The NFL Finance committee unanimously approved Stak Kroenke to buy the Rams.  Hopefully, with this part of the Rams drama looking like it's going to be settled, we can move to more important things, like winning regular season football games. 

People can moan and groan about how Kroenke is going to move the team to California, but I just don't see it.  I am wondering if he has to do some switching around with the Avalanche and the Nuggets.

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/article_07571fe2-afa5-11df-ba28-00127992bc8b.html

After tonight's games, we know a few things:

• Vancouver will finish third, Phoenix will finish fourth and Colorado will definitely finish eighth.
• The Hawks, regardless of this weekend's outcomes will not face the scum in the first round.
• If the Hawks win, or the Sharks lose in regulation, or the Sharks and Hawks both lose in OT/SO, then the Hawks win with the conference's best record.

Now, it gets interesting.  The scum can finish in the 5,6,or 7 slot based on games this weekend.  They lose all tie-breakers with Nashville and Los Angeles.

If the Predators and the Kings win out and the Hawks win in regulation, the scum will face the Sharks in the first round.  Remember it's time for the Sharks annual gagfest in the playoffs.  A sharks choke could set up a second round match up with the scum.

If the Hawks win in OT/SO, the scum will finish in the five or six slot depending on how LA does, Nashville could not catch the scum.  LA is two points behind the scum, but has a game in hand.

If the Kings win out, they finish fifth.  If they tie with Nashville, they would lose tie-breaks against Nashville based on wins first, or head-to-head.  The Kings need three points to guarantee the sixth spot and three points and a Hawks regulation win to guarantee the fifth spot.

Nashville isn't looking too good. If they lose to St. Louis in regulation and L.A. gets any points, they finish seventh.  They could get the six spot if they win, L.A. loses and fails to get at least two points in their two games.  Add to that a Hawks regulation win and they finish fifth.  That's asking for a lot of help.

So how would you like the season to end out?

For those of us outside the Chicago area and need your Blackhawks fix, baseball and its extra inning package give free viewings the first week of the season. 

Why do I mention this?

I have Comcast.  MLB and its E/I package share the baseball channels with the NHL.  Fortunately, Comcast isn't smart enough to distinguish between a baseball game and a hockey game.  This means you get NHL games this week for free which also means the Hawks games and Sharks game this week from the comfort of your LA-Z-Boy rather than sitting at your PC.  Granted, you might not get Pat Foley doing play-by-play, but living up here in scumland, beggars can't be choosers.

There was a diary posted yesterday about Scott Boras writing a letter to baseball's idiot commissioner about extending the World Series to 9 games and using neutral sites.

That got me thinking, what other changes could we make to baseball?

Continue reading this post »

Well, we're three games into the season.  

The bullpen imploded today, Michael Barrett still spends too much time getting to know the fans in the first row behind home plate, we still strand too many runners, and the Tribune company, and eventually the Cubs and Wrigley Field are getting new owners.

I'll start with today.  Yes, the bullpen had a BAD day.  In the course of 162 games, they are going to have a few more.  Hopefully, there won't be too many more of them.  I expect it is going to take Lou a little while to get a real feel for how this team performs when the pressure is on. Pitching in Arizona is a lot different than pitching in Ohio.  It's colder, the ball will break, and the games actually mean something.  Will the pitcher grip the ball a little tighter or throw the ball a little harder now that the games count?

Which leads me to my next point, Michael Barrett.  Despite all the comments I hear about his improved defensive play, from the highlights I saw today on SportsCenter, there is no difference.  He still has terrible footwork and spends way too much time running back to the screen retrieving wild pitches and passed balls.

Maybe Jacque Jones is destined to be our Ryne Sandberg of the new millenium.  Everyone remembers how terrible Ryno hit in April, except for 1984, but always seemed to kick it in gear in May.  Maybe Jones is going to be the same kind of hitter.

Who will the new owner of the Cubs be?  Well, if the Mega Millions jackpot grows for the next four months without a winner and I win, I'll put in a bid.  Other than that, I don't know.  I like Jerry Colangalo, but when he was the principal owner of the D'backs, they were so far in debt they had to call the other D'back team owners for more money.  Worthless Bud Selig actually drew a line in the sand about the amount of debt a team could have in relation to revenues because of it.  The D'backs are getting good again because of their farm system.

With Sam Zell buying the Tribune, word has started spreading about the Cubs and Wrigley Field being sold separately.  That could make things very interesting.

For those of you on high blood pressure medication, take a pill and sit down.  What would some of you feel about remodeling Wrigley Field along the lines of what the Yankees did back in the 1970's? (For those of you who don't remember, the Yankees moved into Shea Stadium while Yankee Stadium was overhauled.)

I'm thinking about keeping the scoreboard in center, the outfield walls, the red sign out front, and tearing everything else down and rebuilding it.  It woulds bring everything up to code, maybe eliminate some obstructed view seats, build some luxury boxes, and keep the same dimensions in the ballpark.  

The new ballpark could have the same number of seats, the same dimensions, and everything that we hold so dear to Wrigley Field. Of course, it could require us to move to another venue for a year, maybe more.

That, and just remember, the season is only three games old