Monday, April 30, 2007

I'm Pretty Sure That's Clipping

Madden 08 has screenshots of the first round draft picks, and it looks like Joe Thomas should get called for a penalty.



Apparently, 08 is going to have mid-air collisions...that sounds interesting. Also, Madden 08 asked JaMarcus Russell what his Madden rating should be: "I haven't played a game yet in the NFL so I should start with around an 80. Throwing power is a 99. Throwing accuracy is a 98."

Nice to know he's so humble that he docked himself a whole point on throwing accuracy. And if you're basically perfect in the 2 throwing categories, you're going to be rated a lot higher than 80.

Afternoon Scene: Taking Back Sunday

Here's a triple dose of Taking Back Sunday, from Long Island. YouTube has resurrected the music video. It's a shame that it didn't exist about ten years ago, for that reason, and just in general. I had never seen any of these videos before, and they are all interesting in their own way.


"Liar (It Takes One to Know One)"


"Cute Without the E (Cut From the Team)"


"Make Damn Sure"

Some of those must have taken more than 30 tries

Clearly, Vanderbilt offers some courses that I wouldn't have skipped.

They Don't Make Fire Hydrants Like They Used To

Google, you passed my test

NFL Draft Hamper Dump

So the Patriots who won 3 Super Bowls without and standout receivers, signed both Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth and Wes Welker (who I think is awesome) this offseason. Did Belichick start playing Madden this spring and discover virtual Tom Brady likes throwing to stars?

The scary thing is that they were so good without receivers...I wonder if Moss will be a distraction. I've personally never put him in the T.O. camp of personality problems.

The Chiefs picked up Dwayne Bowe while Meachem was still on the board, went 27th to the Saints. The scout rating says Bowe is a 4-star player that could be a #2 receiver and Meachem is a 5-star player that could be a #1. Hmm...I'll be keeping an eye on Meachem.

But I'll confess that I don't really know what makes a good receiver. How come Colston can go in the 7th round and get 1,000 yards? Whatever.

Kansas City Hamper Dump

The Royals have played nine series so far: 1-7-1.

On the bright side, they're only 2 games back of the Yankees in the wild card race.

I was about to complain about the Chief's draft but I looked at their roster. They needed a receiver and they got one. And their defensive line was already good on the ends with Jared Allen and Tamba Hali - last year's 1st rd pick. Now they pick up 2 DT to go in the middle, combined with Derrick Johnson, Kendrell Bell, Napolean Harris and Donnie Edwards, the Chiefs could have a good front 7 defensively, with the aging cornerbacks Law and Surtain behind them. The offenseive line worries me, but what can I do about it...

We Believe


The Mavericks led 27-17 in the first.
And 42-33 in the second.
And 72-62 in the third.
And 88-80 in the fourth.

But we believed. I came into this year's playoffs only rooting for Utah...but have found myself a fan of the Warriors. The 42-40 team that barely made the playoffs, now has a 3-1 series lead on a team that almost reached the immortal 70 win level.

I didn't even know who Baron Davis was, and now I'm beyond impressed. Davis and Golden State are so likeable, the perfect opposite to the grating Nowitski. Game 4 was a wild one, and it was decided by clutch 3-pt shooting and clutch defense for the Warriors.

Unfortunately, with game 5 and a potential game 7 back in Dallas, the Mavericks still have a good chance to win the series. But we believe.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Fuck You, Nutri-Grain


You claim you're so healthy. That they have "energy to keep you going strong" and "real fruit." The perfect on the go snack for moms and kids. That's bullshit and you know it. Nutri-Grain bars are nothing more than glorified candy bars except that the suckers eating them think they're eating healthy. They choose Nutri-Grain over candy because they want something healthy, and you give them nothing but sugar. You have the same nutrition facts as a York Peppermint Patty. All sugar, no protein or fiber. The "energy to keep you going strong" is nothing but sugar. The only difference is that people don't expect a York patty to be healthy, so they don't eat them for breakfast every day.


We know that ingredients are listed in order of amount. Lets see what makes up that real fruit filling:

1. High Fructose Corn Syrup
2. Corn Syrup
3. Apple Puree Concentrate
4. Glycerin
5. Sugar
6. Modified Corn Starch
7. Sodium Alginate
8. Malic Acid
9. Sodium Citrate
10. Modified Cellulose
11. Dicalcium Phosphate
12. Cinnamon

Mmmm...of course the outside of the bar isn't made with whole grains either, but with flour that was stripped of all the nutrients so it had to be enriched. So, sure you have 25% of some vitamins, but that doesn't make a bar nutritious. To sum up, your advertising and even product name is borderline deceptive, and you rely on people to look at the front of the box and not the side.

Dante to the Rams...

sigh.

I know that he hasn't been making a big impact recently, but it still hurts to see him go. He was a big part of that magical 13-3 season that really got me fired up again about the Chiefs. The only jersey I own is a red, autographed replica Hall jersey.


Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Dove. Mmmm?

Isn't it a little confusing to have the same name and similar fonts for vastly different brands?


Should Hank Aaron Speak Out on Bonds?

That was the question fluttering around the sports pages and sports talk shows recently...and here's my take:

Hank Aaron can act any way he wants. The man has lived through so much and accomplished so much, who are any of us to judge him?

Double Dose of T-Mac


Sunday, April 22, 2007

4.22.07




So no one's asked me "What does eating foodasfuel™ look like on a daily basis?"

Here's a sample day:




Breakfast:
140 calorie - South Beach Diet protein bar
Granny Smith apple

Lunch:
Ham sandwich on whole-wheat bread
Granny Smith apple

Dinner:
This is where I get creative.

Here are some of the dishes I've made:

cilantro-lime rice, which can be
  • used in fajitas with chipotle chicken and whole-wheat tortillas
  • topped with honey-barbecued or garlic-lime shrimp
  • topped with general tso's shrimp or chicken

fresh chicken breasts can be
  • chopped and cooked in barbecue sauce
  • pan-fried with cornflake coating
  • turned into garlic parmesan chicken nuggets

from the frozen section:
  • turkey filets wrapped with bacon
  • frozen fried fish filets
  • italian chicken patty sandwich, topped with pasta sauce and mozzeralla, grilled in pan

potatoes can be
  • cooking spray hash browns
  • cooking spray pan fries
  • or just baked in the microwave, mashed with butter spray and garlic

whole-wheat pitas can be
  • chipotle-chicken with ranch, cheddar and lettuce
  • turkey with mashed avacado
  • a pizza crust for personal pizza


and last night I made a Hamburg Steak. This was something I heard a co-worker talking about, and decided to give it a try. I started with about 1/3 of a pound of 95% lean ground sirloin and heavily seasoned it, and then added 1 minced garlic clove and the same amount of minced onion. I then formed it into a rough steak shape, rubbed some olive oil on both sides seared it in a skillet. Normally I use cooking spray, but I wanted to get a nice browning crust on it. By the time the crust has really formed, the steak is done on the inside, and I covered it in A-1 steak sauce.

It was delicious. Of course it's just a glorified burger topped in steak sauce, but it worked without the bun. But I don't see any reason that you couldn't just make all your burgers like this, with the minced garlic and onion and pan-seared with olive oil. And you could top it with steak sauce or usual condiments. Anyways, it was a solid man meal that's healthy enough to eat once a week.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Fixing the NBA Lottery


It's pretty clear (to me, at least) that the current NBA lottery system isn't working. The issue is most relevant to the NBA, the sport with the least number of players of the floor, the sport where one player can take over a game, and the sport that over the last 20 years, the only team to win a Championship without a legitimate superstar is the 04 Pistons.

We're talking Bird, Magic, Jordan, Isiah, Hakeem, Duncan, Shaq. 23 years of basketball, and only one year did a champion not have one of these guys.

I've heard 3 solutions, and I aim to mash them together and present the answer...

Solution #1
Just go back to the '85 lottery system, with one envelope per team.

Solution #2: Mike Greenberg
Get rid of the lottery and award the top 14 picks to the non-playoff teams, but in the order of best record to worst. This would give the #1 pick to the team with the best record that doesn't make the playoffs.

Solution #3: Bill Simmons
Contract 3 teams, have double-elimination tourney for 7th and 8th seeds, go back to 85 lottery system.

My solution:
Top 3 spots determined by lottery for non-playoff teams: one envelope per team.
Spots 4-14 awarded in best record to worst.
Spots 15-30 awarded to playoff teams in the order of worst record to best.

This would eliminate tanking because there are no better odds for the top 3 lottery spots. In fact, teams would play hard all the way to the end fighting for the better picks.

Under the Greeny Plan, I think it's too tempting for the 8th seed team to look at the options of guaranteed #1 pick and getting swept by the Mavericks, and choosing the pick.

And Simmons made some good points about how parity hasn't worked well in the NBA, how it's much better to have some good teams and bad teams then everyone in the middle. So I have no problem giving Memphis at worst the 14th pick.

What Color Should My Book Be?

I'm not sure which color I like best. Let me know what you think in the comments. You can click on them to zoom in.



Royals Hamper Dump

That didn't take long: The Royals at 3-10 are the worst team in the league and have 0 chance of getting back to .500. But at least they had a winning record this year.

I'll briefly run through the good things, before getting to the soul-crushing truth about the Royals.

They have 4 starting pitchers with an ERA under 4.00.
They have Alex Gordon, the next George Brett. (I'm older than him--that's weird.
They have Zack Greinke and Luke Hochevar--top pitching picks that were born in 1983.


I could go on and on about how their bullpen is terrible, how their closer Dotel was only supposed to miss one game and is still on the DL, how their batting is atrocious---a big deal was made about the rookie Alex Gordon struggling, but let's compare him to Sweeney the expensive DH: Gordon has had 40 plate apperances, Sweeny 33. They both have 5 hits, but Gordon has scored twice and Sweeney only once, Gordon has 2 RBI, Sweeny 1, and Gordon has a double and a home run, Sweeney just singles---but the only thing to realize with the Royals is that they've had talent before, and couldn't keep them.

Carlos Beltran. Johnny Damon. Jermaine Dye.





The Royals are the Royals and even when they get good players they can't afford to keep them.
If Grienke, Gordon or Hochevar turns out to be as good as possible, they won't stay in the Royals uniform.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

2007 NFL Primetime Sked

Analysis of how many times teams are featured in the National Primetime games, including Monday Night, Sunday Night, Thanksgiving, Opening Night, but not including the NFL Network games or flex-Sunday games because they are not set in stone:

Cowboys: 5

Broncos: 4
Saints: 4

Bears: 3
Colts: 3
Chargers: 3
Eagles: 3
Giants: 3
Patriots: 3
Packers: 3
Ravens: 3
Steelers: 3

49ers: 2
Bengals: 2
Falcons: 2
Seahawks: 2
Titans: 2

Bills: 1
Cardinals: 1
Dolphins: 1
Jaguars: 1
Jets: 1
Lions: 1
Redskins: 1
Vikings: 1

Chiefs: 0
Panthers: 0
Rams: 0
Texans: 0
Browns: 0
Raiders: 0
Bucs: 0


I know it's hard making the schedule, and I understand that the Colts get to host a primetime game on opening night, and the Lions and Cowboys always play on Thanksgiving, but is it that hard to make sure that every team gets one national game?

I mean, why would we want to see Larry Johnson or Steve Smith when we can see Tony Romo and Jay Cutler a combined 9 times? Seriously, the Broncos?

Stealers Aren't Funny

I present the cases of Colin Cowherd and Carlos Mencia.

One's a sports radio host who recently attacked a blog for no reason, and last year stole material from a blog...

The other's a comedian/Comedy Central personality that was caught ripping off from other comedians...

Here's the thing that they both have in common: they're terrible. Any of the several minutes that I've ever seen of either one of them have been too many. They're both hacks, not funny in the least, and downright annoying. When they're goal is entertainment and they end up alienating people instead, it seems there is something wrong.

I try to avoid being critical of anything nowadays, because it seems that it's so hip to be critical, to say that everything sucks. And right now I'm trying to avoid being critical of those blogs that are critical - you still with me? - so I'll just say that overall, I prefer to focus on the positive. But I have no tolerance for unfunny stealers.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

4.11.07



It's been a little while since I've talked about foodasfuel™. Here are some things I've learned in the last couple weeks:





  • Unhealthy food gives me gas. I didn't really realize it until last weekend's Easter eating, but eating foods that I used to eat all the time, makes the room stinky. I guess gas is one of those things that you don't notice when it's gone, only when it comes back.
  • I'm officially at a normal weight, as opposed to overweight. More on this in a future post, presumably with pictures at some point.
  • As much as my tastebuds enjoyed the splurge of last weekend's eating, I feel a lot better when I'm eating healthy. It's not so much an issue of "I feel better at a normal weight" -- it's "I feel better when I'm eating healthy".
  • It's a good feeling to think about how far I've come since January, and to know that I have my whole life ahead of me to get in even better shape.
  • I've making some super-simple, super-quick, fresh fajitas. Whole-wheat tortilla, lean chicken or steak strips, salsa. That's it. Using a fresh tasting strong salsa is important. It's good with a little lettuce if you have it, but it's optional.
  • Shrimp is on my list of things to get. I like the flavor, and it is super lo-cal. I have big plans for a cilantro-lime shrimp in rice dish.


Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Bracketology?



It's never too early? Apparently. Joe Lunardi already has the entire field projected for the 2008 NCAA basketball tournament. And it is definitely for 2008 because those are the regional sites. (The Final Four is in San Antonio - with a Regional in Houston that could be fortuitous for a Texas team -- too bad Durant is leaving.)

Anyways, it seems entirely ridiculous that he has a bracket already. Here's the Big Ten:

2 Michigan State
3 Indiana
4 Ohio State
5 Illinois
9 Wisconsin
10 Purdue

If I remember, I'd love to look at this in March 08 to see how well he did.

Friday, April 06, 2007

Comparing Live Blogs

Doing my first game blog of any kind was slightly intimidating, but in reality it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Let's see how I stacked up against the guy who made keeping running diaries a thing to do.

Me: 2546 words with 10,652 characters
Sports Guy: 2, 810 words with 12985 characters

Here's his version AutoSummarized into 100 words or less:

So screw it, here's a running diary of Dice's first start:
Let's hope Bob doesn't have flashbacks to World War II when he's watching Dice pitch.
1-0, Red Sox.
11:21 -- Never seen this before: 20-25 photographers snapping shots behind home plate of Dice's warmup pitches. (Good call. Dice takes a TON of time between pitches. 11:55 -- Infield single for Manny. Dice: Yes.
Dice (smiling): Yes.
12:20 -- Dice strikes out the side in the fourth. 2-0, Red Sox. 2-0, Sox.
12:59 -- Leadoff home run, David DeJesus. 2-1, Sox. Anyway, I am WILDLY impressed by Dice. Our final score: Sox 4, Royals 1.


And my version:

Meche strikes the batter out anyways.
Base hit to right field, and the bases are loaded! Meche throw 27 pitches in the first, Schilling 33. Strike 3 looking on DeJesus. 2-1 Royals
2-1 Royals
Royals go 1-2-3 as well.
2-1 Royals
Top 4th
2-1 Royals
Bottom 4th
5-1 Royals
Top 5th
5-1 Royals
Bottom 5th
5-1 Royals
Top 6th
5-1 Royals
Bottom 6th
I mean the Royals are the Royals right? 6-1 Royals
Top 7th
6-1 Royals
Bottom 7th
Sweeney base hit. 6-1 Royals
Top 8th
6-1 Royals
Bottom 8th
Royals lead in hits 10-7, but runs 6-1. 7-1 Royals
Top 9th
Pena strikes out swinging. Final Score 7-1 Royals
The Royals have a winning record.


As for readability statistics, he uses longer sentences and bigger words and shorter paragraphs.

Flesch Reading Ease: 83.5 (me) 65.1 (Sports Guy)
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 4.4 (me) 7.8 (Sports Guy)

Clearly if you want a Royals-Red Sox blog that's easy to read for your 4th grader, I'm your guy. If you're in Junior High, read the Sports Guy.

Monday, April 02, 2007

Semi-Live Blog: Opening Day - Royals vs Red Sox



I've never blogged a game, but when was the last time the Royals had a chance to have a winning record? You're probably wondering why this is now such a Royals Blog...well, I'm sure it won't last. By May I'll probably be too depressed to keep following them, but until then...

(John Miller and Joe Morgan announcing)

Top 1st

Gil Meche is your #1 pitcher in the Royals rotation (pronouned Mesh). The announcers say that maybe he can be the leader of the rotation, and then maybe they can get some of the other young pitchers to come along too. There's a lot of maybes in that sentence.

Meche strikes out the first batter of the season. 2 batters later Ortiz drives in a run and the Royals are losing. Already. Manny flies out and Ortiz is on second with 2 outs. After walking a batter, foul ball near the first base side and a fan interferes with the catcher. At first the announcers defend the fan, then say they feel sorry for him, then say he should have known better. Meche strikes the batter out anyways.
1-0 Red Sox

Bottom 1st
Schilling is your Opening Day starter for Boston. Alex Gordon is batting 5th, having never taken any regular season at-bats in the big leagues or even AAA. DeJesus flies out to start the inning. The ESPN graphic says "MLB Service: 12" -- that seems like an odd way to put it. Grudzielanek won the Gold Glove last year and gets a base hit to left on a high fastball. I bet he's really good at Scrabble.

I bet Schilling is deathly afraid of the heart of the Royals lineup. They had to move Teahen from 3b to the outfield to make way for the rookie sensation Gordon -- how come there hasn't been a Jeter-ARod controversy?

Teahen gets a hit up the middle an a 0-2 count. Sweeney the DH up to bat, with Gordon on deck. Base hit to right field, and the bases are loaded! Standing ovation for Gordon for his first at bat in the big leagues -- the announcer calls it the perfect situation for him.

Gordon fights off a couple pitches and strikes out on a splitter. Bases are still loaded with 2 outs. It seems very Royalesque to leave 3 men on. The Royals only hit one Grand Slam all of last year. Good to know. 3-2 count for Shealy. I don't know what position he plays. I'm guessing outfield. Good camera shot of Sweeney playing with his junk. And he walked him on a 3-2 splitter -- the Royals get the equalizer! (That's my best soccer announcer voice.) It feels like I've been writing forever. A "laborious" inning ends with a fly out.
1-1

Top 2nd
Meche throw 27 pitches in the first, Schilling 33. No wonder it seemed like I've been writing so long. Coco Crisp sounds like a delicious centerfielder. He grounds out for the second out. The Royals have had 6 different Opening Day starters over the last 6 years. The Boston 2b lined it to right, tried to strech it to second, and was out by a good measure. Quick half inning.
1-1

Bottom 2nd
It's quite windy there, I bet the smell of barbecue is flying around. First batter for KC grounds out. Next batter is a new addition: Tony Pena Jr. SS. They're saying he has a good glove but is a crappy hitter. He's in the 9 spot today. Last year in 40 games he hit .227 with 1 HR and 3 RBI.

So of course, Pena takes a splitter deep to left-center in his first at-bat as a Royal. Crisp slips in the outfield and Pena stretches it into a triple. Apparently, that's his first triple in the majors. Only one out for the top of the order. 5 of the 9 batters got on base the first time through the order.

The announcers are making a big deal about how Boston is bringing their infield in to try and prevent the runner from scoring. Strike 3 looking on DeJesus. 2 outs with a guy on 3rd for Grudz who scored the Royals run in the 1st. Base hit again for G and the Royals are on top, 2-1. Schilling doesn't have a curveball anymore. I know it's early, but not a great sign if you're a Boston fan. And as I say that, Schilling gets a strike out and ends the inning.
2-1 Royals

Top 3rd
Another strikeout for Meche, that's 3 for him already. Meche was the 2nd most expensive FA pitcher this offseason, only to Zito. He tied Sweeney as most expensive Royals contract. Fly out and then Ortiz grounds out. Back to back 1-2-3 innings for KC.
2-1 Royals

Bottom 3rd
George Brett is in the booth, mainly to talk about Gordon -- who's also a 3b. Sweeney flies out, and that brings up Gordon. He's the first to be College Player of the Year and Minor League Player of the Year, back to back. Should be a contender for AL Rookie of the Year. He's battling Schilling again, at a 2-2 count, before striking out, again.

Joe Morgan proceeds to bring up the Denkinger call and then the pine tar incident with George Brett. Royals go 1-2-3 as well.
2-1 Royals

Top 4th
And we're a third of the way though, with Manny leading off, and he grounds out. Meche seems like he's got some good stuff, nasty curve, and he's gotten over the early jitters. And then he gives up a base hit to JD Drew. I should stop typing.

Sharply hit ball to Gordon at third, who knocks it down and gets throw in time to get the force at second. Nice to know he can make a play.

Seriously, it's so windy that the dirt flying across the camera looks like it's a fuzzy signal. Morgan and Brett start rambling, forgetting completely about the baseball game going on. That only took 4 innings. Strike out looking, that's 4 for Meche, and it ends the half inning.
2-1 Royals


Bottom 4th
It's great to see the fountains going, nothing else like it. Schilling's thrown 75 pitches after 3 and 1/3. Double down the line with 1 out for the catcher, Buck. Manny casually relays the ball back in. Pena gets a walk, good stuff out of the 9th spot. 2 on, 1 out, for the top of the order. Schilling has thrown 11 first-pitch balls out of 19 pitchers -- unusual for a strike guy. DeJesus flies out to left...maybe Pena should be the lead off man, and DeJesus should be #9.

Grudz is 2 for 2 with a RBI chance here. And he takes the first pitch and drives it deep to right... over Drew's head, bounces off the wall. Buck will score, Pena coming around, the throw to the plate...not in time! 2-run double for Grudz and then Teahen comes up and takes the first pitch up the middle. G comes around to score and it's 5-1 Royals. All 5 runs for the Royals have been scored with 2 outs -- and that's a great stat. Schilling has to come out pretty soon. He does strike out Sweeney, but the damage is done.
5-1 Royals

Top 5th
Dice-K will be starting in game 3 of this series, which should be Thursday. Meche gets yet another strike out, and it was one where the batter thought he had a walk. Meche's curve is freaky naughty. Ball hit up the middle, Pena running across the field and gets the throw to first in time. Nice play by the new addition.

Watch out, American League. The Royals have some players that know their ass from third base. What's that? Another strike out on a BIG curveball from Meche. Lugo got caught looking and started jawing at the ump.
5-1 Royals

Bottom 5th
Javier Lopez in to replace Schilling. Lopez facing Alex Gordon, who's already struck out twice. And he gets hit! He's on base. Welcome to the show.

The outfield camera makes me think it's raining, but it's just dusty wind. And that's the first double play of the game, followed by a ground out, and Lopez has 3 up, 3 down.
5-1 Royals

Top 6th
Wild play to start the 6th. Youkilis hits it sharply down the 3rd base line, Gordon makes a diving stop to knock it down. He has plenty of time on the throw, but throws it wide. Youkilis then tries to go to second (situation is zero outs, down four runs with Ortiz and Manny due up) and gets thrown out easily by the 2b who covered quickly.

I kind of hope that Ortiz gets a hit and ends up being left on third base, so that Youkilis move costs them runs. Ortiz does get a hit -- the ball hits him in the foot and now he's on first.

Manny hits into a double play (now 0-3) to end the inning.
5-1 Royals

Bottom 6th
Should I be feeling good about this game? I know that Meche can't last forever, and the Royal's closer, Dotel, is not active today. I mean the Royals are the Royals right? They can blow this.

Okajima in for Lopez and his first major league pitch...is a home run for the catcher Buck. Right of straight away, over 410 feet. First home run of the game, and it's not a home run park.

Pena strikes out, but he's already proved his worth for the day. DeJesus up and he's 0-3 so far.
Apparently, Bo Jackson has the record for longest home run in this stadium, a 475 foot shot in '86. DeJesus flies out 400 feet to center, too bad it takes 410. Grudz up, and he's 3-3 on the day. He grounds out to end the inning and we're 2/3 of the way home.
6-1 Royals

Top 7th
I'm officially scared about the Royals bullpen. Meche is still out there, facing JD Drew, who grounds out. The word FRICK looks like a different word when it's in all caps and at a distance. The R and I can blend together. I bring this up because they have a Ford Frick award for a broadcaster. I missed a fly out thinking about that, and Varitek grounds out to Pena to go 1-2-3. 6-1 Royals

Bottom 7th
There's plenty of room on the Royals bandwagon. And it's moving so slowly, any one can jump on. Teahen, Sweeney, Gordon due up. I'd love for Gordon to get a hit this time.

Teahen goes down swinging. Sweeney base hit. Gordon hits the ball hard down the line, but because Sweeney's on first, the 1b was playing tight on the line. Sweeney advances to 2nd, but Gordon's out. Donnelley in to pitch for Boston. He's wearing spectacles. And he strikes out the last batter.
6-1 Royals

Top 8th
Meche still in at 96 pitches. He's got 6 strike outs and either 5 or 3 hits given up - a discrepancy between the announcer and the graphic. One out on a grounder to right. "It's been all Royals ever since the first inning." Line drive to center, and DeJesus makes a diving stop. The ball bounces in front of him, but he makes a nice play to keep it to a single. And that's all for Meche who leaves to a Standing O. Miller calls Meche the "toast of Kansas City." That might be a bit of a stretch.

1 out, 1 on, as Peralta comes in to replace Meche. Lugo up to face Peralta. Lugo struck out 3 times against Meche and was applauding as he left. Lugo takes it up the middle, and now there's a runners on 2nd and 1st with only one out. Youkilis is up, with Ortiz and Manny on deck. Seriously, I have zero confidence in the Royals pen.

The Royals blew 31 saves last year. It's never too early to start this year. A reminder, Dotel the closer is not availble today. Meche's 7 1/3 is the longest opening day start for the Royals since Saberhagen in '88.

Full count to Youkilis...and he strikes him out! How do you like them apples?

Ortiz up to bat, and after Pujols, he's the guy I least want to see up. 2 outs, and now 1-2. Crowd on their feet...Ortiz fouls it back. Ortiz called time to retrieve a hot dog wrapper than had blown on to the field. Perhaps trying to ice Peralta. 2-2 count, and he fouls off another. And he goes down swinging. Down goes Ortiz! Down goes Ortiz!
6-1 Royals

Bottom 8th
Royals lead in hits 10-7, but runs 6-1. Not what you would think you would get out of the Royals.

Wild turn of events here in the 8th. Gload (has he been playing the whole time?) chops one to first, and Boston's 1b can't handle it - over his head. After Buck pops up, Pena (who else?) comes up big. Facing a 1-2 count with a guy on first, after he had just avoiding getting out on a just foul grounder, he hits a big shot to left. Off the wall again, Manny slips, and Pena slides safely into third, scoring Gload. Francona comes out to argue that Pena was out at third.

Romero in to pitch for Boston. And Miller is talking about how much he likes watching movies in HD. Also, travelogues to India. I'm not making this up.

So the leadoff man DeJesus is now 0-5, and yet the Royals scored 7. Pena never had a triple before today. Now he has 2 in his career. Grudz ends the inning on a full count fly out.
7-1 Royals

Top 9th
If the Royals blow a 6 run lead in the 9th, this will be the last Royals game I ever watch.

Manny up to bat to start the 9th. And the dust has not gone away. Peralta gets strike three called. 2 outs away.

Willy Mo Pena in to bat for JD Drew, obviously trying to take advantage of Tony Pena Jr's good batting today. Pena strikes out swinging. And that's 4 consecutive strike outs for Peralta, including Ortiz, Ramirez, Pena. 1 out away.

Lowell could be the last batter today. Red Sox have 7 hits, but only one for extra bases. 2-1 to Lowell. Sharply hit to left, and that's a stand up double.

Varitek up to bat. 1-2 count...and it's a fly out to right field. And that's it.
Final Score 7-1 Royals

The Royals have a winning record. They're tied for first in the division, ahead of the White Sox and Tigers, and they showed a lot of promise.

Obviously, it's just one game, and the Royals are without a doubt the weakest team in the division and it would be a miracle just to finish 4th. But you take what you can get. And today they played solid baseball and beat a good team.

There aren't any Royals games scheduled to be on tv for the next two weeks, so we'll see if they're still playing good baseball the next time I see them.

Opening Day

Wooo March Madness!

A Final Four that featured a 1 vs 2, and a 1 vs 2....and the 1 seeds both won! Crazy. I'm not complaining, because there's noone to complain to, and that wouldn't accomplish anything. But I'll just say that I've enjoyed other tournaments a lot more, and I hope that next year is better.

For now, the Kansas City Royals are .500 and that's pretty good. Here's hoping they get a winning record last year.

In 2006, they started 0-2. They got up to 2-2, and then proceeded to have the record of 2-13. Less than a month into the season, they were 5-17 on May 1st. Then in May, they had a 13-game losing streak.

In 2005, they lost their first game and got up to 3-3. Then they had a 9-game losing streak in April and that was pretty much it.

In 2004, they had a winning record. They were 1-0 and 4-3. Sure they finished 58-104, but they were winners for at least a couple days.

2003 was the last time they were respectable. They finished with a winning record, 3rd in their division, and only 12 games out of the playoffs.

With all that in mind, I can safely say the Royals are going to be awesome this year. Alex Gordon, Luke Hochevar, Gil Meche...watch out world, the 2007 Royals are coming out on fire!
I'll be tivoing today's Red Sox game and probably watching it tomorrow night. Here's to a winning season, er, record.