by ShagOnSports

This just in… St Louis Cardinals are still National League and World Series Champions… Some ass that I work with tried to disrepect my Redbirds by saying who cares about that... Well I do and that is what counts!!!


How and why do we follow the sports team we follow???

It could be something as simple as a hat we received as a kid… It could be a geographic thing… It could be the colors of a team attract a fan or a player on a certain team had at one point (I was a Celtics fan cause of Bird) or something you were just raised on from birth… You may have switched teams as a kid several times and at some point during your life but most people stick with one team and they stay with them…

In baseball it is obvious that I am a St Louis Cardinal fan but St Louis was not always my favorite team… As a kid I was captivated by the Pirates… It started with the World Series against Baltimore in 1971… Roberto Clemente was the first baseball player that left an impression on me… His slick fielding, his demeanor and his overall ablity stood out to me and the Pirates won the World Series this year so I kind of jumped on the bandwagon…

As we rolled through the 70’s I mainly followed National League teams… I listened to the Redbirds on the radio but my favorite teams usually were the National League representative in the World Series with the exception being the Reds… I never liked Pete Rose as a kid and maybe in my kiddom I saw something that as adults we would only find out later…

The A’s captivated me with Fosse, Tenace, Andrews, Campenaris, Bando, Rudi, North, Jackson, Hunter, Fingers and pitcher/pinch runner John “Blue Moon” Odom as they won three championships during this span… Their Polar Bear white uniforms, the players with the mustaches along with their off beat owner but I would root for the Mets in the Series because of guys like Tug McGraw (he was a lefty) and Rusty Staub who was another lefty like me… McGraw would always tap his glove on his side to and from the mound when he would come in in relief… The only time I will ever be for the Mets... I also like the Dodgers in the 70's with Garvey, Cey, Russell, Baker, Lopes, Yeager and Monday...

I watched the Cubs almost every day in the Summers as a kid, I hated the Yankees, kind of was lured to the Red Sox during the 1975 World Series (the greatest one I ever saw played) with players like Fred Lynn and Jim Rice and I liked Robin Yount and the Brewers… If St Louis had been a winner in the 1970’s I am sure that would have been my team but I really did not have a true loyalty with the Redbirds until 1985 when they won the National League and then lost a heartbreaking series to the Royals in that year…

Even though I was a St Louis fan I watched the Braves almost every night and pulled for them allot in the early 90's... Hard to believe they won 14 straight division titles but only one World Series... The only knock on Bobby Cox is he does not know how to use a bullpen...

For college I am a Kentucky fan… My early sports memories are baseball related but I remember starting to take an interest in the University of Kentucky right after Issel left… While attending a little league baseball tournament in Lexington I got Jim Andrews autograph who played center at UK after Dan The Man… Of course back then the games were not much on TV so my mother and I used to listen to all the basketball games on the radio… When Kentucky made it to the Final Four in 1975 and I was hooked… Soon after I remember starting to listen to the UK football games on the radio... I like Alabama because of Bear Bryant and I am a Navy fan because I was in the Navy… When I lived in Henderson I used to attend allot of the University of Evansville games and liked pulling for the Purple Aces...

I am no longer a Pro Football guy but growing up I liked the Dolphins because they had Bob Griese who was from Evansville which was right across the river from where I grew up in Henderson and their punter at the time was Larry Seiple who played at Kentucky… I liked the LA Rams allot to because I liked the Blue and Gold uniforms… I really have no loyalties in Pro Basketball… I was a Celtics fan when Bird was there but once he retired the Celtics went off of my radar…


UK vs Georgia

Kentucky had a nice win against Georgia on Saturday… Of all the great SEC teams the Dogs are the ones whom Kentucky has been able to compete with the most the last ten years and they finally were able to pull out a victory…

This was a breakthrough win for the Players and a big win for Coach Brooks but to me this was game that UK should have and did win… When you get Georgia in a down year for them at home you have to take advantage of that and win the game… Georgia has struggled this year and I am sure that in Athens the fans think the Apocalypse is upon them because they lost to both Kentucky and Vandy in the same year…

On my way in to the game I predicted Kentucky to win 31 to 24 so I had the outcome right but was just off on the score…

The much maligned UK defense actually stepped up yesterday with a key interception in the end zone on one Georgia possession after Kentucky missed a golden opportunity with an interception two yards from pay dirt only to see Woodson throw one two plays later… The D held The Dogs two missed field goal attempts (the D at least kept them out of the end zone on these possessions) and then had a game ending interception to seal the victory… There tackling technique is really bad though… I saw several blown tackles due to guys just not wrapping up the person with the ball…

Woodson had a good day and played well for a guy who was constantly under pressure… He came back after throwing two bad interceptions, which demonstrates that Andre has matured allot since last year… He had a nice pump fake on a TD toss to Burton after being chased out of the pocket and he made several key runs after being chased out of the pocket… With time to make his reads and run through the progressions on a play Andre has shown he can play the position…

The last drive was impressive with a good mix of runs and passes… Tony Dixon gained some nice yards and was able to power through the line and made some nice plays in the open field…

Now Kentucky needs to validate this victory by beating Vandy next week, LA Monroe the following week at a minimum and then go into Tennessee with a three game winning streak and the confidence to pull of an upset against the Vols… Six and Six does not guarantee a bowl of or guarantee Rich Brooks and Company keep their jobs… For this team to validate this season they need to finish at 7 and 5 or bettor and go to a bowl…


Basketball Cats

I went to the exhibition game last Thursday and the one on Monday…

Kentucky looked good on in the first game and did not look good in the Monday game… The defense looks to be pretty solid but this was sup par competition…

Bradley is very capable on the point and the Freshmen Jasper appears he can also handle this role… The Freshmen Porter could not guard me on a good night at Spottsville Gym and Jodie Meeks looks like he will be a solid player…

Morris still is not mean enough, Orbzut is Orbzut and Jared Carter is a wasted scholarship… Perry Stevenson is going to be a shot blocking machine and has a good court presence… Joe Crawford is Derrick Hord like in his play… Bobby Perry will be mister consistency…

Predictions??? To early to tell much…

For you Rick Pitino lovers out there... Would Kentucky fire Tubby if he ever missed the tournament and only went to the NIT!!! Where did Rick take his team last year??? NIT...


College Football

Not having a playoff is such bullshit… The BCS is total farce this year as it is every year it has been in existence… The Big 10, SEC, Big 12, Pac 10 and ACC beat each other to death and have a depth of good teams (Maybe not the ACC this year)… Boise State, Louisville and Rutgers are all undefeated but they have not played very good schedules... You have to have a playoff to settle the dispute… The pundits are really on Louisville about their schedule and I will put it this way… If Rutgers beats U of L on Thursday night will they move to third in the BCS??? No they will not so how is this a fair system???

I do not think Texas or Notre Dame should be punished for playing tough schedules as a team should not be rewarded for playing a weak one… What you are going to end up with is really bad non conferences games… Teams are going to schedule weak opponents that are almost guaranteed wins??? Do you think Florida is going to keep playing Miami and Florida State if they are going to be penalized for it??? The natural non conference rivalries may remain intact but the current system is going to take away some really good early season match ups…

My top five only has one change from last week and that is that Louisville is now in fifth by themselves…

1. Ohio State
2. Michigan
3. Texas (only loss was to Ohio State)
4. Notre Dame (only loss was to Michigan)
5. Louisville

Of the other one loss teams I put Arkansas (only loss is to and USC), Florida, Auburn, Cal, Wisconson (who’s only loss is to Michigan) in the mix with undefeated Rutgers and Boise State knocking on the door… I am not a big fan of a one loss Big East team due to those teams weak non conference schedules so WVA is out for now… To further back up my assesment of the BCS how does WVA drop from number three to number ten by losing to the number five team... Remember USC beat Arkansas who beat Auburn who beat Florida who beat Tennessee who beat Cal… USC has a bad loss to Oregon State and they still have Cal, Notre Dame and UCLA all on National TV so they can impress the voters (this is not politics, thank god, so let the teams decide it on the filed and "F" the voters)…

My Navy team became bowl eligible (they are going to play in the Mineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte against and ACC team) on Saturday and should win eight games… Bama took a hit Saturday by losing to Mississippi State which puts Coach Mike Shula back on the hot seat… I would love to see Kentucky and Navy play each other in a bowl game… I would have to split time between Jerseys during the game…


Random Thoughts

- Hey Boots!!! McRib is back at McDonalds… The McRib Ferry brought it back for a limited time… They just need to get some McTato salad to go with it…

- Nine and Nine this week against the Spread… That puts me in 30th place in Fans of Navy pick set and 190th in my fans from Kentucky pick set (top one third in both)… In my NFL Survival Football Game I made it through this week with the Giants and we are down to just to players left…

- Act like you been there before!!! Do not count me as one of those fans who rushed the field after Kentucky upset Georgia… Rushing the field and tearing down the goal post was a bit excessive… This was a game as the season went on Kentucky has to win at home in order to be a consistent competitor in the SEC… Remember they lost to South Carolina in a game that they should have won at home earlier this year…

- I still have not changed my mind about Rich Brooks… No bowl, No more Rich… No contract extension either until we see how all of this shakes out… Kentucky could easily lose two of the next three… Barnhart and Lee Todd seem to say on Saturday night that this validated their hiring of Brooks… Talk to me after on the Sunday after Thanksgiving on that judgment… It will take a record of 7 and 6 for me to get on board… I have been wrong about this team to this point but insert the Pulp Fiction line here… At the end of the day I still do not want Brooksy around when his contract is up...

- The U of L win was huge for that program… I am glad to see the team is a little more focused then some of the fans I have talked with the last few days on what is coming up… The Fiesta Bowl was not played last Thursday night… U of L still needs to take care of business the next few weeks (I think they will) to get to that game… To get to that game they need Florida to not win out and not win the SEC Championship, Texas to not win out not win the Big 12 Championship, USC to not win out, WVU to keep winning and Kentucky to win two of their last three or sweep the last three… U of L’s opponents to this point are 28 and 33 and that includes WVU with one loss…

- U of L’s win was big from what I was told (I did not see it) The Courier Journals day after coverage was a bit overboard… The quote I heard was “The headlines were bigger then the end of WWII…”

- One more time I have to remind everyone that the St Louis Cardinals are World Champions…



ShagOnMusic

- I like the two songs I have heard off of the new Beck CD… I really like the variety I get from Satellite radio on music… There is always something on and it is great in the house… If you have not made the plunge you should… I do not own the stock any more but the product is still good just not catching on for some reason…