April baseball may be about as meaningful as the 7th round of the NFL draft (do you really think Ramzee Robinson will have a big impact on the Lions next season?). Still, this opening month of baseball has been quite an eventful one. The Yankees are in last, the Brewers are in first, the Braves have returned, and Barry is back. Here is some hardware for the best (and worst) of April.
There’s been a lot of moving and shaking this week in the Power Rankings. The Yankees continue to slide, while the Brewers, Indians, and Diamondbacks have gained a lot of ground.
It seemed everybody was jumping on the Giants bandwagon, after they won eight games in a row, but now they’ve lost three out of their last four and finish the month two games over .500.
Another team that’s showing impressive improvement is the Pirates, who are currently at .500. Last year at this point they were 7-20.
By Trevor Freeman
In the words and voice of Eric Cartman, I have but one thing to say……”How would you like to suck my balls….Mr. Barkley?” Hahahaha. Great call “Sir Charles”. Oh and by the way, having somebody from Alabama tell you that Sausalito/Marin County sucks is the exact equivalent of Cash Warren hearing that Jessica Alba is an ugly tramp from one of the Greek guys dating Paris Hilton. Not since the “Run TMC” era has there been a better time to be a Golden State Warriors fan. I just spent $40 on eBay for a “We Believe” T-Shirt that may or may not have beer stains on it. To be quite honest, I’m hoping for beer stains. I want to be a part of what went down in Games 3 and 4 in the Oracle..cough..Oakland Arena.
By Rob LaBrie
“Man I ain’t changed, but I know I ain’t the same
But somewhere here in between the city walls of dyin’ dreams
I think his death it must be killin’ me” – Jakob Dylan (The Wallflowers)
“I have just returned from Boston. It’s the only thing to do if you find yourself up there.”
-Fred Allen, (1894-1957) comedian
I don’t eat New England clam chowder or Boston éclairs. I don’t wear the color red at all during baseball season. I weasel out of business trips that involve a Massachusetts destination. The city of Boston, to me, is no different than mint chocolate chip ice cream, margaritas, or “The Lord of the Rings.” I don’t care how universally popular they are: I’ve tried ’em, and I hate ’em.
The first round of the playoffs brought us little surprises, with the exception of Nashville’s complete collapse against San Jose. The Rangers took care of business against the Thrashers, while another season ends in the first round for Marty Turco and the Dallas Stars. The Ducks took care of the Wild in five games, while the Sabres had no problems with the Islanders. The Flames showed some heart, but it was not enough against the talented Wings, and Martian Broudeur is already heading for his second Con Smythe with his dominating performance over the Lightning.
By Billy Fellin
Dizzy is what happens when you spin around on a tire swing or a rotating chair too long. Dizzy can happen when a beautiful girl walks by and you turn your head so fast to catch another glimpse. That could also be filed under whiplash. Any one else think there should be a HANS-type device that could prevent this? Can we get a ruling on this? Ok. Moving on, dizzy also happens to be a very good song by the Goo Goo Dolls. Dizzy is also how Yankee fans are currently feeling after the three game sweep in Fenway this past weekend.
Is it just me or have there been an awful lot more two-game series than normal this year? All in all, it seems there has been quite a bit more scrutiny about the scheduling than usual. If you’re looking for somebody to point a finger at, then take aim at Katy Feeney, a senior vice president for Major League Baseball who is in charge of the scheduling puzzle.
In terms of the rankings, the Mets hold on to their top slot and the Red Sox are still in second. The Braves and Brewers continue to march their way toward the top with impressive starts, while the Royals and Nationals look like they’re going to be in a season-long battle for the numero treinta.
In other news “Manny Being Manny” is just another way of describing the constant comedy of Ramirez’ play in the outfield; Alex Rodriguez might join the 600-homerun club this year; Torii Hunter could potentially be suspended for three years for a fairly minor rule violation; and both Mark Prior and Kerry Wood are injured, although that should go without saying.
Recently, I was watching the Best Damn Top 50 Spectacular Plays and it got me obsessed with Top Ten lists. Naturally, I had to watch Who’s Number 1? and The Sports List afterwards, and yell at Summer Sanders when I disagreed. Now I’m hooked and I have been trying to think of unique top ten lists. With this list of the best sports casting calls of all time, I feel I’ve accomplished that (even if I could only think of eight worthy of the list).
by Trevor Freeman
Ever since March Madness ended, we as a sports nation have been in a funk. It was a long couple of weeks, but we are snapping out of it in a big way with the NFL Draft on the horizon and the NBA playoffs heating up. Baseball is in full swing. I know I am pretty pumped that my Athletics have gotten out of the gate at 10-9 (generally my A’s like to start 2-17 and 11 games out of first). With all this going on, I sat down and tried to compose an article on a number of topics. However, I once again ran into a brick wall at every turn. Yes, writer’s block was affecting me and there was only one way to snap out of. Without further ado, here is our fourth “Sports Medley”.