A Restless Night

My night started off on the right track with IU dominating Michigan in basketball. Of note DJ White had 22 rebounds along with 21 points. Eric Gordon pumped in 23 points. They are becoming quite an inside/outside threat.

But with the New Hampshire Primary, my night became one of endless frustration (I could only go to sleep after I had drank about half a bottle of Nyquil). By now everybody knows that Hillary Clinton pulled off an upset by narrowingly winning the New Hampshire Primary. Barack Obama finished a close second.

I was hoping for (and the polls were confirming this) a resounding Obama win thereby significantly damaging the Clinton machine. The idea was that Obama would move on to Nevada and South Carolina and post decisive wins thus just about clinching the nomination.

Looking back on that...I realize now that was wishful thinking. It looks like the primary season is actually going to emcompass many states--which ultimately might not be that bad of a notion and in fact will represent the opinions of many more Americans who normally don't get a chance to select the nominees (although I'm sure by May... Indiana's primary still won't matter with regard to choosing the nominee). Anyway...it's going to be a battle between Clinton and Obama. Obama's momentum has slowed but it looks like being the underdog might be the way to go in winning the delegates. It is going to be interesting to see how the candidates choose to campaign (or not) in Nevada and South Carolina with Super Tuesday looming on the horizon.

"Juno" movie review

Update: This is kind of hard to believe but nonetheless is very awesome (for residents of Greensburg) but Wolf Theatre will be showing Juno starting Friday, January 11th. Props to the Wolf for getting a high quality indie flick.

We continue our look at end-of-year films finally making their way to our area. Up this week is the indie film, Juno (PG-13). Ellen Page stars as the title character, who, while in high school, confronts her unplanned pregnancy. She decides on her own to give her baby up for adoption to a yuppie couple played by Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman. Micheal Cena also co-stars in the film. Jason Reitman directs.

Andy: Juno is a very easy movie to like. All of the characters are well crafted, well acted, and reasonable. The story deals with a difficult situation without being preachy or overly simplistic, plus it has a really cool soundtrack. There are really no obvious problems with this film, which makes it one of the year's best.

Ryan: No question about it, Juno is not only one of the year's best films, but it is also one of my favorite movies of the year. The movie is a cross between Napoleon Dynamite and Superbad. It has a quirky charm to it with a crass sincerity. Juno is an independent film but it isn't overly artsy. It has a mainstream movie feel but it's one of authenticity not superficiality. It's a fantastic film that might just sneak a Best Picture Nomination from the Academy, which would be all right with me.

Andy: At the heart of Juno is the performance of Ellen Page. High School movies frequently operate on a superficial level, so making a movie about high school pregnancy that attempts to be genuine completely hinges on the performance of the pregnant teenager. Page plays it with an authentic, defensive sarcasm that only sometimes masks the shock of her situation. Without Page's performance, Juno is a pretty questionable movie.

Ryan: The breakthrough performance of the year belongs to Ellen Page. She is simply outstanding as the unconventional pregnant high school student. If she doesn't get nominated for an Oscar it will be a cinematic tragedy. Not to be out done is the rest of the cast. Michael Cena seems to have perfected playing the geeky high school student (TV's Arrested Development and last summer's Superbad). Jason Bateman continues his string of solid supporting work and Jennifer Garner again showcases that she has the skill to deliver solid silver screen work.

Andy: Every performance in the movie is great. Jason Reitman, who got a string of really solid performance in his first movie, Thank You For Smoking, has securely established himself as one of the most exciting (and viable) young directors working. The only questionable element to Juno is the unnecessary final scene, which is pretty easy to overlook in retrospect.

Ryan: Even though I have nothing but the highest praise for Juno I feel that I've been a disservice to the movie. Andy and I saw the film a few weeks ago. Over that time I've been asked, “What's a good movie that's out there?” My reply is, “Juno.” Immediately I hear the same thing, “I haven't heard of that movie. What is it about?” I start by saying that, it's about a high school girl that gets pregnant. By that time I've lost them. I'm going to amend for my mistake and just say that Juno is a stupendous film that needs to be watched. Case closed.

Juno is certainly one of 2007's best films. Final grade: A-.

Goose gets the call

Goose Gossage was elected to the baseball hall of fame today. My other choice, Tim Raines, didn't come close (24.3% of the vote). . . although he does remain on the ballot.

Via espn.com

NEW YORK -- Rich "Goose" Gossage became only the fifth relief pitcher elected to the Hall of Fame, earning baseball's highest honor Tuesday on his ninth try on the ballot. Gossage was listed on 466 ballots, or 85.8 percent, to qualify for enshrinement in his ninth year on the ballot.

Former Boston Red Sox outfielder Jim Rice was on 72.2 percent of the ballots, just 16 votes shy of the 75 percent needed. He has one more year of eligibility left on the ballot. Last year, Gossage was on 71.2 percent of ballots and Rice appeared on 63.5 percent. Former Montreal Expos and Chicago Cubs outfielder Andre Dawson was third in this year's voting, appearing on 358 ballots, or 65 percent. Pitcher Bert Blyleven was on 336 ballots, or 61.9 percent. Dawson's teammate in Montreal, outfielder Tim Raines, was alone among 11 first-ballot candidates in qualifying to remain on the ballot, with 24.3 percent or 132 votes. Candidates must receive 5 percent to remain on the ballot for the next year. Rice will appear on the writers' ballot for the 15th and final time next year, when career steals leader Rickey Henderson will be among the newcomers. Mark McGwire, a casualty of the Steroids Era in some writers' minds, received just 128 votes _ the exact total he had last year. His percentage increased slightly to 23.6 percent, up from 23.5 percent last year when he was on the ballot for the first time.

Gossage, who fell short by 21 votes last year, joins Hoyt Wilhelm (1985), Rollie Fingers (1992), Dennis Eckersley (2004) and Bruce Sutter (2006) in Cooperstown's bullpen. Gossage was a nine-time All-Star who pitched for nine major league teams from 1972-94 and had 310 saves -- 52 of them in which he got seven outs or more.
He will be inducted July 27 in Cooperstown, joined by five men elected last month by the revamped Veterans Committee: former commissioner Bowie Kuhn, former Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley, managers Dick Williams and Billy Southworth and ex-Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss.

Golden Globes cancelled

I know the Golden Globes don't have the prestige of the Oscars but it's always a fun show to watch because so many of the nominees are just there to have a good time and that comes across during the show.

With the Writers' strike still on-going, the show has been canceled as many of the acting nominees were going to boycott the show out of solidarity for their co-workers.

Via yahoo.com

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association said Monday that the traditional Golden Globe Awards ceremony has been canceled and will be replaced with a news conference format.

The move came after striking writers threatened to picket the event.

"We are all very disappointed that our traditional awards ceremony will not take place this year and that millions of viewers worldwide will be deprived of seeing many of their favorite stars celebrating 2007's outstanding achievements in motion pictures and television," said Jorge Camara, president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. "We take some comfort, however, in knowing that this year's Golden Globe Award recipients will be announced on the date originally scheduled."

The show had been set to air on Sunday.

Faced with a threat by actors to boycott the ceremony rather than cross picket lines, the association and NBC were forced to adopt another approach for the ceremony.

The association will forgo the typical network payment, reported to be $5 million, it receives for the broadcast, said a person close to the show who was not authorized to comment and requested anonymity.

But NBC will have exclusive electronic rights to the show will be able to sell advertising for it, the person said.

My Hall of Fame ballot

The MLB hall of fame announcement is tomorrow so I thought I would give my take...I know it's hard to believe but I actually don't have a vote.

This particular ballot is a tough decision. There are a number of players on the fence (which is a red flag). I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about baseball so when I have to think about whether a given player is a hall of famer or not than that's not a great initial sign for that given player. Most hall of famers are of the no-doubt-about-it variety.

I'd say that there is only one player on the ballot that I didn't even have to think about...that is Goose Gossage. For a ten year stretch ('75-”85) Gossage was one of (if not the best) reliever in baseball. He had four seasons of an ERA under 2.00 (including a ridiculous .77 in the strike shortened year of 1981). Minus the one year he had as a starter (don't understand that) his worst ERA season was 2.90. During that stretch he finished in the top ten in saves (in his league) every season while winning 3 save titles and finishing second two other times. He was simply dominant. He was also a 9-time All Star.

As for the other two pitchers who have gained some support (Bert Blyleven and Jack Morris)...I'm not sold on either of them. I know Blyleven has won 287 games but he never won a Cy Young award and he only made two All-Star games. If it wasn't for game 7 of the World Series...I'm not sure if Morris would even be in the discussion. He's kind of like his era's Curt Schilling only not as good. Like Blyleven, Morris never won a Cy Young and his career ERA of 3.90 would be the highest of any starting pitcher in the Hall of Fame.

This is where it get dicey...and I've spent way to much time looking at this. There are several OF's on the ballot (Rice, Dawson, Murhpy, Paker) that deserve a serious look. And I have even thought that Rice and Dawson should have already been in. I've looked really hard at the outfield position during the '70 and '80's and wondered what it was that was keeping these guys out. Furthermore the only new candidate to the ballot that deserves (some) consideration is Tim Raines and since he played out field as well I felt I should look into this phenomenon of players that I grew up with not making the cut of getting into the hall.

I've been reading Jayson Stark's latest book The Stark Truth: The Most Overrated and Underrated Players in Baseball History. (Rest assured that there will be future posts concerning this book). But in the book he uses the stat-geek stat of OPS+ to make several of his arguments. Regular OPS is simply on-base % plus slugging %. OPS+ is regular OPS but adjusted to the era that a player played in and to the ballpark that a player hit in. An OPS+ of 150 is generally accepted as being 50 percent better than the average player and constitutes what he calls a great season. An OPS+ of 125 is 25 percent better than the average player and constitutes a good season.

First I'm not saying that this stat is the “gospel” of whether a player is a hall of famer or not. It doesn't constitute defense. But overall it is a stat that I put a lot of weight in because it factors in the era that a given player played in.

Here's the candidates:

Dale Murphy...18 seasons played...2 good seasons...4 great seasons (although 2 of those were 149)

Jim Rice...16 seasons played...5 good seasons...2 great seasons.

Andre Dawson...21 seasons...6 good seasons...1 great season.

Tim Raines...23 seasons...6 good seasons...2 great seasons (one of those at 149).

Dave Parker...19 seasons...3 good seasons...3 great seasons (two of those at 149)

Let's compare those to some of their peers (outfields) who are already in the hall of fame or will be (Rickey Henderson)

Carl Yastrzemski...23 seasons...6 good seasons...4 great seasons.

Reggie Jackson...21 seasons...8 good seasons...7 great seasons.

Dave Winfield...22 seasons...7 good seasons...4 great seasons.

Tony Gwynn...20 seasons...8 good seasons...3 great seasons

Rickey Henderson...25 seasons...11 good seasons...4 great seasons.

My first reaction to all of this...is that during this era there were not a lot of hall of fame (or hall of fame worth) outfielders playing. It was a pitching dominated era with 6 (Carlton, Seaver, Ryan, Sutton, Niekro & Perry) pitches who pitched during this era that went on to win 300 games. There were only 3 players (Reggie, Mike Schmidt and Eddie Murray) during this time that hit over 500 homeruns. The game of baseball goes in cycles and this period was not overly friendly to the hitter.

My mantra for whether a player is a hall of famer or not is...that whether that given player was one of the best (if not the best) at his position for a number of years.

What I'm seeing (by looking at the OPS+...relative to other HOF's) is that Murphy, Rice, Dawson & Parker just simply didn't put together enough good to great years to qualify for the hall of fame. Murphy won back to back MVP awards but he only had 6 truly good to great years. Rice, who is earning more and more support, is a borderline candidate at best. And when you think that one his teammates (Dwight Evans) had the exact same number of good and great years that he did...than that shows how a “name” can propel a person more than what they actually did on the field (it also shows that Evans, who isn't even on the ballot anymore is pretty underrated). I was really surprised by Dawson's lack of productivity. I struggle with his candidacy more than any other's in this discussion (mainly because I actually watched him play when he was on the Cubs). He won one MVP award and finished second two other times. But other than those three years he was only a slightly above average ball player. And I just don't think that cuts it.

As for Raines...I mean...he started out his career like it was headed towards Cooperstown. In his first seven seasons he made the All-Star team every year and by far had the best seasons of his career. But after his stint in the National League...Raines just became an average ballplayer. But he does have the best stolen base success rate of all time. He's 51^st all time in “Runs Created” (tied with Tony Gwynn)...so that is in his favor...especially when you see that he is well ahead of Dawson and Rice. The more I type...the more I'm liking Raines as a hall of famer. When one considers that Raines is one of the best leadoff hitters of all time as well as one of the best base-stealers of all time than those two notions go along way in helping Raines's cause. One isn't just saying that he's one of the best (leadoff hitters or base-stealers) of his era. He's one of the best of all time of those two ideas. I'm sold for him. I would vote for him.

I have learned (or maybe re-learned) that not every era in baseball history has hall of fame caliber players at every position. Dawson was one of the better outfielders in the National League during the '80's but that doesn't necessarily mean that he is a hall of famer.

Ultimately I'm going to have to change my hall of fame mantra...that a player has to be one of the best (if not the best) at his position for a number of years...too...that a player has to be consistently one of the best (if not the best) at his postion for a number of years. My biggest issue with guys like Dawson, Rice and Murphy is that they were just not consistently good (to great) for most of their career.

Goose...Rock Raines...the both of them get my vote.

We'll see what happens. The hall of fame announcement will be Tuesday at 1:30 PM.

Bob Sanders...Defensive Player of the Year!

Via espn.com

NEW YORK -- Bob Sanders' impact on the vastly improved Indianapolis defense, not to mention his impact on opposing ball carriers, earned the Colts safety The Associated Press 2007 NFL Defensive Player of the Year award Monday.

Sanders makes highlight films with his smash-mouth style and knack for always being near the ball. His value as a leader -- the Peyton Manning of the Colts' defense, if you will -- was just as much a factor in Indianapolis having the third-ranked unit in the NFL and allowing just 262 points, a league low.

Yes, these Colts can play dominating defense, and Sanders is the main reason.

"One of the things we talked about when he first got here was how critical this position is in this defense," said coach Tony Dungy, who has nicknamed Sanders "The Eraser."

"Donnie Shell went to five Pro Bowls, and John Lynch went to I don't even know how many Pro Bowls. You get asked to do a lot of things in this defense, and it's rare to find someone who can do those things."

Sanders did enough to earn 31 votes from a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the NFL. That was particularly impressive because it was a strong season for individual defensive performances.

Yet next closest in the balloting were Seattle end Patrick Kerney and Tennessee tackle Albert Haynesworth with four votes each.

Sanders was a huge factor in the Colts' surge to the Super Bowl title last year. He missed most of the regular season, got healthy for the playoffs, and suddenly teams couldn't run or pass effectively on Indy.

With Sanders in the lineup for 15 games this season, the Colts were superb defensively on their way to a 13-3 record and the AFC South crown.

Not that Sanders laid back in an attempt to stay healthy.

"Coming in, that was my No. 1 goal, staying healthy. Sometimes, though, you can't prevent injuries from happening," he said.

One key to the Colts' stinginess has been moving Sanders closer to the line of scrimmage.

"I've had to adjust and I think I've adjusted well," Sanders said. "I was definitely a run stopper in college [at Iowa], but playing cover-2 or man coverage or whatever makes me better. I've tried to adjust because I want to do it.

"I enjoy it definitely. The strength of my game is being down in the box and I've got a good grasp of seeing what's going on. It's been a lot of work to do that since my rookie season."

Also receiving votes were defensive back Antonio Cromartie of San Diego with three; linebackers Mike Vrabel of New England and DeMarcus Ware of Dallas (2); and cornerback Ronde Barber of Tampa Bay, linebacker James Harrison of Pittsburgh, rookie linebacker Patrick Willis of San Francisco, and end Mario Williams of Houston, each with one vote.

Last year's winner was Miami end Jason Taylor.

Sanders is the first Colts player to win the award.

"To me, that's probably the biggest statement because the national perception is that we're an offensive team," Dungy said. "I thought for someone to win it on this team, it would take a big, big impact just to be considered."

Sanders credits his success and his style to how he was taught way back when.

"I would have to say it goes back to little league, pee-wee football," he said. "Those are some of the first things they teach you and that's something you remember as you grow up: stay low, stay low. It helps me now being explosive in short areas, because it's a combination of power, speed and quickness. You've got to bring it all together, and then you can come from 10 or 15 yards deep to make the play."

Lots of them.

Congrats to Bob...this is a much deserved award. Bob Sanders simply rocks.

Just remember...70% of the earth is covered by water. The other 30% is covered by Bob Sanders

The election might already be over

I don't know how I missed writing about this...but on Thursday night during Mike Huckabee's speech (after winning Iowa) I erupted in laughter because Chuck Norris was standing right behind him. It was hilarious.

Come to find out Chuck Norris is a big Mike Huckabee supporter (as seen by this campaign ad--which is kind of funny).

If Huckabee has Norris in his corner than not only is the primary over but the election as well.

My advice to Barack Obama...get Bob Sanders in your corner.