Cleveland State Athletics Articles

Below is each of the past five articles published in the Chattanoogan, Chattanooga Times Free Press and Cleveland Daily Banner that I wrote so far this season as beat reporter for Cleveland State CC athletics.  Will continue posting these as time goes along.

http://cscougars.com/sports/bsb/2014-15/releases/20150319jawn6y

http://cscougars.com/sports/bsb/2014-15/releases/20150319dgdogv

http://cscougars.com/sports/sball/2014-15/releases/20150316i2oagl

http://cscougars.com/sports/bsb/2014-15/releases/20150316wkw441

http://cscougars.com/sports/sball/2014-15/releases/20150315a2wbcg

NBA Playoff Predictions

Here's my way too late NBA Playoffs prediction.  Better late than never as they say.

Round 1

East

Pacers vs Hawks - Pacers in 5

Bulls vs Wizards - Bulls in 6

Raptors vs Nets - Nets in 6

Heat vs Bobcats - Heat in 5

West

Spurs vs Mavericks - Spurs in 6

Rockets vs Blazers - Rockets in 6

Clippers vs Warriors - Clippers in 6

Thunder vs Grizzlies - Thunder in 5

Conference Semi-Finals

East

Pacers vs Bulls - Pacers in 6

Heat vs Nets - Heat in 6

West

Spurs vs Rockets - Spurs in 6

Thunder vs Clippers - Thunder in 6

Conference Finals

East

Pacers vs Heat - Heat in 6

West

Spurs vs Thunder - Thunder in 6

Finals

Thunder vs Heat - Heat in 7

11-3 overall picking each series thus far.  Even though it's Heat vs Spurs, different than my finals prediction, and the Heat are down 3-1, I'm still sticking to my Heat in 7 finals pick.

The Spurs have owned the Heat this series, but I stick to my picks no matter what.  And I expect LeBron will prove his legacy by pulling off a historic comeback against one of the best teams in NBA history.

Super Bowl Pick

The day is finally upon us.  It's always bitter sweet because it's the biggest game on earth, but it also means it's the last day of football for a while.

I predicted 49ers vs Broncos in the Super Bowl at the beginning of the year and thought San Fran would take home the Lombardi trophy.  I didn't account for Colin Kaepernick pulling a Tony Romo.  After Kaep's performance last week I won't pick the 9ers to win anything until he can prove he can.

With that being said, I'm picking the Broncos to win it all.  This is Peyton's year.  He's broke so many records with the most impressive may be winning his fifth MVP award last night.  Unprecedented.

The Seahawks defense is the best in the league, the best in a long time in the league.  And Peyton's arm strength isn't what it once was, but his preparation and anticipation has never been better.

Everyone's discussing the #1 Broncos offense vs. the #1 Seahawks defense, but I think the more important match up is between the Seahawks offense and the Broncos defense.

The Broncos D is solid.  Not as good as Seattle's, but still very good.  Add to it that this is future Hall of Famer Broncos CB Champ Bailey's first ever Super Bowl and I see their D playing the best game to date.  And I'm predicting Champ to get a pick in this one.

Seattle's offense has struggled down the stretch and second year QB Russell Wilson, while a very good young QB, just doesn't have the experience to win it this year.  RB Marshawn Lynch will go "Beast Mode" but the Broncos run D will contain him enough to not let him control the game.

Too many things have to happen in the Seahawks favor for them to win.  I just can't see Peyton looking on as Russell Wilson holds up the trophy.  Not this year.  This is Peyton's year.

NFL Playoff Picks; Championship Round

Well, there are a few reasons for my picks this week, but my main reason is this, these two teams I picked to go to the Super Bowl before the season started.

New England Patriots at Denver Broncos: Broncos win.  It's tough to pick against Tom Brady when the game matters, but this is Peyton's year.  He broke Brady's single season TD record, stole his wide receiver (Wes Welker), and now tough times will come in threes for Tom because Manning has the better team.  If Rob Gronkowski were healthy for the Patriots I'd pick New England, but he isn't and even with Denver's injuries and struggles on defense their offense is more potent than the Patriots, who have their own injury problems.

San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks: 49ers win.  Russell Wilson has struggled the last few weeks for the Seahawks and Colin Kaepernick has played great lately with a chip on his shoulder to get back to the Super Bowl.  Both defenses and running games are great, but the edge goes to San Fran in the receiving game.

Overall I'm 173-90 (66%) and 6-2 in the playoffs (75%) this season and I still see this as Denver and San Francisco playing for it all this year in New Jersey.  You can bet on it.

NFL Playoff Picks; Divisional Round

Last week's wild card round picks were about the number two for me.  I went 2-2 and learned two things.

One is never bet against Andrew Luck, even when he's down 28 points in the third quarter against one of the best defenses in the league while missing his top wide receiver.  Luck has officially been added to the "never pick against him" list, joining Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, and Aaron Rodgers.

The other thing I learned from last week, never bet on the Bengals.  No matter how talented their players are they will always be the Bungals.  It's been 24 years since their last playoff victory.

Overall this season I am 169-90, a 65% winning percentage.  Here are my picks this week.

New Orleans Saints at Seattle Seahawks: Seahawks win.  It's well documented that Drew Brees isn't the same player and the Saints aren't the same team on the road and in the elements.  It's also well documented how great the Seahawks are at home.  Seattle wins comfortably.

Indianapolis Colts at New England Patriots: Patriots win.  Two great quarterbacks face off that no one should ever bet against.  You have to pick against one and even though the Patriots are plagued with more injuries than the Colts I just can't go against Tom Brady at home in the playoffs against a second year QB.

San Francisco 49ers at Carolina Panthers: 49ers win.  This will be the most physical contest of the weekend.  Both defenses are dominant and both QBs play a similar style.  I'm giving this to the 49ers based on experience and the 49ers having better offensive weapons.

San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos: Broncos win.  The Chargers have the Broncos number and it's cold outside so Peyton might not play as well.  The Chargers are hot, but this isn't the Bengals they face this week.  This is Peyton in the playoffs at home trying to cement his legacy during his historic season.  Broncos win, even if Philip Rivers wears the bolo tie.

My winning percentage suggests I'll go 3-1 this week, but you never know at this time of year.  And in my Pick 'Em league I'm up 8 games, there's only 7 left, so I clinched the title meaning I really don't mind my opponents reading this.  Good luck.

NFL Playoff Picks: Wild Card Round

Below are my first round (wild card weekend) NFL Playoff picks.  My regular season record this year was 167-88, a 65% winning percentage, and would make the playoffs as an NFL team.

Kansas City Chiefs at Indianapolis Colts: Chiefs win. KC has the better defense and better offensive weapons.  The Colts have the better QB, but it won't be enough, even in Indy.  Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has an unbelievable record coming off bye weeks, and I'm considering last week a bye since they sat nearly all of their starters.

New Orleans Saints at Philadelphia Eagles: Saints win.  The Saints are not very good on the road, especially in cold elements, but the Eagles secondary is near the worst in the league.  Drew Brees will pick them apart and the Saints defense will pressure Foles, forcing turnovers in his first playoff experience.

San Diego Chargers at Cincinnati Bengals: Bengals win.  The Chargers shouldn't even be in the playoffs and nearly lost last week to the Chiefs back ups.  The Bengals are the best overall team in the AFC.  This will be Cincinnati's first playoff win since 1990.

San Francisco 49ers at Green Bay Packers: 49ers win.  Rodgers is back for the Pack, but he can't play on their sub par defense.  The 49ers are the most complete team in the NFL and even though they are a California team playing on the road in the cold, they are a team built to win in cold weather.  Keep in mind SF's QB Colin Kapernick was born in Wisconsin.

Out of these games I'd say the closest will be the KC at Indy game.  The other three are sure bets in my mind.

I'm in a pick 'em league, but currently have a nine game advantage, so if my opponents are reading this I no longer care as it's all but clinched at this point.

Pittsburgh Steelers Still Playoff Eligible, Barely

Since the AFL-NFL merger only the 1992 San Diego Chargers made the playoffs after starting 0-4.  This year's Pittsburgh Steelers look to become the second.

The Steelers still have a lot of work and luck cut out for them in week 16 of the season, but there is still a chance.  (Top five most unlikely playoff participants.)

If the Steelers win their last two, the Miami Dolphins lose their last two, the Baltimore Ravens lose their last two, the San Diego Chargers lose one of their last two, and the New York Jets win their last two, the Steelers will make the playoffs, according to the NFL tie-breaking procedures.  Sounds easy enough.

In this scenario each team's record is 8-8.  First comes head to head.  The Dolphins beat the Steelers, but the Ravens beat the Dolphins and the Steelers and Ravens split.  The Dolphins beat the Chargers, but the Dolphins and Jets would split.  The Ravens and Steelers both beat the Jets.  Here the Chargers are eliminated (and also have the worst conference record).

Onto divisional games. The Steelers beat out the Ravens by one game and the Jets beat out the Dolphins by one game.

With the Steelers beating the Jets, the Steelers advance.

Kissing Kay Jewelers Goodbye

Every kiss begins with Kay.

We've all heard the commercials, and I've bought my wife plenty of jewelery from Kay Jewelers.  I always purchase the insurance as well to protect my assets.

One thing everyone knows is it's easier to pay for the insurance than to get what you deserve once you need to use that insurance policy.  For the most part companies will find some disclaimer to not give you what you feel you deserve.

Good thing I always get the insurance policies because we have a son that likes to yank my wife's chain, literally.  He's snapped one necklace in particular two separate times now.

First time we had it fixed at Kay Jewelers at Galleria Mall in Fort Lauderdale, FL.  Second time we already made our move to Chattanooga, TN and had the Kay Jewelers at Hamilton Place Mall fix the chain.

My wife expressed her concern over losing the charm if the chain breaks again, but the employee told us it needs to break three times before they can replace the chain.  Galleria Mall's Kay Jewelers told us the same thing.

Sure enough, the third time the chain broke we lost the charm.  Yes, the third time was the charm.  This time my son wasn't yanking my wife's chain, either.  We were walking around the neighborhood, came home, and I noticed the broken chain on our couch.  We retraced our steps through our house and the neighborhood, but never found the charm.

We went back to Kay Jewelers at Hamilton Place Mall and received service from what will be known from here on out as the Robot Lady.  I asked if we can somehow be compensated for the charm based on my business and the fact we expressed the concern of losing the charm the last time we came in.  No matter what I said she repeated that they can not replace the charm and can only replace the chain if it is not fixable.  Definitely not what we had been told by everyone else up to this point. 

Unsatisfied, we finished our day of shopping, mind you with our one year old son, and went back home.  I decided to call the Kay Jewelers corporate office to give it one last shot.

Luckily, the woman that answered was charming, pun intended.  She sent over an exchange code to Kay Jewelers to replace the chain and the charm.  What a concept, great customer service.  Not found much anymore these days, especially with the Robot Lady. 

Now I inform my wife, so we grab our son and head back to the mall.  When we get there I speak to what will from here on out be known as the Hag.  I explained to her the issue, which she already knew because she was there the first time we came in listening while rolling her eyes.  She said no one from corporate called them.  I then asked if she had numbers to the other local Kay Jewelers because maybe corporate called one of them by mistake.  She said, "No, you can look it up on your phone."  I walked away at that point without saying a word.

Coincidentally at that moment a man from Kay Jewelers at the Galleria Mall called me saying my necklace and charm are ready.  I explained that we now live in Tennessee.  I then called corporate again and spoke to the same charming woman.  She apologized for making the mistake and contacted the Kay Jewelers at the Hamilton Place Mall.  Mind you, we are at a mall with a one year old.  He's running around getting antsy and who can blame him at this point?

We then walk back to the Kay Jewelers and I can see Robot Lady on the phone.  Hag is standing in the back and I hear her say to Robot Lady that she refuses to help me.  She apparently didn't like that I didn't acknowledge her moronic statement about how I can find a phone number.  Then Hag walks up to me and says, you know I didn't do anything to you, in which my response is to just stare at her and not say a word.  Nothing nice came to mind so I said nothing at all, and she slowly backed away.  Meanwhile, there are two younger employees with a look of disbelief on how the Hag and Robot Lady are treating us.

Robot Lady then gets off the phone and tells us we need to get the Galleria Mall to send the necklace to their store.  I replied, no corporate said you will have the chain and charm ready for us here.  Robot Lady then repeated her self as usual and also said they do not have the chain and charm we are requesting.

My wife then points out the chain and charm, while holding our napping one year old in her arms, and from across the room without even looking or knowing what chain and charm my wife was referring to the Robot Lady says, "No that's not it."  Good thing my son was asleep in my wife's arms or the Italian would have come out of her.

I realize at this point the Robot Lady is in need of finding the yellow brick road and would make a great wife for the Tin Man.  I called corporate again, but had to leave a message.

So we go to eat at a restaurant down the street when the woman from corporate calls me back and is taken a back at what has happened with us.  She then calls the local district manager, who calls the store manager in order to get this taken care of.  Of course, neither the Hag nor the Robot Lady are managers.  Wonder how they couldn't get a managerial position?

The charming corporate woman then calls me back and says the store does in fact have our chain and charm and that we can pick it up from the store manager the next day or day after due to the fact that the mall was now closed.  My response is that my wife is getting her wisdom teeth pulled the next day, which was the truth and why I wanted to treat my wife to a lovely day at the mall, so I would come in two days.

In two days I came in and the manager was charming as well.  We got our chain and charm.  The manager apologized to me for how we were treated.  I'm not sure if the women were fired and frankly I don't care.  I got what we came for even after The Robot Lady and Hag were yanking our chain.

The lesson here is although you may not win every battle, continue to fight and you can still win the war.  And just go straight to corporate when you have a product issue, don't deal with the Hag and Robot Lady at the store.

And use a local jeweler.  Use a local everything because they care about the customer in the store and out of the store.  Big businesses give customers big problems.

Love Thy Neighbor

An apartment is a new thing for my family and I.  It takes some getting used to.  Something we've come to learn.

No one likes a noisy neighbor and with a 22 month old son it's difficult to be quiet in my house hold all the time.  Add to that his three nephews come over and we can be the elephant in the room, well, in the next room.

We live on the third floor and yesterday around 4pm my wife and I are getting the boys ready to head to the pool when a loud banging noise comes from the floor, "Bang, bang, bang, bang!"

This isn't the first time this happened, but it sure was the last time it happened without a word to the wise being put in to the perpetrator.

I immediately grabbed my shoes and headed down the stairs where my neighbor that lives directly below me is headed towards the stairs to walk his dog.  Obviously this guy thought he was going to bang on the ceiling and try to get out of there in case I came to say something.

I bellowed, "Hey, Are you banging on your ceiling up to me?"  With a stunned, about to defecate in his pants look he stammers, "Uhh, uhh, yes."  To which I replied, "Do NOT bang on the ceiling towards us.  Be a man and come let me know if we are being too loud.  We have four boys up there right now."

He then says, "You have them over every day until 1am?"  Now obviously I don't stay awake until 1am every night, especially being loud, I'm too old, have a family and a career.  I replied, "I have a 22 month old so obviously if he can sleep we are not loud every night until 1 am.  And yes we do have four boys over at our house sometimes."

Now I give him some credit for having balls to say this, "Well you should be a better father then."  In my younger days this guy would have been in the hospital at this point, but for my son and wife I stared at him and simply said, "Yea you are a real good father banging on your ceiling because of kids running around getting you angry.  Maybe you shouldn't live in an apartment."

He then turned his head and walked down the stairs.  "Yea, you would walk away," I said.  Boo ya.  Defeated him without coming to blows.

I walked back into our place, the children, my wife and I then all went down to the pool and had a lovely evening.  Misery loves company and I'm happy as can be.

Ah, neighborly love. 

One thing I learned last night is something I'll be getting my son for Chirstmans... Stomp, Stomp, Stomp, Stompeez.

My Life Altering Last Year

Man, it's been a long time since I checked in here.  Over a year.  Since right before last year's football season began.

I think all this social media gave me ADD to where I couldn't concentrate on writing.  As I'm writing this I'm tweeting and sharing things on Facebook.

Anyway, I'm back and going to try and stay here now that I have some credibility to my name, somewhat, I guess.  Here's a quick summary of where I've been and what I do now.

In November my wife and I got married.  Then we moved from our hometown Fort Lauderdale, FL to Chattanooga, TN with our son this past January to start my business, Lookout Inspections, Inc.  Big change and it's for the better.  I'm a home inspector and meeting realtors and potential home buyers is the name of the game.

Leaving FTL meant putting my public address announcing job at FAU in my rear view.  In Chatt-town I announce for Cleveland State Community College.  The LA Dodgers Double A minor league team, the Chattanooga Lookouts, are in town and their P.A. just stepped down.  Wish me luck in getting that gig.

Something else I do in Chatt-a-nowhere, as I heard someone call it, is work for Bahakel Communications at their four local radio stations, Fox Sports, WUUQ, Hits 96, and Sunny 92.3.  Mainly I operate the board for football games and shows (Alabama & Boyd Buchanan) and represent the stations at events.  Sometimes I speak on air and eventually I'll have my own sports talk show, definitely, probably, hopefully, maybe.  We need some more advertisers for that to happen.

It's been a crazy life altering year and my wife, son, and I couldn't be happier.

I'll keep in touch more on here now that we're settled, I promise.

Miami Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill's Shocking Admission

Miami Dolphins rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill admitted to not knowing something about football that a lot of fans can rattle off the top of their head.

Last night on HBO’s series, Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Miami Dolphins, Tannehill told back up Dolphins QB Matt Moore that he doesn’t know what division each team is in.

"I'm so lost on the whole divisions," Tannehill said.  "I know our division and that's about it.”

Moore was shocked and asked Tannehill if he could name the four teams in the NFC north, even giving him a starting point with the Green Bay Packers.

“Green Bay, Minnesota…. the Giants,” Tannehill answered.

After a little chuckle Moore moved on to ask Tannehill if he can name the NFC east teams.
 

“NFC East… the Chiefs?” Tannehill asked.

Moore busted out in laughter and asked,  “How do you not know this?  It shocks me."

Tannehill explained that he wasn’t a big NFL fan as a kid growing up and never invested his interest in liking just one team, so he never got to know the divisions.  He said he does know most of the team's conferences.

Well, the Chiefs are in the AFC West, not the NFC East, so he still has some learning to do on which conference each team is in, let alone getting to know each team’s division.

At least Tannehill knows which teams he needs to be out in the Dolphins' division, so that can be seen as a good sign.

The Dolphins play their final pre season game tonight in Dallas against the Cowboys starting at 8:30pm ET.

Colts vs. Redskins; South Florida Rookies Steal Show

All eyes were on the #1 and #2 picks of the 2012 draft in Saturday's game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Washington Redskins, but two other rookies scored the first touchdowns for each team.

The first quarter ended scoreless with the #2 pick, Robert Griffin III, leading the Redskins down the field.  The drive was capped off with a 2 yard touchdown run by rookie running back Alfred Morris, from Florida Atlantic University. 

The #1 pick, Andrew Luck, responded by leading the Colts to a score on a 31 yard touchdown pass to rookie wide receiver T.Y. Hilton, from Florida International University.

Morris, a sixth round draft pick, and Hilton, a third round draft pick, are no strangers.  Both played their college football in the Sun Belt Conference meeting each year in the Shula Bowl.

Morris finished the game with 107 yards on 14 carries and a TD and may have locked up a spot on the roster.  Hilton caught 4 passes for 54 yards and a TD and may receive playing time during the regular season based on his productive preseason play.

Washington came out on top over Indianapolis 30-17.

RGIII and Luck both had solid numbers.  Neither are expected to play again until week 1 of the regular season.

Washington's last preseason game is Wednesday night at 7pm ET against Tampa Bay.

The Colts last preseason game is Thursday night at 7pm ET against Cincinnati.

Chad Johnson Missing From Twitter

It's been an astonishing 19 hours since Chad Johnson last tweeted.  Something must have happened to him.  He rarely goes half an hour without a new tweet.

Well, something did happen.  He headbutted his wife during an argument and was arrested on a domestic violence charge.

It's going to be rough for Chad in a cell while he detoxes from tweeting.

I'm sure he'll relapse and be right back to tweeting once he gets bailed out today.

It will undoubtedly be an interesting tweet.  The next most interesting one will be when he tweets about getting cut from the Dolphins.

Pittsburgh Steelers George Zimmerman Connection

Tonight the Pittsburgh Steelers open up pre-season play against the Philadelphia Eagles.

For the Steelers sake, let's hope they have a better year than the guy sporting one of their jackets in this photo.

LeBron James is Jesus

LeBron James compiled the first ever triple double in Olympic basketball history in USA's blow out win over Australia yesterday.

His out of this world play is quickly turning him into a basketball God.

I work for a Florida Home Inspection company and going through some reports today I came across the proof that LeBron really is the chosen one.

World Peace Violence

Metta World Peace finally did it. He out Rodmanned Dennis Rodman. World Peace is now officially the craziest man to ever play in the NBA. 

When I first heard the news that Ron Artest legally changed his name to Metta World Peace in September of 2011 I immediately wondered how long it would take before his name change became sad irony.  Well, seven months later it happened.

World Peace will undoubtedly be suspended and it's possible he'll be banned from the league.

Remember, this is the same guy that went into the stands and fought Detroit Pistons fans back in 2004 at The Palace of Auburn Hills.  

If you get a second change to play in the league after being involved in the Malice at the Palace and still aren't grateful enough to restrain from elbowing a man in the head as hard as you can, than you don't deserve the privilege to make millions of dollars playing a game.

Hey, maybe he was sending a message with his vicious bow throw.  Maybe he was just symbolizing that world peace is not obtainable because violence even comes from World Peace.  Yea... I doubt it.

Born in Queensbridge projects in Queens, New York, the artist formally known as Ron Artest had a rough upbringing.  While that's never an excuse to elbow a man directly in the temple, it may explain a little about why he's so aggressive and let's face it... crazy.

This interview with Artest after a game in 2009 where he was ejected might explain a little where his aggression comes from as well.

Google Ads Is A Scam

Google has the opposite mentality of Robin Hood.  Google steals from the poor and gives to the rich.

In the middle of the night on March 19^th Google ransacked my blog, took down all of my Google AdSense advertisements, and pillaged all of my earnings while blocking my Google Ads account.  Google Adsense sent me an email saying they “determined that (my) AdSense account poses a risk of generating invalid activity.”

Un-coincidentally I’m sure... I was supposed to be getting my first ever check from Google Ads at the end of this month.  I finally reached my threshold to receive pay.

I’ve had this blog for nearly four years now and in the last couple months I started writing more, which generated more of a viewership.  Once I started writing again I noticed my Google Ads were missing from my blog, so I did some research and found out they were not showing because a pin number was sent to me that I never received.  Of course, Google never notified me of a pin number being sent to me or why my advertisements were removed.

I requested my pin, received it this time, and got my Google Ads back.  Readers of my blog noticed the advertisements, which related to the stories I write, and clicked on them.  My profits were doubling each month.

I read more into the possible reasons for why my account was blocked and wrote an appeal last night at 10pm.  Once I submitted the appeal a page popped up stating it would take about a week to hear back from Google about their decision.

In the Terms and Conditions it states that you are not allowed to generate clicks on the advertisement links by encouraging people to click on the links, which makes absolutely makes no sense.  As a friend of mine said, “If you opened a store and told your friends about it and they showed up and bought things that would be awesome.”  To me, it’s all a part of advertising.  No matter how those people get there, they got there.
 

I can understand a spam automatically generated system that send people directly to the site being a problem, but when people are literally clicking on an advertisement because it interests them then I don’t see the problem.

I did encourage people on Facebook a couple times to notice the new advertisement links, but never told anyone to click on them a bunch of times so I can earn more money.  If people did do this, I can’t control that, but Google sure seems to have the intelligence to figure out which clicks were valid or were invalid.

But just because they seem to have the intelligence doesn’t mean they do have the intelligence.  Remember to never assume.. you know how the saying goes.

Well, I received my appeal answer much earlier than I expected.  In fact, I received it at 12:45am this morning, not even three hours after I wrote the appeal!  That tells me I received a generated response and I never had a chance.  I mean really, who is working that diligently on my blog appeal between 10pm and 1am on a Sunday night/Monday morning east coast time?  I don’t care where you are in the world.

As I’m sure you can tell by how this blog has gone, my appeal was rejected.  I wanted to ask Google exactly why my request was denied even after my very detailed appeal explaining what my blog is about and what could have possibly happened, but of course an explanation from Google is not an option.

I called Google's contact number and spoke to a person who said she can't give me any information and that none of Google's products provide human customer services.  I asked for her name and she said, "Agent ID 3036."  I laughed and asked, "So they don't even let you give out your name?"  She chuckled and said, "No they don't."  No joke... this just happened to me a couple minutes ago.

So little old Edwin The Bear found a way to get a piece of Google’s pie and as soon as I was about to have my piece handed over, the Google AdSense Nazi said “No Check For You!”

So now, the advertisers that received views from my blog get their money back and benefit from the views I gave their websites.  I'll be contacting those advertisers in hopes to get them back on this blog, which includes Baseball Express, ITT Tech, NBA.com, and others.

Good one Google!   Congratulations on being the Sheriff of Nottinghnam!

Just to be clear, I will continue writing blogs and will use this Google blockage crap as motivation.

My own advertising business is coming soon…

Karma Hits Frank Haith and Missouri Like a Hurricane

In the Florida Gators NCAA Tournament basketball game tonight starting at 6:10 there's two things that will very noticeably be missing, the Missouri Tigers and their head coach Frank Haith.

Instead the #7 seed Gators will play the #15 seed Norfolk State Spartans, who upset the #2 seed Tigers in the first round of the West Region.  The upset feeling Missouri fans are enduring is nothing compared to the upset feelings Miami Hurricanes fans have towards their former head coach Frank Haith.

The NCAA is still investigating the Hurricanes for violations.  The most publicized investigations are on the football side at Miami, remember the whole "Death Penalty" thing ESPN was pushing, but there are clearly serious on going investigations with the basketball players receiving improper benefits during Frank Haith's tenure as well.

The Hurricanes are in this year's NIT Tournament and were one of the teams that were on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament.  One or two more wins and Miami would be in the big dance.  And one or two of those wins could have easily happened if three Hurricanes players were on the court.

Senior forward DeQuan Jones missed the first ten games of the season due to suspension for the allegation that former UM booster and current felon Nevin Shapiro gave $10,000 to one of Haith's assistant coaches to recruit Jones.  Jones was originally going to sit out the entire season until one day before his appeal he was reinstated.  The 'Canes went 6-4 during that time span.  Frank Haith received no suspension. 

With the possibility of more suspensions looming, UM head coach Jim Larranaga did a masterful job keeping his players focused on the current season. The 'Canes won nearly every game they were supposed to win while also pulling out a couple they weren't supposed to win, including wins at Duke and at home against Florida State.

The Florida State game UM won is one of those many memorable moments that can be added to Larranaga's coaching resume.  Before the game started,  Junior center and Miami's leading re-bounder Reggie Johnson was suspended indefinitely due to his family receiving travel benefits from another member of Haith's staff at UM.  Johnson sat out one game.  Miami destroyed the Seminoles 78-62.  Frank Haith received no suspension. 

In the ACC Conference Tournament Miami played the 'Noles and looked to strengthen their bid to be in the NCAA Tournament with a win.  Before the game, Junior guard and Miami's leading scorer Durand Scott was suspended six games due to the NCAA finding he received impermissible travel benefits from an unnamed staff member of Haith's at UM.  Miami lost to FSU 82-71.  Scott averages 12.9 points a game.  Frank Haith received no suspension. 

After Missouri's loss to Norfolk State, Frank Haith won't be participating in important games he thought he'd be playing in, similar to what his former Miami Hurricanes players faced all season.

Karma hit Haith and Missouri like a hurricane.

Miami plays tomorrow hosting Minnesota starting at 9pm in the second round of the NIT.  UM defeated Valparaiso in the first round.

FAU Baseball Limping Into Conference Play

The FAU Owls baseball team (11-7) started off the season hot winning six of their first seven games, but since then cooled off drastically winning just five of their last eleven.

FAU went to Alabama and swept the Crimson tide in their three game series opener.  ESPN took notice, ranking FAU #15 in the nation in their power rankings at the time.

The Owls returned home winning three of a four game set against the Manhattan Jaspers, who were in the Gainesville regional of the College World Series last postseason.

Then FAU traveled to Miami losing 10-5.  FAU looks for revenge against the Hurricanes next Wednesday night, March 21, at FAU Baseball Stadium.

Princeton then traveled to town for a four game series and the Owls looked like they had a Hurricane hangover as they lost 11-4 in the opener.  Saturday was slated for a double header where FAU won the first game 9-1.  In that first game the Owls top player, senior right fielder Alex Hudak (the player's name I love announcing most), ran down a foul ball in the top of the ninth with the team up 9-1, slamming into the fence, flipping over it, and breaking his ankle.  FAU tied the series 2-2 with Princeton, but lost their leader for 4-6 weeks.

Next the Owls traveled to Gainseville to play the Florida Gators and were annihilated 16-1.  In the mean time they lost their number 2 hitter Robert Buckley to an injury for 4-6 weeks, found out Junior pitcher Jeremy Strawn was done for the season, and that last year's closer and this year's professional prospect Senior Hugh Adams is done for the season as well.

FAU bounced back to demolish Boston College at FAU Baseball Stadium 13-4 the night after their embarrassing loss to the Gators, but if they only knew what a wacky weekend they had in store coming up against the boys from New Jersey, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

FAU owned the Rutgers in their all time series 16-5 coming into it, but the Scarlet Knights ended up taking two of three from the Owls in Boca Raton, Florida.  The Owls lost their normal lead off man and starting center fielder Junior Nathan Pittman indefinitely due to a hamstring injury on a bunt for a base hit attempt during the weekend.  The weekend also included the Owls third baseman going 3-4 in a game while making three errors, a Rutgers player scoring with every base he reached being because of an error by the Owls third baseman, a 6-2-3 ground out for a Rutgers player on an overthrow from the Owls shortstop being backed up by the catcher who caught the Rutgers player turning for second at first base, and finally Rutgers catcher Jeff Melillo throwing a bat over his team's dugout while on deck, then losing his bat twice during a 15 pitch at bat before striking out with the bases loaded.  If anyone would have caught Melillo's bat toss while on deck it would have made Sportscenter's Not Top Ten plays for sure.  Melillo wore brand new batting gloves the next game.  Whew, what a weekend.

Finally there was tonight's game, where FAU defeated the Fordham Rams 8-5 and luckily had no injuries. Fordham still has their third basemen Brian Kownacki, who was on Sportscenter's Top Ten highlights two years ago because of his amazing front flip to score a run over an Iona catcher.  

Now the Owls are getting ready for the beginning of the games that matter.  Their conference schedule begins Friday night at 7pm with a trip a few miles down south to face their arch rival, the FIU Golden Panthers, in a three game series.

Miami Marlins Home Opener Last Night (With Photos)

The Miami Marlins played their home opening game at the new stadium last night, defeating the Miami Hurricanes in a split squad Spring Training contest 7-6.

The Marlins started pitcher Mark Buehrle, who threw three innings, allowing three runs all coming in the bottom of the third.

The Hurricanes started pitcher Andrew Suarez, who looked more impressive than Buehrle.  Through his first three innings he kept the Marlins scoreless and struck out UM alum Gabby Sanchez.  Suarez was drafted by the Blue Jays straight out of high school, but didn’t accept the offer, electing to play near his home town for the U instead.  Remember his name.

Hanley Ramirez homered to opposite field, but the big ugly home run piece of “art” out in left center isn’t working yet so no one had the privilege to witness the monstrosity in action.

Ramirez played well at third base and looked as happy as he’s ever been in a Marlins uniform.  I was a little worried in the beginning of the game when Buherle was getting ready to throw the first pitch and Hanley was still standing in the infield as shown below, but he eventually figured it out.

The ‘Canes stud catcher Peter O’Brien pulled a screamer that Ramirez fielded cleanly, along with multiple other put outs by the Marlins new third baseman.

Bad weather was in the area a couple hours before the first pitch was scheduled and the roof was closed for play.  That idea is already a win in the book for the Marlins.

Billy the Marlin was at the game and has a slightly altered look.  His fins are now multicolored just like the new Marlins colors.

As for Marlins every day starters there was John Buck at catcher, Hanley at third, Gabby Sanchez at first, and Logan Morrison in left field, who left the game with a strained arch.  Austin Kearns and Aaron Rowand rounded out the outfield.



It was nice how both teams implemented the Miami flavor based on their players.  Alexander Fernandez pitched for the 'Canes, son of former Marlins pitcher Alex Fernandez.  Elih Villanueva, a Miami native, pitched in relief for the Marlins.  And of course the fan favorite of the night Gabby Sanchez played.

My Personal Experience

The stadium looks like a huge UFO landed in the old city of Little Havana.  It looks out of place to say the least.

The drive down wasn’t fun either.  If you want no problems make sure you have a Sun Pass for the Express Lane on I-95 or you’ll be caught in bumper to bumper traffic every time there is a 7o'clock game during the weekdays.  We left at 5:15 and got down there at about 6:30 from Fort Lauderdale.  The ride home was much smoother only taking about 30 minutes.  Next time I’ll remember my Sun Pass for the drive down.

I sat in row 2 behind home plate, but be aware that row 2 doesn’t really mean row 2.  It’s really row 7.  There’s rows A, B, C, D, E, and 1 in front of you, not to mention the ground level seats that are  8 to 10 rows deep depending on which section you are in.

I went with my three month old son for his first ever ball game, and with my fiancé.  Of course we got on the big screen.  Cameramen love catching daddies dancing with their babies, especially when they’re wearing the new team colors.

All in all it made for a pretty nice experience, but be sure to remember what garage you parked in.  They are all identical and there were plenty of people confused as to which one they parked in… including me.