It's July, and that means we'll soon be launching our annual college football preview. I'll do my best to give you some insight on the FBS teams, with a focus on the Big Ten. There will be some snark in there, and certainly more than a few stupid predictions.
The road to Pasadena starts September 3, so let's just hope this preview is done by then.
In the meantime, day-to-day posting could end up being limited at times, as there is actual hard work and research that goes into the preview. It's not just throwing stuff at a wall, no matter how much it looks like that.
Yes, that Mauer. And, yes, it's the Home Run Derby.
Twins catcher Joe Mauer has accepted an invite to Monday night's Home Run Derby in St. Louis. Known as anything but a power hitter over the first part of his career, Mauer has exploded for a career-high 15 home runs so far this season, and remember that he missed the first month of the year.
The American League roster is not set yet, but we do know that the National League is sending out four first-basemen. St. Louis superstar/MVP shoo-in Albert Pujols, Milwaukee's Prince Fielder, Ryan Howard of the Phillies, and San Diego's Adrian Gonzalez will all take part.
As for Mauer, Joe Fan might poo-poo his chances, but don't count him out. As manager Ron Gardenhire told MLB.com, "He'd probably win it. You know it and I know it -- just to let people know he can hit home runs. Nothing would surprise me that Joe does."
With defending champion Justin Morneau already having declined an invite, this is a chance to keep the crown in the family, so to speak. Mauer could also become the first Minnesota native to win. Actually, I believe he's the first Minnesota native to compete, but I'm sure you'll skewer me in the comments if I'm wrong.
Back in 2008, the NCAA decided it would accept applications for membership from schools outside of the United States.
Crickets were heard chirping, as practically no one jumped at the chance to join.
Finally, the NCAA got a bite.
Simon Fraser University is based in British Columbia, and they have a past history of competing against American schools. Many of their old U.S. rivals are based in a Division II league called the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
"I am extremely pleased with today’s decision,” said SFU’s senior director of athletics, David Murphy.
“It’s humbling to know we have been chosen as the first foreign university to compete in the NCAA as a member. I believe we are reaching back to the original intentions and philosophy of the university’s founders: to offer a great Canadian education with the ability to compete athletically in the NCAA."
Added Lorne Davies, SFU's legendary first athletics director: "It is the most important step in SFU athletic history. The athletics department is keeping in step with the university's commitment to provide excellence in education and athletics and to challenge our students and student athletes to be the best."
Since SFU will be competing in Division II, they will be able to offer limited scholarships in their sports. Their teams -- called the Clan -- compete in 19 varsity sports, including football, basketball, and soccer.
Oddly, they don't have a hockey team. I hate to stereotype, but I figured every Canadian university offered hockey. Then again, British Columbia has a pretty successful junior hockey league (the BCHL), along with the NHL's Vancouver Canucks. Perhaps this isn't all that surprising.
It's probably a good thing SFU doesn't offer it. Because of their Division II affiliation, they would be forced into the abyss of NCAA hockey. No longer can schools start programs in Division I when they compete at the Division II level in other sports. It's all or nothing, and asking a newcomer to NCAA sports to make the leap to Division I is probably asking too much.
People have wondered for some time what the impact would be on college hockey if Canadian schools ever tried to join the NCAA. I am guessing it won't be great, since you are now looking at Division I using a "super conference" format that will make further expansion difficult to successfully pull off. A school like the University of Calgary or University of British Columbia might be tempted to join the ranks of NCAA Division I, but the odds of being successful as an independent -- especially in hockey -- are pretty slim.
Anyway, good for the Clan. This is an interesting step being taken by the NCAA, and I'm curious to see if any other Canadian universities try to follow the path now forged by Simon Fraser, even if that path leads to Division II and has no impact on hockey.
Yes, I said "hockey". It's not the beach variety pictured above, instead the more conventional kind that's played indoors on ice.
As we approach mid-July, it's probably the last thing on the minds of even the most die-hard of fans.
However, for those who just can't get enough of the sport, there are options this weekend in the Northland.
Duluth Marshall hosts high school hockey tournaments both this weekend and next. This weekend's event features six teams, with the host Hilltoppers joined by Superior, Willmar, Duluth Central, Duluth Denfeld, and Proctor.
Next weekend's field is arguably a bit more impressive. Marshall is joined by Grand Rapids, Cloquet, St. Cloud Cathedral, Warroad, Benilde-St. Margaret's, Bemidji, and something called the South Side Stars.
There is one other event this weekend. This one is in Cloquet, where the Lumberjacks are joined by Hermantown, Duluth Denfeld, Spring Lake Park, Eagan, New Prague, Buffalo, and Andover.
While the intensity isn't exactly at the level of the state tournament, these events give kids a chance to get some competitive ice time in during the summer. For younger kids who are trying to get noticed for a shot at the varsity, these weekends can be highly valuable.
Whether NASCAR fans want to admit it or not, Kyle Busch isn't a terrible waste of a human being. He's one of the first in line to help with fellow drivers' charitable efforts, and he's obviously attractive to sponsors, as he never has any shortage of them in his full-time Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series rides, or his part-time gig in the Camping World Truck Series.
He must have something going that's attractive to sponsors, besides just winning.
(Even before he was a big-time winner on either series, he had no trouble getting sponsors.)
However, attitudinal issues are keeping Busch from becoming a tremendously popular driver. Instead, it seems like he thrives off his "role as a villain". His tendency to behave like a petulant teenager came to the surface again this week, after a dramatic finish to Saturday's Coke Zero 400 at Daytona.
Take a look at the videotape.
Busch did not comment after the race, and wasn't heard from publicly until Thursday, when he spoke to the media in advance of Saturday's Lifelock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.
He probably should have kept not talking.
"NASCAR can take steps to look at it," Busch said. "If the second-place driver dumps the leader, then black flag his ass. He doesn't get the win. If he's up alongside the leader and dumps him, give the third-place car the victory."
Busch then was asked if he considered the bump with Stewart "a dump."
"Yes, it would be considered a dump," he said.
This is blasphemous. Busch might as well have blamed Dale Earnhardt, Jr., because he was just as responsible as Stewart was for the wreck. It's not Stewart's fault that Busch was, in the words of TNT's Wally Dallenbach, "mirror driving", meaning he was watching the goings-on behind him instead of just driving the 18.
However, I'm hardly an expert on racing, so let's enlist ESPN.com's Terry Blount to ask a few people who know more about it than I do.
"I would put more blame on the guy leading who was blocking than the guy who was behind," (Jeff) Gordon said. "It's not getting dumped if the guy got a fender inside you and you turn. You've got spotters. If someone is half an inch inside you, you expect to know it because of your spotters."
Kasey Kahne agrees.
"That's a long way from a dump in my mind," Kahne said. "They both were battling for the win. I certainly would not say he got dumped.
"Tony made a great move to get to Kyle's outside. To me it looked like [Stewart] was going to side draft off him to the line, but Kyle turned right.''
On the bright side, Busch is on to something. If a second-place driver purposely dumps the leader off the racetrack, that is indeed a move worthy of a black flag.
Unfortunately for Busch, that's not what happened Saturday.
We're about a month away from the start of high school football preseason practice in Wisconsin, and five weeks or so from that in Minnesota.
Even though I'm not on the radio, I still feel like the local kids deserve some coverage, and I'm going to do my (small) part here on this blog.
On the right-hand side of this page, you'll see links pop up throughout the season. These links will take you to spreadsheets I have created to keep up-to-date on the latest scores throughout the area. They will be updated weekly during the season as I have time.
As you can see by clicking the schedules link, I do not have all area team schedules yet. If you're involved with a program on the list, and the schedule is not there or is incorrect, please e-mail me ASAP so I can get the right information posted.
Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco (nee Johnson) is known for his flamboyance. He likes to have fun, and he enjoys the attention his eccentric behavior brings him.
(Keyword: "threatened". Palmer's got a wife and kids. Imagine the looks on the wife's face when she saw that story.)
Recently, Ochocinco decided he would take his use of the social networking site Twitter to another level, by submitting posts -- or "tweets" -- during Bengals games.
Seems the league has a rule banning the use of mobile phones or any other kind of hand-held device on the sideline during games. For once, they're actually a step ahead of Ochocinco's antics.
Since Tweeting during a game would require the use of a hand-held device on the sideline, Ochocinco is going to risk a fine by using the networking tool while trying to catch Palmer's passes and help his team win.
While he has never been one to let rules get in the way of what he wants to do, one has to think Ochocinco isn't going to try Tweeting more than once. With how many times he's been fined for celebrations, the league will certainly be watching him closely, given his latest "threat".
At this point, the fine towns of Minneapolis and St. Paul would probably be inclined to throw the guy a ticker-tape parade the day he shows up.
For the time being, however, they choose to fellate Brett Favre through the media.
By reporting on him practically every day.
Here's the latest. Bear in mind that this comes from Charley Walters, who would probably be lucky to hit .500 on his "scoops". If true, it shows just how much of an idiot Brad Childress really is.
Latest word is that 40 percent of the Vikings' playbook is being customized for the pending signing of quarterback Brett Favre.
You read that right, fans. The Minnesota Vikings are catering to a 40-year-old, noodle-armed quarterback who has thrown 84 interceptions over the last four seasons.
(Of course, since the Vikings playbook consists of "Run AP left", "Run AP up the middle", "Run AP right", "throw long", and "punt", they're only customizing two plays. That's not a big deal, I guess.)
Seems like the Milwaukee Brewers have some turmoil heading into the last week before baseball's All-Star break.
As noted in this space Monday, Brewers slugger Ryan Braun was a tad miffed that the team got clubbed like baby seals by their division rivals, the Chicago Cubs. Chicago won three of the four games, scored 19 runs in those three wins (17 of the runs came over the first and last games of the set), and generally stomped a mudhole in the then-first place Brewers.
Instead of an intelligent, well-reasoned, behind-closed-doors response from Milwaukee general manager Doug Melvin, we were treated to this.
“It was inappropriate for him to say what he said, and I’m not happy about it,” Melvin said.“To make the statements he made and also get on his teammates like that, it was irresponsible on his part. It just ticked me off.”
... “We all work every day from 9 a.m. to midnight, and basically 12 months a year,” said Melvin, referring to his baseball staff. “I’ll be glad to have Ryan help if he wants to. I’ll give him a badge and he can be my deputy.
“I don’t know his motivation for saying it. It demoralizes the people in the organization at a time when we should be pulling together. It puts a bad taste in our mouths. That’s a pretty strong statement.
“I understand that maybe he thinks it’s taking a leadership role. I don’t know if he’s trying to tell me I’m not doing my job. We need to stick together as an organization. We’re all trying to win."
Melvin said it wasn’t appropriate for Braun to make unflattering comparisons between the Brewers’ starting rotation and Chicago’s, even with two spots in flux since the losses of Bush and Parra.
“I think he made a fundamental mistake,” said Melvin. “I didn’t hear our pitchers complaining when we lost a 1-0 game (to New York last week) or the 2-1 game in 10 innings in Chicago.
"They didn’t say the hitters weren’t doing their job. He’s hitting in front of one of the best hitters (Prince Fielder) in the game.”
Aargh. Great. We're the Yankees now.
I get that Melvin doesn't like the perception that he got called out. But he didn't get called out.
Braun made it clear in his rant that the offense needed to be better, and the pitching needed to be better. He also went out of his way to not throw anyone under the bus -- even Melvin -- by acknowledging that it was not easy to make a trade with this market right now.
This wasn't about Braun trying to assert himself as the leader. It was about Braun saying what no one else in the clubhouse has the clout to say at this point. Braun, having signed a monster contract last year, has enough cred in the organization that his words will ring with many people, probably even Melvin.
Ultimately, it was about Braun being frustrated because his team just lost three of four games -- largely because of bad pitching -- to a team that had spent the entire month of June not hitting and not scoring runs.
It's one thing for a young superstar to speak out of turn (though I don't feel this is a case of that, I'll give Melvin the benefit of the doubt). It's another for an experienced executive to open his trap and make himself sound like a babbling idiot.
If he believes Braun's beef was best handled in a one-on-one meeting, this was no way to express that feeling. Instead, Melvin has only invited more criticism of his work, which has hardly been impeccable.
I'm not on the "fire ___" bandwagon, because I still think the Brewers got rid of the right guy -- albeit two years late -- last year. Melvin has to be careful, though, because he is and always will be a helluva lot more expendable than Ryan Braun.
I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. After all, Matt Birk did go to Harvard.
Birk, an All-Pro center who spent many years with the Vikings before signing this spring with Baltimore, had an interesting job to undertake over the weekend.
Sports Illustrated ace football writer Peter King is on his annual pre-training camp vacation. It's usually the only time of year that his weekly Monday Morning Quarterback column isn't updated on SI's website.
In his stead this month, guest writers have been lined up to file MMQB columns. This week's choice is Birk, who had much to say. He was able to get some strong feelings out there regarding the need for current NFL players to do more for retired players who have fallen on hard times. This very serious -- and very noble -- topic couldn't ask for a better spokesman in Birk.
An alarming number of former players live in physical and mental pain because of injuries suffered while playing -- some with symptoms that didn't manifest until long after their NFL careers were over. These men have had to exhaust their savings in order to receive medical care for their ailments, achieving a quality of life most of us would not deem bearable. A good number are in such physical anguish it prevents them from securing any type of employment. They can't get health insurance because their conditions are conveniently categorized as "pre-existing." The odds of getting disability through the NFL are about as likely as hitting the lotto. Factor in the fact that a lot of these men have wives and young kids, and their stories are heartbreaking. I have seen these guys with my own eyes and heard their stories with my own ears. You might not read about this very often, but this problem is real.
This bothers me because everyone associated with the NFL is making money. Under the current system, about two percent of the revenues being paid to players go toward retired players. So why can't we give a bigger piece of the pie to the players of yesteryear? Well, the owners pay a negotiated percentage of revenues to the players. They feel like they already give up enough. The NFLPA wants the money to go to current players because football salaries already lag behind their baseball and basketball counterparts, for which the NFLPA catches heat. So, if this problem is going to be remedied it's going to have to come from the current players.
We need to make the former players a priority. In the NFL, where contracts are not guaranteed and everyone is one play away from a career-ending injury, I don't fault players for being focused on the present. But it's our responsibility to leave this game better than we found it. Players today should hope future generations will do the same for us. Every former player who suffers the effects of football-related injuries should have the basics -- food, shelter, clothing and medical care. This is the least we can do.
As expected, Birk pretty much nailed it here. The current players should feel an obligation to do much more than they have, and it would be nice to see some younger guys take on Birk's cause. He won't play forever, but it will always mean more if current players were carrying the baton on this issue.
Birk wasn't all serious in the piece. He took time out to lob a couple of funnies, one of them in the direction of Brett Favre's impending signing with Birk's former team.
I think Favre will play for the Vikings this year. This will start a civil war between Minnesota and Wisconsin. A truce will be reached in this epic border battle after it is discovered at a tailgate party that Johnsonville Brats (Wisconsin) and Grain Belt Beer (Minnesota) are perfect complements for each other.
He also was able to poke some fun at himself.
I think the Fourth of July always signifies the beginning of the end of my summer. A couple weeks until the beginning of training camp and, maybe like you, I am way behind on my summer projects. I need to get going on those because once the season starts, I am not much use around the house. Just ask my wife. She might tell you I am not much good in the offseason, either.
Birk set a high standard for the guest writers who are set to follow over the rest of the month. Hopefully, the guys who are left are able to have some fun with the job.
In the end, though, MMQB just isn't the same without King. He has a mile-long list of contacts, understands the game, and isn't afraid to lay out controversial opinions. Still one of the best in the business.
