Baseball, A Crazy Game

Our national pastime, gotta love it for its characters, quirks, and zaniness.   Here's a few to ponder.

1 - Beards
     C'mon, don't you remember when baseball heroes advertised for shaving cream?  Now we get this.  Yikes!

2- Fingernail Polish
    The new trend of catchers wearing polish to make the signs easier to see seems a little strange .  Are you are telling me that in over 130 years of pro baseball that pitchers couldn't see 1 for a fastball and 2 for a curve?  Good guessers, those pitchers.

3. Pitchers Hats

   Don't think this will catch on.

4. And now for today's final baseball quirk.

Pac 12 Sell Out

The Pac 12 announced the site for the next three Football Championship games as newly opened Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, home of the 49'ers. The only power conference that did not host their season finale in a "neutral" site, Commissioner Larry Scott must have felt a need to follow what the popular kids were doing.   Levi's is neutral if you aren't Stanford or Cal.  This "neutral" site is only 15 miles from the Stanford campus and a short trip across the bay from Berkeley.  Rewarding the team with the best record was unique to the Pac 12, but follow as a little puppy Scott must, and off the Pac goes to the glitz and glamour of the Big Pants.  So long college atmosphere, hello Hollywood.



I have been an outspoken opponent of college athletes receiving pay for play, but what the hell, if the conference is rewarding a pro stadium with the game, pay the kids.





Hey, and how about if we make going to classes and earning credits optional.  If the Pac 12 is in for innovation, take it all the way.  Is Commissioner Scott, a modern day version of Mr. Applegate from Damn Yankees, willing to ink more deals?

Message From Geekdom

Happy Star Wars Day!

What Sport Is All About

Many great sports stories have been written by great individuals and great teams.   On Saturday another was written by an unlikely group of determined athletes. 

 

Diminutive Union College defeated mighty Minnesota to win the NCAA Hockey Tournament. 

What is so amazing about Union?   Let's go inside the numbers.

Scholarships
Minnesota: 18 ;  Union: 0
Enrollment
Minnesota: 50,000 ; Union 2,200
NHL Draftees
Minnesota: 14 ; Union 1
Years In D1 Hockey
Minnesota: 66 ; Union: 10

We love to root for the underdog, and by all indications, Union should have been a big one one. It just seems somebody forgot to tell them.  The little guys from Schenectady beat the Gophers 7 - 4 to claim the 2014 NCAA title.

 Well done, Dutchmen!

Hockey Mascots

As promised here are the mascots of the NCAA Hockey Tournament Teams:

Boston College Eagles










Colgate Raiders












Denver Pioneers?  
Apparently DU has no official mascot, they have an unofficial mascot named Denver Boone.   This has sparked quite a bit of controversy at the college and an ongoing debate as to the nature of their mascot ensues.   I kinda like him.

Ferris State Bulldogs

Minnesota Golden Gophers
Apparently no issues with the orthodontically impaired student population.

Minnesota Stare Mavericks

North Dakota. 
No mascot until 2015. 
Previously had been the Fighting Sioux.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish
What about the Irish pacifists?

Providence Friars

Quinnipiac Bobcats

Robert Morris Colonials

St. Cloud State Huskies

U Mass Lowell River Hawks

Union College Dutchmen
No matter how much I tried I could not find a mascot for the team, apparently they like the name, but live in fear of offending those of Dutch descent.  Why not Hans Brinker, he of the Silver Skates?  Just an idea....

Vermont Catamounts (a local term for cougar, derived from cat of the mountain)

Wisconsin Badgers

Bracket Busters

How are your NCAA Brackets holding up?  I hope you didn't bank on Wisconsin moving on.  What's that you say, Wisconsin is headed for the Elite 8?   Wrong bracket bucko!   I'm talking about the NCAA Hockey Bracket.  I, unlike so many of my contemporaries, lost interest in the NCAA basketball tourney when Oregon fell out of the brackets.   Bring on the kick saves, the checks (not Czechs), the twisted wristers!   Thanks to ESPN U for covering the tourney.   This is where rink powerhouses St. Cloud State, Quinnipiac, and Minnesota St. Mankato compete for a spot in the Frozen Four!   Add the Friars , the Dutchman , and the Catamounts  and you have a formidable group of skaters.   North Dakota State won in their first round, but don't call them boys named Sioux (political correctness is forcing a change of their mascot, so until 2015, they are mascot less).   


Just for kicks, see if you can guess the school with their mascot - and leave the smartphone out of this, try accessing a little of that grey matter you have underused.

Here are the 16 colleges/universities in the tournament:

Boston College
Colgate
Denver
Ferris St.
U. Massachusetts. - Lowell
Minnesota St. - Mankato
U of Minnesota
U of North Dakota
Notre Dame
Providence
Quinnipiac
Robert Morris
St. Cloud St.
Union
Vermont
Wisconsin

Here's your list of mascots:

Badgers
Bobcats
Bulldogs
Catamounts
Colonials
Dutchmen
Eagles
Fighting Irish
Friars
Golden Gophers
Huskies
Mavericks
None
Pioneers
Raiders
River Hawks

Good luck, no cheating, I'll put the answers up on Sunday.

Give Him Another Crack At It

City of Toronto:

Re-Elect Mayor Rob Ford

"At  least my corruptions aren't hidden!"