Felix "Cy Young" Hernandez

In his last 10 starts Felix Hernandez has been nothing short of brilliant giving up no earned runs in 5 outings and 1 earned run in 4 other games during that stretch. He's gone 8 innings in 5 of those starts and if the Mariners didn't hit like the Bad News Bears Felix Hernandez would win the AL Cy Young award this year by a landslide. Call it bad luck, mismanagement by the front office, or unfortunate timing, but Felix deserves better. He is the best pitcher in baseball right now and all the attention has been focused on CC Sabathia and David Price. Perhaps this is because the Yankees and the Rays are in a slug fest for the best record in baseball. Perhaps this is because Felix pitches for a miserable Mariners team. In my opinion this is another case of the East coast bias rearing its ugly head. Felix plays in Seattle which is geographically isolated. There are no major markets between Seattle and San Francisco (these cities are 800 miles apart) so the Mariners get very little exposure and media coverage. CC Sabathia pitches for the most storied franchise in professional sports and the media capital of the world while David Price pitches for a team that is considered a fly in the ointment and a source of irritation for the Bronx Bombers. Seattle will never compare to New York in the amount of attention it receives nor should it. New York is 18 times bigger with transplants all over the country and an unrivaled fan base, but those facts shouldn't overshadow the season Felix has put together. He should be acknowledged for his pitching dominance without prejudice or bias. In the end I think his body of work speaks for itself and he's made a stronger case for the Cy Young award than anyone else, but he does pitch in Seattle, WA. We'll see if the sports writers overlook that fact and do the right thing. Good luck Felix.

Is John Calipari The Devil?

Tony Wroten Jr., a high school basketball prospect announced yesterday that Kentucky didn't make the short list of schools he would consider attending next year. This gives me hope that some players are immune to the Calipari rhetoric and see past the UK facade. The Kentucky basketball program is an AAU all star team on steroids. The 2009-2010 team included 5 first round picks, 2 lottery picks, and the #1 overall pick John Wall. They all left as freshmen. The incoming freshmen class has 4 of the top 30 players in the country. As we speak Kentucky already has commitments from the top point guard, power forward, and small forward in the country (the top shooting guard and center have yet to commit) for 2011. I know coach Cal is charming, but damn!Does this sound even remotely possible? The last school to to do something this spectacular was the Fab 5 at Michigan and they only did it once. We later found out the booster paid the players. Kentucky has recruited a Fab 5 caliber class 3 years in a row. Something is not right here. Until the NCAA sanctions hit early next year it's all speculation. I'm just glad somebody stood up to coach Cal. Good for you Tony!

Here is an excerpt from my previous blog:

The UK program is in the process of taking the student out of the student athlete equation. John Calipari sees no reason to sugar coat the truth. If you're coming to Kentucky you're coming to play basketball and for no other reason. Not academics, not quality of life, and not for the college experience. His recruiting pitch goes something like this, "If you can keep your eligibility for 1 semester I'll send you to the pros. Nobody's gonna ask you to stay or make you feel guilty about leaving. We all know the deal, 1 and done. That's what I can do for you. Here's the number for the guy that will take the exams for you. Be careful, if you get caught I don't know anything about it". We all know Kentucky will be on probation by the end of next season, but is Calipari's approach really that off base? Is he the realist while we are the hypocrites? I agree he's doing what the players want and if the end result is an NBA career then everybody wins. The problem is most players won't play professional basketball very long (if at all) and left with no other no other skills to offer the world when it's done. The UK model leaves kids hollow, one dimensional, and under developed. Not everyone is going to be the next John Wall. Doesn't he owe those kids an apology?

Kickers Will Ruin Your Life

First off, congrats to all my friends, fans, and followers who took the advice of Young Sam Rothstein over the weekend. I was a flawless 4-0 going into the Monday night game and if it hadn't been for Aaron Rodgers forgetting he is an elite quarterback I would have been perfect. Nevertheless Ken Roye from Cleveland came up $1800 and earned some extra spending cash for his trip to Hawaii. Lois Jacobson from Denver made a cool $1150 and Eddie Carlson from Las Vegas made a respectable $875. Like my man Jay-Z says, you'll get a return on your investment if attention you pay. I'll have more tips for you guys in a few weeks to put you on the road to riches and diamond rings. I never liked placekickers. I never felt comfortable with the outcome of a football game coming down to a field goal. I've been on both sides of the heartbreak. I still remember Scott Norwood going wide right in the Super Bowl against the Giants. I remember being the recipient of Florida St's charity 2 years in a row when their kicker went wide right and wide left against Miami. I remember Mike Vanderjagt costing me money in a playoff game against Pittsburgh with his inexplicable miss. he was the most accurate kicker in the history of football at the time. It's too much to ask of one man to clear all of his thoughts, block out all the distractions, and execute a kick of 100 feet or more to win a game. Their psyche is fragile. If you give a kicker too much time to think about the magnitude of what they are trying to accomplish they will fold like a bad poker hand. On the flip side if they nail the kick they are heroes for a day. It seems unfair to put that kind of pressure on an athlete for one play. Why would you put the fate of a billion dollar entity in the hands of someone you can't really trust? New Orleans and Oakland found out the hard way on Sunday that if your fortunes rest on the leg of a pseudo football player you may die a painful death. I'm not saying kickers aren't important because they are. It's better to score some points than no points and if you have a good one they are a valuable weapon. What I am saying is use the kicker as a last resort because they are not a sure thing. Red zone touchdowns will solve this problem. Go for it!

Weekend Observations

It was a good weekend in 2 of my 3 fantasy football leagues. Tony Romo and Malcolm Floyd came through in my trash talking league and I'm 27 points ahead going into the Monday night game. My opponent has Aaron Rodgers at quarterback so I'm a little concerned, but I have Jermichael Finley and Robbie Gould so I think I can hold on. Once again Peyton Manning and Adrian Peterson anchored my auction league. You get what you pay for and for my money Peyton and AP are the best 1-2 combination in fantasy football right now. My last league McNabb and Jamal Charles completely let me down. I'll have a word with them later this afternoon. Here are some observations from the weekend.

The NFL:

Someone could win the NFC West with a losing record. The preseason favorite San Francisco 49ers are a miserable 0-3 while the Seahawks and Cardinals sit atop the division at 2-1. The schedule only gets tougher for both teams so don't be surprised to see a 7-9 record make the playoffs.

New England Midwest is working out very nicely in Kansas City. Since hiring former Patriot coordinators Charlie Weiss and Romeo Crennel the Chiefs are 3-0 and will look to take advantage of a weak AFC West division. The playoffs may be in their future this year.

Garrett Hartley and Sebastian Janikowski are the epitome of why fans don't like kickers. They both missed game winning field goals shorter than an extra point yesterday. If New Orleans or Oakland misses the playoffs by one game send Tony Soprano's people to pay them a visit.

Carson Palmer may be done in Cincinnati. There is no excuse for his poor performance to start the season. The Bengals have arguably the best receiving corp in the NFL yet the have only scored 1 passing touchdown in the last 2 games. It's time to panic.

College Football:

The Pac 10 continues to roll and has established itself as a solid #2 conference behind the SEC. UCLA's dismantling of Texas at Texas served as a warning to the rest of the teams with BCS aspirations. Even Oregon St. hung in there on the blue turf of Boise St.

Mark Ingram and Tony Richardson at Alabama remind me of Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams at Auburn a few years back. Both of them will start in the NFL very soon. If I had to choose which one will have the better pro career I'm leaning towards Richardson. He's more elusive and plays with a chip on his shoulder.

Cam Newton will decide who wins the SEC Championship this year. I don't think Auburn will win the title, but I think they will play spoiler to Alabama and/or LSU. Cam's size, speed, and strong arm will be difficult for those teams to stop. I'm positive Auburn will beat LSU, not so sure about Alabama. Their running game may be too good.

HTB Statements

It's time for another installment of HTB statements. For those of you not familiar with what HTB means HTB refers to statements that are hard to believe. Here's a few for your reading pleasure.

1. Michael Redd will make $18,300,000 to play basketball for the Milwaukee Bucks this season.

2. Ichiro has 200 hits for 10 seasons straight and still gets criticized.

3. Other than Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. boxing doesn't have a single fight fans really want to see.

4. Kevin Durant hasn't reached his potential yet and he's already capable of averaging 30 points per game.

5. The transcripts for Eric Bledsoe have mysteriously vanished.

6. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 2162 points behind the Sprint Cup leader and has $3,793,528 in prize money.

7. Antonio Cromartie has 4 children 3 years old.

8. Braylon Edwards got pulled over for having too dark of a tint on his windows.

9. Tiger Woods has not won a golf tournament all year.

10. Greg McElroy (the starting quarterback for Alabama) hasn't lost a game he's started since the 8th grade.

11. The Washington Huskies have only been to one bowl game this decade.

Wanna Make Some Money?

If you've ever seen the movie Casino you know that Robert Deniro's character Sam Rothstein was a sportsbook genius. In the mid to late 90's I was every bit as good as him. The pit bosses in Vegas affectionately referred to me as Young Sam Rothstein because I had my finger squarely on the pulse of sports wagering. I made a ton of money and if it wasn't for the Mrs. fearing I'd lose control and gamble away all of our worldly possessions I'd still be doing it. Fortunately for you guys I still have the knowledge and I'm more than happy to share it with you. Here are my picks for the weekend.

Indy -5 over Denver. After a slight speed bump in week one Peyton Manning's got his groove back. Joseph Addai is running the ball better and their offense has more balance. Denver was fortunate last week and capitalized on turnovers. They won't have Matt Hasslebeck throwing the ball to them this Sunday. Colts by at least a touchdown.

Green Bay -3 over Chicago. Clay Matthews is becoming a dominant linebacker before our very eyes and Green Bay has Super Bowl aspirations. Aaron Rodgers wants to make Packer fans forget Brett Favre ever played there. Chicago benefited from a blown call in week one and an underachieving Dallas team in week 2. They will not be so lucky this week.

Cincinnati -3 over Carolina. Always bet against a rookie quarterback in his NFL debut. Jimmy Clausen is not ready for prime time and the Bengals defense is tenacious. Carson Palmer, T.O. and Ocho Cinco will take advantage of a short field all day.

Arkansas +7 over Alabama. Ryan Mallett is a Heisman candidate playing at home and won't look as bad as Jake Locker did at home last week. This is an opportunity for the Razorbacks to shock the world. If Alabama has any thoughts of winning back to back national championships this is a must win game. It will be closer than 7 points either way.

Oregon St +17.5 over Boise St. Some people have referred to me as a Boise St. hater and maybe they're right. I just don't believe they are as talented as everyone thinks. The Rodgers brothers will bring their "A" game and show those Broncos what Pac 10 football is all about. 17.5 points is an insult.

My advice to my fans, friends, and followers is use this information to get rich! I suggest using the conservative 2 team parlay method for the majority of your wagering and the sexy 3 team parlay for a small percentage. 6 to 1 odds sounds real nice, but only in small doses. Good luck everybody!

Hasslebeck Will Be Benched By Week 5

Don't get me wrong, I like Matt Hasslebeck. He led the Seattle Seahawks to their only Super Bowl appearance and is a pillar of the community, but his time is up. Years of punishment and a change in the organizations philosophy have taken their toll on him. Without Mike Holmgren in his ear calling all the plays and telling him what to do he's not the same quarterback. After the San Francisco game Hasslebeck looked rejuvenated. It appeared he would flourish in the new system and carry the Seahawks to a respectable record this season. After the Denver game he looked like a lost kid at a country fair. His throws were miserably short and his recognition of coverages simply wasn't there. At a time when EVERYONE on the team is auditioning for a starting role and held accountable for their mistakes Matt Hasslebeck can't survive. There's a reason Pete Carroll traded for Charlie Whitehurst and it appears he will get his chance to prove himself sooner than later. For now coach Carroll is telling everyone that Hasslebeck is the starter, but he is on a short leash. The Seahawks have too many play makers to allow Hasslebeck to impede the progress of the team. It's been a good run, but it's come to an end. Sorry Matt.