8 Things to fill my days during the Baseball Lock Out

 

Beside Minor League, High School, College and Town Ball - Here are 8 things that will fill my days during this lock out 

1) Clean out my car

2) Clean out the shed

3) Grill more often

4) USFL

5) Get rid of old pictures on my cell phone 

6) Work on my family tree

7) Fantasy NASCAR 

8) Get in some OT at work 

This is just a few things. What are you going to do to fill your time? 

-Andy  

8 Matches I'd like to see in AEW this year

 Once a month on the blog I'm going to list 8 things I'd like to see, want or see changed.

This month are 8 matches I'd like to see in AEW this year. This list is based in wrestlers currently in AEW or are free agents. 

None of these are current feuds, so it is purely fantasy booking.

Hook vs Miro

Lance Archer vs Windham 

Ricky Starks vs Adam Cole

Brock Anderson and Lee Johnson vs Young Bucks

Gunn Club vs Proud and Powerful (Santana and Ortiz)

Kris Statlander vs Jade Cargill

Thunder Rosa vs Layla Hirsch

Matt and Jeff Hardy vs Jurassic Express

Lets see how I do. Hopefully these matches take place

-Andy 

NCAA Football Bowl Games and COVID-19

Hey everybody Andy here Sports and songs page 2 blog format. Today I want to talk about how college football games have been affected this year by COVID-19. I'm doing this on the 30th of December so there's not many bowl games left so we should be done with what's affected and not affected so pardon me if there's been changes since then but here we go. College football bowl games have been canceled due to a rapid rise of COVID-19 cases across the globe. Bowl games have been canceled or altered as teams site positive tests on their rosters. To me, yes, the positive tests are affecting the rosters but even in the minimal bowl games there's a couple three players are sitting out because they think they're getting drafted in the NFL. So between the COVID cases and your NFL draft picks (now let's just make that clear in my opinion) here's an updated list of all the games altered or canceled due to OVID-19. 

Despite moving policies around to get Hawaii into a bowl game this season they are still left without a game due to COVID-19 so the SoFi Hawaii Bowl which was Memphis and Hawaii was canceled, The Military Bowl with Boston College and East Carolina,The Fenway Bowl Virginia and SMU and the Holiday Bowl with  UCLA and NC State. Fox Sports Bruce Feldman reported Tuesday of this week that the UCLA - NC State game was going to be canceled less than 5 hours ahead of kickoff. The Sun Bowl with Miami vs Washington State and  The Arizona Bowl with Boise State vs Central Michigan. Those two games are supposed to be changed. Boise State official removed itself in Arizona Bowl and this came after Miami of Florida had not even made the flight to the Sun Bowl in El Paso Texas. Washington State was left without an opponent for the Sun Bowl and now Central Michigan is left without one for the Arizona Bowl. There is a stipulation that would allow the Chippewas to play the Cougars in the Sun Bowl but the MAC conference would have to allow CMU to be removed from their bowl affiliation. Well the growing number of teams seen a surge in cases it seems likely that some games may find a replacement teams for their other bowls. That isn't the case yet but the Sun Bowl looking more like it's Washington State vs Central Michigan.

Why sudden COVID-19 cases for their problem, Texas A&M opted out of the Gator Bowl do the COVID-19 while the NCAA to find a replacement, Rutgers has officially stepped in to Texas A&M place and will face Wake Forest Friday the 31st. At the time of this report there are also reports going around the Alamo Bowl between Oklahoma and Oregon both teams seem to be relatively short-handed for a couple reasons Oregon reportedly seeing a spike in cases 

How's this going to affect college basketball coming up. How's the NFL going to do its playoffs with what COVID is doing to the college games. When the NHL and NBA kick back up here they've kind of had to miss some games and cancel games because of this. 

I appreciate you all reading this and below you'll see our social media formats

-Andy

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More WWE Firings

So it looks like WWE has let some more wrestlers go. One name I want to talk about particularly today is what they went by in WWE anyway Drake Maverick when he was in impact or TNA as Rockstar Spud he did do some work with Matt Hardy. With that said I won't be surprised if he showed up in AEW working with Matt Hardy once the 90 days is done. I think Rockstar Spud and Marco Stunt could put on some great matches together. I also think Rockstar Spuds really good on the stick. I think he'd be a great asset for Matt Hardy and his group  Also there's other guys too, but I'm focusing on Rockstar Spud right now  He's got more talent than people give him credit for (my opinion)  and he needs a chance to shine a little more  He had that in TNA Impact for a while but he needs that light again cuz I think he still has a lot to offer. 

Another name that was released John Morrison. I don't know if he will go AEW. He might go back to Impact maybe but I'm pretty sure he'll wind up somewhere. He's got too much talent still to be sitting there wasting away. I don't know if his wife will sign somewhere to with him or if they'll stay separate but that's another story for another day. I don't think they'll go back to Impact cuz there might be some issues there when they left if there's burnt bridges  I'm not sure but maybe AEW maybe he holds on just those Indies for a while  We'll see more power to him on that.

I appreciate you checking out page two here in the blog format and please don't forget to check our regular shows out on podcast form over the weekends I also find it on YouTube and Dan has his show on YouTube midweek, this time of year he follows NCAA Women's basketball. Thanks again please don't forget to like, share and subscribe

Do high MLB salaries equal a playoff team?

 

Below is a list of team payrolls this year. 6 of the top 10 made the playoffs (highlighted in yellow). MLB has 30 teams and 2 in the bottom 12 made the playoffs. 

The lowest payroll belongs to Cleveland. They finished 80-82. 13 games out of first and 12 out of the wild card. Payroll of $47.9 million for a 28 man roster. 14 players in MLB this year made at least $30 million. 

Yankees are 2nd in payroll and made the wild card on the last day of the season. 

Tampa is 26th in payroll ($70.2 million) and made the World Series last year. They are in the playoffs this year as well. Division Champions. 100-62 +8 GB

Mets are 3rd in payroll ($197.7 million) and finished below .500 (77-85  11.5 GB)

Seattle (25th in payroll) and Oakland (22nd in payroll) were in the playoff chase until the final weekend. 

San Diego (8th in payroll) like the Mets, finished below 500 (79-83 28 GB) Both teams at the All Star Break were in the playoff chase. 

This is what makes Baseball the great game it is 

1. Los Angeles Dodgers ($267.2 mil)
2. New York Yankees ($203.8 mil)
3. New York Mets ($197.7 mil)
4. Houston Astros ($191.7 mil)
5. Philadelphia Phillies ($183.9 mil)
6. Boston Red Sox ($181.9 mil)
7. Los Angeles Angels ($180.7 mil)
8. San Diego Padres ($175.6 mil)
9. St. Louis Cardinals ($168.5 mil)
10. San Francisco Giants ($159.6 mil)
11. Toronto Blue Jays ($150.8 mil)
12. Washington Nationals ($148.5 mil)
13. Atlanta Braves ($147.7 mil)
14. Chicago Cubs ($141 mil)
15. Chicago White Sox ($140.9 mil)
16. Cincinnati Reds ($126.1 mil)
17. Minnesota Twins ($117.4 mil)
18. Colorado Rockies ($114.3 mil)
19. Milwaukee Brewers ($98 mil)
20. Texas Rangers ($95 mil)
21. Arizona Diamondbacks ($89.6 mil)
22. Oakland A’s ($88.6 mil)
23. Detroit Tigers ($85.5 mil)
24. Kansas City Royals ($85.1 mil)
25. Seattle Mariners ($81.4 mil)
26. Tampa Bay Rays ($70.2 mil)
27. Miami Marlins ($58.1 mil)
28. Baltimore Orioles ($57.4 mil)
29. Pittsburgh Pirates ($54.7 mil)
30. Cleveland Indians ($47.9 mil)

Understanding the CFL a little better

 

The CFL and NFL have a few differences. Here are a few to help you understand the CFL better 

Size of the field 

• An NFL field is 100 by 53 1/3 yards with a midfield line at 50 yards. A CFL field is 110 by 65 yards with the midfield line at 55 yards.
• The end zones are different lengths as well. The CFL has an end zone that is 20 yards deep. The NFL end zones are only 10 yards deep. This means that the total length of the entire field in the NFL is 120 yards while the CFL field is 150 yards.

Since the field is bigger and there are fewer downs in the CFL, teams usually have a more passing-oriented offense than in the NFL. Offense in the NFL usually has a greater balance between passes and runs.

3 downs vs 4 downs 

The NFL offers four downs for a team to advance the ball 10 yards. The CFL only offers three downs. Supporters of the CFL say that this, along with other rule differences, creates a more exciting game to watch.

Three downs were actually the norm for football in the early days of the sport. Football was created in the 19th century and was very similar to the sport that inspired it, rugby. Downs were implemented to prevent the stalling of the possession of the ball. Three downs were the initial standard, but Americans added a fourth down in 1912. There were talks in Canada about adding the fourth down, but the start of World War I halted all professional games for two years. When games began to be played again, discussions on changing the rules did not continue.

The rules in the CFL actually creates a scenario where three downs can help balance a game more evenly between offense and defense. The CFL requires that the defensive team is one yard away from the line of scrimmage; in the NFL, the defense can get right on the line. This allows running plays to be more effective in the CFL since they have more space to react to the defense. This, combined with a larger field, can create an advantage for the offense. Having only three downs offers some leverage to the defense.

Time Outs and Time Stoppage 

• In American football, each team has three timeouts per half. There is also a two-minute warning given at the end of each half.
• In Canadian football, each team gets two timeouts per game. They can only use one timeout during the three-minute warning in the second half.
• Both the two and three-minute warnings automatically stop the clock after each play without charging a time out to either team.

Another difference is the play clock.

• In the CFL, after the play is over, the referee whistles for the next play to start and the offense has 20 seconds to snap the football.
• Players in the NFL have 40 seconds to run an offensive play after the whistle.

Scoring 

The scoring is essentially the same in both leagues. A safety is two points, a field goal is three points, a touchdown is six points, a kicked extra point is one point, and a conversion run is two points.

A notable exception is the single point, or rouge, which is only in the CFL. A single point is awarded to the kicking team when:

• The kicking team misses a field goal or punts the football and the receiving team does not return the ball out of their end zone. The kicking team then receives one point.
• The kicking team misses a field goal or punts the football and the ball goes through the end zone and out of bounds without being touched.

Goal Posts

Another difference between the two leagues is the location of the field goal posts.

• In the NFL, the field goal posts are located at the back of the end zone.
• The CFL has its field goal posts at the front of the end zone.

The difference in location is due to the size differences of the field. The distance for a kicker would be similar between the two leagues, but the field goal needs to be at the front of the end zone in the CFL since the length of the field is larger.

Fair Catch and Punt Returns 

In the NFL, after the kicking team punts the football, the punt returner can do one of the following:

• Catch and run with the ball until he is tackled, pushed out of bounds, or scores a touchdown.
• Wave his hand in the air to signal a fair catch, meaning the opposition can't tackle or make contact with the punter. They must let the punt returner catch the football after the punt, but the returner may not advance the football.
• Let the ball bounce into the field of play where the kicking team can touch the football, but possession still remains with the punt-return team, or the punt returner can let the football bounce out of bounds and possession is taken where the football goes out of bounds.

In the CFL, however:

• There is no fair catch rule and the punting team must give a cushion of about five yards to allow the punt returner to either catch the football in mid-air, catch the football after it bounces, or pick up the football and run after the ball has stopped bouncing. If the kicking team does not allow the five-yard cushion, the punt return team will be assigned a 10-yard penalty.

Shohei Ohtani 2021 All Star Game. DH and Pitcher

 

Hard enough to make the All Star game and now one player takes 2 spots. Lots of talk and other articles on who got left off or snubbed. He gets one spot.   

Those who listen to the podcast on a regular basis know I am not a big fan of Shohei Ohtani. I admit the number he is putting up are incredible. I'm not drinking the Kool Aid yet. 

April 6, 1987 SI cover with Joe Carter and Cory Snyder. Baseball '87 Indian Uprising. I fell for it. The Indians did not uprise. 61-101 37 GB

So when the press tells me that someone or some team is the next big thing, I have my doubts. 

Is Ohtani having an incredible year? Yes. This is historic. Just like the year deGrom is having. Will he keep this up? That is the question. Will the Angels ask him to choose OF or Pitching? Is this fair of them to do? I say yes. 

You can not invest money in a side show. This year the Angels are in o way making the playoffs. So why not see what happens. Make him a closer or long relief. Having him in the rotation and OF/DH is bad for him and the game. Others may try this or teams will force it to draw fans. 

Jose Canseco tried to pitch in a blow out. Hurt his elbow and changed his career.  

Think long term LA. Think long term MLB. 

I wish him a great career, as one or the other 

-Andy