Don't call it a comeback...

...I've been here for YEARS!!

That's right...this is actual new material on the old Stuff of Legend blog today. The last few months have been very....well..."interesting" doesn't really seem to cover it, but I guess it will have to do. Not going to get into it, other than to say that I don't have to be nearly as careful about voicing my appreciation of my favorite television hotties anymore...no strings attached, baby!

So, I have TONS of stuff to get to, obviously. Lots of stuff happened while I was away that I started to blog about, but just couldn't work up the energy or motivation. Let's just pretend that I made my usual really cool and witty remarks about everything that has happened in the sports and pop culture worlds over the last three months or so and MOVE FORWARD.

Let's get the sports stuff out of the way first, so that my sports-only "audience" (yeah, right...as if I still have an audience at this point) can check out once we get to what is really going to be the bulk of this post...

- The Braves pitching staff has been absolutely ridiculous to this point...in a good way.

Second in the majors with a team ERA of 2.94. First in the majors in strikeouts. First in batting average against (a paltry .218). First in WHIP at 1.09.

Those are numbers that even the Maddux-Glavine-Smoltz pitching staffs would be proud of. Top to bottom, this is the best staff in baseball. Philly probably has better starters, but their bullpen can't even touch ours.

But, much like some of those '90s teams, the offense has been inconsistent, and really needs to get rolling if we want to stay in contention for the division. As good as our pitching staff is, it is unrealistic to expect the kind of dominance we are seeing right now to last all season...they will have rough patches when they need the offense to carry them.

To me, the key is three guys:

Dan Uggla: .202 avg, .664 OPS,
Jason Heyward: .219 avg, .749 OPS
Freddie Freeman: .226 avg, .678 OPS

We need to get at least two of these guys going on a consistent basis if we want the offense to stay on track. I don't worry so much about Uggla...he's a proven performer who has a long history of starting slow and then heating up as the weather does. Heyward and Freeman, however, concern me, only because they don't have a proven track record. Heyward can't seem to stay healthy, and his numbers since his hot start last year are Francoueresque. Freeman is obviously going through the majors for the first time, so we have no idea what to really expect.

And, of course, those two guys were also the SI cover boys. Coincidence? (yeah, probably)

- I loved the Falcons move to get Julio Jones. Yes, we gave up a lot. Yes, I would have rather drafted A.J. But to me, this move says that our front office thinks we are ready to win NOW. The guys we would have gotten with the picks we traded away might have been nice for the future (although it could be the case that Dimitroff et. al. saw this draft as extremely top-heavy), but when you have a window to compete for a Super Bowl, you better take advantage of it.

Two more thoughts: 1) the future picks should all be even lower than our pick this year, if the move pays off. Yes, that's an IF...this was a gamble, and all gambles have risks. 2) Who's to say we don't make other deals that get some of those future picks back?

As for A.J....I would love to have him. But I can pretty confidently guarantee that we called Cincy with the same offer we made the Browns. It takes two to make a trade.

My one qualm with the pick...Julio, as good as I think he will be (and I thought he was the second best WR in this draft, but would have been the best in the draft in most years), is still going to start next season as your #2 WR behind Roddy White. And we are paying him #6 pick money. That's a lot of money to pay your 2nd WR, no matter what the new CBA ends up doing to rookie salaries.

- The Hawks. Whatever. I knew after the offseason that we had before the year started that this organization is not aiming for anything other than an occasional appearance in the second round. Larry Drew and Joe Johnson are not the foundation on which championships are built.

We got lucky in the first round that we drew an opponent that was actually more dysfunctional than us. In the second round, it came down to the fact that Chicago has a superstar, and the Hawks only have someone who makes superstar money.

Next year, we likely lose Crawford, and we don't have money to go get a difference maker because we gave it all to Joe Johnson.

Whee.

- I guess the biggest news to come out of Dawg Nation in the last couple of months is the apparent shakeup in the backfield.

I wish Washaun Ealey well, and will always remember him for the night that he and Caleb RAN THIS STATE. But I will also remember him for wasted potential and an apparent bad attitude that was even more apparent to those who followed him on social media. I think he was given multiple chances to get his act together and chose not to...at which point, it's best for the team that he move on, no matter how much it hurts to lose your top rusher.

Now we anxiously await news on Caleb King's eligibility. Yes, I think Isaiah Crowell is a real talent, maybe a game-changing talent...but I thought the same thing about some other highly recruited guys who never panned out, as well. Plus I just don't like the idea of going into the season with two guys who have never carried the ball in an actual game as your top two tailbacks, with the number three guy being an undersized back that Coach Bobo is apparently trying to murder (stop running him up the middle!!).

As usual at this time of the year, I am really excited about the upcoming season. The defense should almost certainly improve, both because of experience in the system and some upgraded personnel along the d-line. Aaron Murray should be one of the top QBs in the SEC, as long as he gets time to throw and his receivers don't let him down.

Should be more to come as we get closer to fall practice...which is only a few (well, a dozen or so) weeks away!

OK...that concludes the sports-related portion of our programming. From here on out, it's a mishmash of pop culture stuff and other random observations, so if you aren't interested in that, no hard feelings...come on back next time (promise it won't be three months).

- This week is Upfronts Week for the networks, which is when they all announce their fall schedules, introducing their new shows and confirming the demise of others. This is also the week that my phone dies around lunchtime, due to the fact that all of the TV critics and bloggers that I follow on Twitter are all tweeting the same news at the same time. I received 25 Twitter messages just while typing that last sentence.

This is also the week when I wish I could go back and be a television writer. One that could actually get paid for the mountain of words that are about to spill out all over this page.

I am legitimately fascinated by things like network strategy...what new shows get greenlit, what gets cancelled and why, putting together a nightly primetime schedule and things like lead-ins, synergies between shows, etc. I'm a geek for several things, but this type of stuff is probably where I geek out the hardest.

I am especially intrigued to see how the networks are adjusting their strategies to deal with the brand new paradigms that they are now facing. It hasn't been too long ago that a "hit" TV show drew 20-30 million viewers a week. Now, with cable stations providing TONS more original programming, some of which is considered to be much higher quality than the typical network show, plus the rapid increase of either "timeslot shifting" (people DVR a show and then watch it whenever they want) or alternative means of watching television (OnDemand, DVD/Netflix, Hulu, etc) networks can't DREAM of hitting those types of numbers, with extremely rare exception (Super Bowl, etc). In my opinion, where this has hurt the most is in the development of new shows. Quick, tell me what the big break out network hits have been in the last two years....and by "hits" I'm talking about shows that actually draw numbers that win time slots.

GO!

OK, time's up...I came up with Glee, Dancing With the Stars, The Biggest Loser, Celebrity Apprentice, and what seems like a dozen CSI, NCIS, L&O type spinoffs. MAYBE The Mentalist? It's almost all reality show drivel or boring procedurals (all opinions in this blog are mine, obviously...if you enjoy those shows, more power to you, and congratulations...you have LOTS of choices).

Now let's look at the world of cable...for a cable channel, a "hit" doesn't necessarily mean "ratings", especially for the pay cable channels. It's all about brand prestige, reputation, and (for the pay channels) subscriptions. Mad Men. Breaking Bad. Boardwalk Empire. True Blood. Walking Dead. Justified. Dexter. I could go on, but you get my point...and that's without even mentioning shows like Sons of Anarchy, or Damages, or Weeds, or Nurse Jackie, or United States of Tara....all shows that, while they may not draw big numbers, all enhance the reputation and brand recognition of their networks.

So...what's the difference? First of all, the obvious...cable networks can get away with things content-wise that broadcast networks can't. That is a definite advantage.

But that can't be all of it. Seriously...what does Mad Men and Breaking Bad show or do that you can't get away with on network television? It's not anything that would really be missed, and it's not why the show works.

I think a big part of it is that cable networks go into it knowing that they are never going to pull the ratings that would typically be expected of a network show, which relieves some of the pressure to yank shows off the air if they aren't pulling huge numbers. True Blood is a great example...when it premiered on HBO, it got less-than -respectable ratings, and in a network environment (assuming that it was a show that had network type content), probably would have been pulled from the schedule almost immediately. Instead, it was left on the air, the buzz ramped up (even if the quality didn't), and it is now HBO's biggest hit.

I don't know what the answer is for the broadcast networks...they somehow have to find a way to sell advertising and make money, and for now their only real way of doing that is using a ridiculously antiquated Nielsen system. I foresee a future where ALL television is web based..NBC won't be a "channel", it will be a website. All of their content will be on the website, and you go and choose whatever you want to watch and it comes straight to your television. That is not something that we are years away from, at least not from a technology standpoint. We HAVE the TECHNOLOGY. What we don't have is a way of monetizing it that works for everybody...the networks, the consumer, the advertisers, the production staffs and writers, etc.

I just hope they figure it out soon...I'm tired of every new network show I start to get into being yanked off the air before it has time to find its feet, with The Chicago Code being the latest example (and Lord, Shawn Ryan deserved better after Terriers). Broadcast networks, in my opinion, have to come up with a new definition of what a "successful" show is...we can't keep using the same parameters in a completely new environment.

This isn't to say that there isn't quality programming currently on network television...but a lot of what I consider quality (Parks and Rec, Community, Chuck, Fringe, Cougar Town, etc) aren't ratings hits by any stretch of the imagination, and seem to live on the cancellation bubble, while stuff like The Voice, Biggest Loser, The Apprentice, etc. always seems to do huge numbers.

So I am very thankful that some of my favorite shows have been granted a reprieve. Looking at the numbers, it's really hard to fathom why the networks have chosen so save some, while others have gone by the wayside...but I'm glad for it anyway.

OK, I promise the rest of the bullet points will be shorter.

- Speaking of upfronts, this is the trailer from the new show that I am most excited about...believe it or not, it's from NBC (I KNOW, RIGHT?!?)

Looks pretty awesome, right? Which means that it will probably be cancelled by the time this post is actually published.

- Is there a way to tell a new girl at work that you find her REALLY attractive? I mean, without coming off like a total creep?

- Guess I should say something about American Idol. Basically, I give up. I said months ago that Scotty McReery was going to win the whole thing...based on my master thesis on American Idol Demographics (I should TOTALLY HAVE WRITTEN THAT), he has the Country Vote, the Teenybopper Vote, and the Grandmother Vote. Those are probably the three most powerful voting blocs in the American Idol Universe, so he is systematically destroying everybody in his path. I would be willing to bet that if they actually released the voting totals, he would be winning every single week. By TONS. Even before he broke out the "Vote for me or the terrorists win!!" strategy last week.

And, gah...he makes me want to punch him in the neck every time he performs.

The show has really missed both Simon and the different genre nights...without those two factors forcing contestants out of their comfort zones, everybody just does the same exact thing every....single...week. And the judges have been atrocious...the problem with praising EVERYTHING that everybody does is that it causes your praise to mean nothing. That was why it was always such a big deal when Simon gave positive feedback...you knew that if he was praising it, that praise was earned.

Anyway...I'm definitely watching out of habit (maybe even obligation) at this point. And no matter what I say, I will probably be right back there every single season until it gets cancelled and puts both me and the show out of our misery.

- Best five comedies currently on TV (either airing or just finished their season), in order: Parks and Recreation, Community, Cougar Town, Raising Hope, Bob's Burgers.

Just missed the cut: Modern Family (too inconsistent, but when it's on its game there are few better), The Office (WAY too up and down this season, and the Will Ferrell thing was a disaster), Archer (been off the air too long to qualify, but no show delivers more laughs per second).

What do you think? Let me know in the comments....next time out I will do dramas.

- So I have one question about the Fringe season finale...if it was 15 years in the future, how come everybody looked the same as they do now? I'm not counting the 4 gray hairs that Peter had. Take it from someone who knows...15 years does a LOT more damage to a head of hair than that.

Yep, that was the one question...everything else made perfect sense.

- Right now, the album I am most likely to be listening to on repeat is Manchester Orchestra's "Mean Everything to Nothing." Nothing but quality, start to finish.

And trust me, I love everything on Adele's "21", but I can't listen to it on repeat unless I want to throw myself off a cliff, only to have Superman swoop down and catch me, and then drop me from HIGHER. (tm Louie C.K.).

- I think I am officially done with How I Met Your Mother after last night. This whole season has been borderline awful (hated everything about the Zoey storyline), but I stuck with it, in large part because I felt like we were promised in the season premiere that by the time we got to that wedding, we would be getting ANSWERS. Instead, all we got was more mysteries...who is Barney marrying, and (most of all), why is this wedding so important to Ted? It was strongly hinted in the premiere that this is when he meets the mother, and maybe it is...but we are certainly no closer to knowing now than we were 22 episodes ago.

Look, I understand how hypocritical this is of someone who to this day will defend LOST with my dying breath...but the time for mysteries is over. They need to move the story FORWARD. In what way has the story moved forward this season? Marshall and Lily are pregnant (a storyline that you knew had to happen eventually), and Barney is marrying...somebody. And we still have no clue who the mother is.

It's time. And, no, I disagree with those who say that once you meet the mother the show is over. The story of a relationship doesn't end when you meet...there could still be LOTS of story to tell after that, with the mother just being another character on the show, that would HAVE to be more interesting than the water-treading that is going on now.

- I am now two thirds of the way through the Hunger Games trilogy...it's very interesting, gripping, exciting stuff. Definitely written for a younger audience, but the plot is tight enough that we older teenagers can still enjoy it. I would certainly recommend it to any parents with young adult readers...I bought my 13 year old a copy this weekend and can't wait to talk about it with her.

- I apologize to all two of you out there who were looking forward to detailed recaps of Game of Thrones. First of all, I never really could decide on a format...do I write it with readers in mind, or non-readers? There is no way I have time to do both...it would be really hard to recap it from a non-reader perspective, having read the entire series multiple times, but I know that out of what little audience I have, the majority would be non-readers.

And then...well, life got in the way and rendered the whole decision moot.

The series has been fantastic...the look is amazing, the acting is superb (and, yes, I would still want to adopt Maisie Williams if it wasn't so obvious that she must have parents far more superb and amazing than I could ever hope to be). My only real issue with the show to this point is the editing...we seem to move REALLY quickly between scenes, which I think hinders the viewer's ability to fully consume what he's just seen. This is probably due to having SO MUCH to fit in to each episode...which then makes me nervous about next season, when they will supposedly have the same number of episodes to tell tons more story.

But that's a worry for next season...for now, I am really enjoying the show. And what's better, several friends of mine who aren't fans of the book are loving it as well, which means that the writers and producers really are doing a fantastic job.

There have been several scenes, especially in the last episode, that never actually happened in the book. Since I am trying to view the show as a separate entity from the books as much as I can, I can safely say that I have really loved every single one of them, and feel like they have added even more depth to even some of the main characters than they might have had without these additional scenes.

Bravo all around, really...and for those of you who are watching and have not read the books, buckle your seatbelts. You ain't seen nothing yet.

By the way, if you're going to comment on Game of Thrones at all, please...no spoilers for non-readers. Thanks.

OK...I think that's enough for now. Even though I haven't even mentioned The Killing (liking it until last week...at which point I loved it), Chuck (perfect finale, and leads up to what I think can be a really cool final season), Firefly (watching it for the first time as it's being re-run on the Science Channel - is it too late to start a campaign to get it renewed?), or Deadwood (the one season I haven't seen, S3, just popped up OnDemand - all I can say, in the spirit of the show, is $%!@, &$*@, and %&!@#!).

Ahhh...it's good to be back.

Here's what I'm not talking about...

Have you noticed that I haven't had a lot to say lately?

I'm sure that a big part of it is the crappy season the Dawgs are having, but I am also just fed up in general with a lot of the things that I would normally be writing about here. Combine that with the fact that I have been EXTREMELY busy, and I just haven't been able to find the time, motivation, or energy to talk about:

- How hot Mark Richt's seat is.
- GranthamGate, ChokeGate, or whatever you want to call the ridiculous kerfluffle that was stirred up by the idiots over at the AJC this week.
- The AJC in general.
- Boise State.
- The stupid new technical foul rules in the NBA.
- The fact that every time a football player takes a hard hit now, we have to spend five minutes examining super slo mo replays to determine what the hitter's intent was, what the exact position of his head was in relation to the other player's head, how he should have somehow defied the laws of physics and changed position and/or speed in midair to keep from hitting his opponent so hard, and then eventually call the hitter out for being a horrible human being who is intentionally trying to turn his opponent into a vegetable. Instead of calling him what he is...a football player.
- The most personally heartbreaking loss I can remember since UT 2004.
- Urban Meyer and Chris Rainey.
- The revisionist history from TV announcers regarding Cam Newton's past (though that may change with yesterday's news regarding the NCAA investigation).
- Brett Favre.
- Randy Moss.

Seriously, my attitude towards sports in general right now is just very bitter. And I don't think that any of you want to read that, so I haven't been writing.

I'm about to be through with the busiest time of the year for me at work (budgets for next year). Hopefully, once I'm past that, I will have a better idea about what I want this blog to be going forward. I have a good feeling that if it continues, it's probably going to be a lot different than what it has been in the past.

As always...

GO DAWGS

Cool new Pearl Jam song

Actually, I don't know how "new" it is...I admittedly am not really "hip". Yeah, I know, that comes as a shock.

Anyway, I love this, and it's very different from what I expected when I heard "new Pearl Jam song".

Great old-school reporting

I know this is random, but I just really enjoyed this clip today...some really great old-school type reporting that we rarely see anymore, especially in this one-paper town.

"Is Chief Pennington still on the payroll?"
"Some say the Chief has checked out....have you checked out as well?"

Great stuff...

Non-Atlanta readers, the little lady no-commenting over and over in this clip is the Mayor of Atlanta, Shirley Franklin...Shirley-Girl to us natives.

Audio doesn't kick in until about 7 seconds in, for some reason.

We interrupt this program...

...more to come later on SEC Media Days, but in the meantime...Nirvana just got Rick-rolled. And it is AWESOME.

h/t to Doug

Weekend thoughts

Some random thoughts from the last few days...

- I guess the biggest news locally is the trade the Braves made that sent Jeff Francouer to the Mets in exchange for Ryan Church. There has been a lot of differing opinions being thrown around on this one, but I come down solidly in favor of the move.

Frenchy has been steadily declining in production ever since his sophomore season, and things don't look like they are turning around anytime soon. For that reason, the Braves were looking at a scenario after this season in which they were probably not going to tender him a contract at all...they weren't going to pay the approximately $5M he would most likely win in arbitration. That is more than they are willing to pay for a .240 hitter with minimal power and virtually no run production, who has a great arm but is only slightly above average defensively.

On top of that, add the growing tension between Francouer, who is still holding a grudge about being sent down to the minors last year, and the team, which is still mad at Francouer for going outside of the organization for help with his swing this past offseason, which they saw as a show of disrespect to Terry Pendleton (which.....whatever, that's stupid and I'm not going to get into the whole thing here)...and really, it was time for Francouer to go.

I think Frank Wren did a good job in what he got back...Church is about equal in his hitting for power, and he will hit for a better average and OBP than we were ever going to get out of Frenchy. I'm not saying it's a HUGE upgrade...we didn't trade for Albert Pujols or anything. But it's an upgrade, and considering the situation I think it was the best we were going to get. Certainly compared to the NOTHING we were going to get once the season was over and we let him go.

As for the people complaining because we did the deal with the Mets, I think it's crazy to say we will NEVER do a deal with our rivals, especially if we can actually come out on the positive side as I believe we have here.

Don't just take MY word for it:

Rob Neyer, ESPN.com: "Wow. Church must really have worn out his welcome with the Mets. Since coming off the DL in early June, Church's line is .290/.336/.402 ... far from good for a corner outfielder, but decent enough compared to most of the Mets' other outfielders ... and of course a far sight prettier than Francoeur's .250/.282/.352 line for the season....So, let's review: The Braves got a decent hitter and fielder who bats left-handed, and thus can platoon (or semi-platoon) with Matt Diaz in right field. The Mets got ... what, exactly? If you figure it out, drop a line to Jerry Manuel. He's going to need all the help he can get with this one."

Bottom line...it's sad to see him go. I had really high hopes for him, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching him the first year and a half of his career. For the last two years, though, he has been a disaster at the plate. Maybe the change of scenery will help him, but the Braves were really left with no choice, in my opinion.

Doesn't matter for this year, anyway. This team is done. Had a golden opportunity yesterday to end the first half on a positive note, and even reach .500 for the first time in months, but blew it. Don't know if you saw it or not, but Garrett Anderson made one of the worst throws I have ever seen from a ML outfielder in the disastrous 7th inning...from shallow left field he missed third base by about 30 feet. How is that even possible?

- Another celebrity death....Arturo "Thunder" Gatti was found dead at 37, and reports coming out now are that he may have been strangled to death by his 23 year old wife.

I used to love watching Gatti fight...he would always cut weight like a mad man, and then by the time the fight started he would outweigh his opponents by like 15 pounds and he would just beat the daylights out of them. Not exactly fair, but it sure was fun to watch.

And of course, his trilogy with Mickey Ward was just old school boxing at its finest:

RIP, Thunder....you will be remembered.

- The Dawgs recruiting train continues to maintain speed, with the committment over the weekend of 4-star safety Jakar Hamilton out of Georgia Military. With him and earlier safety commit Alec Ogletree, the safety position looks to be in pretty good shape over the next couple of years.

Dawgs now have 14 committments for the 2010 class, and probably only have about 7-8 slots left. We are already hearing rumors (and that's all they are) that guys are now being told to hold off on committing to make sure we have enough slots for the big-time guys we are still in on (like Mack Brown, Garrison Smith, TJ Stripling, etc). Just have to keep telling myself...Trust the Coaches, Trust the Coaches...

- Tomorrow is a huge day....NCAA '10 comes out for Playstation. As usual, I have a couple of days off planned over the next couple of weeks in order to be able to pull a couple of all-nighters...I'll let you know how it is. I have a Playstation 2, though, so really the only changes we ever see anymore are just the updated rosters.

I do know this...EA Sports released their preseason rankings to coincide with the release of the game...they have the Dawgs at 13, and the Gnats at 18. HAH!!! Suck on THAT, nerds!!!!

Only 54 more days to kickoff!!!

GO DAWGS!!

Dude...

...there is NOTHING going on.

I started my semi-usual "Weekend Thoughts" post before realizing that there was so little actual content that it wouldn't be right to even call it a post.

Let's see...

- Braves slid back to the mean...after tantalizing us with the sweep of the Phillies, they go lose two of three to the Lowly Nationals (I'm pretty sure "lowly" is part of their official name now, which is why I capitalized it). I'm officially done with them now. It really sucks that they can no longer even keep me occupied until fall practice starts.

As of Friday, I had a post all ready to go (in my head, of course) about what moves they could make in order to make a real postseason run. Now? Wake me up if they actually catch the Phillies.

- There is NOTHING on TV. I did enjoy the Deadliest Catch marathon over the weekend, although that show just proves to me what a slug I am. I wouldn't last four minutes on one of those boats. I'd be the greenhorn they'd all be ready to throw over the side, because I'm hiding in my bed trying to get feeling back in my extremities. Those guys are hardcore.

- Still 60 days away from kickoff. Ugh.

So, yeah...we are in the dead zone. I'll probably be posting two or three times a week, usually pretty random stuff unless some sort of news breaks. I'll try to do better than yesterday's post...I think yesterday I aimed for "random", but missed and hit "gay."

Anyway, if you haven't done so already, check out Hale's blog...even on vacation, dude is still kicking my butt in the content department. Especially interesting are his two posts on Joe C here and here.

Sorry for light posting...

Lots going on...back in a day or so.

But I don't want to leave you like that...here, what better way to pass the time till I return than with NPH and Jason Segal re-creating the Confrontation scene from Les Miz?

Don't say I never gave you anything...

FINALLY!!!

At long last, someone FINALLY has interpreted all of the lyrics to one of my favorite Pearl Jam songs, Yellow Ledbetter!

Now, I can stop just mumbling along every time it comes on.

Check it out HERE:



P.S. - I thought I said I was busy today? Huh...

Schadenfruede

With all apologies to the victims and their families, here is my reaction to this story regarding Braves killer and all-around tool, Jim Leyritz.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHA.....(gasping for breath)...AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....hee....hee...AAAHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Why it's harder now than ever to be a sports fan...

These are all of the stories currently linked in the "headlines" section of ESPN.com (the synopsis is mine, if you couldn't tell):

Stallworth gets 30 days in jail in DUI fatality - Browns (and former Vol) WR hit and killed a 59 year old man while driving drunk
Favre speaks about return, Vikings - The continuing downward spiral of Brett Favre's reputation
Leaf faces Thursday deadline to turn himself in - Former NFL draft bust indicted on drug and burglary charges
NASCAR says Mayfield expert lied about degree - NASCAR's Jeremy Mayfield, also known as "that NASCAR driver who tested positive for crystal meth"
Phelps gets first endorsement since scandal - Michael Phelps, Olympic gold medalist and recreational drug user
Burress hearing delayed to Sept. 23 - Hero of NY Giants Super Bowl run two years ago, facing gun charges after accidentally shooting his fool self in the leg.
Report: Marshall seeks trade; Broncos mum - This would be Brandon Marshall, serial girlfriend abuser, as well as....aw, forget it, there's too much to go into. Just look it up.
UK's Meeks opts to stay in NBA draft - Hey, LOOK...it's an actual sports story! What, did nobody actually get arrested today?
Judge rejects sale of Coyotes, move to Canada - Sports as a business...this is a team that was already taken away from one group of fans. They used to be the Winnipeg Jets.
Insider: Nebraska football's shot at 11 wins - What, TWO actual sports stories? AWESOME.

I know, it's a slow period in the sports universe. NBA and NHL finals are over, golf's next major is still a couple weeks away, baseball is in the dog days of summer, and football is still a couple of months away. But, still...that is an awfully depressing front page, isn't it?

So.....

Anything going on you guys want to talk about?

Work is kicking my butt right now, so I'm not able to focus long enough to come up with a topic...not to mention the steady diet of muscle relaxers my dentist has me on for my TMJ disorder.


MMMMmmmm.....Muscle Relaxers....

Grab a tissue....

I rate this one 4.25 of 5 Kleenexes.


h/t to @RyanSeacrest on Twitter.

Poor Horatio

Don't know why, but this classic scene just randomly popped in my head today, so I figured I'd share...

From Peter King's MMQB on CNNSI

Here's the link to the story...great, great stuff.

Stat of the Week/Hero of the Week

NCAA baseball tournament, Austin Regional, University of Texas, Sunday morning, 1:05 a.m. Central time.
The final: Texas 3, Boston College 2, in 25 innings.
Texas went 22 consecutive innings without scoring, and won.

The most valuable player in the game was the senior closer for Texas, Austin Wood. He entered the game in the bottom of the seventh inning with one out and a runner on second base ... and threw no-hit baseball for the next 12 1/3 innings. Wood had 15 saves this year. His longest outing before Saturday night was 4 1/3 innings. In this game, he closed for 13 innings. Austin

Wood's pitching line from one of the greatest games in any sport in NCAA history:
13IP, 2H, 0R, 0ER, 4BB, 14K, 46 batters faced, 169 pitches.

"In my 41 years of coaching,'' said Texas coach Augie Garrido, "the effort by Austin Wood was the best pitching performance I have ever seen.''

I got Austin Wood on the phone around noon Sunday. He's a lefty, more breaking stuff than fastball, with a fastball topping out at about 91. He's done everything at Texas in four seasons, closed, pitched middle relief and, for two years, started. He was named closer by Garrido this year.

And so he was out in the bullpen on a 95-degree Austin evening at the Longhorns' home field when starter Chance Ruffin got into trouble. In a 2-2 game against Boston College, Ruffin put a runner at second and Garrido went out to make a pitching change. Wood jogged in on the steamy night, hoping to save the day.

"Pick me up,'' said Ruffin, handing him the ball on the mound.
"Make pitches,'' said Garrido. "Get us out of the inning.''

The first batter Wood faced, Andrew Lawrence, fouled off seven pitches before striking out swinging. Not going to be a very long outing if every batter has an 11-pitch at-bat. The next Eagle grounded out. In the eighth, Wood walked an Eagle, but nothing came of it.

BC went 1-2-3 in the ninth, 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th. No-hit ball for 6.2 innings.

"All I kept thinking was what I've been taught over and over: 'One pitch at a time, one pitch at a time,' '' Wood said.

What was odd, Wood thought, was Boston College being the home team. Just because a team hosts the regional doesn't mean it's the home team; the NCAA has a formula that tries to equalize the home-road factor, and in this game, Texas was the visitor. So every time Wood went to the mound, it was sudden death. In a broiler.

It was still in the mid-80s by the time it got to the 12th. In between innings, Wood drank until he couldn't stand to drink anymore. Over the course of the night, he's sure he drank 30 cups of Gatorade, Pedialyte (the electrolyte-laced fluid given to dehydrated infants) and water -- more than 200 ounces of liquid in all. That would become a, well, a bit of a problem later. But for now, there was another problem Wood had to solve.

"After four or five innings, I came to the bench and I heard coach Garrido and Skip [pitching coach Skip Johnson] talking about how they had to get me out of there, that I'd thrown enough,'' he said. "So I walked over to where they were in the dugout and I said, 'I'm not coming out of this game. This is my game. We need it.' And they said, basically, 'OK.'''

A two-out walk in the 14th resulted in nothing. Then seven more Eagles were retired in a row.
It was becoming a running joke on the bench, the marathon. "I'd come into the bench, and all I could do was laugh,'' he said. "What an incredible ball game! I was so involved in the moment, but I knew what a great game it was, what a fun game it was -- the funnest, easily, that I've ever been involved in. And if I'm never involved in a more fun game than that, fine; I mean, who ever could be in a game this enjoyable? And every time I'd come in, the guys would say, 'Hey, don't worry, we'll pick you up. We'll score this inning.' ''

Wood started cramping severely around the 15th. The trainer, between innings, would stretch him out, and he'd drink more and more. Before he went out for the 17th, Wood adjourned to the locker room and threw up violently because he'd been drinking too much too fast.

"Did you think you'd be too sick to go back out?'' I asked.
"Oh, I wasn't coming out of that game,'' he said.

He walked the leadoff hitter in the 17th, and the next batter reached on a sacrifice that Texas couldn't get the out on. But Wood got the next three batters groundout-strikeout-flyout, and it was on to the 18th. Each side went 1-2-3.

Wood now had thrown 11 2/3 no-hit innings.

"I didn't know,'' he said. "I had no idea until later.''

In the 19th, Texas opened with back-to-back singles, and eventually had the bases loaded with two out. But a flyout to left ended the threat. The grandstand groaned. There were 7,000 at the game at the 6 p.m. start. Now it was approaching midnight, and about 4,500 remained, on the edge of their seats.

Bottom 19: BC opened with two quick groundouts. But Wood walked the next hitter. And on an 0-1 fastball, BC's Tony Sanchez grounded a single through the left side. Wood had no idea that was the first hit he'd allowed, and paid no mind to the big hand the crowd rained down on him for pitching 12.1 no-hit innings.

Now Wood had to bear down. First and second, two out. Here came cleanup hitter Mickey Wiswall. Wood painted the black on the outside corner for two quick strikes. Then catcher Cameron Rupp called for a slow curve, and Wood bounced it in the dirt.

Wild pitch. Runners moved up, and now it was second and third, two out. The biggest win in BC baseball history was 90 feet away.

Rupp called for another curve. "You gotta be kidding me,'' thought Wood, who shook him off. Rupp called for the fastball and set up outside.

Strike three. Swinging.

That was Wood's 163rd pitch. Usually he'd throw between 10 and 30 in an outing. Never, ever in his high school or college career had he gone this far in a game, thrown this many pitches.

"Maybe it was adrenaline,'' Wood said, "but I couldn't believe how good I felt. My arm felt great. I wasn't sick, even though I threw up. But my body felt great, my arm felt great.''

Texas got a two-out double and a walk in the top of the 20th. But a strikeout ended the threat.
With one out in the bottom of the 20th, Barry Butera singled up the middle for BC. "He hit a great pitch,'' said Wood. "Good for him.'' Then Wood hit Lawrence, the next batter. First and second, one out. Here came the coach. There wouldn't be a discussion. "He was coming to get me,'' Wood said. "That was it.''

When he walked off the field, just after midnight, everyone in the stadium rose and cheered. The Longhorn bench emptied and met him with cheers and high-fives and hugs in front of the dugout. The BC dugout cheered.

"The coolest feeling I ever had on a baseball field,'' Wood said. "I can't lie. I wanted to soak in every second of it. The BC kids, what class. That was incredible. I just wanted to make sure I enjoyed the best moment I've ever had in baseball. But I wasn't satisfied. Not at all. We had to win this game.''

Austin Dicharry, the reliever, got two quick outs to send the game to the 21st. and Texas won it in the 25th, finally, on a Travis Tucker RBI single to right -- after Tucker had gone one-for-11 up to that point.

Wood heard what Garrido said about him, about how it was the greatest pitching performance he'd seen in 41 years. "Now that is pretty cool,'' Wood said. "I can't lie -- that's some unbelievable praise.''

There may have been higher praise. "But I have to tell you what was the most incredible thing after the game. The president of the university came to me after the game, and this is a direct quote. He told me, 'That's probably the best athletic performance ever at the University of Texas.' I mean, wow. Earl Campbell, Vince Young.''

Now there came the physical toll. "As soon as I started icing it,'' he said, "I knew it was going to hurt. And it did. It does. But boy, is it worth it. I was on Cloud 9 all night. I couldn't fall asleep. I got to bed around 4:30, I guess.''

"Did you sleep OK?'' I asked.
"About four hours,'' Wood said. "But I'll tell you this: Fell asleep smiling, woke up smiling.''

And that is why we love sports.

Back from the beach...

Great vacation, the gulf was perfect. It will take me a couple of days to get back into the swing of things, but I promise to have my LOST recap up by the end of the week, as well as getting back to some Bulldawg blogging!

Can't believe there are only NINETY EIGHT days until kickoff!

The NBA - It's FAANNNNNNtastic!

For those of you who missed it, check out the 0:59 mark of this clip of Glenn "Big Baby" Davis hitting the game winner for the Celtics over the Magic yesterday...he clearly pushes a random child for no apparent reason:



And so, of course, some creative genius threw THIS together:





Hilarious.

Delays continue

Sorry...real life is HARD.

LOST recap delayed for another day or so. It will be up before the finale next week...promise.

Had to pull this out of the comments section from yesterday...

Now THIS is hope and change we can ALL get behind!

Meant to include this in yesterday's weekend thoughts...

...then I saw it on Mackie's page today and it reminded me.

This is from Saturday's Kentucky Derby, and it is incredible. Check out the stones of the jockey, plus an absolutely amazing performance by 50-1 shot Mine That Bird to win:



Now THAT is closing speed!