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By Jason Comack  July 7, 2009, at 3:10 pm  It’s up to YOU to determine the final player for each league’s All-Star Game roster. I’m here to tell you that you NEED to vote for Pablo Sandoval.
Why? Good question!
1) He has an awesome nickname. C’mon, he’s a big fat guy nicknamed Kung-Fu Panda? Awesome!
2) He’s a converted catcher playing third base, effectively, when his ideal position is first.
3) He’s the only reason the offensively challenged San Fran Giants are putting up runs this year.
4) .332/.386/.572 Those are All-Star worthy numbers.
5) His nickname is Kung-Fu Panda!
6) He ranks 4th in the NL in Batting Average, 6th in Slugging and 9th in OPS.
7) Can Prince Fielder play 3rd base? I think not.
8 ) His OPS+ (park/league adjusted) is 142
9) C’mon look at that face!
10) His RC/9 (runs created per game if the Giants had 9 Pablo Sandovals, which would be AWESOME!) is 8.4
So I’m pleased to announce the official 3rd String Safety campaign to get Pablo Sandoval in the All-Star Game
By Jason Comack July 7, 2009, at 2:38 pm Smooooooooooak on the water, fire in the sky. Of course I’m not talking about the Deep Purple song (because that would just be weird) I’m talking about Justin Smoak. Justin Smoak is a Texas Rangers prospect and he’s about to be the next Ryan Braun.
The 22 year old Smoak graduated from Stratford High School in 2005, he was named by ABCA, Baseball America, and Collegiate Baseball as a 2005 high school All-American. Out of high school Smoak was drafted in the 16th round by the Oakland Athletics but elected to play college baseball for South Carolina. His freshman year he hit .303 with 17 home runs and 63 RBI and was named a Freshman All-American. His sophomore season he hit .315, with 22 home runs and 72 RBI and was a third-team All-American. His junior year, Smoak batted .383, with 23 home runs and 72 RBI. After his junior year, he was drafted 11th overall by the Texas Rangers in the 2008 MLB Draft.
In 2008 Smoak debuted at low A ball and dominated in 14 games batting .304/.355/.518. He began 2009 at AA ball and didn’t find it very challenging, in 50 games Smoak hit .328/.449/.481. He hit 6 home runs and also walked (39) more times than he struck out (35). On July 4th Smoak was promoted to AAA. It’s no coincidence that Smoaks promotion occurred at the same time that Chirs Davis was demoted.
The switch hitting Smoak has drawn comparisons to Mark Texiera and Chipper Jones. His bat profiles as middle of the order and his defense is gold glove caliber. When you factor in that playing in Texas automatically inflates your statistics Smoak is poised to breakout in a big way.
By Jason Comack July 7, 2009, at 1:54 pm The Pistons have decided not to hire Avery Johnson as their next head coach, team president Joe Dumars announced on Tuesday. “Where we are right now as a team is kind of like where we were at the start of the Rick Carlisle era,” Dumars said. “And a $4 to $5 million (a year) coach is not what we need right now.”
The hangup with the deal seemed to be more about length than money. Johnson was looking for a 4-5 year commitment while Dumars was offering 2 yeas. Obviously Dumars and Johnson have different visions of where the Pistons stand. Dumars seems to think he’s assembled a team that can compete for a championship in the near future, while Johnson looks at the Pistons as rebuilding. Here I have to side with Johnson.
Are we sure Joe Dumars isn’t one of the most overrated GM’s in the NBA. What has he really done? He drafted Darko over Melo, Bosh and Wade, probably the defining moment of his executive career. If he had never lucked into the Rasheed Wallace trade (remember at the time it was an AWFUL AWFUL trade for Atlanta) he would be looked at much differently. Dumars has had his moments, Stackhouse for Hamilton was a great trade, as was the trade for Ben Wallace and he’s drafted decently (Prince and Okur were great bargains) but again Darko over Melo…need I say more?
And that brings us to this off-season. He traded Billiups, and tanked this past season, for cap space for this off-season. With that cap space he signed Ben Gordon (6th man?) for 55 million and Charlie Villanueva for 40 million. How do those two acquisitions lead you to be a championship caliber team? The Pistons are now locked into this core of Stuckey, Gordon, Hamilton, Prince, Maxiell and Villanueva. Where does that really get you? Maybe the 4th seed in the East at best…maybe?
Either you’re building something or you’re not. The Pistons have built a team that’s barely going to crack the top 10 in the NBA. No wonder they can’t get an experienced coach to lead them.
By Anthony De Franco July 7, 2009, at 12:33 pm From MMAWeekly.com:
As the historic weekend surrounding UFC 100 draws closer, the anticipation as to who would be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame has come to an end as president Dana White announced on his Twitter page and via the UFC.com web site that former light heavyweight champion Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell and TapouT founder Charles “Mask” Lewis would be inducted this Friday at the UFC Fan Expo surrounding UFC 100.
“Hey guys Chuck Liddell and Charles ‘Mask’ Lewis will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame at the UFC Fan Expo this Friday at 6:30 p.m.,” White announced on his Twitter page.
Liddell seemed to be a shoe-in for the UFC Hall of Fame after the stunning career the California native has had during his time with the promotion. With a championship run that included four-straight defenses, Liddell has been seen as the face of the UFC for several years, and his fighting skill has always backed up the hype for his celebrity.
Speculation has run wild recently whether Liddell would call it a career after a tough run in his recent fights, but on Friday night the “Iceman” will just look to celebrate as the UFC honors him as the latest inductee into its hall of fame.
There may not have been a bigger loss to the MMA world than earlier this year when TapouT co-founder Charles “Mask” Lewis lost his life after a tragic car accident. Lewis was a giant piece of the puzzle for TapouT, which is seen as one of the most iconic brands in all of MMA.
I strongly disliked Lewis as a TV personality, but their is no doubt that he was a huge influence on the world of MMA. Not only was he a strong voice in The Ultimate Fighter, but his brand “TapouT” sponsored so many fighters that likely would have had to keep full time jobs if not for the money he gave them.
As for Liddell, There is no doubt that he deserves it. When the sport became a mainstream hit, he was the one at the helm of it all. His unique look combined with his ridiclous punching power allowed him a two year reign as Light Heavyweight champion that will only be matched when Lyoto Machida runs roughshod through the division.
However, don’t think that its over for Chuck. Randy Couture and Mark Coleman still fight despite being in the UFC hall of fame.
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