There was some discussion on another thread about ManCity's lead right now, how it compares to last year's leaders at this point and to what extent that lead is inflated a bit do to the quality of the teams they have played.  I put together this table which compares everyone based on the average number of points earned by their opponents.  Basically, who has had the easiest go so far and who has had the hardest.

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Once again, the Spurts screw it up by having their Everton match delayed but we will see that this result wouldn't dramatically alter the conclusions other than to push them further down the list.  

TOP is Total Opposition Points and is derived by adding up the points earned as of today by all the opponents a team has played.  I forgot what OR means.  It was late last night when I started this but it should be clear that this column is just TOP divided by the number of games played.  It is read like this: This season, on average, WBA played about a 16 point team each week.  Swansea has played about a 17 point team each week.  Etc.  The e's and t's indicate who has played Everton and Tottenscum and thus could have a slightly tougher TOP depending on that result.  

Obviously, ManCity jumps out.  They are leading the league right now but, by this measure, only because their opponents have been shite this year.  The ManU result does seem to indicate that City are legit (they are certainly beating the teams they are supposed to beat) but they still have a lot to prove.  Everton have played the toughest schedule so far.  Had they played 12 games they would be even higher (Spurt's points would drag Everton's OR up, Everton's would drag Spurt's down).  Against tougher teams, Newcastle has lost to City and drawn us and Spurts while Chelsea has lost to us, Manchester United and Liverpool.  It's early but these may be signs that these teams aren't up for it this year and may fall away.

Arsenal, ManU and Spurts (and, to be fair, Everton and Swansea) are the teams, it seems, who have done well with tough schedules.  Considering the obstacles we've faced this year it could be argued that we are the most impressive of this group.  

What does that say about  him?  He was from Cleveland.

He's very simple and unassuming.  Very midwest.  The less you say about him the more accurate the description.  He took me to see 4 baseball games, 3 of which were Angel's games.  The old War Memorial and the Jake were the closest stadiums (just under 150 miles!) so I've actually seen the Indians more than any other team.  The best thing about him is that he let me and brother be whoever we wanted to be.  No judgement, no criticism, no demands.  If I can be half as cool as he is, I'll be alright.  

Happy Father's day, Pop.

Wihalofan of the great SBNation blog Halos Heaven gets credit as the idea and inspiration for this.  I hope everyone gets to enjoy a chuckle or two, hopefully three.  I apologize in advance for any typos, formatting issues, lame jokes or general lack of creativity.  I've already spotted some myself but it was my first attempt and I did this late at night.  Cheers!

via i176.photobucket.com

via i176.photobucket.com

via i176.photobucket.com

Baseball, perhaps more than most sports, seems to inspire a lot of superstitious behavior: pregames routines, behavior during games, relationships between teams, etc.  

We have just overcome one superstition (losing to Boston in the playoffs) and are about to face another one (beating the Yankees in the playoffs.)  What I'm curious to know is what are YOUR superstitions involving the Angels?  What do you do before or during a game to help connect to what's going on on the field and to help the Angels win?

Is there a routine that you follow for games?  For important games?  Something you do when you attend a game live? Something you do when you watch a game at home?  Some superstitions pop-up in game threads such as not discussing a possible No-Hitter or jinxing a batter by calling for a hit in a crucial situation but these are pretty common and kind of innocuous.  I want to know the superstitions that make your friends and family roll their eyes at you.  The more ridiculous the better.

I'll start:

Usually, I'll start with wearing an Angels related shirt for an important game.  This postseason, the HH Panther shirt, the Rally Rat shirt and my Angels Baseball Club 1961 shirt (today's choice) have brought success.  Also, I have put my LA Angels hat (with the halo around the top) and my '80s trucker-style mesh hat on top of the bedroom TV.  They will stay there throughout the playoffs.  My red A hat (the current model) is with me when I watch but I have discovered that it is bad luck if I wear it during a game.  Finally, I 'acquired' a brand new baseball at the local highschool field a few weeks ago that I gave to my 6mo. old son.  I've made sure that he plays with it during the game and that seems to have brought success.

2 wins in a row?

"Tony Romo has a broken pinkie on his throwing hand and will be out four weeks"

From ESPN.com

Dallas has not looked good the last couple of weeks and this doesn't make them better.  If we needed any motivation going forward this is about as good as we could have expected.  Taking out 2 of the top NFC teams back-to-back?  Our defense should be salivating over this.

Everything's comin' up Millhouse Rams!

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3112799

10yrs/275mil.  They have agreed to an "outline" and the deal "hasn't been finalized."  Apparently, though, this is just a formality.  A-Rod sat down with the Brothers to make sure the offer was legit and now they just need to etch it into stone.  

There is also some sort of clause that let's him share in the revenue if and when he starts chasing down Bonds' home run "record."  Crazy.

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I was stunned by the steroid revelation on ESPN last night.  I'm sure others feel differently about him given how his career with the team ended but he was my childhood idol.  

I only got to see him play once in a loss to Cleveland at the the old Municipal Stadium.  All I remember is that Langston started, the Angels lost and Wally ripped two huge doubles off the right-center wall which were the only extra base hits of the game.  I have two really crappy Polaroids of those hits.  After the 8th my Uncle suggested that we leave to get ahead of the rush. I was disappointed and expected that my Dad, not an Indians or Angel fanatic by any means, would agree.  Instead, he said we would stay for 2 more batters, for Wally's last at-bat.

I'm biased but I give him credit for not selling his soul and not becoming "Wally Juicer."  He was a great player who wanted what he thought he was worth.  When presented with the chance to artificially inflate his value he decided he didn't want to be that guy.  Those are the kind of ballplayers that I want to root for.

I live in central New York in solid Yankee territory.  I consider any season where we can beat them in a playoff series to be a success.  The day I turn into Steinbrenner and demand that every season end with a championship is the day I have stopped loving baseball.  I believe the Angels play the most agressive, entertaining and exciting form of baseball and I cherish every pitch I get to witness in this eastern, homerun worshipping market of the YES network.  Thank you, Reverend, for opening this portal to salvation and thank you, Mike Scioscia, for ANOTHER great season.

Dan