By Ryan Dugan
While tidying up my apartment late Sunday night, my thoughts were with the New York Yankees.
I was cleaning my kitchen counters with a dust rag I keep in a cabinet below the sink. Thinking about the first month of the 2007 baseball season, I looked down at the rag, and noticed that it was an old T-shirt. It was my 1996 New York Yankees World Series T-Shirt. I was 16 years old in 1996 when the Yankees won their first World Series in my lifetime. I regularly sported the World Series t-shirt in my wardrobe. I wore it to High School, ball games, and family functions. Probably somewhere around 2000 the shirt began to fade. Shortly after, it probably started to get holes around the shoulders (where all my shirts inevitably develop holes). I probably kept it on a hanger or in a shelf well past its life, until one day in the last three years, while living in my studio in Voorhees; it turned it into a dust rag. As I threw my Yankees dust rag back under the sink, I began connect the rag with the first month of the Yankees 2007 season. Both the rag and the Yankees are beat up, warn down, and far removed form 1996.
Now although I am distraught as a Yankees fan, as a journalist and anylist, I am far from placing my hand over the “Bronx Bomber Panic Button”. However my colleagues in the New York media are beginning to freak out, as they always do when the Yankees go on long losing streaks.
It’s bad enough Derek Jeter has begun playing the part of the “Angry Captain” in his post game interviews, defending his boss Joe Torre, whose head is on the chopping block. Equally unpleasant, is the written statement from owner George Stienbrenner, expressing his concern. The bosses statements have become as steady as clockwork. But if fans believe what they read in the news papers, hear on the radio, and watch on TV, the season is lost! Yankees Stadium is going to blow up, (not until winter of 2008 in actuality) players and executives are seconds from being canned, goats and monkeys are flying around the sky all Willie-Nillie, dog and cats are living together, and it all going to end with a last place finish for the Yankees this season!
All Total Nonsense!
Lets take a look for a moment at the trouble areas for the Yankees in the first 23 games.
First off they are 9-14, which is not as bad as it looks. There are three games already this season that they should have won; April 8th against Baltimore, the 15th against Oakland, and the 20th against Boston. But there are also two games they should have lost. Those two games are the “A-Rod Walk Off Homerun Games”, April 7th against Baltimore, and April 19th against Cleveland. So if those five games had slightly different turnouts the Yankees record would be hovering somewhere around .500.
The big concern of course is the pitching which has been absolutely awful!
Ninety-six times in twenty-three games, Joe Torre has changed pitchers! That is an average of once every 2.25 innings! The average starter for the Yanks has lasted only 4.5 innings over the last eight games. The bullpen has been over worked and it's weaknesses have been over exposed. The team ERA is 5.02 ranking them 27th in all of baseball. Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina, Chin-Ming Wang, Carl Povanao, and Kei Igawa have all missed starts. Their backups Phil Hughes, Jeff Karstens, Darryl Rasner, and Chase Wright have pitched more like independent leaguers then minor-leaguers!
Then there is Mariano Rivera. The Yankees Hall-Of-Fame closer and all time team saves leader. Rivera has yet to hit his stride to put it nicely, and some are beginning to think his career maybe reaching its twilight.
Maybe the most disturbing thing about this recent skid of losing eight of nine, has been watching the offense come out of their game. The Yankees hitters have been pressing. They have gotten off balance, and are trying to do too much to help get the team out of this funk.
So what is the remedy to the awful April numbers and worst Yankees start in over two decades?
Patients!
Just A Little Patients!
First off the Yankees start the month of May on the road in Texas, which is exactly what they need. They need to get out of New York, out of the American League East, and away from the Boston Red Sox for a few weeks.
That’s exactly what they are getting!
They also need good pitching, and they need their starters to pitch deep into some games. This all starts Tuesday night with Phil Hughes. Then Mussina will return Thursday, and by the weekend it will be back to business as usual for the Yankees.
This team has been here before, and has always rebounded. The core of this team has seen bad starts the last three Aprils in a row. I give anyone reading this (the one or two of you) a money back guarantee that come September the Yankees will battling right at the top of the Division.
The Yankees will be contending for the AL East Title, with or without the
Rocket Roger Clemens.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Friday, February 2, 2007
Tiger Woods, Golf Legend
By Ryan Dugan
Usually I could care less about any sport, or athletic event that does not take place in what I call “The Big Four” of professional sports. "The Big Four” would include, MLB, NFL, NHL and NBA.
If it does not include a team or an athlete within the big four, nine times out of ten I turn my head. However that was before I found myself working a corporate event in San Diego California for the Buick Invitational.
The experience of working a PGA tour event was something I will not soon forget. The most remarkable aspect of working the Buick Invitational was watching the hype, excitement, and the overall performance of Tiger Woods.
I first saw Tiger tee off from the 7th green at Torrey Pines as part of a practice on Wednesday morning January 24, 2006. The crowd that followed the man and the hush over the spectators was a sight to see.
Tiger was all business!
A few shoulder stretches before a few practice swings and then it was off to a power drive! Wearing his standard blue Nike shirt with black pants, Tiger is taller in person then I had expected. The seventh green is a par 4, 462-yards long and it plays to the southwest. Tiger’s first shot was well over 250 yards! The drive was more powerful than any other I had seen on the course Wednesday. He began eating a banana after his drive, keeping his protein levels up while playing the course.
Few people in the world can capture a crowd like Tiger!
The people that followed him were like a herd of cattle being driven thru fences on a farm. Hundreds of fans followed him as he worked the course. And this was just an average practice on a Wednesday morning!
After watching the practice, I began researching Tiger’s accomplishments over his eleven-year professional career.
Tiger has won over 70 tournaments including 54 on the PGA tour. He started 2007 with his 7th straight PGA victory. He owns the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines. In ten career appearances in La Jolla, he has always finished in the top five, which includes five victories.
Then we get to the purse!
Tiger has won over 68 million dollars in tournaments alone (55 million on the PGA). Then there are his endorsements! Tiger is arguably the most marketable athlete on the planet presently. He has signed deals in the past with McDonalds, Gatorade, and EA Sports. He currently holds a 100 million dollar deal with Nike. He earned an estimated 87 million dollars in 2006, and is ranked number one in both golf and in athletic income.
By the second day of the Buick Invitational, Tiger had made his long awaited start on the south course. The buzz of his play on the south course was a week in the making! He went par for the day including some trouble on a par five on the 18th. Caught in the rough twice, Tiger bared down and brought out the best of his bunker game. Using his pitching wedge on his third shot, he was able to get up on the green. The amazing thing about watching the whole experience was that Tiger was in seventh place only eight under and trailing the leader Brandt Snedeker by 7 strokes. Brandt played the 18th two groups later. The crowd that remained to applaud him was impressive, but not nearly what Tiger had. Brandt was 61 in Round one, 70 in Round two, for a –13 score. Tiger was 66 in Round one 1, 72 in Round 2 for only –6.
By Sunday the fourth and final round of the tournament, everyone knew what was coming! The Tiger victory could be sensed by everyone course wide! The beginner’s luck of Snedeker was wearing off, while Buckle and Howell also began to slide on the back nine.
In the end it was Tiger!
Up two strokes with one hole to play, Tiger continued his troubles on the 18th to make things slightly interesting for a moment before winning the Buick. His final putt was a three footer to close out the day, giving him his 7th straight PGA victory.
This week Tiger is in Dubai, where the stellar play has continued.
Once every one hundered years or so, a player comes along that dominates his sport so remarkably, he becomes a legend. When placing a human face with a given sport there is always one particular person that comes to mind. Baseball= Babe Ruth, Football=Vince Lombardi, Basketball= Michael Jordan, and on and on! When one thinks about Golf, it is almost impossible to not immediately think of Tiger Woods.
Tiger Woods, a legend in our time!
Usually I could care less about any sport, or athletic event that does not take place in what I call “The Big Four” of professional sports. "The Big Four” would include, MLB, NFL, NHL and NBA.
If it does not include a team or an athlete within the big four, nine times out of ten I turn my head. However that was before I found myself working a corporate event in San Diego California for the Buick Invitational.
The experience of working a PGA tour event was something I will not soon forget. The most remarkable aspect of working the Buick Invitational was watching the hype, excitement, and the overall performance of Tiger Woods.
I first saw Tiger tee off from the 7th green at Torrey Pines as part of a practice on Wednesday morning January 24, 2006. The crowd that followed the man and the hush over the spectators was a sight to see.
Tiger was all business!
A few shoulder stretches before a few practice swings and then it was off to a power drive! Wearing his standard blue Nike shirt with black pants, Tiger is taller in person then I had expected. The seventh green is a par 4, 462-yards long and it plays to the southwest. Tiger’s first shot was well over 250 yards! The drive was more powerful than any other I had seen on the course Wednesday. He began eating a banana after his drive, keeping his protein levels up while playing the course.
Few people in the world can capture a crowd like Tiger!
The people that followed him were like a herd of cattle being driven thru fences on a farm. Hundreds of fans followed him as he worked the course. And this was just an average practice on a Wednesday morning!
After watching the practice, I began researching Tiger’s accomplishments over his eleven-year professional career.
Tiger has won over 70 tournaments including 54 on the PGA tour. He started 2007 with his 7th straight PGA victory. He owns the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines. In ten career appearances in La Jolla, he has always finished in the top five, which includes five victories.
Then we get to the purse!
Tiger has won over 68 million dollars in tournaments alone (55 million on the PGA). Then there are his endorsements! Tiger is arguably the most marketable athlete on the planet presently. He has signed deals in the past with McDonalds, Gatorade, and EA Sports. He currently holds a 100 million dollar deal with Nike. He earned an estimated 87 million dollars in 2006, and is ranked number one in both golf and in athletic income.
By the second day of the Buick Invitational, Tiger had made his long awaited start on the south course. The buzz of his play on the south course was a week in the making! He went par for the day including some trouble on a par five on the 18th. Caught in the rough twice, Tiger bared down and brought out the best of his bunker game. Using his pitching wedge on his third shot, he was able to get up on the green. The amazing thing about watching the whole experience was that Tiger was in seventh place only eight under and trailing the leader Brandt Snedeker by 7 strokes. Brandt played the 18th two groups later. The crowd that remained to applaud him was impressive, but not nearly what Tiger had. Brandt was 61 in Round one, 70 in Round two, for a –13 score. Tiger was 66 in Round one 1, 72 in Round 2 for only –6.
By Sunday the fourth and final round of the tournament, everyone knew what was coming! The Tiger victory could be sensed by everyone course wide! The beginner’s luck of Snedeker was wearing off, while Buckle and Howell also began to slide on the back nine.
In the end it was Tiger!
Up two strokes with one hole to play, Tiger continued his troubles on the 18th to make things slightly interesting for a moment before winning the Buick. His final putt was a three footer to close out the day, giving him his 7th straight PGA victory.
This week Tiger is in Dubai, where the stellar play has continued.
Once every one hundered years or so, a player comes along that dominates his sport so remarkably, he becomes a legend. When placing a human face with a given sport there is always one particular person that comes to mind. Baseball= Babe Ruth, Football=Vince Lombardi, Basketball= Michael Jordan, and on and on! When one thinks about Golf, it is almost impossible to not immediately think of Tiger Woods.
Tiger Woods, a legend in our time!
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Who Is Running The Yankees?
By Ryan Dugan
First and foremost I am a New York Yankees Fanatic!!
Before I am a writer, reporter, blogger, technician, Stage Manager, joker, smoker, or a midnight toker, I live for the New York Yankees!
So as a combination Yankee Fanatic, and independent sports blogger, I would like to think I have a pretty good pulse on my boys in midnight blue.
That being said, something has not been quite right in Yankee land for sometime now. This feeling I have, pertains directly to the organizations leadership and ownership, more specifically to the principal owner George H. Stienbrener III.
Consider the time lines facts.
On January 3, 1973 George M. Steinbrenner III bought the New York Yankees from CBS, and the era of baseball’s most ruthless vicious owner had begun. Over the last 34 years everyone who follows the game of baseball, knows of Stienbrenner’s short fuse, demand for perfection, and his outrageous cutthroat actions.
From 1973-1995 George fired over 12 managers, hired and fired Billy Martin five times, fought publically with Reggie Jackson, Don Mattingly, Dave Windfeild, and Yogi Berra. Stories leaked from within the organization of the George’s constant vocal badger and harassment of employees, from Managers right on down to parking lot attendants.
Twice Major League Baseball has even suspended “The Boss” from the game.
A colleague of mine who does freelance lighting for ESPN and NBC told me that Stienbrenner once had his lighting cables cut, along with video cables, simply because they were hanging along the outfield wall, in a location that “The Boss” did not approve of. A normal CEO would just ask to have them moved. Not “The Boss”! He had them cut!
As a young fan I grew up with this crazy owner, who kept his team and fans on constant edge.
In 1995 when the Yankees lost the Division Series to the Seattle Mariners, I cried myself to sleep. I knew my favorite manager Buck Showater and my favorite player Don Mattingly were sure to be fired. Sure enough they were, and the 1996 New York Yankees were a completely different team (but in hindsight I shouldn’t have been so sad).
Since 1996, and over the last ten years things have been very good for the Yankees. Four World Series Championships, Six League Pennants, and Post Season appearances every year for eleven straight years to name just some of their accomplishments.
George Steinbrenner interfered with Yankees operations less and less over this time, however his presence was still very noticeable. His vocal badgering continued, but his actions became almost nonexistent.
"The Boss" interfered with the team one final notable time when he negotiated the signing of Gary Sheffield to the Yankees, after the 2003 season. Joe Torre and Brian Cashman then asked "The Boss" to stop meddling.
In 2003, his meddling came to a complete end.
December 27, 2003 while attending a memorial service in Sarasota Florida "The Boss" fell to the ground and become unconscious. He was rushed to a medical facility where further tests were done, but no results were released to the public.
May 22, 2005 The Yes Network aired the last public interview with "The Boss". As Michael Kay interviewed Steinbrenner he appeared slow to articulate himself, and mentally lost at times turning the Q and A. Since that one-hour interview on Yes, all of Steinbrenner's comments have been thru written statements as part of news releases. "The Boss" has only briefly addressed the press himself since the spring of 2005.
At the end of the 2005 season the Yankees lost to the Anaheim Angels in the Division Series, and it was expected that Brian Cashman would not return as Yankees General Manager. In a shocking move, Cashman not only came back, but he received a significant salary increase, and was given more executive power within the organization then ever before. Cashman now has final say in all office operations between New York and Tampa.
On November 1, 2006, Steinbrenner once again collapsed and was rushed to a medical facility in North Carolina. He was attending a school function of his granddaughter, when he became ill.
That brings us up to this past season. The growing urgency for the Yankees to return to the World Series became very clear to all in baseball. Steinbrenner said, thru his written statements, that he expected victory in 2006. The thing the made victory critical was the Yankees overwhelmingly huge, and league-leading payroll.
On October 1, 2006 the Yankees finished the regular season with the best record in baseball. Then they landed the reeling Detroit Tigers in the Division Series. It was expected the Yankees would sweep Detroit clean.
The Yankees lost the series 3 games to 1 and were eliminated in five days.
Just like 1995, I began preparing for the worst. I thought for sure the organization would once again be turned upside down. I expected to turn on ESPN in my Las Vegas Hotel room to hear, Joe was gone, Lou Pinella was in, and half the team had been traded to Seattle. I remember having this feeling of being in a clam before a storm.
Then something amazing happened!
The calm remained, and the storm never arrived.
For the life of me I couldn’t figure out why "The Boss" hadn’t shaken things up. I couldn’t figure out why Steinbrenner had changed his ways. I returned home from Las Vegas, and spoke to friends and family about Yankee Baseball. It was then that I heard my Uncle G.T. Steltz tell me something that made perfect sense. He told me,
“George is not running the team any more”!
My uncle told me that Steve Swindal, and Brian Cashman were probably calling the shots, most likely because of Stienbrenner's age and poor health.
It all makes perfect sense!
It has to be true!
Of course a great deal of my thoughts, as well as my uncle’s are speculation. Nothing has been officially released from the Yankees. No hard factual evidence that George Steinbrenner has lost his mental capacities or that he is no longer running the team exists. However when considering Steinbrenner's history, and considering the moves the Yankees have made the past two winters, it really removes all questions. The only thing left is actual physical proof.
Think about it!
Why else would Joe Torre and Brian Cashman still have jobs with the Yanks? Why else would the Yankees AAA organization, (which has had great ties to George’s home state of Ohio) be so easily moved to Scranton Pennsylvania. Why else would Gary Sheffield say publicly “I would have never been traded to the Detroit Tigers if I had gotten a chance to met with Steinbrenner”? And lastly why else would Steinbrenner’s Son-In-Law Steve Swindal, (the heir apparent to take over the Yankees) be seeking permission from the Commissioner’s office to own racehorses, while also owning a Major League baseball team (a taboo combination in baseball’s history).
Steinbrenner will be 77 this July fourth. By such an age, most normal CEO’s publicly step down. They hold a huge retirement parties televisied, with celebrities!
They hire a guy like Jimmy Kimmel to host a roast!
An announcement like that would remove all speculation as to who is running the Yankees. That would be the normal thing to do. However George M. Steinbrenner III is anything but normal!
Is Steinbrenner still running the show?
Not likely!
But the good news is the dysfunction of Steinbrenner’s leadership has been replaced with function and competence. The 2007 Yankees baseball season already holds more promise then either of the last two years!
First and foremost I am a New York Yankees Fanatic!!
Before I am a writer, reporter, blogger, technician, Stage Manager, joker, smoker, or a midnight toker, I live for the New York Yankees!
So as a combination Yankee Fanatic, and independent sports blogger, I would like to think I have a pretty good pulse on my boys in midnight blue.
That being said, something has not been quite right in Yankee land for sometime now. This feeling I have, pertains directly to the organizations leadership and ownership, more specifically to the principal owner George H. Stienbrener III.
Consider the time lines facts.
On January 3, 1973 George M. Steinbrenner III bought the New York Yankees from CBS, and the era of baseball’s most ruthless vicious owner had begun. Over the last 34 years everyone who follows the game of baseball, knows of Stienbrenner’s short fuse, demand for perfection, and his outrageous cutthroat actions.
From 1973-1995 George fired over 12 managers, hired and fired Billy Martin five times, fought publically with Reggie Jackson, Don Mattingly, Dave Windfeild, and Yogi Berra. Stories leaked from within the organization of the George’s constant vocal badger and harassment of employees, from Managers right on down to parking lot attendants.
Twice Major League Baseball has even suspended “The Boss” from the game.
A colleague of mine who does freelance lighting for ESPN and NBC told me that Stienbrenner once had his lighting cables cut, along with video cables, simply because they were hanging along the outfield wall, in a location that “The Boss” did not approve of. A normal CEO would just ask to have them moved. Not “The Boss”! He had them cut!
As a young fan I grew up with this crazy owner, who kept his team and fans on constant edge.
In 1995 when the Yankees lost the Division Series to the Seattle Mariners, I cried myself to sleep. I knew my favorite manager Buck Showater and my favorite player Don Mattingly were sure to be fired. Sure enough they were, and the 1996 New York Yankees were a completely different team (but in hindsight I shouldn’t have been so sad).
Since 1996, and over the last ten years things have been very good for the Yankees. Four World Series Championships, Six League Pennants, and Post Season appearances every year for eleven straight years to name just some of their accomplishments.
George Steinbrenner interfered with Yankees operations less and less over this time, however his presence was still very noticeable. His vocal badgering continued, but his actions became almost nonexistent.
"The Boss" interfered with the team one final notable time when he negotiated the signing of Gary Sheffield to the Yankees, after the 2003 season. Joe Torre and Brian Cashman then asked "The Boss" to stop meddling.
In 2003, his meddling came to a complete end.
December 27, 2003 while attending a memorial service in Sarasota Florida "The Boss" fell to the ground and become unconscious. He was rushed to a medical facility where further tests were done, but no results were released to the public.
May 22, 2005 The Yes Network aired the last public interview with "The Boss". As Michael Kay interviewed Steinbrenner he appeared slow to articulate himself, and mentally lost at times turning the Q and A. Since that one-hour interview on Yes, all of Steinbrenner's comments have been thru written statements as part of news releases. "The Boss" has only briefly addressed the press himself since the spring of 2005.
At the end of the 2005 season the Yankees lost to the Anaheim Angels in the Division Series, and it was expected that Brian Cashman would not return as Yankees General Manager. In a shocking move, Cashman not only came back, but he received a significant salary increase, and was given more executive power within the organization then ever before. Cashman now has final say in all office operations between New York and Tampa.
On November 1, 2006, Steinbrenner once again collapsed and was rushed to a medical facility in North Carolina. He was attending a school function of his granddaughter, when he became ill.
That brings us up to this past season. The growing urgency for the Yankees to return to the World Series became very clear to all in baseball. Steinbrenner said, thru his written statements, that he expected victory in 2006. The thing the made victory critical was the Yankees overwhelmingly huge, and league-leading payroll.
On October 1, 2006 the Yankees finished the regular season with the best record in baseball. Then they landed the reeling Detroit Tigers in the Division Series. It was expected the Yankees would sweep Detroit clean.
The Yankees lost the series 3 games to 1 and were eliminated in five days.
Just like 1995, I began preparing for the worst. I thought for sure the organization would once again be turned upside down. I expected to turn on ESPN in my Las Vegas Hotel room to hear, Joe was gone, Lou Pinella was in, and half the team had been traded to Seattle. I remember having this feeling of being in a clam before a storm.
Then something amazing happened!
The calm remained, and the storm never arrived.
For the life of me I couldn’t figure out why "The Boss" hadn’t shaken things up. I couldn’t figure out why Steinbrenner had changed his ways. I returned home from Las Vegas, and spoke to friends and family about Yankee Baseball. It was then that I heard my Uncle G.T. Steltz tell me something that made perfect sense. He told me,
“George is not running the team any more”!
My uncle told me that Steve Swindal, and Brian Cashman were probably calling the shots, most likely because of Stienbrenner's age and poor health.
It all makes perfect sense!
It has to be true!
Of course a great deal of my thoughts, as well as my uncle’s are speculation. Nothing has been officially released from the Yankees. No hard factual evidence that George Steinbrenner has lost his mental capacities or that he is no longer running the team exists. However when considering Steinbrenner's history, and considering the moves the Yankees have made the past two winters, it really removes all questions. The only thing left is actual physical proof.
Think about it!
Why else would Joe Torre and Brian Cashman still have jobs with the Yanks? Why else would the Yankees AAA organization, (which has had great ties to George’s home state of Ohio) be so easily moved to Scranton Pennsylvania. Why else would Gary Sheffield say publicly “I would have never been traded to the Detroit Tigers if I had gotten a chance to met with Steinbrenner”? And lastly why else would Steinbrenner’s Son-In-Law Steve Swindal, (the heir apparent to take over the Yankees) be seeking permission from the Commissioner’s office to own racehorses, while also owning a Major League baseball team (a taboo combination in baseball’s history).
Steinbrenner will be 77 this July fourth. By such an age, most normal CEO’s publicly step down. They hold a huge retirement parties televisied, with celebrities!
They hire a guy like Jimmy Kimmel to host a roast!
An announcement like that would remove all speculation as to who is running the Yankees. That would be the normal thing to do. However George M. Steinbrenner III is anything but normal!
Is Steinbrenner still running the show?
Not likely!
But the good news is the dysfunction of Steinbrenner’s leadership has been replaced with function and competence. The 2007 Yankees baseball season already holds more promise then either of the last two years!
Sunday, January 7, 2007
Worst To First- The 2006 New Orleans Saints
By Ryan Dugan
Is there a better story in all of the NFL this season then that of the New Orleans Saints?
I would like to think that if there is, I would be writing about it.
On the morning of August 29, 2005 at 7:10am Hurricane Katrina entered American soil from the Gulf of Mexico, and devastated the city of New Orleans. It ruined homes, destroyed families, displaced thousands, and took the lives of 1,836 residents.
In the aftermath, 80% of the city was underwater. The wind, rain and flooding caused an estimated 82 billion dollars in damage.
The United States Government dropped the ball on every level, and as a result the battered people of Louisiana suffer even more.
The Louisiana Super Dome, home to the NFL’s New Orleans Saints became a refugee camp for displaced soaked citizens. Parts of the Super Dome’s roof had been torn off as a result of the severe winds. The flooded sports arena became home to stray pets, rats, and humanity suffering within.
The citizens were not the only ones who became refuges. In a very insignificant matter, compared to the carnage in the city, the New Orleans Saints were now homeless as well. As a result of Katrina, the Super Dome was in no condition to host NFL football games. The Saints played out the 2005 season by splitting home games in both San Antonio and Baton Rouge.
They went 3-13.
Saints owner Tom Benson began to contemplate his options, and was giving serious thoughts to pulling his franchise out of the city. He began entertaining offers from San Antonio, Los Angeles, and Florida. All of which are sites hoping for future NFL teams.
Tom Benson’s thoughts of moving the team were business and not personal, and completely justified under the circumstances. However before serious thoughts of moving the team took place, the NFL got behind the city of New Orleans, and the city of New Orleans got behind the Saints. The Super Dome was renovated and repaired in record time, (thanks to GOP no bid contracts) and the Saints were back home by week three of the 2006 season.
Fans were thrilled to just have football back in New Orleans on Monday Night September 25th. Then their team went above and beyond expectations, pulverizing the Atlanta Falcons 23-3. The return of Football in Louisiana was story enough this season, but then Sean Payton and the Saints took it to the next level with a cast of characters too good to be true!
Drew Breese who surprised many by signing with the Saints in the off-season became the best Quarterback in the NFC. The number one QB out of the shotgun, Breese threw for over 4400 yards, and 26 touchdowns.
Number one draft pick Reggie Bush is another great story! His first season in the NFL, Bush has rushed for over 500 yards. He has also complimented Duce McAllister, the Saints resident Running Back who saw over 1000 yards this year as well.
Joe Horn the New Orleans Wide Receiver also saw a career year, averaging 18 yards a catch in 2006, and scoring four touchdowns. Horn’s greater accomplishments can be found in his charity work in New Orleans. Horn has been very active supporting the city, and has served as a spokesperson for the Saints, in their efforts to help the city recover from Katrina.
The offensive numbers, and individual accomplishments are just stunning!
To top it all off as I conclude this blog, Sean Payton has just been named the NLF’s Coach Of The Year. And the Saints await the winners of this weekends playoff games to determine whom they play at home next Sunday.
A city that was down and out. Destroyed by Mother Nature, devastated and left in dismay. It's people looking for a return to normalcy. Looking for distraction, entertainment, and excitement.
What do they get?
The 2006 New Orleans Saints!
Not only a distraction, or a pleasant surprise, but a Super Bowl bound Championship team!
Is there a better story in all of the NFL this season then that of the New Orleans Saints?
I would like to think that if there is, I would be writing about it.
On the morning of August 29, 2005 at 7:10am Hurricane Katrina entered American soil from the Gulf of Mexico, and devastated the city of New Orleans. It ruined homes, destroyed families, displaced thousands, and took the lives of 1,836 residents.
In the aftermath, 80% of the city was underwater. The wind, rain and flooding caused an estimated 82 billion dollars in damage.
The United States Government dropped the ball on every level, and as a result the battered people of Louisiana suffer even more.
The Louisiana Super Dome, home to the NFL’s New Orleans Saints became a refugee camp for displaced soaked citizens. Parts of the Super Dome’s roof had been torn off as a result of the severe winds. The flooded sports arena became home to stray pets, rats, and humanity suffering within.
The citizens were not the only ones who became refuges. In a very insignificant matter, compared to the carnage in the city, the New Orleans Saints were now homeless as well. As a result of Katrina, the Super Dome was in no condition to host NFL football games. The Saints played out the 2005 season by splitting home games in both San Antonio and Baton Rouge.
They went 3-13.
Saints owner Tom Benson began to contemplate his options, and was giving serious thoughts to pulling his franchise out of the city. He began entertaining offers from San Antonio, Los Angeles, and Florida. All of which are sites hoping for future NFL teams.
Tom Benson’s thoughts of moving the team were business and not personal, and completely justified under the circumstances. However before serious thoughts of moving the team took place, the NFL got behind the city of New Orleans, and the city of New Orleans got behind the Saints. The Super Dome was renovated and repaired in record time, (thanks to GOP no bid contracts) and the Saints were back home by week three of the 2006 season.
Fans were thrilled to just have football back in New Orleans on Monday Night September 25th. Then their team went above and beyond expectations, pulverizing the Atlanta Falcons 23-3. The return of Football in Louisiana was story enough this season, but then Sean Payton and the Saints took it to the next level with a cast of characters too good to be true!
Drew Breese who surprised many by signing with the Saints in the off-season became the best Quarterback in the NFC. The number one QB out of the shotgun, Breese threw for over 4400 yards, and 26 touchdowns.
Number one draft pick Reggie Bush is another great story! His first season in the NFL, Bush has rushed for over 500 yards. He has also complimented Duce McAllister, the Saints resident Running Back who saw over 1000 yards this year as well.
Joe Horn the New Orleans Wide Receiver also saw a career year, averaging 18 yards a catch in 2006, and scoring four touchdowns. Horn’s greater accomplishments can be found in his charity work in New Orleans. Horn has been very active supporting the city, and has served as a spokesperson for the Saints, in their efforts to help the city recover from Katrina.
The offensive numbers, and individual accomplishments are just stunning!
To top it all off as I conclude this blog, Sean Payton has just been named the NLF’s Coach Of The Year. And the Saints await the winners of this weekends playoff games to determine whom they play at home next Sunday.
A city that was down and out. Destroyed by Mother Nature, devastated and left in dismay. It's people looking for a return to normalcy. Looking for distraction, entertainment, and excitement.
What do they get?
The 2006 New Orleans Saints!
Not only a distraction, or a pleasant surprise, but a Super Bowl bound Championship team!
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Philadelphia- A Miserable Sports Town
By Ryan Dugan
Philadelphia.
The home of democracy, the American Flag, Benjamin Franklin, Rocky Balboa, the Cheese Steak, and of course the Flyers, Sixers, Eagles, and Phillies. It is a tough city, a mean city and arguably the most frustrated sports city in all of America.
Tuesday night, October 21, 1980, I was just three months and 29 days old. Philadelphia Phillies closer Tug Mcgraw strikes out Kansas City Royals left fielder Willie Wilson, and 65,838 fans in Veterans Stadium go wild! Major League Baseball’s 76th annual World Series comes to an end, and the city of Philadelphia has a world title as the Phillies defeat the Royals 4 games to 1!
So what’s the big deal?
It was the last time the city of Philadelphia celebrated a champion!
I lived in the city of Philadelphia for almost all of 2003. It is one of the most blue-collar towns I have ever spent an extended amount of time in! It is cold and bitter in the winter when the wind blows in from the mighty Delaware River. It is messy and dirty with industrial ports, warehouses, and oil refineries down town. It is dangerous and deadly with gangs and crime elements up down. The city is diverse, cultured, historical, and as tough as nails. Its people are hard working, middle class, loud, opinionated; and in a constant love/hate relationship with its sports teams.
In the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB, Philadelphia is one of the worst sports cities in all of North America.
The Phillies were the cities last Champions in 1980. Over the last three baseball seasons, the Phillies have finished each year within three games of winning the National League Wild Card. The last time the Phillies even made the post season, was 1993. Which by the way, was the last time the World Series ended with a walk off homerun. Wild Thing Mitch Williams of the Philadelphia Phillies gave up a solo shot to Joe Carter of the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Philadelphia Eagles have never won a Super Bowl. Eagle fans have had their hearts broken over the last five seasons by coming so close to a title and then falling short. Hearts are not the only things that have been broken. Quarterback Donovan Mcnabb has been seriously injured in back to back seasons. First a sports hernia cost him the 2005-2006 campaign. Then this season a torn ACL in his right knee, ended his season and hopes for a Super Bowl championship. Backup QB Jeff Garcia has the Eagles playoff bound, but the Eagles will most certainly fall short of a Super Bowl title yet again without the services of their franchise star.
76ers fans had faith that Allen Iverson would eventually get them a Championship, and in 2001 he came very close. However just as I write this I have learned that A-I has been officially traded to Denver. Now the 76ers season has unofficially come to an end. They stand no chance of making the playoffs this season.
In 2004 the Flyers came within one game of going to the Stanley Cup, but they lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Finals. Tampa Bay went on to win it’s first Cup. The Flyers are 8-21 so far this year with about 60% of the regular season remaining. They already have almost no chance of making the post season.
No other city has the awful, hard, miserable luck that Philadelphia has in sports.
Even cities like Boston, who’s Red Sox, went 86 years without a Champion, always had great Patriots teams in the NFL and Celtic teams in the NBA. And the Chicago Cubs who have not won a world series in 98 years, at least had Michael Jordan in the NBA, and Mike Ditka in the NFL.
In fact there are only two other cities I can find that have worse overall sports records.
The first city would be Seattle Washington, which has never had a Champion in any professional sport. I give them a slight pass for a few reasons. First they have no NHL team, but second and more importantly they have less history in professional sports, as the city itself has less overall history compared to the rest of the country.
The other city is Cleveland, which has not had a winner since the 1948 Indians defeated the Boston Braves. I give them a slight pass as well, because they too have no NHL team. But also because they WILL get an NBA title sooner rather then later with power forward Lebron James.
So why is the city of Philadelphia in such an awful sports slump?
It varies from sport to sport. However there is certainly a serious lack of commitment from ownership and or leadership in all four organizations.
The old radio voices of the New York Yankees (my boys) John Sterling and Michael Kay use to tell me “Don’t get use to winning every year. It is a rare thing in professional sports. So enjoy it for as long as it lasts.” Looking at a city like Philadelphia can make a fan appreciate winning and recognize how rare it is.
The good news for Philadelphia fans is that when one of their teams finally does win a Championship it will be all the more sweet.
Because victory, just like wine, is so much sweeter with time!
Philadelphia.
The home of democracy, the American Flag, Benjamin Franklin, Rocky Balboa, the Cheese Steak, and of course the Flyers, Sixers, Eagles, and Phillies. It is a tough city, a mean city and arguably the most frustrated sports city in all of America.
Tuesday night, October 21, 1980, I was just three months and 29 days old. Philadelphia Phillies closer Tug Mcgraw strikes out Kansas City Royals left fielder Willie Wilson, and 65,838 fans in Veterans Stadium go wild! Major League Baseball’s 76th annual World Series comes to an end, and the city of Philadelphia has a world title as the Phillies defeat the Royals 4 games to 1!
So what’s the big deal?
It was the last time the city of Philadelphia celebrated a champion!
I lived in the city of Philadelphia for almost all of 2003. It is one of the most blue-collar towns I have ever spent an extended amount of time in! It is cold and bitter in the winter when the wind blows in from the mighty Delaware River. It is messy and dirty with industrial ports, warehouses, and oil refineries down town. It is dangerous and deadly with gangs and crime elements up down. The city is diverse, cultured, historical, and as tough as nails. Its people are hard working, middle class, loud, opinionated; and in a constant love/hate relationship with its sports teams.
In the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB, Philadelphia is one of the worst sports cities in all of North America.
The Phillies were the cities last Champions in 1980. Over the last three baseball seasons, the Phillies have finished each year within three games of winning the National League Wild Card. The last time the Phillies even made the post season, was 1993. Which by the way, was the last time the World Series ended with a walk off homerun. Wild Thing Mitch Williams of the Philadelphia Phillies gave up a solo shot to Joe Carter of the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Philadelphia Eagles have never won a Super Bowl. Eagle fans have had their hearts broken over the last five seasons by coming so close to a title and then falling short. Hearts are not the only things that have been broken. Quarterback Donovan Mcnabb has been seriously injured in back to back seasons. First a sports hernia cost him the 2005-2006 campaign. Then this season a torn ACL in his right knee, ended his season and hopes for a Super Bowl championship. Backup QB Jeff Garcia has the Eagles playoff bound, but the Eagles will most certainly fall short of a Super Bowl title yet again without the services of their franchise star.
76ers fans had faith that Allen Iverson would eventually get them a Championship, and in 2001 he came very close. However just as I write this I have learned that A-I has been officially traded to Denver. Now the 76ers season has unofficially come to an end. They stand no chance of making the playoffs this season.
In 2004 the Flyers came within one game of going to the Stanley Cup, but they lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Finals. Tampa Bay went on to win it’s first Cup. The Flyers are 8-21 so far this year with about 60% of the regular season remaining. They already have almost no chance of making the post season.
No other city has the awful, hard, miserable luck that Philadelphia has in sports.
Even cities like Boston, who’s Red Sox, went 86 years without a Champion, always had great Patriots teams in the NFL and Celtic teams in the NBA. And the Chicago Cubs who have not won a world series in 98 years, at least had Michael Jordan in the NBA, and Mike Ditka in the NFL.
In fact there are only two other cities I can find that have worse overall sports records.
The first city would be Seattle Washington, which has never had a Champion in any professional sport. I give them a slight pass for a few reasons. First they have no NHL team, but second and more importantly they have less history in professional sports, as the city itself has less overall history compared to the rest of the country.
The other city is Cleveland, which has not had a winner since the 1948 Indians defeated the Boston Braves. I give them a slight pass as well, because they too have no NHL team. But also because they WILL get an NBA title sooner rather then later with power forward Lebron James.
So why is the city of Philadelphia in such an awful sports slump?
It varies from sport to sport. However there is certainly a serious lack of commitment from ownership and or leadership in all four organizations.
The old radio voices of the New York Yankees (my boys) John Sterling and Michael Kay use to tell me “Don’t get use to winning every year. It is a rare thing in professional sports. So enjoy it for as long as it lasts.” Looking at a city like Philadelphia can make a fan appreciate winning and recognize how rare it is.
The good news for Philadelphia fans is that when one of their teams finally does win a Championship it will be all the more sweet.
Because victory, just like wine, is so much sweeter with time!
Sunday, December 10, 2006
ESPN - Exploited Sports Programming Network
Webster’s Dictionary defines the word exploit as: the unethical use of something for one’s own profit. To me, no word better captures what the ESPN television network has become.
In ESPN’s 27-year history it has grown from a small, sports news network, to the self proclaimed “number one source in sports programming”. ESPN now reaches more then 90 million homes in the United States alone. Not bad considering the U.S. Census estimates there to be 124 million housing units across our great land.
This means ESPN is available in better then 85% of the average Americans home, and is watched by about 33% of all Americans. I would call that a bit more then a “source in sports programming”,
I would call that a monopoly.
Not even 15 years ago, ESPN was a totally different sports network. The largest change has been in it’s programming. These changes can easily be seen in its flagship program Sports Center. Sports Center use to be a half hour program that equally covered all four major sports, NFL, MLB, NHL, & NBA, (with some college sports coverage mixed in). Sports Center use to focus on highlights, and informing its viewers of game results.
The new ESPN theme is less content and more commentary!
Instead of good journalism, interesting stories, and investigative reporting, now we have former players, former coaches, and announcers that have become network made personalities, and stars of the show. We get Chris Berman nicknaming every athlete ever to hit a homerun, or score a touch down. Steward Scott doing highlights spoken in Ebonics. And Michael Irving, Steve Young, John Kruk, Barry Melrose throwing in their two cents like gospel.
Why bother showing coverage of a sports champion raising his trophy over his head, when viewers can see four schmucks sitting at a news desk!
ESPN is the number one abuser of sports information on cable television today. However nothing is more appalling then it’s sports coverage of Monday Night Football during the NFL regular season. When NFL coverage begins on ESPN, the rest of sports world goes on hold!
On April 18, 2006, ESPN signed a six-year, 1.1 Billion-dollar deal to televise Monday Night Football. It breaks down to roughly 600 million dollars a year, and 37.5 million dollars a game.
This past Monday night, ESPN had more then twelve reporters and commentators in Philadelphia for the Eagles / Panthers week 13 game. They also had three stages with news desks set up in three separate locations within Lincoln Financial Field. Their NFL coverage began at 6:00pm Eastern Standard Time, and it didn’t end until 3:00am Tuesday morning.
So what is so bad about that?
Well for the NHL Stanley Cup Final, this past June, ESPN sent no stages or news desks, only two reporters, and averaged less then five minutes of coverage a day on Sports Center.
That for the NHL Stanley Cup final!!!
In an age where news networks get there talking points from the White House, and major business conglomerates own television stations, information and entertainment is now twisted in ways never seen before in history.
Not only has responsible broadcast journalism becomes a thing of the past, it is hardly even missed, and worse yet, it is hardly even recognized as gone!
Why?
Ratings!
And why are ratings so important?
Money!
In ESPN’s 27-year history it has grown from a small, sports news network, to the self proclaimed “number one source in sports programming”. ESPN now reaches more then 90 million homes in the United States alone. Not bad considering the U.S. Census estimates there to be 124 million housing units across our great land.
This means ESPN is available in better then 85% of the average Americans home, and is watched by about 33% of all Americans. I would call that a bit more then a “source in sports programming”,
I would call that a monopoly.
Not even 15 years ago, ESPN was a totally different sports network. The largest change has been in it’s programming. These changes can easily be seen in its flagship program Sports Center. Sports Center use to be a half hour program that equally covered all four major sports, NFL, MLB, NHL, & NBA, (with some college sports coverage mixed in). Sports Center use to focus on highlights, and informing its viewers of game results.
The new ESPN theme is less content and more commentary!
Instead of good journalism, interesting stories, and investigative reporting, now we have former players, former coaches, and announcers that have become network made personalities, and stars of the show. We get Chris Berman nicknaming every athlete ever to hit a homerun, or score a touch down. Steward Scott doing highlights spoken in Ebonics. And Michael Irving, Steve Young, John Kruk, Barry Melrose throwing in their two cents like gospel.
Why bother showing coverage of a sports champion raising his trophy over his head, when viewers can see four schmucks sitting at a news desk!
ESPN is the number one abuser of sports information on cable television today. However nothing is more appalling then it’s sports coverage of Monday Night Football during the NFL regular season. When NFL coverage begins on ESPN, the rest of sports world goes on hold!
On April 18, 2006, ESPN signed a six-year, 1.1 Billion-dollar deal to televise Monday Night Football. It breaks down to roughly 600 million dollars a year, and 37.5 million dollars a game.
This past Monday night, ESPN had more then twelve reporters and commentators in Philadelphia for the Eagles / Panthers week 13 game. They also had three stages with news desks set up in three separate locations within Lincoln Financial Field. Their NFL coverage began at 6:00pm Eastern Standard Time, and it didn’t end until 3:00am Tuesday morning.
So what is so bad about that?
Well for the NHL Stanley Cup Final, this past June, ESPN sent no stages or news desks, only two reporters, and averaged less then five minutes of coverage a day on Sports Center.
That for the NHL Stanley Cup final!!!
In an age where news networks get there talking points from the White House, and major business conglomerates own television stations, information and entertainment is now twisted in ways never seen before in history.
Not only has responsible broadcast journalism becomes a thing of the past, it is hardly even missed, and worse yet, it is hardly even recognized as gone!
Why?
Ratings!
And why are ratings so important?
Money!
Saturday, December 2, 2006
Monster, or Nightmare?
So is this guy Daisuke Matsuzaka for real, or just a lot of international hype?
I myself have always been skeptical when I see a pitcher making a transition to Major League Baseball from Japan. Pitching in the Japanese Leagues has never been at the same level of competition as pitching in the United States in baseball’s 135-year history.
That is why guys like Mike Greenwell, Kevin Mitchell, and Mel Hall have ended their careers by playing in Japan. They became “washed up, has-beens” in MLB, who extended there careers in by hitting off average pitching in Japan.
This common practice was eloquently captured in the heinous 1990’s film “Mr. Baseball” staring Tom Selleck. In the film Tom plays a veteran MLB star who moves to Japan to prolong his fading career. If you have a chance to see it…don’t! It is awful!
Hitting in the U.S. or overseas is generally equal. The best of the best can do it regardless of race, league, or continental origin. The trouble has never been hitting. Pitching is a different story!
In 1995 Hideo Nomo became the first Japanese star to start games in the United States. Initially he was very good. At first he lead the Los Angeles Dodgers pitching staff to a division title with a 13-6 record and 2.54 ERA. However Nomo’s dominate reign with the Dodgers was short, and by his third season LA quickly cut ties with the Asian Born star.
Two years later in 1997, Hideki Irabu was suppose to be the “Japanese Nolan Ryan” in America. Instead he became “The Toad”, a nickname given to him by Yankees owner Geo. Stienbrener. After just six seasons in the big leagues, Irabu had only 405 strikeouts and a career ERA of 5.15. Not quite the 5714 strikeouts or 3.19 ERA Nolan Ryan had after 27 big league seasons.
However MLB scouts, executives, and organizations have thrown all these facts and figures away, going crazy when Daisuke Matsuzaka expressed a desire to play in America. The Boston Red Sox put up 51.1 million dollars just to begin talking to the right-hander.
Why?
Because everyone believes this guy is different!
Everyone thinks he will be the one to change history and break the mold! And in their defense there are some key differences.
He has a fastball in the mid 90’s, (a must for any pitcher). He throws a plethora of pitches from a variety of arm angles including a: curve ball, sinker, slider, and splitter. He has also flitted with a pitch that the OLD MAN first introduced me to, known affectionately as “the gyro ball”. It is similar to a curve ball, but breaks later and harder. “It looks like it changes mid-form from a fastball to a curve” to quote TOM.
Those closest to Matsuzaka also say he has a caviler approach to pitching that is not seen by the average hurler. He is always in a good mental state when pitching, and is hardly, if ever, raddled on the mound.
Well now the pressure is on Boston.
The days are winding down for the Sox to close the deal, and get D-Mat in New England this coming summer. All signs point to the deal happening. But the Red Sox need more then just a free agent singing, they need an ace in the rotation!
In the last twelve months the Red Sox have: let Johnny Damon go to New York, traded away top starter Bronson Arroyo, froze up at trading deadline last August, and dropped to third place in the American League East ending the 2006 season. The pressure is on the Red Sox front office to make the right move for a change.
So the question still remains from the start of this article, is Daisuke Matsuzaka for real, or just a lot of international hype?
I say the stuff is there for D-Mat to break the mold. However if history has taught us anything, the odds are against any pitcher from the Japanese leagues becoming a consistent dominant ace in Major League Baseball!
I myself have always been skeptical when I see a pitcher making a transition to Major League Baseball from Japan. Pitching in the Japanese Leagues has never been at the same level of competition as pitching in the United States in baseball’s 135-year history.
That is why guys like Mike Greenwell, Kevin Mitchell, and Mel Hall have ended their careers by playing in Japan. They became “washed up, has-beens” in MLB, who extended there careers in by hitting off average pitching in Japan.
This common practice was eloquently captured in the heinous 1990’s film “Mr. Baseball” staring Tom Selleck. In the film Tom plays a veteran MLB star who moves to Japan to prolong his fading career. If you have a chance to see it…don’t! It is awful!
Hitting in the U.S. or overseas is generally equal. The best of the best can do it regardless of race, league, or continental origin. The trouble has never been hitting. Pitching is a different story!
In 1995 Hideo Nomo became the first Japanese star to start games in the United States. Initially he was very good. At first he lead the Los Angeles Dodgers pitching staff to a division title with a 13-6 record and 2.54 ERA. However Nomo’s dominate reign with the Dodgers was short, and by his third season LA quickly cut ties with the Asian Born star.
Two years later in 1997, Hideki Irabu was suppose to be the “Japanese Nolan Ryan” in America. Instead he became “The Toad”, a nickname given to him by Yankees owner Geo. Stienbrener. After just six seasons in the big leagues, Irabu had only 405 strikeouts and a career ERA of 5.15. Not quite the 5714 strikeouts or 3.19 ERA Nolan Ryan had after 27 big league seasons.
However MLB scouts, executives, and organizations have thrown all these facts and figures away, going crazy when Daisuke Matsuzaka expressed a desire to play in America. The Boston Red Sox put up 51.1 million dollars just to begin talking to the right-hander.
Why?
Because everyone believes this guy is different!
Everyone thinks he will be the one to change history and break the mold! And in their defense there are some key differences.
He has a fastball in the mid 90’s, (a must for any pitcher). He throws a plethora of pitches from a variety of arm angles including a: curve ball, sinker, slider, and splitter. He has also flitted with a pitch that the OLD MAN first introduced me to, known affectionately as “the gyro ball”. It is similar to a curve ball, but breaks later and harder. “It looks like it changes mid-form from a fastball to a curve” to quote TOM.
Those closest to Matsuzaka also say he has a caviler approach to pitching that is not seen by the average hurler. He is always in a good mental state when pitching, and is hardly, if ever, raddled on the mound.
Well now the pressure is on Boston.
The days are winding down for the Sox to close the deal, and get D-Mat in New England this coming summer. All signs point to the deal happening. But the Red Sox need more then just a free agent singing, they need an ace in the rotation!
In the last twelve months the Red Sox have: let Johnny Damon go to New York, traded away top starter Bronson Arroyo, froze up at trading deadline last August, and dropped to third place in the American League East ending the 2006 season. The pressure is on the Red Sox front office to make the right move for a change.
So the question still remains from the start of this article, is Daisuke Matsuzaka for real, or just a lot of international hype?
I say the stuff is there for D-Mat to break the mold. However if history has taught us anything, the odds are against any pitcher from the Japanese leagues becoming a consistent dominant ace in Major League Baseball!
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