S. Giguere doesn't exactly solve the problem. That being said I wouldn't be surprised if Yzerman hasn't at least put a call in to Evgeni Nabokov's agent. Why not give young Cedrick Desjardins a try in the meantime? Could he do any worse? I submit to you that he cannot.

* Nervous about the last three games for the Ravens. New Orleans will light them up. Cleveland is feisty and Cincinnati beat them once already.

Hey look it's and eight point game. Way to close strong boys!

Quick Hits

So just a quick post as I'm waiting for my roommate to get home so we can head to the Cubs game.

1. I have thoughts on the Lightning signing Steve Yzerman as their GM. Lot's of thoughts - mostly good - but I haven't had time to organize them and put them to paper. Maybe tomorrow.

2. Carl Crawford and Joe Maddon got themselves thrown out of a game Tuesday night. Normally, I support the umpires, but in my opinon Bob Davidson overreacted a bit. From the replays I saw any contact was either mutal or miniscule. I think Davidson was having a bad day at the plate, Crawford called it on him and the ump lost it for a bit. I would be extremely surprised if there are any suspensions.

3. The Blackhawks will have their work cut out for them against the Flyers. Philly is the most physical team they will have faced in the playoffs and will make Antti Niemi's life a living hell. However, if the Flyers go to far and start taking penalties, the Hawks can make them pay.

4. If the Flyers win, will Marion Hossa's streak of being on 3 consecutive Stanley Cup Finals losing teams be a record?

5. Is the previous questions the most awkward sentence ever posted on this site?

6. Brian Matusz hasn't won since I made the comment on how promising his season had started...jinx!

7. Ty Wigginton is the O's MVP so far. He didn't have a position coming into the season. What contender is going to be looking for a corner/utility infielder come deadline time?

That's all for now. More to come soon - including a Through The Mail autograph!