OKC Thunder/ ******* Chiefs

Thunder

If you don't like the Oklahoma City Thunder, you don't like basketball.  They are a small market team who have built almost strictly through the draft.  Kevin Durant is the most unselfish superstar i've seen, not so much from a basketball standpoint, but from a person standpoint.  Last year he was chosen to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated, but he declined unless he was featured with two of his teammates that he felt didn't get enough credit.  They also have the most athletic point guard in the game with Russell Westbrook, he takes too many shots but is still young, and learning.  I love their role players too, Eric Maynor from VCU, and James Harden from Arizona State were some of my favorite players in college.  Serge Ibaka plays so hard, he acts as their trash player.  They are easily my favorite NBA team, and are getting close to Chiefs and Royals territory.  They have a good shot at making it to the finals this year, they are such a well rounded team with great chemistry.  Let me know if you guys want me to cover them throughout the year, I don't want to cover a team that nobody cares about, text me or leave a comment about what you think.

Chiefs

That was the most frustrating game I've watched in a while, thank god I didn't have to watch it with my dad.  This is why I didn't rave about the Chiefs last week, last week we had good Kyle Orton, this week we got what the eff Kyle Orton.  Orton is really good at getting the ball to the red-zone but once he gets their it's like his work is done.  They missed a great opportunity too, with the Broncos and Chargers losing, all they had to do was beat the Broncos with the absence of Jesus' attention next week, and they were in the playoffs.  For the coach I'm split, I don't wanna lose what Romeo has done with the defense, but if you have the opportunity to get Jeff Fisher it'd be hard to pass it up.  I think for next year they need to stick with Cassel rather than reach for a quarterback like Landry Jones.  For the offseason they have three major needs but thats about it, offensive tackle, nose tackle and inside linebacker.  I'll preview next season more after their last game.

I won my first fantasy title, can't wait for our Christmas on New Years, gonna be trash talking all day, I ordered a t-shirt too.

Yuni/Chiefs/Matt Barkley/KU Football/Fantasy Football

Royals

In the past week the Royals signed former shortstop Yuniesky Betencourt to a one year, 2 million dollar deal.  He is expected to be the Royals utility infielder, he hit .252 last season, with a little power as the Brewers everyday shortstop.  If you look at it from a baseball perspective it's a good move, but as a PR move it's awful.  He was a very hated player with the Royals because his lackluster defense and terrible work ethic.  I personally like the move though, because Dayton Moore is making the move that he feels is best for the team, not the move that will win him a popularity contest.  As an everyday player he is below average but the Royals needed a utility infielder this offseason, and they got one.  Expect Chris Getz to be released by opening day, you cannot afford to carry a backup second baseman on the roster.

For this to be the Royals season they still need at least one more starting pitcher.  Now if only there was an All-Star pitcher in free agency asking for a one year deal.  Would you look at that, there is, and he goes by the name of Roy Oswalt.  The thing is that this is not a video game, where you can just offer the most money and sign any player you want.  The Royals will probably have to pay about 2-3 million more than any other team just to have a chance, and that still might not be enough.  Some players look at Kansas City and don't even consider playing for them.  If they don't get him I'd like them target Edwin Jackson in free agency, or look to trade for a pitcher.  Before the offseason I thought they were still a year away, but with the move to acquire a one year players in Sanchez and Broxton it changed.  Right now I would project them around 78 wins, 78 wins gets you nothing, except a worse draft pick.  I would of rather seen them make a splash next offseason, but if Moore thinks this is the year, go hard or go home.

Chiefs!!!

I hate writing about the Chiefs, each week is so different, it seems they either play like a top 5 team or bottom 5 team.  Against the Packers you saw the good Chiefs, who shut down Aaron Rodgers and beat the best team in football.  But we have also seen awful Chiefs against the Bills, Lions, Dolphins, and Jets.  Kyle Orton was great last week, along with Romeo Crennel, but I want to wait before I make a decision on them.  Sorry this is such a lame post, I just don't want to get disappointed once again.

Matt Barkley

It really makes me mad when I hear analysts say what is best for the player, when they don't know their life.  Matt Barkley chose to stay for his senior season at USC, and people are saying it was a terrible choice.  Cut him some slack, he wants to win a National Championship, and he hasn't been able to do so the last two years with USC being on probation.  Oh, but what if he gets injured?  Well Sam Bradford had an injury to his throwing shoulder his senior year and still went number one overall.  He may also feel he isn't ready yet, it sure looks like Blaine Gabbert could of used another year at Missouri.  I just feel people need to respect his decision.

KU Football

KU landed two highly regarded transfer quarterbacks on Thursday in Dayne Crist and Jake Heaps.  I think this is a good sign for things to come, but quarterback is not this issue with this Kansas team.  Their defense is atrocious and until that changes they still aren't going to be very good.  At Notre Dame, Weis was always able to recruit, he just couldn't win, as far as I know he hasn't done any winning yet.

Oh Fantasy Football

I made it to the finals in both of my fantasy football leagues, one facing my co-worker, and then one facing a computer.  Yes a computer made it all the way to the finals in our annual family fantasy football league.  My cousin was unable to find a 10th member on draft day so he created a computer team that was auto-drafted and set for the entire season.  Through all the bye weeks and injuries they managed to go 8-6, and make the playoffs, and upset the regular season champ to make it to the finals.  I sent a question  to ESPN's Fantasy Football Podcast show asking them if I lose do I still get to claim the title, they actually read my question on air and the Matthew Berry answered it, pretty much making me famous.  They said I don't get to claim the title if I lose, how lame would it be to have a computer beat everyone?  And I'm already in a hole, he has Arian Foster and the Texans' kicker who scored a combined 34 points on Thursday night.

Sorry I haven't wrote about KU basketball much, I just haven't been following them that closely and I don't want to write about something that my readers know more than me.

MInd Your Own Business

NBA

The Lakers submitted a fair trade in getting Chris Paul, giving up their second and third leading scorers.  Then Dan Gilbert, Owner of the Cleveland Caveliers complained to Commissioner David Stern that it wasn't fair.  Not fair?  Says the man who's team has won the NBA lottery 2 out of the last 3 years they have been in it.  Get over LeBron!  He probably would of stayed if you gave him somebody to occasionally pass to.  Then David Stern was dumb enough to listen, maybe he got confused and meant to veto a trade in his fantasy football league.  Regardless, he hurt the team he was trying to help.  The Hornets were set to receive a Rockets first-round pick along with Kevin Martin and Lamar Odom, Martin averaged 23 PPG last year.  They will struggle to find another deal as good as that one, especially for a one year rental of a player.

I'm tired of NBA's small market owners complaining that they are losing money.  How many companies are there that guarantee profits, you have to run the company correctly to make money.  Plenty of small market teams like San Antonio and Oklahoma City are having success, and when was the last time the Clippers or Knicks won?  It's not like big market teams are given superstars.  Of course they have an advantage but there is no way to prevent that. 

Chiefs

Todd Haley is finally gone.  He deserved to be fired, I know he had a ton of injuries to work with, but when he decided to play Tyler Palko instead of Kyle Orton and Ricki Stanzi he wrote the final chapter.  Now the word is that Josh McDaniels is the leading candidate.  What has he done that even qualifies him to be a coordinator.  He got fired after two seasons as the Broncos coach, and is the offensive coordinator of the St. Louis Rams who have averaged 11 points per game this season.  The coach I like is Jeff Fisher, he's a proven coach, and has always been considered one of the best in the league.  A positive is that the Chiefs are reloading instead of rebuilding, they might be able to lure a good coach back from retirement.

The Chiefs are a quarterback away from competing, I think Cassel can lead the Chiefs to the playoffs but to become a Super-Bowl contender they need an elite quarterback.  I don't think they will draft one though, General Manager Scott Peoli loves Cassel.  I feel this is the defining year for Peoli, I have, and do support him, but he hasn't done anything spectacular in the draft (besides Eric Berry of course), or made any key free agent signings.

Jesus

I'm finally gonna to talk about Tim Tebow, though I still don't know how I feel about him.  He's done a lot better than I thought, but he's still not doing that good.  With Tebow as starting quarterback, Jesus' Crew is averaging 20 points a game, and they are 7-1, they can't keep that up.  He still hasn't fixed his throwing motion, and is inaccurate.  But you also can't deny what he has done for that team, he has completely changed the culture.  The Broncos first round draft pick Von Miller needs more of the credit though, he has 11.5 sacks in 12 games and has made that defense elite.  

The End

Ryan Braun of all people tested positive for HGH.  As long as they don't take away my fantasy baseball championship I'll be fine.

Bill Simmons' stuff is awesome, if you haven't read it... read it.

I wrote about Charlie Weis, twice in fact, but it brutally awful so I revised it.  I'm not thrilled about the hire but it could work, I'm not sure he's real motivated.  See now it's just a brutally awful sentence.

I'm starting to enjoy soccer, but the players are so whinny, worse than NBA players, and most are even worse than Dwight Howard. 

The ATM Machine

Albert Pujols

Do the Angels realize that Albert Pujols will be 32 next month?  32!!!  You start going downhill at 30, the Angels must have a magic potion in store for him.  They signed him to a ridiculous 10 year 250 million dollar contract, to a player clearly past his prime.  Take a look at his stats the last three years, clear evidence of decline.

2009:  Runs: 124  Doubles: 45  Home Runs: 47  RBI's: 135  AVG: .327  OBP: .443  SLG: .658

2010:  Runs: 115  Doubles: 39  Home Runs: 42  RBI's: 118  AVG. .312    OBP: .414  SLG: .596

2011:  Runs: 105  Doubles: 29  Home Runs: 37  RBI's: 99    AVG. .299    OBP. .366   SLG: .541

They didn't have to do this, their future is plenty bright.  Mike Trout won Minor League Player of the Year this season and he is only 20.  They also had the runner-up for the A.L. Rookie of the Year award in Mark Trumbo, who plays first base.  The days of Pujols being a dominant player are over, I think they are getting a good player for 2 or 3 years, then an injury prone, replacement level player for the remainder of it.  I give credit to the Cardinals, they realized they were better off without him.

Tyler Palko For the Pro-Bowl

Chiefs-Bears

The Chiefs somehow won against the Bears, I'm still trying to figure out how.  Here's some random thoughts that I couldn't seem to fit into a paragraph.

Hey Mike Martz, if it's broke, fix it!  Your offensive line is bad, so leave a running and/or a tight end to block.  Your system worked when you had Orlando Pace protecting Kurt Warner.  You know something is wrong when Tyson Jackson is sacking the quarterback.

I can't believe Todd Haley honestly felt he had a better chance of winning with Tyler Palko, than with Kyle Orton.  Tyler Palko doesn't do anything well, he has a really bad arm, he is inaccurate, and doesn't make smart decisions.  Todd Haley has done some really stupid things this year, I'm almost sure he will be fired at the end of the season.

Tyler Palko's mind.  "Hike, crap, crap, crap, Uh lets see, Bowe's open, nope, can't throw it that far, ok just check it down, o shit, watch out McCluster, dang this is so much easier on Madden." I know I said not to make fun of Palko in last week's post, well I'm making an exception.

I lost a bet this weekend, I bet my co-worker dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings that I could start Tyler Palko on my fantasy team and still beat him.  I lost by one point, one freaking point 108-107. 

Roy Williams did it again.  Throughout his career he has never lived up to his potential as a wide receiver and has had an innate ability to blow it for his teams.  This week he dropped a pass that was picked off that would of resulted in a touchdown.

Third-round pick Justin Houston played really well against the Bears picking up 3 sacks.  If it was just the Bear's I wouldn't give it much thought, but he has played really well the last few weeks and may be the secondary pass rusher to Tamba in years to come.

The past two weeks the defense has played great, but with Tyler Palko at quarterback it's like being dealt deuce seven off-suit every week.  There's a lot to like about this team but their's also a lot not to like.  

What to Like: Jamaal Charles, Eric Berry, Brandon Flowers, Brandon Carr CB,  Brandon Albert LT, Brandon Kraus Fan, Wide Receivers,  Justin Houston, Tamba Hali, and Derrick Johnson.

What not to Like:  Barry Richardson RT, Glenn Dorsey DE , Tyson Jackson DE, the quarterback situation, Todd Haley, Javon Belcher ILB, and the future nose tackle.

BCSucks

I think the higher suicide rate this time of year has more to do with the current BCS system than it does to Christmas.  It just drives you crazy, EVERYBODY realizes it is a flawed and unfair system, yet it doesn't change.  I think the only way it will change is to boycott watching the BCS bowl games.  If the bowls stop making money, the system will in theory, fall apart and hopefully result in a playoff system.  I think this has a chance of catching on though, it sounds logical and if a big time sports figure suggests this, it may catch on.  I obviously didn't think of this, I've heard it on the radio a couple times.

Baseball

This offseason MLB quietly reached a new collective bargaining agreement, and it kinda screwed the Royals.  The reason the Royals have so much hope for the future can be attributed to the way they have drafted in recent years.  They generally draft talented high school players with signability issues, then they overwhelm them with contracts they can't refuse, sending them to the Royals' farm system instead of a university.  The new CBA now gives a small range of what a team can spend on that draft pick, if the team goes over, they have to give up future draft picks.  This is not only bad news for the Royals, but for the game of baseball as well.   Now athletes contemplating playing professional baseball or collegiate sports will be more inclined to go to college, like Bubba.  One good thing it did was balance the American and National League's.  They moved the Houston Astros, from the 6 team National League Central, to the 4 team American League West, giving each league 15 teams, this goes into effect in 2013.  There are also rumors that they trying to eliminate the divisions altogether, and add another playoff team.  I believe this would be a good move as well, not so much for the Royals, but for the equality of the game.

Jonathan Broxton

The Royals continue to prove that they are committed to winning by signing former L.A. Dodger closer Jonathan Broxton to a 1 year 4 million dollar contract.  It seems like players are willing to come to Kansas City now.  Before the Royals would have to overpay like crazy if they wanted sign anyone, recent examples Gil Meche and Jose Guillen.  Yes they probably overpaid for Broxton too, but relief pitchers are going at ridiculous prices this offseason, and the risk is low with the one year deal.  Broxton injured his elbow this past season causing him to miss most of the year, the positive is that he was very willing to take a one year deal to prove he can still pitch.  He was signed to be the setup man which is a good move, he has 84 saves to 33 blown saves in his career, not a good ratio.  His career ERA of 3.19 and WHIP 1.23 are good but not great.  This move puts Greg Holland's future with the Royals in doubt,  Toronto is very interested in trading for Holland.  Yes, the Royals are starting to collect players that other teams want.  Trading Holland wouldn't be a bad move, who knows if Holland can repeat the year he had, relief pitchers are just so hard to predict,

CHIEFS!!!

Well Tyler Palko sucks.  I kinda feel bad for him though, same thing with Kyle Davies, don't criticize them, criticize the organizations for playing them.

KU Basketball/Norv Turner/Kyle Orton

KU Basketball

I thought KU played really well in the Maui Invitational, especially in the championship.  They took one of the best teams in nation down to the wire, and got a little unlucky.  KU has two big holes though, they don't shoot the ball well, and they are sloppy with the ball, well mainly Tyshawn.  Here's a player by player breakdown of KU.

Tyshawn "Turnover" Taylor:  He's the best player on the team when he doesn't turn it over.  He attacks the basketball well, but takes a lot of bad shots.  He needs to realize he's not in the NBA yet and play more of a team game.

Elijah Johnson:  He's the most athletic player on the team and is becoming the third option in the offense. He's shown he can hit big shots, and was the only player to make a three pointer against Duke.

Travis Relaford:  He's my favorite player, he does all the right things.  He's the best defender on the team and isn't a liability on offense.  He came in cocky as a freshman, thinking he was a one and done.  He's learned the team concept of the game and finally earned crucial minutes.

Thomas Robinson:  He's a beast down low, averaging 12 rebounds a game along with 16 points.  He doesn't have much of a mid range game but he doesn't really need it with his dominance down low.  

Jeff Whithey:  He played surprisingly well against Duke, putting up a double-double.  He is really weak though and gets pushed under the goal too much on rebounds.  

Connor Teahan:  He reminds me a lot of myself.  I could shoot, but pretty much sucked at everything else.  He's got to be stronger with the ball, and play better defense but he's not a good athlete so he has trouble guarding anyone.

Justin Wesley:  It seems like his main purpose is to foul every time he goes out there.

Naadir Tharpe:  He's a good young player but isn't ready yet.

Norv Turner

I don't see how he hasn't been fired, his teams continually under perform, and his teams do not play hard for him.  Usually his teams start poorly only catch up with all the talent they have, this year has been the opposite, 4-1 start followed by 6 straight losses and counting.  I'm sure he'll get fired this year but it has been long overdue.  They always seem to lose close games, and I think that is sign of a bad coach as well.  The Chargers should be a perennial playoff team with this weak division but they continue to lose.  He's earning a moto, "Just lose baby lose."

Kyle Orton

The Chiefs claimed Kyle Orton this week.  This is a good move, it makes the team better and sends a message to the players and fans that they are trying to win.  I don't know why fans think its a bad move, Kyle Orton is a decent quarterback and could become a good backup for Matt Cassel, or somebody they take in the first round.  I would support drafting a quarterback, it seems like you can't win without an elite one.  They do have other needs that outweigh the quarterback though, nose tackle and offensive tackle.

The Royals resigned Bruce Chen to a 2 year 9 million dollar deal, good signing, he's good for the clubhouse and has been their best pitcher the last two years.

I apologize for not writing last week, if you wanted to hear me complain about the Chiefs so more I'm sorry.

Someday a team I cheer for will have success

KU Football

This game may have done it for Turner Gill.  It might of been better if KU lost 41-17 than to dominate 3 quarters of the game then blow it.  I still support him, but wouldn't be disappointed if he was fired.  He lost his defensive coordinator at the beginning of the year which has clearly hurt.  I feel a college coach deserves a minimum of three years to really judge him (he's had two).  His first and only recruiting class was really nice but if he continues to lose 10 games a year nobody will want to come play for him.  The biggest obstacle would be the money, it would cost KU 6 million to fire him and another 2.8 to run off his assistant coaches.  Is 9 million dollars worth it, especially considering it is a basketball school?

Chiefs

I'm tired of the Chiefs, their like that girlfriend that dumps you, then works their way back into your life, just to ruin it again.  The Broncos completed two passes all game and won!!! They didn't complete a pass in the first half, and completely dominated.  That game was pathetic, I'm tired of Todd Haley I've supported him and now I'm paying for it.  I have to hear my dad go "I can't believe you think he's a good coach" all game, along with "just cut his ass, just cut him" every time McCluster touches the ball.  He thinks every second round pick should become a Pro Bowler.  This season reminds me a lot of the 2007 season.  They started 4-3 tied for the division lead, and then lost 9 in a row to end the season, I honestly feel like they could lose their last 7 games to mirror that season, especially with Tyler Palko at quarterback.  Their really aren't any positives to draw from this game.  The offensive line couldn't block, the wide receivers couldn't catch, the defensive line couldn't plug up holes, the linebackers couldn't make tackles, and the Chiefs coaches wouldn't bring 8 men into the box to stop the run.  Two weeks ago it looked the like the Chiefs had five Pro-Bowlers, Bowe, Albert, Hali, Johnson and Flowers.  Now I don't know if I could vote any of them in after their last two performances, especially Flowers he has played bad the last two weeks.  There is a fine line with corners when it comes to aggression, and he crosses it too much.

E-A-G-L-E-S

The Eagles finally cemented the the theory that the team with the flashiest offseason doesn't mean anything.  All throughout the last decade the Redskins would overpay for free agents such as Brandon Lloyd, Atwaan Randel El, Deion Sanders, Adam Archuleta, and maybe worst of all Albert Haynesworth.  I thought this might of been the Redskins innate ability to lose but the Eagles are proving it is not just them.  What is different about the Eagles though is that they kept the nucleus of players that have lead them to the playoffs.  I think a big reason for the Eagles failure is their defensive scheme, the Wide 9.  This scheme lines the defensive ends really far out, in the 9 gap.  This works well when teams have good defensive tackles to push the pocket back, then the quarterback has nowhere to go.  But the Eagles don't have good DT's so the quarterback can just step up in the pocket and deliver the ball without a problem.  This scheme also does poorly against the run as well, leaving big gaps when the team runs the ball off tackle.  In addition they don't have cornerbacks that match skill sets.  Namdi plays great man to man, while Asante earned his big contract by sitting in a zone and jumping routes.  Right now the Eagles look lost.

Andrew Luck

I hope Andrew Luck's poor performance against Oregon means ESPN can stop talking about him like he is a sure fire Hall of Famer.  Andrew Luck is a really good pro prospect but there is no guarantee he's going to be the next Aaron Rodgers.  He has a good arm, but not spectacular, good accuracy, and he seems to have a good football mind.  The problem is that he doesn't face great, or even good defenses in the Pac 12.  In addition the pressure that is going to be on him to save the franchise might be too much.  I feel like the situation the quarterback is brought up in can be just as important as his skills.  His situation looks pretty good though, Indianapolis has yet to win a game while every other team has at least two.  I like the guy, I'm just tired of "Suck for Luck," there are no teams intentionally losing games, even though the Chiefs appear to be doing so.

Royals

Four Royals prospects were chosen to play in the Arizona Fall League All Star Game, Outfielder Wil Myers, shortstop Christian Colon, and pitchers Nate Adcock and Jeremy Jeffress.  Myers has easily been the most impressive though, and his stock has sky-rocketed this fall.  Myers batted .367 this fall with an on-base percentage over .500 along with a slugging percentage over .700.  It's a small sample size but he is only 20 years old and has the potential to be a star.  He didn't put up great numbers this year in Double-A but he was injured for a lot of it.  Now the Royals have a decision to make though, go for gold this year or continue to build for the future.  I think they should keep him, but if they do trade him for a starting pitcher it would make sense, considering his stock may never be higher.  But Myers should be ready in a year and a half and Francoeur's contract will be up in two.  There is also no sure thing Francoeur will repeat the season he just had.

Hosmer finished third in the A.L. Rookie of the Year Voting behind Jeremy Hellickson and Mark Trumbo.

Thank you to Peter and Coach for sending me to Rany on the Royals, his stuff is great.

Chiefs/Soccer/Royals

Chiefs

Just when I completely bought back into the Chiefs they broke my heart.  My views of the team has gone from I think they'll go 10-6 this year, to I doubt they will win a game, to I think their going to win the division, to who the hell knows.  The Chargers and Raiders both lost so they didn't lose any ground, but this was a game the Chiefs had to have with their upcoming schedule.  This was a classic look-ahead/hangover game but that is no excuse the Dolphins hadn't won a game and completely dominated the Chiefs.  Jake Long completely shut down Tamba and nobody else cared to step up.  That's one thing the Chiefs are really missing, a secondary pass rusher.  The Chiefs have 9 sacks as a team Tamba has 6.  With all that time Matt Moore looked like an All-Pro quarterback picking apart Flowers who played a sub-par game as well.  The Chiefs O-line did not block for Cassel, giving up a season high 5 sacks.  When a quarterback is getting pressured as much as he was it gets in his head and he is doomed (well that was my experience as backup quarterback in the fifth grade).  Hmm... A positive from this game... Nope not seeing any.

Soccer

Over the past four or five months I have become a soccer fan.  Between the success of the  women's World Cup team and Sporting KC, I have been drawn to the sport.  While I played soccer in high school I never considered watching it on TV or going to a game.  Now I  enjoy watching team U.S.A. play meaningless exhibitions, or watch an English Premier League match every now and then.  I wish I would have made it to a Sporting KC game this year, I hear the stadium is world class.  I've followed Sporting quite a bit this year, but It's tough to follow a team when their not on TV, I have to get most of my Sporting information on their Facebook page.  I don't think I'll become a huge soccer fan unless it really picks up in America.  And for it to become more popular, Team U.S.A needs to improve a lot, they are nowhere close to an elite international team.

Royals

The Royals traded Melky Cabrera to the Giants for starting pitcher Jonathan Sanchez and an average minor league pitcher.  This trade gives Lorenzo Cain his shot to prove himself as an everyday center fielder.  He has produced in the minors and looks to be a pretty solid prospect.  Jonathan Sanchez has been a pitcher that hasn't lived up to his potential.  He strikes out a lot of batters, but he walks too many batters right now to be dominant.  His best year was in 2010, when he had an ERA of 3.07 and a WHIP of 1.23 both good numbers.  Last year he stuggled with injuries making 19 starts, his ERA was above 4 and his WHIP was not good. He is 28 with one year left on his deal. 

Not all of Dayton Moore's trades and signee's have worked, but they have all made sense.  This sounds obvious but Royals management in the past has made some really dumb moves.  This trade probably isn't going to put the Royals over the top, they still need two more starting pitchers, and that's considering this trade works out.  

When I read an ESPN article on the trade it mentioned the "emergence" of Luke Hochevar and Danny Duffy, what emergence? Their combined ERA was above 5 last year, I don't see how you call that an emergence.  This trade was also really weird for me.  On Friday I was talking to Tiffany, a San Francisco native and huge Giants fan and we came up with the hypothetical trade of Melky Cabrera for Jonathan Sanchez, crazy how things work.

Chiefs/Alex Gordon

Wow, how much can change on one play.  If Philip Rivers gets the snap from the center the Chargers most likely win, go up two games on the Chiefs, with the tiebreaker, and basically end the Chiefs season.  Now the Chiefs are sort of in the drivers seat. They have a good chance to get to 6-3 with their next two games against the Dolphins and Broncos.  On a side note, could ESPN please realize we don't really care about Tebow or Tebowing.  The Chiefs schedule after that gets tough, but everybody in the division has the same schedule with the exception of two games.  And one of those games was against the Colts.  The Chiefs could easily win the division with a 10-6 record and get another home playoff game. Here are some positives and negatives from Monday night's game.

Positives

Derrick Johnson:  He is benefitting from the improving defensive line play and playing at an All-Pro level.  He was named Defensive Player of the Week for his performance.


Tamba Hali:  Tamba had two sacks and caused 40 yards worth of penalties against a Pro-Bowl left tackle.  He's due to make the Pro-Bowl.


Offensive Line:  The offensive line didn't run block great but they gave Cassel plenty of time, and a great pocket to step into.


Jonathan Baldwin:  He played great in his second game of the season.  People were wondering if he'd even make an impact this year, now they appear to have 3 good receivers, two more than last year.  Hopefully he can keep his head on straight.


Cornerbacks Named Brandon:  Brandon Flowers is becoming one of the top corners in the league, he struggled early but lately he's played at an All-Pro level.  I was wrong on Brandon Carr, he's played well this year, he's been one of the most improved players on the team.


Romeo Crennel:  He's been a great defensive coordinator the last two years.  His scheme has been good and has had an impact on a lot of the teams young players.


The Team's Heart:  The Chargers were inside the Chiefs 35 yard line 9 times and scored 1 touchdown.

Negatives

There weren't many negatives but the thing that irritated me the most was the replay system.  Dexter McCluster was clearly down when he fumbled, there was honestly no question.  Then when they overruled Cassel's incompletion where his arm had to be going forward for the ball to travel that far.  The only player Inoticed struggling was rookie Justin Houston.  He hasn't made the impact the Chiefs had hoped, but he's just rookie he'll hopefully improve.

Alex Gordon

Congratulations to Alex Gordon for winning his first gold glove, 20 outfield assists is a staggering number.  Will teams ever stop testing his arm?

Now that he has played a full, all star caliber season the Royals need to figure out what to do with him.  He only has one year left on his deal and the Royals need to make a stand and keep one of their own players that they drafted.  In the open market he could easily get a 5 year 70 million dollar contract which is what J.D. Drew got a few years back from the Red Sox.  But if they sign him this offseason they could maybe get him for about 11-12 million a year.  I know he has only had one good year but the Royals need to make a statement to the young players and to the fans that they are not the same old Royals.  The Royals have shown the inability to keep their stars  in years past, examples:  Johnny Damon, Carlos Beltran, and Jermaine Dye.  I feel General Manager Dayton Moore wants to win but Owner David Glass has never showed that same passion.  They could trade him and get more prospects but eventually David Glass needs to put on his big boy boxers and start paying his players.

The Chiefs are now 3-3 with the opportunity to take the division lead with a win on Monday Night Football vs. the Chargers.  The Chiefs offense didn't play great against Oakland, but the defense was amazing.  Derrick Johnson played one of the best games of his career, 13 tackles, 12 solo, he shut down the run.  I know McFadden got hurt early, and they were playing backup quarterbacks but the defense still had to stop them.  The Raiders are not a bad team.

Why can't the Matt Cassel haters stop!  He is not Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers but he is pretty good.  He wasn't good this week but he was half a yard away from a touchdown and one of his interceptions was a hail mary at the end of the half.  People only see the bad in him, last year he had 27 touchdowns to 7 interceptions and made the Pro Bowl.  He's not elite, but our quarterback position could be a lot worse, how bout the chiefs start Tyler Palko next week and see how important Cassel is. 

The Chiefs outlook isn't great for the rest of the season but at least they are winning.   Next year their is more hope, getting back Jamaal Charles and future Hall of Famer Eric Berry.  This is still a young team, and best is hopefully yet to come.

Can Peyton Manning win the MVP this year?  It's crazy how much he has meant to that team.  It is also crazy how bad the colts have drafted in the last 8 years, just google their draft picks.

Congrats to Sporting KC for winning the Eastern Conference and getting home field advantage.  I haven't made it to a game this year but I hear the stadium is just amazing.

After looking into potential free agent pitchers, the Royals are going to have a hard time finding much to help them.  They need to resign Bruce Chen in my opinion.  But why overpay for an average pitcher like Brad Penny if you are still a year away from competing.  Save your money in 2012 and then make a run in 2013 and beyond.

KU Basketball/NBA

KU Basketball

My view of KU basketball has changed a lot in the last couple of years.  I used to be a diehard, but now it's not the same.  I still root for them but I don't care about them all that much.  The biggest factor is all the negativity surrounding the program, here is a list of all of the stuff I could come up with in recent years.

Mario Little:  Arrested
Brady Morningstar:  DUI
Tyshawn Taylor:  Team Suspension, I heard it was ugly.
Morris Twins:  They were thugs, they got a bad reputation some of the time, but they played dirty too often.
The Saga of Selby:  Suspended by the NCAA after a long process where they really didn't find much, but still punished him.
Chalmers, Rush, Arthur:  All suspended for illegal drugs in the NBA Rush has been suspended 3 times.
Ben McLemore and Jamari Taylor: Ruled academically ineligible for this season, these freshman were expected to provide much needed depth, now walk-ons could get playing time.
Ticket Scandal:  More than 1 million dollars worth of basketball and football tickets were illegally sold in a five stretch.
Football Team Fight:  2 years ago a huge fight between the football and basketball teams rose.  Players were pushed down the stairs among other things, it showed the immaturity of the teams more than anything.

I know this type of stuff goes on everywhere but it seems worse here.  As a whole, people don't think of KU basketball as a dirty program but I think it might be heading that way.  Another thing that irritates me is the number of fair weather fans.  One thing I like about Royals fans is that they are true fans, it seems like everybody in the state claims to be KU basketball's biggest fan.

I really like Bill Self though, he is a great coach and appears to be a great guy as well.  He gets the most out of the talent he has.  He doesn't have a top recruiting class each year, and most years his teams do better than expected.  He has had some disappointments in the NCAA Tournament, but his National Championship makes up for that.  One stat people don't really realize, is that Bill Self has only been to one FInal Four in his career.  Hopefully Bill Self will clean up the program a little bit.  I don't blame him for all the stuff going on, he has to recruit players with question marks to be a successful coach.

Maybe my opinion will change, but right now I'm just not that big into KU Basketball, I probably won't write much about them this year.  I don't want to write about something I'm not informed about.  I don't want to be that person who goes on and on about things he doesn't know.  Most people reading this know more than me about KU basketball, so you guys won't learn much from my insight.

NBA

In the past 3 or 4 years I've became a pretty big NBA fan, especially an Oklahoma City Thunder fan.  I am also one of the six Miami Heat fans left west of the Mississippi.  I really feel they have done nothing wrong, yes they have been cocky, but cut them some slack.  The media constantly scrutinizes them, I feel bad for them, well as bad as you can feel for people making millions of dollars.  They made it to the NBA Finals mainly because of how clutch Lebron James was.  People don't remember that he carried the team to the Finals.  If you want to hate Michael Vick for what he did, be my guest, but Lebron isn't the devil ESPN has made him out to be.


I really want to hear your feedback, especially on this article since you probably disagree, if you disagree let me know why, I have an open mind.  Thanks for reading.

Everything Under the Sun

Chiefs!!!

Calling all Matt Cassel haters... Anybody left?  Nobody?  I swear two weeks ago all of KC was here.  He showed a lot this week, getting down by 17 points twice against the Colts and fighting back.  He was 21-29 for 257 yards and 4 touchdowns.  Jackie Battle also played great filling in a void at running back.  He ran hard, something I haven't seen all year, even when Charles was healthy.  The defense struggled at first but stiffened up in the second half especially against the run.

Dwayne Bowe and Steve Breaston also had great games catching 2 touchdowns a piece, Bowe made a spectacular catch on a ball he was interfered on, for a touchdown.  The team played hard again for Todd Haley and the effect Haley has had on Bowe has been amazing.  Bowe finally gets it, he catches the ball, blocks, and appears to be a good teammate.  The Chiefs have a bye next week and then go to Oakland, followed by a Monday Night game at home vs. the Chargers, on Halloween.

Conference Realignment

Does anybody remember who started this musical chairs of conferences... Missouri.  Last year Missouri reached out to the Big 10 and thought they had an invite only to find out they didn't.  I feel all three teams who left the Big 12 fit in where they are now, Colorado, Nebraska, and Texas A&M.  Missouri really doesn't.  They don't bring that much to the table, they have had recent success but have averaged 4 losses a year, in the last 3 years, far from great.  This year is not helping them either I don't know if the SEC will want them.  I think they will be shooting for a bowl berth in the SEC instead of a conference title.  I really don't know about Missouri's basketball program, in the short term they will have success, but recruiting top players to play basketball in the SEC will be tough, unless they are willing to pay the big money like Kentucky.

It looks like with the addition of TCU, the Big 12 will stay together, good news for KU.  People are just looking at this from a football perspective, other sports matter too.  You can't have all the small, non revenue sports like rowing, soccer, women's basketball traveling to Rutgers and Pittsburgh, for conference matches.  KU needs the conference to hold together.

I Love Seeing Yankees Lose

200 million dollars can buy a lot of things but as the Yankees found out it cannot buy starting pitching.  The Yankees pulled out all the stops in Game 5 vs. the Tigers, pitching C.C. Sabathia in relief, and lost.  They only have one good starting pitcher, Sabathia.  A.J. Burnett has been a huge bust, Phillip Hughes hasn't lived up to expectation.  I'm sure they will sign one if not two big name pitchers this offseason though.  The biggest difference with the Yankees and Royals is that the Royals are able to sign one good pitcher every 3 or 4 years. The Yankees can sign one every year and if it doesn't pan out, it doesn't effect them long term, with the budget they have.

KU Football

This is a historically bad defense, some blame needs to go to Turner Gill but the players aren't there.  They don't really even deserved to be mentioned but since I'm in a good mood, I gave them a sentence

One Last Thing

Special teams are not 1/3 of the game!  Some games they have a big impact, but as a whole they are more like 10 percent of the game.  In the Chiefs vs. Colts game today, there were only two key plays on special teams.  If special teams were 1/3 the game you would see kickers and returners being selected in the first round.

Keep giving me your feedback, I appreciate you reading.

Chiefs

This is what I wanted from Todd Haley, and this is why I supported him last year.  He set the tone of the team and they played hard.  Matt Cassel had a good game, and got the fans off his back for at least a week.  I don't know why there is so much hate for him, he played really well last year, the Chiefs only gave up a second round pick for him and Mike Vrabel.  The Chiefs run game is really bad, Thomas Jones' illustrious career is over, that was the one negative I got from the game.

Positives

TYSON JACKSON!  He only made one tackle but disrupted many of Adrian Peterson's runs.  If he can be average, that would be a huge upgrade to what he has been.
Steve Breaston has become a part of the offense catching 4 passes for 91 yards, first-round pick Jonathan Baldwin is still on the bench nobody really knows why.
Donald Washington, who is filling in for my beloved Eric Berry at safety, did a good job and is starting to learn the ropes.
Ryan Succop was 5 for 5 on field making 2 over 50 yards.  He has struggled early this year missing a field goal in every game and might of been replaced if this had continued.
Javier Arenas is averaging 20 yards on punt returns this year and had four key returns against this week, he has been key for field position this year.
Derrick Johnson is a really good linebacker and if he could catch the ball he would be even better.  He has benefitted from the improved play of the defensive line and making big plays.

This week's win is a good sign for the Chiefs but I don't expect a turnaround.  They play the Colts next week but their schedule after that  is rough, a disadvantage of winning the division last year.  The whole "Suck for Luck" campaign sort of makes me mad, I would never root against my team.  Winning games at the end of the year, even when you team is out the playoffs is crucial.  Two cases, the 2009 Chiefs, who played well at the end of the season, beating the Broncos in the final game and then made the playoffs in the following year. In addition the 2010 Lions who won the final four games last year are 4-0 this year coming off a historical comeback against the Cowboys this week.  Wins build confidence.

KU football lost a 20-0 lead against Texas Tech on saturday, the only positive I got out of that was KU's jerseys were really cool.  They scored touchdowns on their first three possessions and I honestly thought they were going to run away with it.  KU's defense is just so bad though, they look like they are scared of hitting sometimes.  When you watch them you almost know that they are gonna give up a touchdown.  Their offense isn't bad but not good enough to carry the team.  I think they will win one more game this year, don't know when it will come, but they can't lose all of their conference games.

One last thing, I will write way more after a win than after a loss.  I just don't enjoy writing about negative things.

That Just Happened

Wow... I know I say I don't write until a day after the game, but this qualifies as an exception.

The Atlanta Braves tied the record for biggest collapse in September, minutes later the Red Sox one upped them.  I just can't believe it.

The Rays were down 7-0 in the 8th inning and down 1 with one strike left and won... The Red Sox were up one run, with nobody on, two out in the ninth and lost, this is crazy.  I honestly feel like I'm going to wake up and find out this didn't happen.  The Braves also had the lead in the 9th and blew their season.  No night in baseball will ever... ever top this (unless the Royals win the World Series).  My top two teams besides the Royals are the Braves and Sox but I don't care, witnessing this is completely worth it.

I called the Red Sox loss via a text, in the 7th inning, "It just seems the Sox are gonna blow it."  I also called the Rays comeback before the 8th pshhh.  I almost feel like this was planned, that's how crazy it is.  The Red Sox will probably blame the Yankees.  Thank god they won their World Series a few years back, or this would just add to the curse.  Amazing night, hope everyone got to see it.

On a Lighter Note

The Royals finished 71-91 by losing their last two games of the year to the Twins. 

I saw Moneyball and Catching Hell recently, both great films, learned a lot.

My fantasy baseball team tried to mimic the collapses, thankfully they did not succeed.  My team went 2 for 51 the last day, barely hanging on to first place.

At the start of the season, baseball was just something I would see on Sportscenter.  But with the combination of the Royals early success, and my choice to do fantasy baseball it changed.  Before this year I couldn't watch it on TV, it was too boring.  Now I watch baseball all the time, truly becoming a Royals fan, not just using them as the punch line of jokes.  I will miss watching the Royals for another 7 months, but look forward to this seasons playoffs and the potential the Royals have to make a run in future years.

The Chiefs Tried But...

I feel that the attitude of the coach is the personality of the team.  And Todd Haley's was awful yesterday, it almost seemed like he was worried about getting blown out again instead of winning.  The offense played scared the first half, not getting a first down until the third quarter.  When he realized he could win the game but it was too late.

Running the ball is overrated.  Establishing a good running game is not, Haley needs to learn the difference. When you run the ball well, it draws more players into the box to stop it.  When you average 3.0 yards a carry on 27 carries as the Chiefs did, it doesn't accomplish much.  Haley should give Cassel more options down field.  Bowe and Breaston can go vertical.  Have the backs and tight ends block more, they hardly gain any yards when they catch it anyway.

I'm not going to demand Todd Haley gets fired and Matt Cassel get replaced.  They have people way more knowledgable than me making decisions and I will trust they make the right one.  We as fans only see what happens on game day there is so much more to it.

I like to give it a day or so before I write about a game.  I want to hear other people's views and opinions instead of writing out of emotion and saying something stupid that I regret.  I hope you are enjoying what I'm writing I'm always open to suggestions about what I can do better.

Royals Report

They have been 3-3 since I last wrote.  Hosmer has been hot, he had a 5-5 night, and could win the A.L. rookie of the year.  Moustakas and Perez continue to hit.  Teaford had a rough start going 5 innings allowing 5 runs.  30 year-old Luis Mendoza has had made two great starts this year, going 14.2 innings allowing 2 earned runs.  Hochevar, Francis, and Duffy have been shut down, giving Triple-A call ups Vin Mazzaro and Sean O'Sullivan a start at the major league level.

The Royals' future is still bright with the potential to have one of the best lineups in the league.  They need at least two good starting pitchers, they have zero, with not much potential.  Vin Mazzaro, Sean O'Sulivan, and Danny Duffy could be ok starters, but nobody is looking like a number one or two starter.  For the offseason I feel they need to trade Melky Cabrera or Lorenzo Cain for pitching.  Easier said than done, but Cain is ready and can't spend another year at Triple-A.  As for free agent pitchers this year there isn't much, and to get anybody good they will have to overpay.  I think they still need to wait a year to spend big money in free agency.

This year has been a success, at the beginning of the year the royals were expected to lose 100 games, they will finish with about 90.  Here is a position by position breakdown of what went better or worse than expected.

Catcher:  Better, Matt Treanor and Bryan Pena were ok, but Salvador Perez has been great and he is only 21 (exactly one year older than me).  He is not expected to hit this well in the future but who knows.
First Base:  Better, Kila Ka'aihue was awful in April, but when Hosmer was called up he produced immediately.  Hosmer was a big time prospect but you never know what you're gonna get till he's here, we got something special for the future.
Second Base:  Worse, Chris Getz proved that he is not an everday player and Johnny Giovatella has been bad at the plate and in the field, it has been the biggest hole in the lineup the last month.
Shortstop:  Same, Alcides Escobar has been a plus glove and a below average bat.  He is still young and could develop into a more sound batter.
Third Base:  Worse, at least for this year, Betemit and Aviles weren't very good early and Moustakas hasn't been a factor until late.  Hopefully he picks up where he left off next year.
Left Field:  Better,  Alex Gordon was the biggest surprise this year.  He has been great in the field making teams respect his arm.  He's had an all star caliber season and if it was determined at the end of the season like the NFL he'd be in for sure.  Give credit to the Royals though, they could of given up on him and nobody would have argued, they did the same with Greinke a few year back.
Center Field:  Better, Melky Cabrera was a cheap signee this offseason who has produced at the plate this year, he just doesn't cover enough ground for a center fielder.
Right Field:  Better, the best addition this year was Jeff Francouer.  He's been great for the clubhouse and has revived his career here in KC.  The Royals have him signed for the next two years as well.
Starting Pitching:  Same, this was supposed to be one of the worst rotations in baseball, and it has been.  Hochevar looked good after the all star break but returned to normal.  Chen has been pretty good, Duffy not so much, and the Kyle Davies experiment finally ended.  Midseason acquisition Felipe Paulino has done pretty well with an ERA of 4.10.
Bullpen:  Better, especially early in the year, where they carried the team in April.  Aaron Crow was good pre all-star break, Greg Holland has been good all year.  Soria not so much though, he blew quite a few games early and never really recovered, hopefully he'll bounce back next year.  The bullpen is pretty young so hopefully they come back even stronger next year.

Most "Valuable" Player

Why can't pitchers win the MVP award?  I hear the same answer every time, how can somebody who plays once every five days win the award.  I thought of a way to compare their impact though. I took Justin Verlander, who has averaged 7 1/3 innings a game allowing 7 base runners a game, do the math, he faces 29 batters per start.  Then I looked at Jacoby Ellsbury, leadoff hitter for the Red Sox, the best position player in my opinion.  He averages 4.5 at bats per game, multiply that by 5, the same ratio as pitchers, round and you get 23 at bats.  I realize that I calculated only at bats, and they also play in field.  But when you consider who normally wins the MVP, the players defense is rarely a big portion of the debate.

I feel position players should win the award most of the time, but Verlander has the been the most dominate and valuable player this year.  He has 24 wins, which is crazy, hardly anybody wins 20 games anymore.  His ERA is 2.40 and has a WHIP of .92 which is really impressive as well.  Coach Toot also brought a good point to me.  If the there was a fantasy draft and all of the players were available, Verlander would be the consensus number one pick.

Now for the National League MVP Award, different situation, same use of the word "valuable."  The top two candidates are outfielders Ryan Braun and Matt Kemp.  Braun has led Milwaukee to its first division title since 1982.  He leads the league in batting, fourth in RBI's, and is second in runs.  Kemp has led his Los Angeles Dodgers to a third place finish in a less than stellar NL West division.  He has an outside chance at the triple crown, leading in home runs and RBI's, but his stats aren't so dominant that he deserves the MVP.  Until they change the award to Most Outstanding Player they have to give the award to a player who's team was at least in the playoff chase.

Random Things That Didn't Need a Paragraph

The Dodgers have the best pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who is likely to win the Cy Young and they have Matt Kemp the best position player, yet they are 12.5 games back in their division.

The Only Reason Notre Dame is still relevant is because ESPN feels Lou Holtz has to talk about them.  No other analyst talks about their former team as much as he does.

For the Chiefs... I am not going to write about them until they appear to care again.

I'm trying out for linebacker, well maybe d-end

I wanted to wait to do a KU football post until I got to watch them play, good thing I waited.  They gave up an FBS record 604 rushing yards in a 66-24 loss to Georgia Tech, I couldn't do that on a video game.  I feel bad for the offense, knowing they have to score every time they get the ball.  I realize they were going up against a confusing triple option offense but still.  They were slow, out of position and couldn't tackle, great recipe for success.  They better regroup because they play Texas Tech next week, their quarterback, Seth Doege was 40-44 today, with 401 yards and 5 touchdowns.

I feel KU is heading in the right direction though.  Turner Gill had a good recruiting class in his first year, and I think quarterback Jordan Webb can be really good, he's only a sophomore.  They have shown a good running game this year and... ugh it's hard to come up with positives after a terrible loss.  The success in the future for KU will depend a lot on where they end up after conference realignment.  Right now playing eight conference games and Texas is tough, I consider Texas an Independent.  If KU ends up in the Big East they could compete, but that league may be dissolving as well.  There are so many unknowns at this point.

ROYALS!!!

The Royals are on a roll, 7 strait wins.  People say the hardest time to evaluate teams is in September, I don't care, any positive news about the Royals is great for me.  Everett Teaford pitch great tonight in his second career start, allowing one run in 6 innings.  Teaford is a 27 year old rookie who was called up in May to add lefty depth in the bullpen, he could be part of the rotation next year.  Moustakas has hit 3 home runs in his last four games and has moved his average up to .252.  Salvador Perez has continued hit with his average sitting at .322 way better then expected.  Hosmer has a shot at AL Rookie of the Year, he is batting .289 with 17 home runs and 71 RBI's.  Johnny Giavotella is struggling though, batting .219 with sub-par defense.  Unless he gets hot I don't see him on the opening day roster next year.  

Chiefs

I don't know what I'm going to do without Eric Berry.  There has never been a player who I have loved more than him.  When we drafted him my dad and I disagreed, he wanted offensive tackle Russell Okung.  Every time Berry was remotely involved in a play last year I would say just two simple words "Eric Berry" and then remind my dad that Okung isn't doing squat.

Well... Eric Berry is done for the year, and I have already given up hope on the season.  Watching anything with my dad is bad enough, but having to sit there all season hearing him complain that we need a left tackle is gonna kill me.  I just hope Okung doesn't make the Pro Bowl, because if he does, I will probably be finding another residence.  O guess who's jersey I bought two days before the game?  Gonna have to hide that one in the closet.

The Chiefs do have something to build on though.  I feel Charles is the best back in the league, the difference between him and Jones last year was crazy, even if Jones is done.  Bowe is a top 5-10 receiver when his head has been properly attached.  Our offensive line isn't as bad as people think, Charles averaged 6.4 yards per carry last year, they deserve some credit.  Matt Cassel has proved he can be a good quarterback and the hate towards him goes too far, nobody can complete passes on their back.

The defensive line definitely needs helps.  D-end Tyson Jackson, who won LMP (Least Mentioned Player) last year, needs to step up big time.  I wish I had a copy of the scouting report on him last year, "as long as you get in his way you'll be fine."  Dorsey is an okay end, but Kelly Gregg is not a part of the future.  Fifth-round pick defensive tackle Jerrell Powe showed potential in training camp but red flags raised for me when I typed in "Jerrell Powe" on Google and saw that the first suggestion was "Jerrell Powe can't read."  Hali is one of the best pass rushers in the league hand down.  Derrick Johnson is a good middle linebacker, and the-round pick Justin Houston could be the best player in the draft if he sets down the bong.  Without Berry, this secondary goes from good to below average this year.  Flowers is a good corner, Carr is not, and needs to be replaced.  Safety Kendrick Lewis will get his chance to prove himself this year, and I'll pray Berry returns to himself next year.
 
One last thing, in honor of 9-11 couldn't of the Chiefs fans showed some respect by not ruining the National Anthem.

Royals

I've never seen the Royals play a meaningful game after July yet they are still "my team."  I constantly wonder how much more I would obsess if they were good.  I just imagine going to the K with 30,000 people there, and having an actual atmosphere at the ballpark.  Just imagine watching them play on ESPN.  Just imagine what it was like in 1985, wishing I could experience at least one playoff series in my life.

At least this team has hope.  They had the number one rated farm system last offseason.  They now appear to have a good outfield  as well, with Alex Gordon, Melky Cabrera, and Jeff Francouer.  Eric Hosmer is locked up for 4 more years.  Alcides Escobar is a great defender with the ability to hit at least 250.  Mike Moustakas is starting to hit, though not the number of home runs we have expected, and Salvador Perez has been a great call-up at catcher hitting 318 with a great arm. They have a good offense but they still can't pitch.

They are 12th out of 14 in the American League in ERA, and that is with a good bullpen.  Our top two pitching prospects coming into the year do not look good.  Mike Montgomery has been awful at Triple-A this year, he was expected to be one of the June call-ups.  Danny Duffy has been bad too, he has an ERA over five with the Royals and a WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) of 1.61, 1.20 is considered good.  Aaron Crow was stellar pre all star break but has slipped since.  His ERA is over five with opponents his batting over 300 against him, who knows if he can be counted on to be a starter in the future.  The Royals don't have anything close to an ace now that Kyle Davies has been released.  Luke Hochevar shows signs but is not consistent enough.  They really need to find somebody in free agency but there is very little this year.

Dayton Moore is one of the best general managers in the league.  He has built the best farm system in baseball.  Signed good players cheap, like Bruce Chen, Melky Cabrera, and Jeff Francouer.  He gets criticism for signing too many players from his former team, the Braves, but if it's working I can't fault him.  With the budget David Glass gives him he has done a phenomenal job.  He has spent more money than any team in the draft.  He targets good high school players in later rounds who are planning to go to college and gives them big signing bonuses they can't refuse.

The Royals are on the right track and if David Glass gives Dayton Moore the budget he needs, Moore will make the most of it.

Introduction: John Grosdidier

Ever since high school journalism, I haven't had a place to voice my opinion in the sports world.  I stumbled onto this site through a friend, and thought this would be a great place to do so.

First tell me what you honestly think, if this is not something you enjoy reading there is no reason for me to write.  I have about 10-20 people who I think would like to read this.  I will talk mainly about Chiefs, Royals and KU.  I will post three things to start and get your feedback, if you enjoy I will continue to post.  My grammar is not great, but I will do my best to at least make sense.