The Keeper

How the hell is Pronk not an All Star

2006-07-06T12:42:00.000-07:00

An unbiased statistical look to how Travis Hafner compares to the other American League All-Star 1B/DH.

Hafner: R-67 H-86 2B-17 HR-24 RBI-70 BB-69 K-56 OBP-.461 SLG-.656 OPS-1.117 AVG-.319
Ortiz: R-60 H-84 2B-15 HR-27 RBI-76 BB-53 K-64 OBP-.381 SLG-.586 OPS-.967 AVG-.274
Konerko:R-65 H-78 2B-10 HR-27 RBI-69 BB-56 K-84 OBP-.415 SLG-.628 OPS-1.043 AVG-.290
Thome: R-53 H-95 2B-16 HR-21 RBI-67 BB-34 K-54 OBP-.384 SLG-.572 OPS-.956 AVG-.313

(The stats in bold signifies which player leads each category with respect to the other 1B/DH)

As these stats clearly show Travis Hafner is clearly having a better season than all of the other 1B/DH candidates, yet for the third straight year in a row he is getting screwed out of the All-Star game.

Four More Years

2006-06-22T23:02:00.000-07:00

Fuck dwelling on the past. Bring on South Africa!!!

Howard-GK
Cherundolo-DL
Onyewu-DC
Spector-DC
Gibbs-DR
Convey-ML
Adu-AMC
Donovan-MC
Dempsey-MR
Rossi-FC
Johnson-FC

Sub:
Beaseley-ML
Ngyuen-MR
Seitz-GK
Wynne-DR
Michael Bradley-MC

What a game!!!

2006-06-19T07:30:00.000-07:00

The United States Soccer team outplayed the Italian Soccer team. It's as simple as that. Though the red cards might have been harsh they weren't horrible calls; just very 'iffy' ones. Especially the red card on Mastroeni. Though, by itself it might have looked like a red card there have been numerous tackles in this tournament that were just as bad that were only given yellow cards. On Eddie Pope's second yellow even though it was harsh it was just a matter of time before he was going to be sent off with the way he was playing defense. The worst call of the game might have been the free kick that led to the Italians goal after Totti's dive.

That still shouldn't take away from the fact that of the players on the field the US played better than the Italians. It is essential that they keep up their intensity and tenacity going into the next game against a very very good Ghana team. By playing the way they did against the Italians the US has given themselves the chance to save face in a tournament that previously seemed lost.

Fuck You Tomas Rosicky

2006-06-12T21:55:00.000-07:00

And I say that with as much respect as possible. It's gonna be sick watching you in the EPL next year. Now just do to Italy and Ghana what you did to America and you will be my favorite player.

The Dave O'Brien Drinking Game

2006-06-11T22:14:00.000-07:00

Finally, I have found a way to prevent me from turning the television to the Spanish channel when I watch the World Cup. Instead of getting angry at all of Dave O'Brien's mistakes lets drink to his inability to understand the beautiful game.

1. Every time he mispronounces the name of a player (It's not Michael Beckham dumbass): 1 Drink.
2. Every time he mispronounces the name of a country (I think he said Iran at least 5 different ways): 2 Drinks.
3. Every time he calls England Germany: 5 Drinks.
4. Every time Marcelo Balboa has to correct him because he has no clue what he is talking about: 2 Drinks.
5. Every time he uses a bad analogy from another sport to describe a play (I'm sorry the "Box and 1" is not a soccer play): 3 Drinks.
6. Every time he repeats a story (I heard you the first time when you said that a Paraguayan called David Beckham a coward and that the Mexican goalie's father died) : 1 Drink for the first time, 2 Drinks for the second time he repeats the story and so on.
7. Every time he talks about how the US is ranked 5th in the world or that the Czechs are ranked 2nd without following up that the FIFA rankings are bullshit: 2 Drinks.
8. Every time he refers to something that has nothing to do with soccer: 3 Drinks.
9. Finally, my ultimate pet peeve, every time he calls Kasey Keller the best goalie in the world: 5 drinks for Cassilas, Cech, Buffon, Van Der Sar, hell even Robinson who took his place him at Tottenham.

And this is just after he has called 3 games of the World Cup. Please feel free to add any more suggestions.

EPLTalk
The Sports Frog

I hate to say it but...

2006-06-05T21:12:00.000-07:00

I do not believe that the US Men's National Team will do well in Germany. In fact, I would not be surprised if they lost every game. Like France 98 the US is in for a letdown for many reasons.

1. The US has a dismal record, as most non-European sides do, playing against European teams in Europe.
2. The US does not match up well against the Czechs and Italians. Both of those countries play very good defense and have world class goalkeepers. The inability for the US to score goals in their send-off tour will be magnified against these two European sides.
3. Ghana, the wildcard, has just as much talent as the US and could be the surprise of the group.

Even if the US do not succeed it would not be the end of the world. This is not the tournament that the US will truly break out to become a world power in soccer. That year will be 2010 in South Africa. In that tournament not only will the US be seeded so they would not be put in a "group of death." There will also be no team, except for South Africa, that will a have a homefield advantage since even the African countries that qualified for this years world cup are very far away from South Africa. The US will also finally have enough talent to compete with any team in the world without relying on luck.

US vs. Venezuela

2006-05-28T09:22:00.000-07:00

After attending the match between the US and Venezuela at Cleveland Browns Stadium I came to the realization that there are two main issues concerning the US national team's success heading into Germany. First, it is essential that our defensive lapses come to an end. If the US is to beat either the Czechs or Italians they cannot allow the two European teams to have any chances that they do not deserve. The other main issue is that the US has to do a better job of finishing their chances. Too many times in the Venezuela game and even going back to the Morocco game the US would do well to set up a scoring opportunity but then flounder it away in front of goal. Against Cech and Buffon the US must take advantage of the opportunities because their chances will be few and far between.

Two players who were very impressive during the game were Oguchi Onyewu and Bobby Convey. Onyewu was very successfully in organizing the defense. His size and speed gives the US the presence at the back line that it has been lacking in past World Cups. Convey was very dangerous with his crosses. His set pieces were also well taken. With DaMarcus Beasley as the established left midfielder Convey should be used as a super-sub being used to create chances for the US at the end of the game.

Two players who still need to impress me, however, are Clint Dempsey and Brian Ching. Though Ching and Dempsey were the only goal scorers their respective performances were overall disappointing. Dempsey disappeared from play too many times during the match. Other than one nice run to get by his defenders in the first half and his goal in the second half his performance was too quiet on the wing: especially juxtaposed to Bobby Convey. Ching's problems stemmed from his inability to create chances on his own. Many times with the ball he looked lost and gave away possession.

Overall, the match was a possitive performance for the US Men's National Team. The US was the dominant team throughout the whole game and had goals to show for their opportunities; unlike the game against Morocco. The match was one more step torwards the US's preparation for Germany.

The luckiest 17-year old on earth

2006-05-08T16:28:00.000-07:00

One has to give mad props to Theo Walcott. A man (boy) who has never played a minute in the Premier League while the English manager Sven Goren Eriksson has never even seen him play. Now he is just a couple of metatarsal bones away from starting for the Three Lions. I'll admit that I-like Eriksson-have never seen him play but have seen his impressive highlight tapes. Walcott obviously has a lot of talent although he has only played against minor league competition. How well will he play when he is going up against world-class defenders for the first time in his life. I believe that the concerns with health of Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen and the inconsistency of Peter Crouch England is putting themselves at a disadvantage by having such inexperience at the striker position. Nothing against Mr. Walcott but I believe that the proven talents of Jermaine Defoe or Darren Bent would have served England better by making the world cup squad even though they do not have his upside.

Wait, this doesn't happen to me, I'm from Cleveland

2006-05-06T15:30:00.000-07:00

Nothing more can be said than that was the single greatest sporting event that I have ever attended. Even sitting in the nosebleeds in the top corner of the Verizon Center (see the pic) did not deter me from enjoying this amazing game. Back and forth action last second shots and the Cleveland team actually winning this time. All that was missing in this series, with three games decided by one point and the pure dominace of Lebron James and Gilbert Arenas, was a game 7. Then again I don't think that i could have survived another game of this series. Well next comes Detroit, a team that plays real defence. Somehow I don't see Lebron being able to get layups at will any more.

Now Things Are Getting Interesting

2006-04-29T17:14:00.000-07:00

One of the key stories to pay attention to over the next few weeks is to see whether Wayne Rooney will be healthy enough to play for England during the World Cup. England needs their talismanic striker to be healthy if they truly have a chance to advance far in the World Cup. One only has to look at the difference between the English team before and after the loss of Rooney to injury during the European Championship. My prediction is that Rooney will be ready in time to play for England during the World Cup. But if the British tabloids will be as paranoid as they were when Beckham was recovering from injury before the last World Cup this story will be a lot of fun to watch.

Browns Draft Kamerion "The Barbarian" Wimbley

2006-04-29T14:59:00.000-07:00

I'll have to admit that I don't really know anything about Kamerion Wimbley. The draft is such a crapshoot (I love that word) that who knows if he will turn out to be the next Jamal Reynolds or Peter Boulware. All I do know is that he has a great name so that should be reason enough for the pick. I think he deserves a great nickname so how about with Kamerion "The Barbarian" Wimbley.

An Ode To Bob Wickman

2006-04-29T11:25:00.000-07:00

Bob Wickman has to be one of the most underrated Indians in recent years. Though it seems hard to believe an argument can be made that he is the best closer in the history of Cleveland Indians baseball. Last night Wickman tied Doug Jones for the most saves in Indian history. I'll admit that the save is an overrated statistic but that should not take away from Wickman's accomplishments. In the years that he has not been injured he has posted ERA's of 3.38, 2.39, and 2.47. Although he might not look like a baseball player and tends to put runners onbase in the 9th inning, save for one dominant season by Jose Mesa in 1995, I would not want another Indian to close out a ballgame.

The Best Postion in Sports

2006-04-26T08:59:00.000-07:00

In all of sports I believe that a soccer goalie is the greatest position. Where else in sports is so much pressure put on one person. One little mistake can be the difference between victory and defeat. Save me all the highlight reel goals I will take a great save any day. Here are a phenomenal string of saves by Lyon goalie Gregory Coupet. If he is somehow beat out by the detestable Barthez as the starting goalie for France this summer I will be pissed.

My Sports Manifesto

2006-04-25T16:07:00.000-07:00

One of the things that pisses my off the most about our current sports climate is how everything is judged in the short term. The LeBron and the Cavs have one good game and the series is over. The Indians lose 4 out of 5 to the Orioles and the Royals and the season is over. People have to cool down and look at the big picture. The Cavs still have to win 3 more tough games against the Wizards and there are still over 140 games left in the baseball season. Now they are struggling but people there are 140 games left in the season. Calm down people. One more thing that I cannot stand is that every fan believes that if their team is not winning now the management should be fired. For example Mark Shapiro AND Larry Dolan have built the Indians into contenders yet for five years people called for their heads. Another thing, if I here one more person talk about firing Gary Williams I am going to go crazy. All he's done is rebuild Maryland basketball leading them to two final fours and a national title. But two bad recruiting classes in a row are enough for some people to turn against him. Until people can see the big picture instead of looking at today's boxscores they will continue to unenlightened about the true essence of sports.