Brandon Spikes does a great job of tackling tight ends — on and off the field.

On the field, the Patriots tape game footage (legally of course. We wouldn’t want another Spygate would we?) of their rookie linebacker and review that game footage to make him better.

Off the field, Spikes apparently taped a sexual encounter with a fine-looking woman in a hotel room while on the website Chatroulette.

One man offered to sell the video to Deadspin for $1,500, claiming he had the video and was willing to sell it. Deadspin declined, but the video appeared on the website WorldStarHipHop hours later. I have not included the link on purpose…but you can find what you’re looking for by searching ‘WorldStarHipHop + Brandon Spikes’ in Google.

My curiosity got the best of me, and I went looking for the video. It took a while to navigate WorldStarHipHop’s website due to the fact it’s loaded with ads. I browsed down to posts made on Aug. 30, and as long as you’re 18+ (or just acknowledge that you are), you get free access to the video. And…yes…it’s basically porn on webcam, with a man that looks just like Brandon Spikes, and a woman resembling Kim Kardashian (but it’s definitely not her, just a look-a-like).

Anyway, the NFL is now investigating the video of Spikes to see if it violates the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy. Frankly, it just might, so I would imagine the rookie linebacker (who was probably slated to start) will miss some time due to a suspension (maybe one game?).

© KC Downey for Sports of Boston, 2010. | Permalink | No comment
Filed under: Featured, Now!, Patriots, Video.

The Rays and Yankees are still tied with 31 games to go; the Red Sox are 7.0 games back. The Cardinals (and pretty much the Giants) have seemingly died. The Padres have too, but they still had a huge division lead built up to eat the blow. And assuming Manny doesn’t help the White Sox all too much and Lincecum stays funky, the playoff teams are pretty much in there.

Once more, the top eight teams were in the previous rankings, and the bottom two are new appearances. The biggest move of any team was three spots, followed by four movements of two spots. And as you might expect, the top two spots were easily retained.

As usual, teams get 10 points for a first place vote, then nine points for a second, and so on. Ties are broken based on who received the most first place votes, then the most second, and so on. The second tiebreaker is position in the previous rankings.

With just a month left in the season, we’ll also be giving our thoughts on what the Red Sox need to do to get back in the playoff race.

Table Legend

• A number in parentheses before a team name indicates the number of first place votes received.
• A number in parentheses after a team name indicates total points received.

How Can the Red Sox Make the Playoffs?

John – That ship sailed a long time ago.

Obviously, the key would be to do well against the Rays (three games remaining) and Yankees (six games remaining). The Sox also face the Orioles, who have been a thorn in their side, six more times. With only Buchholz and Lester having a shred of talent amongst the starters, and the bullpen not faring better (worse even), and Buchholz throwing balls away, the Red Sox were all but mathematically eliminated months ago.

KC – Sweep the two best teams.

To get in to the playoffs, the Red Sox need to win out against the Rays and Yankees. As we saw over the weekend, it’s possible (though highly unlikely) as long as the bullpen can hold itself together. It’s unfortunate. If the Red Sox didn’t have so many injuries, this team probably would be leading the division. Yeah I said it.

© John for Sports of Boston, 2010. | Permalink | No comment
Filed under: Featured, Now!, Opinion, Red Sox.

While talking with the Boston Herald, Laurence Maroney expressed dissatisfaction with his player rating in the Madden ‘11 game. According to Maroney,

”Oh man. They got me terrible on Madden, man. I want to tell Madden that, too. You know what’s crazy? I had my little shoulder problem, and I was 93 speed, 94 speed on Madden after my shoulder. Then I came down to 88. Man, what’s my shoulder got to do with my feet?

I ain’t that slow. (Madden) be trippin’ on my speed. I ain’t no 88. Then they got Fred (Taylor) and them faster than me. I know they ain’t faster. No, but I don’t trip, man. That’s a video game. It’s just cool to be on it.”

Maybe the problem is Maroney’s feet always running directly into defenders when there are many open routes all around him. He’s not the best running back around for a reason. Or maybe he’s just upset he’s not in the 90s for overall rating like Tom Brady (95), Logan Mankins (95), Randy Moss (95), Vince Wilfork (95), Stephen Gostowski (91), and Wes Welker (91). Even Sammy Morris (80) did better than Maroney (78).

One problem I see is Tom Brady being ranked so high; his injuries have got be slowing him down and depleting his value somewhat. And Logan Mankins is holding out, so his rating should be zero. Beside’s, it’s only a video game. If I thought it was prudent to complain about unrealistic video games, I would’ve complained about the old wrestling games where Debra could suplex the Big Show.

© John for Sports of Boston, 2010. | Permalink | One comment
Filed under: Featured, Now!, Patriots.

With the rising popularity of MMA, it is great to see states that once dismissed mixed martial arts as nothing more than barbaric bloodshed are now opening their doors to one of this country’s biggest draws in the world of sports.

The city of Boston had never held a UFC event due to a lack of regulation in Massachusetts. Earlier this year, Governor Deval Patrick signed a bill that called for the Massachusetts State Boxing Commission to expand and oversee MMA events, thus opening the door for Boston native and UFC owner Dana White to bring the UFC to Boston.

Boston was buzzing over the weekend, starting with a two day fan expo taking place at the Hynes Convention Center and culminating with UFC 118: Penn/Edgar 2. All of the hype and anticipation of Boston’s UFC debut turned out to be pretty dull and Beantown was left clamoring for more.

The Main Card

Nate Diaz vs Marcus Davis

Diaz and Davis exchanged blows throughout most of the fight. Diaz ended up clipping Davis’ eye in the first round which continuously swelled up and leaked blood giving Davis the appearance of a second head. Most thought Davis had the advantage standing up, but Diaz used his 6″ reach to repeatedly land unanswered blows.

As soon as the fight went to the ground in the third round, it was all over as Diaz sunk in a choke to win the bout via submission.

Kenny Florian vs Gray Maynard

The winner of this fight was guaranteed a shot at the lightweight title, so you think both guys would be going for broke.

Massachusetts native Kenny Florian had the crowd behind him, but the Jiu-Jitsu black belt was no match for the Division I All-American wrestler, Maynard.

The fight analysis was simple: takedown, rinse, repeat. Despite Florian’s corner repeatedly telling him to “stay away from the cage”, Florian was constantly with his back to the wall and Maynard took him down at will and ended up winning via unanimous decision.

Maynard is now the #1 contender for the lightweight title and put himself in line to fight the winner of the B.J. Penn/Frankie Edgar match that would happen later that evening.

Demian Maia vs Mario Miranda

Maia is coming off his loss to Anderson Silva at UFC 112 and he displayed his great ground game against Miranda. While he did dominate Miranda for the whole fight, he attempted and failed several submissions. The whole match was Maia nearly locking in a submission, and then Miranda slipping away.

Maia won via unanimous decision with all three judges scoring the bout 30-27.

Randy Couture vs James Toney

This fight arguably had more hype than the Penn/Edgar Rematch.

In what some were hyping as the definitive “Boxing vs MMA Fight”, 47-year-old Randy Couture and 42-year-old James Toney proved nothing in their matchup.

Couture is a legend in MMA, being a UFC Hall of Fame inductee and only one of two fighters to hold titles in two separate divisions. Toney likewise has impressive credentials. The current IBO and NABO Heavyweight title holder has a 72-6-3 record and has held titles in multiple weight classes.

All that didn’t mean jack in his MMA debut as Toney was easily taken to the ground by Couture. The UFC veteran’s elite Greco-Roman skills made this a one-sided affair as Toney was easily mounted, pounded on, and forced into submission via arm-triangle in only 3:19 into the first round.

Nobody was shocked at what transpired as we all could predict how the fight would go down, but in his post fight interview with UFC commentator Joe Rogan, Toney still felt he fought a good fight. Yeah, what fight was he watching?

Frankie Edgar (C) vs B.J. Penn (Lightweight Championship)

In a rematch from their fight from UFC 112, where Edgar shocked the MMA world by defeating Penn for the title, Edgar/Penn 2 was more of the same.

Penn is regarded as one of the best pound for pound fighters on the planet and the best lightweight fighter today, but he looked completely lost in this fight. Penn had never been taken down as a lightweight fighter in the UFC, but Frankie Edgar, just like in their last fight, took him down at will.

Penn was simply no match for Edgar’s speed and wrestling. Penn had his best shot in the fifth round when he secured a takedown of his own and nearly had Edgar’s back, but Edgar, who’s only fatigue was from beating Penn mercilessly, easily slipped out of any danger and immediately gained dominant position.

The fight went the full five rounds with Edgar scoring the unanimous decision victory to retain his title and rightful place as the best lightweight fighter in the UFC.

As a result of this fight, Frankie Edgar (13-1) will now defend his title against the undefeated Gray Maynard (10-0). The most appealing part of this match is that Edgar will try to avenge his only career loss. Maynard holds the distinction of being the only person to beat Edgar, which was over two years ago at UFC Fight Night 13.

In The End

Boston’s UFC debut was met with huge fanfare, but the show itself was pretty pedestrian. All of the fights were one-sided affairs and did little to keep your attention.

Just because a fight is one-sided, doesn’t mean it is boring. In fact, Joe Lauzon put on a clinic in his preliminary fight against Gabe Ruediger. That was a completely one-sided, dominating performance for Lauzon, but it was exciting to watch.

The main card was not exciting and you could lose your attention pretty easily. Hell, no “Knockout of the Night” bonus was given because there were no knockouts at all!

On the plus side, Boston now has a taste for the UFC and you know we will see them at the Garden in the future. I just hope it instills a bit more excitement next time.

© Pete for Sports of Boston, 2010. | Permalink | One comment
Filed under: Featured, Now!, Top Story.

Nobody likes a whiner.

So I won’t start off this week’s “Couch Potato Report” whining about why there wasn’t a “C.P.R.” last week. I won’t tell you that my awkwardly big feet kicked the switch of my surge protector underneath my computer, powering down my PC and leaving my unsaved, nearly completed article left as just a figment of my imagination. I won’t whine about that though. I’ll just give you some words to live by… every few minutes, CLICK SAVE. You can’t click “save” too often… it’ll save you from swearing at an inanimate object like your computer.

But this week, I’m back in business. I have tied my feet up (stop thinking naughty thoughts over there, you dirty birds), to get them out of the way, and I’m here this week to make up for lost time. Normally each week, the weekly “Couch Potato Report” offers up five mouth-watering suggestions for your sports viewing pleasure. But this week, in an effort to win back my loyal audience (crickets chirping), I’m ready to double your pleasure and double your fun, with ten… count ‘em, TEN… TV picks for the upcoming weekend.

So enough jibber jabber. Let’s dive in head first to this week’s supersized edition of “The Couch Potato Report,” C.P.R. for your sports-lovin’ hearts.

#1 Sox vs. Rays

When Is It On & Where Can I Find It?

Friday & Saturday @ 7pm on NESN, Sunday @ 8pm on ESPN

Why Should I Watch?

You watch these pivotal games if you still are holding out hope that the banged-up Sox still have a shot at earning a playoff spot. What better way to catch the team you’re chasing than to sweep them yourselves. With a 5 ½ game deficit to make up in the final five weeks of the season, your BoSox need all the help they can get in order to catch the Rays or Yanks for the division or wild card spot. The pitching for the Sox lines up well for this series, with Jon Lester on the hill Friday night, legitimate Cy Young candidate Clay Buchholz pitching Saturday, and John Lackey throwing Sunday, who is coming off one of his better starts in a Red Sox uniform. Whether the offense can put up enough runs to deliver some victories remains to be seen, but the time is now for the Sox to make or break their season down in Tampa. On a side note, what’s the over/under on the amount of times the catwalks are hit in this series? Bet high, my friends.

#2 PGA’s FedEx Cup Playoffs: The Barclays

When & Where?

Friday at 3pm on Golf Channel, Saturday at 1pm on GC and 3pm on CBS, and Sunday at 12pm on GC and 2pm on CBS

Why?

Tiger Woods is a new man, after his divorce became finalized this past week. What’s he do to celebrate? He comes out on Thursday and shoots his best round of golf this year, with a 6-under 65, tying him for the opening round lead with Vaughn Taylor. Woods, who came into this tournament at the bottom of the rankings for the FedEx Cup, needs a strong showing this weekend to even qualify for next week’s Deutsche Bank Championship event at TPC Boston, down in Norton. The best of the best in the game of golf are all taking their hacks in this tournament… well, except Jim Furyk, who was disqualified after oversleeping Wednesday morning, causing him to miss his tee time for the Pro-Am tournament. Pretty bogus rule if you ask me, but that’s just me being bitter because he’s on my fantasy golf team. (Yes, there is such a thing as fantasy golf.)

#3 Little League World Series

When & Where?

Saturday at 1 & 4pm, Sunday at 3pm, all on ABC

Why?

The annual Little League World Series wraps up this weekend in Williamsport, PA. The International Final kicks things off in Saturday’s early game, with Chinese Taipei taking on Japan for the world’s crown. The U.S. championship will follow that, with the kids from Pearland, Texas taking on the winner of Friday’s Pool A final, featuring Columbus, Georgia and Waipahu, Hawaii. Then on Sunday, the International champ will face off against the U.S. winner for all the marbles. So if you’re not weirded out by watching pre-teen boys run around and sweat in tight baseball pants, with the possibility of them crying at the end when they lose, tune in! (Sorry, did I just ruin this for you???)

#4 NFL Preseason Football

When & Where?

Friday & Saturday @ 8pm on CBS, Sunday @ 8pm on FOX

Why?

Because they say that the third game of the preseason schedule is supposed to be meaningful, that’s why! And, you fantasy geeks will want to check out who blows a hammy or tears a knee before you look like a dunce drafting the guy for your fantasy team. Friday’s action includes the defending champion Saints hosting hot rookie Ryan Mathews and the Chargers. Saturday night, you can check out Tony Romo and the Cowboys take on Andre Johnson and the Texans in a Lonestar State battle. Then on Sunday over on FOX, take a gander at young RBs Rashard Mendenhall and Knowshon Moreno, with the Steelers facing the Broncos.

#5 High School Football

When & Where?

Seemingly all weekend long, on ESPN & ESPN2

Why?

I’m not sure why, to be honest. But if you look at ESPN’s programming schedule for the weekend, it’s got high school football all over it. Friday night on ESPN, start your night off with a Floridian battle, with Plant H.S. going up against Manatee H.S. At 10pm, switch over to ESPN2 for a west coast bout between Folsom, CA and Grant, CA, who features top prospect, DT Viliami Moala. Saturday at noon on ESPN, watch Byrnes, SC take on Hoover, AL, the school that was featured in MTV’s reality show, “Two-A-Days.” Saturday night at 7pm, you can check out two Texas powerhouses, with Steele taking on Madison. Then on Sunday, watch an interstate battle in Cincinnati, when St. Xavier, OH hosts Good Counsel, MD, at 3pm. Now, I know a lot of parents out there who dread having to sit through their own kids’ games… so unless you’re a scout or just a diehard fan of the game who can be entertained with a football game at any level, I’m not entirely sure why high school football is taking center stage this weekend. But hey, if it’s your thing… eat it up.

#6 UFC 118

When & Where?

Saturday night @ 10pm on Pay-Per-View

Why?

For the first time ever, UFC is coming to Boston! Saturday night at the TD Garden is the place, as Causeway Street will turn into MMA fan heaven. The main event of UFC 118 features a rematch between former champ B.J. Penn and current champ Frankie Edgar, who will duke it out for the lightweight championship. Other matches include Randy Couture taking on James Toney, and Kenny Florian going up against Gray Maynard. Now I’ll be the first one to tell you that I personally just haven’t gotten on the UFC bandwagon yet. But there’s no doubt that the excitement of the sport coming to the Boston area is at a super high level. If you can’t splurge for the fights on Pay-Per-View, and you aren’t lucky enough to have a ticket to Garden to see it live, grab a few of your meathead friends and hit your local sports bar, or better yet, check out the fights at a bar over near the Garden, so you can feel the energy of the atmosphere. Just don’t get cauliflower ear like the fighters get… that’ll just make you look goofy.

#7 FIBA World Basketball Championships

When & Where?

U.S. games on Saturday @ 12pm on ESPN Classic and Sunday @ 9:30am on ESPN2

Why?

I’m not sure many sports fans are all that interested in this thing, but nonetheless, for those of you who are, the FIBA World Championships start their pool play this weekend, and the Rajon Rondo-less U.S. team starts out with a game against Croatia Saturday afternoon from Istanbul, Turkey. Their second game of the weekend will be Sunday morning against Slovenia. Beyond Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose, I’m not all that impressed with the talent the U.S. team is trotting out there this time around. That doesn’t mean I don’t expect the Americans to fare well in this tournament, that just means I probably won’t watch a minute of it.

#8 WNBA Playoffs

When & Where?

Saturday at 1 & 3pm, Sunday at 8pm, on ESPN2

Why?

Speaking of meaningless basketball I won’t watch, the WNBA playoffs have begun… but I’m sure I didn’t need to tell you that, right? Sports fans everywhere have been glued to their screens all season long, and now it all comes down to this… you can cut the tension with a knife during these high energy playoff games. Dunks? No, you won’t see those. Girls? Yeah, you’ll see those… but don’t expect to see any bombshells running up and down the court. But if you are still reading this part of the article and really do want to know what’s on tap for WNBA playoff action this weekend, tune in Saturday for a doubleheader of Western Conference semifinal action with a pair of Game 2s. In the 1:00 game, Phoenix takes on San Antonio, followed by a 4pm duel between Seattle and Los Angeles. Sunday night, if necessary, the Eastern Conference will take center stage, with a potential deciding Game 3 featuring New York and Indiana. Ok ladies, you got your time in the spotlight… now back to dude stuff.

#9 Tennis: Pilot Pen Championships

When & Where?

Semifinals Friday on ESPN2 at 12pm & 7pm, Women’s Championship at 1pm Saturday on CBS, Men’s Championship at 7pm Saturday on ESPN2

Why?

Did I say “back to dude stuff?” Ok, maybe not quite yet. Tennis? Hey, I said I’d have extra picks for you this week, but I never said anything about how good they’d be. It’s “quantity over quality” week here at the C.P.R. Anyway, for you tennis enthusiasts out there, you can tune in this weekend to the Pilot Pen tournament from New Haven, CT. Now don’t “write” this tournament off (pun intended). This isn’t a major tennis tournament like Wimbledon, but there still are some big names serving up some entertaining tennis. Names like… Sergiy Stakhovsky? Thiemo de Bakker? Alright, maybe not. But the U.S. Open starts Monday, so just sit tight and get through this silly little tournament first.

#10 MLS Soccer: New England Revolution vs. Philadelphia Union

When & Where?

Saturday night at 7:30pm on Comcast SportsNet

Why?

Because the season’s almost over, and I really haven’t thrown the Revs a bone yet. So here it is, here’s their bone. Watch them. They’re not very good, but still, give them a shot. And heck, it’s always sweet to beat a team from Philly at anything, even if it’s just MLS soccer.

This Week’s “Off the Field” Pick: The Emmys

When & Where?

Sunday night at 8pm on NBC

Why?

It wouldn’t have been right for me to write an article about television without making any mention of this weekend’s Emmy awards. I wouldn’t be a good TV critic if I ignored them… if I can even consider myself a TV critic. Anyway, the actual award show starts at 8pm Sunday night, but you can tune in to E! pretty much all afternoon for their silly red carpet coverage. Hey, some people’s lives aren’t complete if they don’t see January Jones in an expensive dress or Alec Baldwin acting all successful compared to his brothers. But like so many of these award shows, they’re not entertaining unless you place some wagers on them. Hey, it’s a competition after all, so why not bet, right? My money’s on “Mad Men” and “30 Rock” to win the night… you heard it here first! No, you’ve probably read that everywhere by now… but I’m on their bandwagon too!

© Brian Kintz for Sports of Boston, 2010. | Permalink | No comment
Filed under: Featured, Now!.

As titles go, Moneyball is a bit of a misnomer. When one thinks of the term “moneyball,” one might be inclined to think of playing baseball by spending lots of money. But the reality is that Moneyball, Michael Lewis’s 2003 bestseller, is about a general manager’s (Billy Beane if the Oakland Athletics) quest to put a winning team together by spending AS LITTLE money as possible (required because the Athletics ownership is portrayed as incredibly tightfisted). This is not in itself noteworthy, as there are plenty of sports franchises with low payrolls. What makes Beane so interesting is that he actually managed to DO it, winning more games than any team but the Atlanta Braves across the several seasons leading up the book’s publication and went to the playoffs every year from 2000 to 2003, all while dealing with one of the lowest payrolls in the MLB. All of it culminates in the 2003 season, wherein the Athletics break the AL record for most consecutive wins. The book splits its time between Lewis’s time with the Athletics management team (specifically GM Beane and his assistant Paul DePodesta) during the 2003 season and his research into the history of sabermetric analysis, which is the method by which Beane goes about trying to determine what players could be drafted, signed, or acquired via trade that would both help the team and not break the bank (or even shake it a bit).

Sabermetrics in Summary

The basic argument of sabermetrics, a statistical evaluation system more or less founded by Bill James and named after the Society of American Baseball Research, is that the offense’s job is not to hit but rather to not make an out (scoring runs is its secondary objective). Therefore, anything that increases the likelihood of making an out, such as bunting, sacrificing, and stealing bases, works against a player. Anything that gets a player on base, such as hits or walks (not considered statistically important until the emergence of sabermentrics), is valued. Older statistics such as batting average, total hits and total RBIs, are considered to be old-fashioned, giving way to more statistically indicative numbers, especially on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Statisticians such as Bill believe that these newer methods of evaluation, even when applied backwards to past teams, reveal far more accurately whether a player has contributed or will contribute to a team’s offensive success.

Criticism of Sabermetrics

Moneyball portrays other teams as either ignorant of, or at least not particularly interested in, sabermetric performance evaluation, and thus Beane seems to have an advantage over other teams, even those with much higher payrolls, such as the New York Yankees. The book is the story of one general manager using sabermetrics to try and find those players that other teams forgot about or passed over that he can get cheap. For Beane, himself a “victim” of older methods of evaluation (he was a high school phenom who was convinced not to go to college by the Mets and never learned how to deal with failure), trying to do this often causes him to take flack from those around him, both within the organization (in the form of the scouting department, longstanding proponents of the older, “five tool” style of evaluation) and without (from other managers, who consider him ruthless and conniving, and from the press, who think his strategies can’t translate to playoff success). Lewis describes the MLB front offices and scouting departments collectively forming a Club, and the press as its Women’s Auxiliary. They see sabermetrics as attacking their way of doing things, and so they lash out against it. Other general managers don’t like working with Beane, and the press constantly disparages him. Their biggest argument is always that, if sabermetrics is such a successful means of evaluation, then why haven’t the Athletics won the World Series since 1989?

To the press’s credit, Billy Beane never comes up with a satisfactory answer to that. All he can say is that with so few games, luck becomes more of a larger factor than in the regular season, and that anything is really possible. That may be true, but if sabermetrics is designed to minimize luck (as Beane says), it is reasonable to argue that it is a system that can’t bring home championships. And while from a business perspective winning regular season games might lead to economic success, repeatedly falling short of a championship will inevitably hurt ticket sales in future seasons (assuming you don’t own a franchise like the Boston Red Sox, which sells out every home game regardless of the product put on the field). Most sports franchises can be depicted as sine-waves: high periods and low periods. Teams only have so many good years before they naturally begin to decline, and it’s championships during the good years that maintain ticket sales through the bad times. Sabermetrics, if the only example is the early 21st Century Oakland Athletics, might not be such a terrific system after all.

Billy Beane: Revolutionary

Sports go through revolutions, same as political systems or religions. The first major revolution was racial integration, allowing a previously excluded group to play in the major leagues. The next was gender integration, as symbolized by IX, and the realization and acceptance that the drive for athletic success lies as much in the female psyche as it does in the male psyche. Right now, we are still dealing with the chemical revolution: the integration of chemical additives into athletic training, and the determination of what is a fair and healthy additive and what is not, and how best to police its use. For Billy Beane, Moneyball is the story of his experience with the final sports revolution: the integration of technology into athletics. Lewis finishes his book with a description of athletic organizations rejecting sabermetrics in part because they think of sabermetricians as skinny, hunched-over intellectuals typing into computer screens all day. He describes it as a classic case of jock versus nerd, and there is some truth to that. Any time a revolution happens, turmoil and upheaval follow in its wake. The same is true of Moneyball. Beane suffered incredible backlash due to its publication, but that’s because it was a new idea being introduced with force into the populace. Whenever this happens, those in power (other general managers and the press) seek to squash it before it takes permanent hold and forces them to change or die (not literally).

Beane’s personality also does not help his case. As smart as he comes off at times, he also comes off as maniacal. He tries incessantly to insert himself into the middle of an Expos-Red Sox Cliff Floyd trade so that he can force the Red Sox to give him Kevin Youkilis, whom he has coveted since Youkilis was draft-eligible. The Expos manager seems to sniff out Beane’s plan and does not push the three-way deal, and the Floyd trade goes off cleanly. More importantly, he seems to talk himself out of signing a $12.5 million, five-year deal with the Red Sox, for reasons that still make no sense, even after reading through the entire book and getting a crash course in Beane’s psychology. He had the opportunity to be paid more than any GM in history, work for an ownership that would both spend big money to sign players AND believed in the value of sabermetrics (John Henry had long been a Bill James fan and was a frequent fantasy baseball champion), and get to deal with a press “so reliably venomous that it was impossible to distinguish the poison directed at the new regime from the poison they’d aimed at every other person who had the temerity to pass through Fenway Park” (294-295), meaning that the fans would be unlikely to turn on him if his strategy did not immediately work out. This sounds like an ideal environment for a general manager, and yet Billy Beane declined it without ever giving a satisfactory answer. His character is somewhat maddening.

Boston: The Revolution at Work

Despite the success of the Athletics, much of it might be because they were using sabermetrics before anyone else did. Now other teams are using it, AND they have higher payrolls, meaning it is that much harder to find bargain players. The Red Sox are one such team that has both learned from Billy Beane’s example (they hired Theo Epstein, another statistics-savvy Ivy Leaguer like Paul DePodesta) and put the money into realizing the idea. To this end, they began employing Bill James as a consultant as of 2003. The combination of sabermetric evaluation and paying top-dollar for players has led to two world championships and a rebuilt farm system that has produced aces, All-Stars, rookies of the year, and MVPs. Boston might be the best example of sabermetrics being used effectively. While most fans will probably never see the stats that guide Theo Epstein’s moves, it is quite likely that the 2004 Nomar Garciaparra trade was based in a sabermetric analysis of what Nomar was bringing to the team offensively and whether that could be replaced with lesser players who could also improve the team’s defense. The move paid dividends in the postseason, and the rest is history.

This is not to say that sabermetrics is the be-all and end-all method of evaluation. There are still players out there who scouts drool over, who they see as potential superstars at a young age, and then go on to great success. Hanley Ramirez was always lauded for his “five tools” (hit for average, hit for power, field, run, throw), and he has gone on to a batting title, three All-Star selections, and a Rookie of the Year award. This is a player for whom the old methods of evaluation have proven correct. And not every draft choice of Billy Beane has been a goldmine. While Youkilis has won a Gold Glove and been named to two All-Star Games, and Nick Swisher (his first pick in the 2002 draft) has won a World Series with the Yankees and made the All-Star game, Jeremy Brown, another first-round draft pick in 2002, never had more than a cup of coffee in the majors. Like “five tool” evaluation, sabermetric evaluation is not the same as fortune-telling. Nothing will ever prove definitively whether or not a prospect will work out or a free agent will help or hurt a team. That’s the problem with analyzing humans: as much as we tend to behave in patterns, sometimes we don’t. A player who bats .333 for a year doesn’t get one hit every game. That’s never happened before, not even close (the longest hit streak ever comprised just over one third of the season, and even THAT hasn’t been managed in nearly 70 years). Hitters sometimes get a hit, sometimes they get more, sometimes they don’t hit at all. If enough players get enough hits at the same time, that team will generally win. The best recipe for success probably lies in some combination of evaluative methods.

Does Moneyball Stand the Test of Time?

The Oakland Athletics have declined mightily since Moneyball’s publication. Since 2004, they have only made the playoffs once, getting swept in the ALCS by the Detroit Tigers. Their recent seasons have been unspectacular at best, not breaking the 95-win mark at all since 2003. Since 2006, they have finished in third or fourth place in their division every single season. As of Monday, they are in third place in their division, eight games back and 14.5 out of the Wild Card. As I said before, teams go through high and low periods periodically. The Athletics are definitely in a low period now, and fans are probably wishing that those early-decade teams had brought home a ring or two to go with all their 100-win seasons.

It can be said that we are living in the post-Moneyball era of baseball. Most teams now accept sabermetrics and at least employ one sabermetric analyst. The Oakland Athletics’ decline can be as much attributed to richer franchises USING sabermetrics as it can to some kind of conceptual error IN sabermetrics. Still, Moneyball is an amazing piece of sports journalism. Lewis tells a story of a revolution in baseball and clearly sets out both how the revolutionaries succeeded and how the baseball world tried to stop them. It is a fascinating look at baseball as it was at the turn of the new millennium. It is incredibly well-researched and well-paced. You will be fascinated by characters like Billy Beane and Bill James, and you will understand their feelings of rejection by their peers. Lewis presents a strong, concise point, and he uses the 2002 Athletics as his argument. It is incredibly convincing, and I think baseball since publication has proven him right. Reading Moneyball, I could feel myself getting angry at some of its posits. That’s a sign of good writing, when it elicits an emotional reaction. As I read on, I became more and more swayed by Lewis’s and Beane’s (even though Beane is not an author, his strategy is what Lewis defends) arguments. As I watched a baseball game the night I finished it, statistics began to swim in my mind next to the players on screen. Moneyball will change the way you think about baseball. No greater accomplishment in sports writing can be achieved.

© Matt Goisman for Sports of Boston, 2010. | Permalink | No comment
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Roger Clemens can run but he won’t be hiding. In this case, the seven-time Cy Young Award winner is actually running toward a major league problem. Clemens, 48, was charged with three counts of making false statements, two counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice in regard to  his testimony during the now notorious nationally televised hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in February of 2008. Clemens has been the most defiant of any accused MLB player, Rafael Palmeiro and Barry Bonds included. Clemens now earns the equivocal distinction of being the third celebrated athlete to be charged with lying and his on-field accomplishments have been temporarily rendered moot.

Using the other two athletes as a metric, the future does not look bright for The Rocket. Bonds, baseball’s all-time home run leader, is scheduled for trial in March under similar charges stemming from his involvement with the ubiquitous Bay Area Laboratory Co-op scandal. Marion Jones, also a BALCO client, won five medals over a glorified Olympic career as a sprinter. Like Clemens, Jones looked everyone in the eye while offering staunch denials. After charges rained down upon her, she wisely plead guilty in 2007. Jones served six months in federal prison for the incident.

Clemens’ troubles are mostly traced to his former trainer Brian McNamee, who alleged that his client knowingly used both steroids and human growth hormone. Their contradictory statements led to a public back-and-forth with Clemens assuming the role of schoolyard bully. The Boston Globe’s Bob Ryan has often noted that Clemens is a strange individual, capable of convincing himself of almost anything. Ryan trumpeted the same sentiment on Thursday’s edition of Pardon the Interruption on ESPN, saying that it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that Clemens still thinks he is innocent, despite the heap of mounting evidence against him.

If convicted, Clemens could face up to 30 years in prison and a $1.5 million fine, though legal experts forecast a 15- to 21-month sentence if convicted. Like Jones, a plea-bargain would likely lessen his sentence further. Clemens, however, has shown zero signs of backing down, and actually says he is looking forward to the legal proceedings.

“I look forward to challenging the Government’s accusations, and hope people will keep an open mind until trial,” Clemens said via Twitter. “I appreciate all the support I have been getting. I am happy to finally have my day in court.”

Unfortunately for Clemens, those open-minded people are few, considering the evidence. At this point, it’s unlikely that Clemens will ever back down in a trial that will surely grant quite a spectacle. For a while, sports fans have debated Clemens’ worthiness regarding the Hall of Fame in light of the PED accusations.

If only that were his biggest problem.

© Justin Power for Sports of Boston, 2010. | Permalink | No comment
Filed under: Featured, Now!, Opinion, Red Sox.

You’re used to seeing these things on our site for books every once in awhile. But for the first time ever, you’re being treated to a song review. And I can’t think of a better song than one specifically about Boston sports, past and present. I am speaking of course about “Beantown,” from the 2005 album “You Can’t See Me,” by WWE Superstar and Massachusetts native John Cena, and his cousin Tha Trademarc. If you’re not into hip hop (or wrestling for that matter), don’t worry, we won’t blame you for not being familiar with this piece of music. The song in question also features Boston rapper Esoteric, and the album features guest spots from Bumpy Knuckles.

But enough with the intros; I’m sure you’re all interested in hearing about the Boston icons featured in the song. You know the song will be good when it promises to “hit one-two like Manny-Ortiz.” John Cena is the first of three artists to come in with the above reference, and plenty others. I don’t want to completely give away the lyrics, though you could find them anywhere if you really want. One of my favorites, though, has to be, “Like Tom Brady and the Pats, we’re rolling kids; Cross me and pay a toll like the Tobin Bridge.” It is Tom Brady Season, after all. Or maybe it’s duck and/or rabbit season. You’ll also get reference to Kevin McHale, Carl Yastrzemski, the Green Line, and the Green Monster. It’s a great tune, really catchy, and about the rich history of Boston sports. But what else can you expect from John Cena? Like the Big Dig, nobody can finish him.

The song continues with Tha Trademarc, who keeps things going with more Tom Brady, and some Deion Branch thrown in for good measure. And what would the song be without shout-outs to all of Boston’s area codes (if it works for Rey Mysterio and San Diego’s 619, it works for Boston’s 617) and a pot-shot at T.O? As Trademarc will tell you, “What now? You say titan’s your rep; That’s like Peyton winning big games out on Gillette. We don’t forget you all, we’re keeping it grimy; had the Steel Curtain looking like venetian blinds.” We’ll get to see both of those things (hopefully) happen this year. GO PATS!!!

Next up is the song’s final verse, brought to you by Esoteric. After giving a shout-out to Fanueil Hall and Nomah, Jason Varitek’s glove gets the love. Curt Schilling’s bloody shot and Larry Bird’s set shot get their dues as well. Plenty of legends are well-represented and honored in lyrical fashion, as Esoteric kindly presents, “Steadily poetically I’m Bill Russell in command; peace to Dorcester, Roxbury, Mattapan.” Nice to see the local neighborhoods getting their due as well.

So there you have a pretty good idea of what the song is like. It doesn’t even have the heavy beat hip hop detractors usually don’t like; the song is pretty upbeat, actually. “Beantown” and the parent album “You Can’t See Me” are available anywhere music is sold. Granted, Cena is no Cleveland Jr. or Stephen Colbert, but he is pretty good.

© John for Sports of Boston, 2010. | Permalink | One comment
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The races are starting to open up. Minnesota is 3.0 games ahead of their competition, and the Cardinals and Reds are a vast, vast 1.0 games apart. The NL Wildcard is now in a tie, while it’s still easily the Rays and Yankees in the American counterpart. San Diego did well against San Fran to boost their lead and eliminate the Giants’ lead in the Wildcard hunt.

After an absence of just one edition, the Yankees are back. The top eight teams were all present on the previous list, with only the bottom two slots being new teams. The Twins, moving five spots, were the biggest change this time, which is quite impressive considering no team kept their ranking from the previous time.

As usual, teams get 10 points for a first place vote, then nine points for a second, and so on. Ties are broken based on who received the most first place votes, then the most second, and so on. The second tiebreaker is position in the previous rankings.

And as we’re nearing the end of the season, we’ve also provided our thoughts as to how the Red Sox will finish the season. And we’ve got a brand new contributor for this week, and he’s keeping the Red Sox afloat. And helping Texas while he’s at it.

Table Legend

• A number in parentheses before a team name indicates the number of first place votes received.
• A number in parentheses after a team name indicates total points received.

What will the Red Sox’ final record be?

John – 89-73

I keep trying to be pessimistic about the Red Sox, but then they keep having a good game. Then they keep following it up with a bad one. Pedroia will be back on Tuesday, but Ellsbury is back out. Essentially flipping a coin the rest of the way, I don’t see the Red Sox as much different than a .500 team from here on out.

KC – 93-69

Why? Because the Red Sox are definitely good enough to make the playoffs, but will probably have too much trouble getting by the Rays and Yankees in the best division in baseball. Dustin Pedroia’s return should help an already strong lineup (second in the majors in runs scored), but the team’s Achilles heel is pitching, which should have been their strength.

Leo – 93-69

The Sox are on pace for 91 wins; but I’d project the number at around 93. The higher win total I’m prediciting is based off the assumption that Pedroia and Co. come back and stay healthy for the remainder of the season. Of course, they’ll need more from Josh Beckett and the bullpen to make the playoffs, since the Yankees look like a 100-win team, and the Rays won’t be far behind.

© John for Sports of Boston, 2010. | Permalink | No comment
Filed under: Featured, Now!, Opinion, Red Sox.

One year ago Friday, Boston’s sports radio landscape changed as we know it.

For years, airwaves juggernaut WEEI dominated the sports radio scene. They were the only game in town, and when they weren’t, they squashed all challengers in a matter of months. Down went 1510 The Sports Zone. Down went 890 ESPN Boston. And down went 790 The Score in Providence. But back on Aug. 13, 2009, the “On Air” light went out at long time rock station WBCN in favor of a brand new sports radio station, WBZ-FM, otherwise known as 98.5 The Sports Hub.

The Sports Hub made their splash onto radios across the area the day of the Pats’ preseason opener, when Tom Brady made his return to the field after missing almost all of the 2008 season with a catastrophic knee injury. From there, the Hub took us through a very entertaining Patriots season and into the playoffs, where New England sadly fell on its face against Baltimore. 98.5 also was there to broadcast every Bruins game this past season, from the opener against Ovechkin and the Capitals to the bitter playoff defeat at the hands of the Flyers.

Beyond their broadcast rights to the Patriots and Bruins, The Sports Hub has provided sports-crazed radio listeners with a quality alternative for those that have grown tired of WEEI’s same old routine. 98.5 seems to cater to the younger side of the key “males 18 to 54″ demographic that every station covets, while WEEI’s hosts keep doing what they’re doing, which seems to hold the attention of the baby boomer generation and right-wing conservatives everywhere.

When you look at the ratings books for the area each month, you still see ‘EEI with a solid advantage in terms of numbers. But there’s no doubt that 98.5 The Sports Hub has made a significant dent into the WEEI powerhouse, more significantly than any other past challenger. With a bit more tinkering, it might not be long before the younger, more energetic Sports Hub reigns supreme in this town, over the old regime at WEEI.

And so now, with a full year under its belt, I would like to break down the Boston sports radio battle with a “Tale of the Tape,” pitting the two stations up against each other on a show by show basis. I’m going to share my opinions, and I encourage you to formulate and share your own as well.

Morning Drive Time: WEEI’s “Dennis & Callahan” vs. The Sports Hub’s “Toucher & Rich”

Advantage: The Sports Hub

Now I’ll start off by saying that when “Toucher & Rich” were on in the afternoons on WBCN, I actually listened to both of these shows… “D&C” in the morning and “T&R” in the afternoon. But now that they’re battling each other for a.m. supremacy, I lean towards Toucher & Rich. I think Dennis & Callahan do what they do well. But unfortunately, what they do is rant and rave about topics that seemingly have little to do with sports, more often than not. They are by all means opinionated, but they never seem to have an opinion that matches mine.

T&R on the other hand, while they admittedly don’t have as passionate a Boston sports feel as other shows (both T&R are not from the Boston area), what they lack in local sports fandom, they make up for in comedy and overall entertainment. Now do I expect Joe 50-Year-Old to be amused by “drunken Red Sox recaps,” “dating on demand,” “ask a pink hat,” or any of the other T&R routines? Mostly, no. But for the up-and-coming twenty-something sports fan, T&R is a slam dunk over D&C. The ratings may show D&C with still a comfortable advantage, but look for that to change as more and more young sports fans find their way to T&R in the morning.

Mid-Days: WEEI’s “Dale & Holley” vs. The Sports Hub’s “Gresh & Zolak”

Advantage: WEEI

How Andy Gresh and Scott Zolak still have jobs in radio is beyond me. They flopped as a pairing in Providence, yet The Sports Hub decides to bring them back, and into a bigger market, no less? Sorry, but you won’t find me in the “Gresh & Zo” corner at all. WEEI’s “Dale & Holley” is arguably the most intelligent sports talk show that WEEI has to offer. As an avid hockey fan, Dale Arnold’s expertise with all things Bruins is refreshing to listen to on a station that has long ignored the local hockey team, while Michael Holley is really the only youthful, modern flavor that WEEI has to offer in its stable of hosts. Granted, Gresh & Zo are above average when it comes to covering the Pats, but listening to Zolak talk about anything else is painful, and listening to Gresh’s voice at all is downright hazardous to your health.

Afternoon Rush Hour: WEEI’s “The Big Show” vs. The Sports Hub’s “Felger & Massarotti”

Advantage: The Sports Hub

No one’s act is more tired than “The Big Show’s” Glenn Ordway. Afternoons from 2-6pm, he moderates the daily shouting match that is “The Big Show,” where blowhards yell over each other, all while insulting callers who might have a different viewpoint than theirs. For a while, “The Whiner Line,” where callers leave what they hope to be comedic messages aimed at throwing digs at players or show hosts, was a new, fresh, entertaining idea. The gimmick is well past its prime though, as it trots out the same tired hacks who fail at bringing the laughs on a consistent basis. Couple all of that with the recent departure of “Big Show” favorite Pete “The Meat” Sheppard, and all signs point to “The Big Show”’s time to shine coming to a quick end.

On the FM side of the dial, tuning into “Felger & Mazz” weekdays is a breath of fresh air I really didn’t think would go as well as it has. Sure, Michael Felger’s constant contrarianism can be tiresome at times. And sure, Mazz’s high-pitched voice will never compare to the sweet sounds of Bedtime Magic’s David Allen Boucher. But their show’s content blows “The Big Show” out of the water more often than not, with maybe the one exception being the Monday interviews with Bill Belichick on ‘EEI during football season. To add to that, 98.5’s “The Baseball Reporters,” hosted by Massarotti from 6-7pm, is far and away superior to the pregame festivities that WEEI trots out… no doubt about it.

Nights: WEEI’s “Planet Mikey” vs. The Sports Hub’s “D.A. Show”

Advantage: The Sports Hub

This one really was very close to call, as I do see pros and cons for both shows. I don’t doubt that WEEI’s Mike Adams is wacky enough to entertain most middle-aged men. But as someone who happily hasn’t reached “middle-aged” status yet, give me a more energetic, younger, albeit geekier Damon Amendolara any night of the week. Now I will say that out of all the time slots that sports radio has to offer, I probably listen to the evening shows the least. What little I do hear during the week however, I usually give the nod to D.A. All that being said, I secretly pray every night before I go to bed that Damon Amendolara gets fired, and somehow, some way, 98.5’s hiring manager finds me and gives me the job. That really would be the dream job, at least in my mind. But for now, D.A. can keep my seat warm for me.

Live Game Action: WEEI’s Red Sox & Celtics vs. The Sports Hub’s Patriots & Bruins

Advantage: WEEI

Even though I’m a bigger fan of the Pats & B’s than I am of the Sox or Celts, I have to tip my cap to the broadcast teams of WEEI over The Sports Hub. C’s play-by-play man Sean Grande could be the best radio man in the NBA. Basketball is a tough game to translate to radio, but he does it effortlessly, painting a clear picture of what’s happening on the court. Cedric Maxwell’s color commentary is an acquired taste that doesn’t appeal to everyone, but no one can say he doesn’t bring a high level of enthusiasm and his very own unique style to broadcasts. For the Sox, I’ve grown up a huge Joe Castiglione fan for years, and Dave O’Brien, like Grande, has to be regarded as one of the best in the sport.

Over on the Sports Hub, I have all the respect in the world for the solid job that Bruins broadcasters Dave Goucher and Bob Beers do, night in and night out. Unfortunately, and this might be a minority opinion, I can’t give the nod to 98.5 because of Patriots broadcasting “legends” Gil Santos and Gino Cappelletti. Back in their primes, this duo hit the mark. But that “prime” was years ago. To me, they are unlistenable now. But, if them leaving means that the likes of Gary Tanguay, Andy Gresh, and/or Scott Zolak are next in line, Gil and Gino can take all the time they want before they retire.

So whether it be WEEI or The Sports Hub that tickles your fancy, listen on sports fans… this battle is only beginning to heat up.

© Brian Kintz for Sports of Boston, 2010. | Permalink | No comment
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