SB Nation User Blog: cardsfan84

Jack Buck reading his poem in September 2001.

cardsfan84 — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 22:52:46 -0000

Jack Buck reading his poem in September 2001.

Watching games in Chicago

cardsfan84 — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 03:20:24 -0000

Is there any sort of place in Chicago area, preferably in the City and close to public transportation, to watch Cats games regularly?

I'm just new to Chicago and was curious as to where I could watch the Cats games in a Cats-fan friendly environment. The last thing I want is to watch the opening game in a non-Cat fan friendly environment if you know what I mean.

If anyone can be of any help, that would be appreciated.

Any bars in Chicago?

cardsfan84 — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 03:08:45 -0000

Is there any sort of place in Chicago area, preferably in the City and close to public transportation, to watch Colts games regularly?

I'm just new to Chicago and was curious as to where I could watch the Colts games in a Colts-fan friendly environment. The last thing I want is to watch the opening game in a pro-Bears environment if you know what I mean.

If anyone can be of any help, that would be appreciated.

Memphis ownership a class act

cardsfan84 — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 18:45:51 -0000

I've been reading articles lately dealing with the midwest flooding (my thoughts and prayers to anyone recently affected by the floods as of late). Anyway, this one caught my eye.

The Iowa Cubs might be forced to play home games on the road if floodwater engulfs Principal Park in downtown Des Moines.

General manager Sam Bernabe said Tuesday that a nine-game homestand scheduled to start Friday likely will be moved to Memphis' AutoZone Park if water from the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers makes the neighboring stadium unplayable.

Moving games out of Des Moines for a major, weather-related event like this would be the first since at least 1983 — when Bernabe initially became involved with the franchise.

"They've offered (Memphis), and there's a good chance we'll accept - if it looks like it's going to be awhile before we get back into our stadium," Bernabe said as Iowa Cubs employees continued to place sandbags around the stadium that rests at the confluence of the rivers.

It's a class act by the ownership at AutoZone Park to offer their stadium as a "home away from home" for the Cubs.

Just wanted to say....

cardsfan84 — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:06:35 -0000

Congrats to Sea of Blue on moving on up with the upgrade.

Also, I must clarify this now before questions get asked later. My username is because I'm a St. Louis Cardinals fan and they upgraded to the new system first.

Anyway, with the latest rankings that just came out. GJ is a three star and I was curious as to if you think he will re-open his committment or if he will indeed become a Wildcat given that most of our recruits seem to be four and five stars as of late.

RIP: Bill Keightley, Mr. Wildcat

cardsfan84 — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 02:52:22 -0000

http://www.kentucky.com/254/story/362648.html

May Mr. Keightley rest in peace.

Here's my personal blog posting about the tragic news.

I had the chance to meet the legend in the summer of 1997 when Tubby Smith came to Louisville for his call-in show at Oxmoor Center. Bill was gracious enough to pose for a photo. My condolences to his family, team, the department, and the entire Big Blue Nation.

2008 BBWAA Hall of Fame Results

cardsfan84 — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 19:19:45 -0000

Congratulations to Goose Gossage on his pending induction on July 27, 2008 to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY!

Players are followed by their total number of votes in parentheses and their total percentages.

Rich Gossage (466) 85.8%
Jim Rice (392) 72.2%
Andre Dawson (358) 65.9%
Bert Blyleven (336) 61.9%
Lee Smith (235) 43.3%
Jack Morris (233) 42.9%
Tommy John (158) 29.1%
Tim Raines (132) 24.3%
Mark McGwire (128) 23.6%
Alan Trammell (99) 18.2%
Dave Concepcion (88) 16.2% - last time on ballot
Don Mattingly (86) 15.8%
Dave Parker (82) 15.1%
Dale Murphy (75) 13.8%
Harold Baines (28) 5.2%

Players being removed from the ballot:
Rod Beck (2) 0.4%
Travis Fryman (2) 0.4%
Robb Nen (2) 0.4%
Shawon Dunston (1) 0.2%
Chuck Finley (1) 0.2%
David Justice (1) 0.2%
Chuck Knoblauch (1) 0.2%
Todd Stottlemyre (1) 0.2%
Jose Rijo (0) 0%
Brady Anderson (0) 0%

Major League Baseball's official release:

Rich "Goose" Gossage, who may be better known for his first tour with the Yankees (1978-83), was elected on Tuesday in his ninth year on the ballot. He'll join his former Padres manager, Dick Williams, on the stage behind the Clark Sports Center this coming summer.
Williams, who won the World Series twice as manager of the A's and will go in wearing an Oakland cap, teamed with Gossage in 1994, as the Padres won the first National League pennant in franchise history.
Jim Rice, the former star of 16 seasons, all with the Red Sox, barely missed by 16 votes as he fell 2.8 percent (72.2) below the necessary 75 percent to gain admission to the hallowed red-brick Hall on Main Street in Cooperstown. He'll undoubtedly go in next year, when Rickey Henderson will be an obvious first-time favorite. Rice then will be on the writers' ballot for his 15th and final year.
Gossage, who fell short by 21 votes in 2007, was this time named on 85.8 percent or 466 of the 543 ballots cast.
Andre Dawson, who hobbled on bad knees through many of his 21 seasons with the Expos, Cubs, Red Sox and Marlins, received almost a 10-percent uptick to 65.9 percent and may be right on the bubble in 2009. Voters from the Baseball Writers' Association of America also are taking another look at Bert Blyleven, a pitcher whose career ended after 22 seasons, just 13 victories shy of 300. Blyleven finished fourth behind Gossage, Rice and Dawson with a healthy 61.9 percent of the vote.
In the wake of last month's Mitchell Report, Mark McGwire, the first star player tainted by the steroids era to face the electorate, finished at 23.6 percent, almost exactly the same place as last year, when he also received 128 votes despite hitting 70 homers in 1998 to win his famous record home run race against Sammy Sosa and finishing with 583 in his career. In 2007, McGwire also received an underwhelming 23.5 percent.
Of the 11 first-timers on the ballot, only one -- Tim Raines -- received the requisite 5 percent to remain on the ballot. Raines earned 132 or 24.3 percent. Dave Concepcion, the shortstop on Cincinnati's great "Big Red Machine" teams of the 1970s, received 88 votes or 16.2 percent on his 15th and final chance among the writers.

Cards fan moving to Chicago

cardsfan84 — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 16:44:04 -0000

I'm definitely moving to Chicago next August and was wondering as to where to the popular hangouts are for Cardinal fans like myself in the Windy City

If you are wondering why I, a die-hard fan of the birds on the bat, would move to Chicago. Here's why: it's the mecca for improv and sketch comedy and I feel that studying improv and sketch comedy at Second City and/or Improv Olympic would benefit my career in the long run rather than just move straight out to LA or NYC.

I want to move to the Skokie/Evanston area but I've been told that most of the younger folks move to the Wrigleyville area.

DeMoss expected to resign

cardsfan84 — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 05:08:18 -0000

The Herald-Leader breaks the news that Mickie DeMoss is expected to resign tomorrow morning at a press conference.

I don't have the nerves to handle another search.

What do you make of this? I've heard that she might go to LSU but then again, I don't know what will happen.

Okay, just trying to get to the minimum 300 characters in order to post this on all that is A Sea of Blue

Come home, Billy

cardsfan84 — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 23:50:37 -0000

What can I say? This is the state of Kentucky. Sure I am a die-hard St. Louis Cardinals fan but my first love has been and will always be the University of Kentucky Wildcats.

Basketball is a way of life in the Commonwealth. The first question you get asked anywhere, no matter what the circumstance: UK or U of L. You have to pick one no matter what, even if you did go to one of the other colleges in the state.

Florida's current head coach, Billy Donovan, would take the job here in an instant. Here's why: The University of Florida is a Football-first school and there is no way that they would give Donovan a higher salary than Urban Meyer. Donovan can be the big guy on campus here (We love ya, Coach Brooks, but you get the equal love in the summer and fall). I've checked some Florida sites and they have headlines dealing with spring practice when their own basketball team is one game away from the Final Four!

I'd say that when Florida loses, whether it be during the elite eight or the next weekend, he will be introduced as the next coach. We saw this when Roy Williams left Kansas for UNC. Williams lost on April 7, 2003. Doherty resigned on April 1st. The theory was that they forced him out in order to get Williams there sooner. Williams was announced as coach seven days later on the 14th.

Initially, I wanted Rick Pitino back and you saw me post that the other day while I was still adjusting to the news following the initial period of shock and depression. I've always liked Rick Pitino and Billy Donovan. Had Donovan had more experience as a head coach by the time Pitino left, he would have been here years ago!

I really hope this is true.

This is Kentucky. The job opening is one that doesn't come very often and when it does, it's because someone is forced to retire because of their age or they resign for a different job. This program is one of the premier programs in the nation due to the tradition associated with it.

Adolph Rupp. The Baron of the Bluegrass himself. Joe B. Hall. Rick Pitino. Tubby Smith. All have won a national championship while they were a coach at UK. Rupp won four of them. Pitino came close too a second one in 1997.

There's the legendary status that comes with the job. Don't believe me? Read on.

The Fabulous Five. In 1948, UK won the championship and the core of the team would win the Olympic gold medal.

The 1954-55 Undefeated Team. This team went 25-0 but because some players graduated early, Coach Rupp would not let them play in the tournament. As such, UK is robbed of a national championship.

The Fiddlin' Five. The 1958 team would fiddle for a little bit but they won the national championship.

Rupp's Runts. This 1966 team, which Pat Riley and Larry Conley were members of, did not have a single starter who was taller than 6'5". They finished the season 27-2 with the final loss coming in the title game.

The Season Without Celebration. The seniors in 1977-78 were freshman during the loss to UCLA in 1975.

Kentucky's shame. This doesn't deserve bolding at all. You can blame Eddie Sutton, who resigned on March 19, 1989. The NCAA placed us on probation two months later.

The Unforgettables. Mainly the 1992 seniors consisting of Richie Farmer, Deron Feldhaus, John Pelphrey, and Sean Woods. This team suffered a heartbreaker in the 1992 East Regional finals in Philadelphia fifteen years ago today. That's a date that will live in infamy for many of us Wildcats. We all know where we were that day. I was at home watching the game. UK had been in white the whole tournament. How was I to know that they weren't the team in white jerseys? I was told during halftime I was rooting for the wrong team and I corrected myself appropriately. That was the last time I ever rooted for the wrong team. There's a certain player that all UK fans will hate for the rest of our lives. It was only appropriate that he was in the building when Virginia Commonwealth won a few weeks ago.

The Untouchables. Kentucky ran the conference. It was the first time in 40 years that anyone ran the conference. Nine of the guys on the team would be back the next year and later play in the NBA: Derek Anderson, Tony Delk, Walter McCarty, Ron Mercer, Nazr Mohammed, Mark Pope, Jeff Sheppard, Wayne Turner, and Antoine Walker.

The Unbelievables. For a second year in a row, the Wildcats would make it to the national championship game. Due to injuries and players leaving, the fans ruled out a deep run early on.

The Comeback Cats. UK was down by the half against Duke in the elite 8, Stanford in the national semifinals, and Utah in the championship game. Cameron Mills came up big in the 1998 rematch against Duke. Down by double-digits in all these games, Kentucky found a way to win and they gave Tubby Smith his first and only national championship while at Kentucky.

The coaches:
Edwin Sweetland (1909-10, 1912)
Harold J. Iddings (1910-11)
John J. Tigert (1913, 1916-17)
Alpha Brumage (1913-15)
Stanley A. Boles (1918)
Andrew Gill (1919)
George Buchheit (1920-24)
Clarence Applegran (1925)
Ray Eklund (1926)
Basil Hayden (1927)
John Mauer (1927-29)
Adolph Rupp (1930-72)
Joe B. Hall (1972-85)
Eddie Sutton (1985-89)
Rick Pitino (1989-1997)
Orlando "Tubby" Smith (1997-2007)
TBA (2007-)

The modern era of Kentucky basketball started in 1930 when Coach Rupp came to UK. Only two coaches are beloved in this state in the history of Kentucky basketball: Adolph Rupp and Rick Pitino. Pitino restored the glory years to Kentucky following the disgrace that Eddie Sutton brought upon us.

Read this article from Florida paper of all things.

Is there is a better program with better tradition, history, aura, passionate fans? If Kentucky isn't the best, then it's definitely in the final four (pun intended).
Go, Billy.
Go to Kentucky.
Let me tell you a little story about Billy Donovan and his first SEC Tournament as the Florida Gators basketball coach. This was 11 years ago, and a huge contingent of Kentucky fans waited for him to emerge from the Georgia Dome tunnel.
Florida wasn't even playing Kentucky that day. Didn't matter. Billy D, or Billy the Kid, as he was still called then, was a former Kentucky assistant coach. Spent five years at UK. Helped Rick Pitino win a national championship.
You know what that means, don't you? It means that no matter where Billy had been, where he was going or even where he was at, Kentucky was always home. His blood would always be blue.
Kentucky blue.
That's why, when Billy emerged from the tunnel that day, the head coach of a truly pedestrian Gator basketball team, a roar erupted. Fans stood, clapped, cheered.
Guess what?
It was the Kentucky fans.
Now think of the cheer that Billy would hear if, after winning back-to-back national championships at Florida, he announced he's headed to bluer pastures.
Go, Billy.
Go to Kentucky.
Don't think it'll happen? Don't be so smug. A lot of Gator fans are acting that way today. Smug. They think that Florida is actually a better place to coach college basketball than Kentucky.
It isn't.
Goodness, have you been to the O'Connell Center lately? It feels like the old Florida Gym -- i.e. Alligator Alley -- did back in the '70s. In other words, ancient.
Kentucky's Rupp Arena is almost twice the size. And, of course, almost twice as loud.
It's also named the Rupp Arena because Kentucky has something Florida doesn't. It has tradition, history. Rupp Arena is named after legendary coach Adolph Rupp. The O'Connell Center is named after, um, a former UF president.
But it isn't just the arena that's bigger. It's the fan base. Basketball is king in Kentucky. The state has no professional sports and no college football to speak of. Oh, Louisville every so often will put together a solid season with the pigskin. But you know what I'm talking about. When you think of Kentucky, you think of horses and hoops, though not necessarily in that order.

Come home, Billy. Come back to the Kentucky blue in Lexington, Kentucky, and coach at Rupp Arena. You won't reget it at all.

I wrote this prior to the Elite Eight but didn't post til after the games. Cross posted at my own blog.