Officially through

I still don't like soccer enough to justify two straight blogs about it, but it's on all the time, including right now, since I'm writing this during/after the uber-important USA/Algeria and Slovenia/England games.

With USA advancing to the knockout round on a Landon Donovan goal in stoppage time, there's a lot of talk (at least on ESPN) about the ultimate irrelevance of the now two unreasonably disallowed goals that USA scored. America advanced, after all. So who cares, right?

I do.

But it's not because I'm an American, even though, in the words of Big Boi, basically America you got fucked.

I care because I'm a sports fan. And soccer is a sport that has some significant fundamental issues with the way it is officiated. If soccer is going to be one of the biggest sports in the world and continue to grow in America, then I think it's our right as sports fans to have a game that is refereed as well as possible, but that's not the case.

I've already discussed some of my gripes with stoppage time, but those also point to a bigger problem that was instrumental in both of the USA's two disallowed goals: the lead referee has too much power and too much responsibility, at least at the FIFA level (the most important level).

Despite the fact that it has an enormous playing surface and great occurrence of close-together players, FIFA only uses three referees (and a fourth person who is just in charge of holding up the board that announces subs and stoppage time). But two of the refs are only allowed to aid the lead referee and suggest calls that are ultimately at the discretion of the head honcho. In other words, that one ref has to see everything and judge everything, to one degree or another.

To put this in perspective:

• The NBA usually uses three referees who can all make the same calls, can discuss calls together, and can use instant replay on a smaller playing field.
  
• The NHL uses four referees who can all make the same calls, can discuss calls together, and can use instant replay on a smaller playing field while on skates.
  
• MLB uses four referees, or even six in the playoffs, who have individual responsibilities but can discuss calls together, use some instant replay, and very rarely have to deal with player contact or obstructed views during calls.
  
• The NFL uses seven referees who do have individual responsibilities but can make most of the same calls, discuss calls together, and use instant replay on a smaller playing field.
  

And, on top of that, FIFA refs have no responsibility to explain their foul calls. Ever.

FIFA seems completely content with their current officiating system, but before now, they haven't really had to deal with the intense media scrutiny that follows intense American public interest. I hope that some of this controversy foreruns change in the woefully dated officiating of FIFA soccer, even if it doesn't come soon.

Quote of the Week:

It really wasn't a question:

Stop me if you’ve heard this one

As promised, I've been watching a lot of the World Cup. I'm starting to see why soccer is called the beautiful game. It's mesmerizing, really.

One of the biggest reasons for this has very little to do with the game itself, though. At least during ESPN's World Cup coverage, there aren't any commercial breaks (except during halftime). This fact makes it very hard to turn away (or, say, write a blog) while watching, especially considering the 0.8 goals per team per game could come at any time.

But there could (and maybe should) be commercial breaks. Soccer has plenty of breaks in the action that could be used to build in TV timeouts.

Instead, each half of a game (and the clock) continues uninterrupted for roughly 45 minutes. This leads to one of the most bizarre and, frankly, annoying concepts in sports: stoppage time.

Stoppage time is basically the head referees' guess as to how much of the 45 minutes of the half was wasted on stops in play: dead balls, injuries, substitutions. The officials then round that estimate to the nearest minute and add that much time to the clock (which counts upwards for some reason). Then, the refs simply end the game somewhere in the vicinity of that rounded number.

At a time when most sports are expanding or simply instituting instant replay technology to help eliminate some of the vagaries of refereeing, the biggest sport in the world is still relying on human beings to evaluate something that doesn't even need instant replay, just simply a stopwatch.

And it's not like stoppage time is that exciting. Soccer goals are too rare for that. In fact, since I've started this blog, the goals per team per game average dropped to 0.78 with the conclusion of the Spain/Switzerland game. They played more than five minutes of stoppage time, and nothing happened.

Stoppage time is one of the most widely disappointing and anti-climactic concepts in sports.

And it happens twice in every match.

Quote of the Week:

"We're used to being in must-win situations," Bryant said. "The way we look at it, [Game 7] is just a game we've got to win. ... I don't mean to be a buzzkill. I know what's at stake, but I'm not tripping."

-Kobe Bryant, pulled directly from ESPN's recap

I'm not really sure what Kobe meant there: tripping acid, tripping the rift, tripping like Bryan when he walks anywhere?

I reviewed Joe Danger at one of my other blogs. You might read it.

Big 3

I don't really get all of this NCAA conference shuffling. I mean, I understand all of the moving parts – who's going where and whatnot – but I don't understand the reasoning. I'm sure it's financial.

But, purely from a fan's perspective, I'm utterly confused as to why the Big 12 is being so easily pulled apart like so much monkey bread.

To put it in perspective: from a strictly nomenclatural angle, this realignment is exactly backwards. The Big 12, with the loss of Nebraska and Colorado, will have 10 teams, while the Big 10, with the addition of Nebraska, will have 12 teams. If the realignment stops there, can those two conferences please switch names for simplicity's sake?

But there are practical reasons, again from a fan's perspective, that the Big 12 seems like a more valuable and useful conference than either of the _____-10 conferences that are devouring it: championships.

Since 2000, the Big 12 has won two championships in football (Oklahoma '00, Texas '05) and one championship in basketball (Kansas '08). Since these are the only two revenue-producing sports for most schools, they seem the most relevant, but the Big 12 has another 37 championships in other sports ranging from baseball (Texas '02 and '05) to a relative dynasty in women's bowling (Nebraska '01, '04, '05, and '09).

Conversely, the Big 10's last basketball championship was soon-to-be-former-Michigan-State-coach Tom Izzo's only win 10 years ago. Their last football championship came in 2002 (Ohio State).

Meanwhile, the Pac-10 hasn't won a basketball championship since 1997 (Arizona), and their only football championship since 2000 is close to being vacated because Reggie Bush has been a professional athlete since middle school.

The Big 12 has also lost 5 BCS championship games since 2000 (Nebraska '01; Oklahoma '03, '04, and '08; Texas '09). I know the economics run deeper than this, but it's hard to understand this relatively simple dissolution of a conference that has appeared in 7 of the last 10 BCS championship games, the most lucrative game in college sports.

Economics aside, it's hard to understand how the Pac-10, a conference that was the national whipping boy in men's basketball last season, and the Big 10, which includes Northwestern, are waging a successful war on a conference that has some of the most historic and prestigious sports programs in the country.

Question of the Week:

Are you going to watch the FIFA World Cup?

My take: I am right now, so I suppose my answer needs to be yes. I love it when live sports are on in the morning and afternoon. The more relevant test for me is tomorrow's game, which is actually at a worse time for me than this South Africa/Mexico game that I'm watching currently.

Mr. Relevant

Usually, in my blogs, I give my opinion(s) and thought(s) on something(s). I've always kind of thought that's what blogs were for and, more importantly, what I had to offer. Today, I'm going to try something different and just create a database, of sorts, that probably won't include much opining – just facts.

I watched a good bit of the MLB first-year player draft on Monday night, what might always be known as the Bryce Harper draft. The MLB draft is by far the least interesting and exciting of the drafts of the three major sports (sorry hockey). There are a few reasons for this (here I go thinking again):

1. It lacks name recognition. The NFL and NBA both draft from talent pools filled with nationally recognized players, since college football and basketball are fairly enormous. I dare you, without looking, to name more than one player from this year's draft.
   
2. Signability. When teams draft high school players (and certain college players), those players have very legitimate options (specifically college) beyond signing a contract. In the NBA and NFL drafts, these options are much more European.
   
3. There is a great distance between draft day and an MLB roster. Unlike Stephen Strasburg, who made his spectacular MLB debut roughly a year after being drafted, most drafted players take a few years in the minors before making any impact on their MLB drafters. Even Harper, the newest wunderkind, is projected to make his debut in three years.
   

So, here's where I stop thinking because I've already decided that I want to map the top ten draft picks over the past five years and, importantly, show where they're at now. I don't know if this exercise will have much value, but it's interesting to me, so here it is:

2005

1. Arizona Diamondbacks: SS Justin Upton (Great Bridge HS) – Upton was called to the Majors (as an outfielder) fairly quickly after roughly two years in the minor leagues. He's still playing for the Diamondbacks and bringing down my fantasy team.
   
2. KC Royals: 3B Alex Gordon (Nebraska) – Gordon was actually in the Bigs roughly five months before Upton. He has a career .249 average and hit 16 HRs in 2008.
   
3. Seattle Mariners: C Jeff Clement (USC in California) – Clement, now a firstbaseman, played in a career-high 66 games for the Mariners in '08. He was traded to the Pirates last summer.
   
4. Washington Nationals: 3B Ryan Zimmerman (UVA) – The Nationals seem to draft well (at least so far: Strasburg, Harper, Zimmerman), as Zimmerman is now a beast. Oddly enough, he was born in Washington, NC.
   
5. Milwaukee Brewers: 3B Ryan Braun (Miami) – Braun's Tyler-Hansbrough eyes have moved to the outfield, but he has turned into a perennial All-Star candidate.
   
6. Toronto Blue Jays: LHP Ricardo Romero (Cal. St. Fullerton (an apparent powerhouse)) – Now known as Ricky, Romero is starting to emerge as a quality SP, after a 13-9 debut last year.
   
7. Colorado Rockies: SS Troy Tulowitzki (Cal. St. Long Beach) – Tulo has been a Colorado mainstay for the past four years and had a career-high 32 dingers last season.
   
8. TB (Devil) Rays: RHP Wade Townsend (Rice) – Our fist full-on miss. Townsend has been injury prone since draft day and was released by the Rays last summer.
   
9. NY Mets: RHP Michael Pelfrey (Wichita State) – Pelfrey had a winning record for the Mets in '08 (13-11), but has really come on this year with an 8-1 record and a 2.23 ERA.
   
10. Detroit Tigers: CF Cameron Maybin (TC Roberson HS in NC) – In a rare turn of events, this young prospect actually went to the Marlins, where he played 54 games last season and is hitting .225 this year.
    

2006

1. KC Royals: RHP Luke Hochevar (Tennessee) – Hochevar moved to the Majors pretty quickly (debuting in September of '07 and remaining with the team since then), but he's on the Royals. Austin could probably make their roster. Hochevar's career record of 18-30 and ERA of 5.65 don't have yet to justify the hype of this three-time draftee ('02 out of HS, '05 after college, and '06 after a year an independent league).
   
2. Colorado Rockies: RHP Gregory Reynolds (Stanford) – Reynolds has only appeared in one MLB season, going 2-8 with an 8.13 ERA for the Rockies in '08. He's now pitching for the AA Tulsa Drillers.
   
3. TB Rays: 3B Evan Longoria (Cal. St. Long Beach) – Longoria is fairly universally understood to be one of the best MLB players under 25. He's also surprisingly beating Yankee 3B Alex Rodriguez by roughly 500,000 votes in the popularity contest that is All-Star voting.
   
4. Pittsburgh Pirates: RHP Brad Lincoln (Houston) – Lincoln is set to make his MLB debut tonight, oddly enough. Now that's timing.
   
5. Seattle Mariners: RHP Brandon Morrow (UC Berkeley) – If there is one thing I've learned from these first two years, it's that the Mariners don't keep their first-round picks around for long. Like Clement, Morrow left the Mariners organization and is now a bottom-of-the-rotation guy for the Blue Jays (4-4 with a 5.48 ERA this season).
   
6. Detroit Tigers: LHP Andrew Miller (UNC) – Miller actually moved to the Bigs during the season of this draft, so kudos for that. Since then, he's struggled with the Tigers and then the Marlins as both a starter and from the bullpen (career 5.50 ERA). Miller is currently on the Marlins 40-man roster, but isn't on the team's active roster.
   
7. LA Dodgers: LHP Clayton Kershaw (Highland Park HS) – This is Kershaw's third season in the Majors and could be his first with a winning record. His career ERA is a respectable 3.30.
   
8. Cincinnati Reds: CF Robert "Drew" Stubbs (Texas) – The player formerly known as Robert played 42 games last season, but has 6 HRs and a .241 BA in what should be his first full season this year.
   
9. Baltimore Orioles: 3B William Rowell (Bishop Eustace Prep School) – Rowell has yet to make it to AA and is now on the roster for the Carolina League's Frederick Keys, which is especially painful considering...
   
10. SF Giants: RHP Timothy Lincecum (Washington) – Two Cy Youngs later, every team ahead of this should fire their scouts, with the possible exception of the Rays.
    

2007

1. TB Rays: LHP David Price (Vanderbilt) – In fact, the Rays' scouts should probably be given a raise. Price made a few appearances in '08 then went 10-7 in 23 starts in '09. This year may be his breakout year, though, as he's 8-2 with a 2.29 ERA (for my fantasy team).
   
2. KC Royals: SS Michael Moustakas (Chatsworth HS) – Moustakas made it to AA this year as a 3B. He's hitting .368 with 13 HRs in 39 games. If only the Royals didn't have Alex Gordon.
   
3. Chicago Cubs: 3B Joshua Vitters (Cypress HS) – Vitters is also a AA 3B, but he's only hitting .215 with one home run over 25 games. Surprise: the Cubs did something that didn't work out.
   
4. Pittsburgh Pirates: LHP Daniel Moskos (Clemson) – Danny Moskos is 1-1 with a 1.42 ERA as a relief pitcher for the AA Altoona Curve.
   
5. Baltimore Orioles: C Matthew Wieters (Georgia Tech) – I was getting worried that I wouldn't recognize anybody else. Wieters rose to the Orioles fairly quickly, playing in 96 games in '09. He has a career .274 average with 13 HRs in 148 games played.
   
6. Washington Nationals: LHP Ross Detwiler (Missouri State) – Who goes to Missouri State? Detwiler started 14 games last season for the big club, but had a 1-6 record with a 5.00 ERA. He's now on the roster for the AAA Syracuse Chiefs.
   
7. Milwaukee Brewers: LF Matthew LaPorta (Florida) – LaPorta moved to Cleveland where he's hit .240 with 8 HRs over 87 games in the past two seasons as a 1B.
   
8. Colorado Rockies: RHP Casey Weathers (Vanderbilt) – Weathers is bouncing around in the Rockies' farm system as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.
   
9. Arizona Diamondbacks: RHP Jarrod Parker (Norwell HS) – Parker is bouncing around in the Diamondbacks' farm system as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.
   
10. SF Giants: LHP Madison Bumgarner (South Caldwell HS) – Bumgarner played in 4 games for the Giants last season and gave up only two solo HRs over 10 innings, while striking out 10. He's now playing for their AAA affiliate, since the Giants rotation is just ridiculous.
    

2008

1. TB Rays: SS Timothy Beckham (Griffin HS) – Why do the Rays continue to pick at or near the top? Beckham is probably the first player drafted who was born in the '90s. He's on the roster for the advanced A Charlotte Stone Crabs. That's their real name. He's only hitting .218 with 5 HRs and 10 SBs in 46 games this season.
   
2. Pittsburgh Pirates: 3B Pedro Alvarez (Vanderbilt) – Alvarez is hitting .278 with 11 HRs and 48 RBI in 59 games for the AAA Indianapolis Indians.
   
3. KC Royals: 1B Eric Hosmer (American Heritage School) – Hosmer is hitting .359 for the advanced A Wilmington Blue Rocks, who are in the Carolina League despite the fact that they are in Wilmington, Delaware, not Wilmington, NC.
   
4. Baltimore Orioles: LHP Brian Matusz (San Diego) – Matusz, formerly of my fantasy team, is 7-8 with a 4.92 ERA in 20 starts over the past two seasons for the Orioles.
   
5. SF Giants: C Gerald "Buster" Posey (Florida State) – Pose is hitting .444 in just 36 ABs this season with the big club. He also played in seven games last year.
   
6. Florida Marlins: C Kyle Skipworth (Patriot HS) – Skipworth plays for the A Greensboro Grasshoppers (actually in NC). He's hitting .238 with 10 HRs in 56 games.
   
7. Cincinnati Reds: 1B Yonder Alonso (Miami) – Mr. Yonder was also playing in NC earlier this season (for the Carolina Mudcats) but has since been promoted to the AAA Louisville Bats, where he's only hitting .219 with 2 HRs and 13 RBI in 26 games.
   
8. Chicago White Sox: SS James "Gordon" Beckham (Georgia) – It seems Beckham is a good name for sports stars. Take note ladies. Beckham played in 103 games last season and hit .270, but he's sucking it up this year with a .199 BA and only 12 RBI over 51 games. He was probably my worst fantasy draft pick of the year.
   
9. Washington Nationals: RHP Aaron Crow (Missouri) – Crow didn't sign with the Nats and was drafted 12th overall the following year by the KC Royals. He now plays for the AA Northwest Arkansas Naturals where he has a 5.68 ERA. Maybe the Nationals dodged a bullet here.
   
10. Houston Astros: C Jason Castro (Stanford) – The third catcher in the top ten, for some reason. Castro is hitting .285 for the AAA Round Rock Express.
    

2009

1. Washington Nationals: RHP Stephen Strasburg (San Diego State) – In one (1) Major League start, Mr. Strasburg is a perfect 1-0 with a disappointing 2.57 ERA and 14 Ks over 7 innings. This blog has really illuminated the rarity of a Strasburg-type situation. Very few players reach the Majors within a year of their draft.
   
2. Seattle Mariners: CF Dustin Ackley (UNC) – Ackley's hitting a fairly disappointing .243 with only one HR and 18 RBI over 52 games with the AA West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx. And all the Tar Heels shed a tear.
   
3. SD Padres: CF Donavan Tate (Cartersville HS) – Tate, who – according to Wikipedia – committed to UNC for baseball and football, is somewhere in the Padres organization after signing a $6.7 million bonus. He's not in the MLB.com minor league database though.
   
4. Pittsburgh Pirates: C Jorge "Tony" Sanchez (Boston College) – Sanchez is hitting .318 with the advanced A Bradenton Marauders.
   
5. Baltimore Orioles: RHP Matthew Hobgood (Norco HS) – Hobgood is 3-5 with a 4.40 ERA for the A Delmarva Shorebirds.
   
6. SF Giants: RHP Zachary Wheeler (East Paulding HS) – Wheeler is 1-3 with a 5.06 ERA for the A Augusta GreenJackets, which is an oddly incorrect way of naming a team. What if the Charlotte Bobcats were the Charlotte BobCats?
   
7. Atlanta Braves: LHP Michael Minor (Vanderbilt) – Minor is 1-5 with a 4.24 ERA for the AA Mississippi Braves.
   
8. Cincinnati Reds: RHP Michael Leake (Arizona State) – Leake actually beat Strasburg to the Majors, as he was on the opening day roster. Leake is 5-0 with a 2.22 ERA in the Reds annoying attempt to win the NL Central. So, at this point, he's better than Strasburg. Face.
   
9. Detroit Tigers: RHP Jacob Turner (Westminster Christian Academy) – Why do the Tigers keep picking this high in the draft? I thought they were good. Turner is 1-3 with a 4.01 ERA for the A West Michigan Whitecaps.
   
10. Washington Nationals (again): RHP Drew Storen (Stanford) – Storen also beat Strasburg to the Majors and has pitched in 10 games from the bullpen. He has a 1.93 ERA and three holds, which are a real stat.
    

I think the most important thing to take from this blog is that the MLB draft does matter. Eventually. And especially in 2005.

Quote of the Week:

"I want to be the best player to ever play the game. I want to be the best hitter who ever played the game. I want to hit .430. Who wouldn't want to be in the Hall of Fame?"

-Bryce Harper

Does anyone ever get tracted?

Obviously, I haven't been writing much lately, at least not for my own blog. That's due, at least in part, to the fact that I've had a lot of distractions lately. This blog will reflect that, as it'll just be a compilation of thoughts on some of those distractions.

On Monday, I watched Pirate Radio. On Tuesday, I watched it again. I absolutely fell in love with this movie. It's one of those movies that's so good that Jason had to call somebody afterwards to tell them how good it is. There have only been a few movies that I watched and immediately wanted to own. This is one. I even watched almost an hour of deleted scenes immediately after I finished watching the movie the first time.

I had every intention of writing a full blog about Pirate Radio on Wednesday, but by then, my other major distraction kicked in. Thanks to my aforementioned month-long GameFly subscription, I got Super Mario Galaxy 2 in my RL mailbox. Galaxy 2 has been critically lauded. Supposedly, it's awesome, but it isn't one of my major distractions. I gave it a good run, but I don't really like it. The controls are annoying, and I feel like I'm always waiting for it to snag my interest, but it never does.

But, it did lead to one of my major distractions. Since we had a lot of people in our house this weekend, I tried to get a few interested in the two-player version of Galaxy 2, which is absolute hogwash by the way, but it lead to interest – thanks to Jenny's friend Anna – in the multiplayer version of New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which is super awesome. Well, I never beat this game, so I decided to give another shot (with Jon in tow). Now I'm (re)addicted to that game that I think is way superior to Galaxy 2. I may be in the minority.

There has also been a lot of important sports new lately. Ken Griffey, Jr. decided to retire about 10 minutes after Bryan and I lobbied for his All-Star appearance. I'm hoping he can pull a Magic Johnson and win the All-Star MVP post-retirement. Either way, we're witnessing the end of an historic career.

Then, only a few hours later, this happened. This whole perfect game controversy turned out to be a lot less controversial than it could have been because everybody involved is being pretty grown up about it, so again, it didn't really merit a full blog. The instant replay fallout will be interesting though.

Of course, the NBA Finals also started last night. It might as well be over now, too.

As if that weren't enough. The final rounds of the Scripps National Spelling Bee are on today. This is just amazing television. Watch it.

Question of the Week:

What should be my next distraction?

My take: Writing?