The SoapBoxers

Game 1: (Sunday) Japan vs. Cuba
Japan beat Cuba 6-0 behind the arm of Daisuke Matsuzaka. Matsuzaka threw 61 of his 86 pitches for strikes, allowing five hits and no walks over six innings of work. Although Matsuzaka had a great year for Boston last year, there had been some concerns that he had been lucky, and that his high walk totals would cost him in future years. Matsuzaka has displayed good control in the WBC, though. 3 relievers each allowed a hit, but none of them walked a batter, either.

On the offensive side, Japan played small ball, with only one of their 12 hits going for extra bases (a double by Kenji Jojihma). Shuichi Murata had two RBI, with four other players chipping in one RBI each.

Game 2: (Sunday) Mexico vs. Korea
Korea’s Tae Kyung Kim drove in three runs (including a solo homer) and Bum Ho Lee and Young Min Ko also homered for Korea as Korea wins 8-2. Mexico faces Cuba in game 3, with the loser eliminated and the winner remaining alive to face the loser of Korea/Japan.

Game 3: (Monday) Mexico vs. Cuba (loser eliminated)
Cuba stayed alive in the tournament with a 7-4 win. Frederich Cepeda continued his outstanding WBC with a three run double. Cepeda finished with four RBI in the game. Cepeda is 12 for 20 with 3 homers and 10 RBI in 20 at bats (5 games) in the WBC. That’s a 1.786 OPS.

Game 4: (Tuesday) Japan vs. Korea (winner qualifies for semifinals)

Korea jumped on Japan starting pitcher Yu Darvish early, manufacturing three runs in the first inning. Those three runs held up as Korea won 4-1 behind a masterful pitching performance by Korea’s Jung Keun Bong, who allowed one run on three hits in 5 1/3 innings. Darvish settled down after the first inning, allowing three runs on four hits in five innings. Korea clinches a spot in the semifinals. Japan will face Cuba in game 5. The loser of that game will be eliminated, and the winner will face Korea in game 6 to determine semifinal seeding.

Game1: (Saturday) Netherlands vs. Venezeula
The Netherlands played another close game. In the opening round, they won games by scores of 2-1 and 3-2 while losing games by scores of 3-1 and 5-0 (both losses against Puerto Rico). In this game, they lost 3-1 to Venezuela.

Venezuela starter Carlos Silva went seven strong innings, allowing just one run on four hits. After two other relievers each recorded an out, Venezuela turned the game over the K-Rod, and he delivered a four-out save, including two strikeouts.

The pitching for the Netherlands was pretty effective, with the exception of a couple of mistakes. They allowed just three hits (and three walks) all day. Unfortunately those three hits were homers by Miguel Cabrera and Jose Lopez and a triple by Endy Chavez (Chavez scored on a groundout).

Even with the loss, the Netherlands continues to rise their profile during this World Baseball Classic.

Game 2: (Saturday) USA vs. Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico beat the USA 11-1. Javier Vasquez went five innings for Puerto Rico, allowing one run on four hits, while not walking anyone. USA starting pitcher Jake Peavy gave up six runs on six hits and two walks in just two innings. Hopefully my Colorado Rockies will watch tape of Peavy’s outing so that we can hit him this well in the regular season. Felipe Lopez and Carlos Beltran hit homers for Puerto Rico, but this was a team victory, with Puerto Rico piling up 13 hits and four walks. The USA managed just six hits, including two apiece by Adam Dunn and Brian McCann.

I’m not suggesting that we make Puerto Rico the 51st state for the sole purpose of adding their players to the USA’s WBC team, but it would be a nice benefit of statehood for Puerto Rico.

Game 3: (Sunday) Netherlands vs. USA, loser eliminated
A little tidbit surfaced during the game. The highest paid Netherlands player made $40,000 last year (their 42 game season is ¼ the length of MLB). The players received $20,000 for advancing to round two of the WBC.

The Cinderella story ends in round two, however. The US won this game 9-3. Jimmy Rollins drove in four runs and had a homer and a triple. Brian Roberts, filling in for the injured Dustin Pedroia, had a great game, falling just short of a cycle with a single, double, triple, and two walks.

On the pitching side, Roy Oswalt gave up no runs on five hits and no walks over four innings. The Netherlands did managed seven hits in a span of 2 2/3 innings off Shields, Ziegler, and Lindstrom, pushing three runs across the plate.

Game 4: (Monday) Venezuela vs. Puerto Rico, winner clinches semifinal berth
Venezuela’s Felix Hernandez struck out seven batters in 4 2/3 innings and K-Rod closed the door with 1 1/3 perfect innings. Ramon Hernandez drilled a homer as Venezuela wins the game 2-0. Ian Snell is the hard luck loser for Puerto Rico, allowing a run on five hits in four innings of work.

Game 5: (Tuesday) USA vs. Puerto Rico, winner clinches semifinals, loser eliminated
There was no joy in Mudville entering the bottom of the ninth with the US trailing 5-3. Two singles and a sacrifice fly cut the score to 5-4. Two more walks loaded the bases for David Wright, who delivered the decisive blow, a two run single that ended the game. Kevin Youkilis homered earlier in the game for the US, and Alex Rios and Carlos Delgado homered for Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is eliminated from the tournament. The US will have a rematch against Venezuela to determine seeding for the semifinals.

John Corey, former NYPD detective and current member of the anti-terrorist task force (ATTF) has a rather straightforward task to complete on April 15th. He and his team are to take custody of a terrorist who has turned himself in and transfer the terrorist from LaGuardia airport to a federal facility in New York City. What could possibly go wrong?

Plenty can go wrong, of course. The terrorist, a Libyan named Asad Kahlil, makes quite a splash immediately upon arrival in he United States. Khalil quickly escapes and begins work toward his real mission – a mission that has been many years in the planning. John Corey and his team are a few steps behind Kahlil, and a great cat and mouse game begins. The lion begins to stalk his prey – and the prey have no idea they are being hunted until the very last moment.

The book moves back and forth between the viewpoints of John Corey and Asad Khalil, and also has flashbacks to Khalil’s adolescence. This allows DeMille an opportunity to let the reader inside the head of Khalil. We are able to understand why Kahlil acts the way he does – how his past and his country’s culture have shaped him as a man. We also get the opportunity to see how a major terrorist campaign is planned and carried out. Asad Khalil has revenge on his mind, and he has brought death to the “land of the infidels”.

John Corey and his sidekick, Kate Mayfield, are worthy adversaries for Khalil. Corey is a brilliant detective, but he rubs a lot of people the wrong way. He has some big problems with authority figures and also has a tendency to tell jokes that offend certain ethnic, religious, and gender groups. He has a tendency to operate outside the rules from time to time. Subtlety is not his stock in trade. These are some of the reasons why he is former NYPD, rather than active NYPD. Kate Mayfield, on the other hand, is the shining example of a by-the-books FBI agent. She, too, is a brilliant investigator, but she stays within the rules.

The synergy created by their partnership aids them greatly in working the case. They are a step behind Khalil out of the gate and have to play catch-up. However, they manage to muddle their way through bureaucratic red tape (and some folks who seem to be playing for a different team) and eventually figure out what Kahlil is up to and aggressively give chase in the latter portion of he book, culminating in a final, dramatic showdown.

* * *

I first encountered this book when I stumbled across the audio version in Barnes and Noble. I was about to take off on a solo trip from Illinois to New York State. The audio version of the book appealed to me for two main reasons. It was bargain priced, and it was 25 hours long. The book captivated me for the entire 25 hours.

Since that initial listening, I have listened to the audio version at least two more times, I have read the book twice, and I have listened to the abridged edition of the audio book. I don’t make a habit of overdosing on one particular book, so I obviously enjoy this book a lot. The Soap Boxers gives this book a rating of “freaking awesome”!

In my opinion, the abridged edition of the audio book falls fall short of the unabridged edition. They had to cut to book from 25 hours to 9, so obviously some of the plot had to be lost. However, I’m not a big fan of the way they made some of the cuts. Also, I much prefer the reading job done by Scott Brick on the unabridged edition to the job done by Boyd Gaines on the abridged edition. Gaines doesn’t really do anything wrong, but Brick is simply awesome.

Nelson Demille The Lion’s Game – Book

Nelson Demille The Lion’s Game – CD   NOTE: ABRIDGED 🙁

This is the second installment in a three part series. Catch the final installment next Monday.

Like most dramatic changes, it began as a trickle. Walter Payton retired from the Bears after the 1987 season. My heart simply wasn’t with the Bears any more, and I was looking for a new team. The guy my sister was dating at the time (now my brother-in-law) was a Vikings fan, and I become a convert and have been a Viking fan ever since.

On November 7, 1991, my NBA idol came crashing down. Magic Johnson had HIV. I ceased becoming a Lakers fan and began following Magic’s friend Isiah Thomas and the Detroit Pistons. Eventually, I left the Pistons and followed Alonzo Mourning’s career in Charlotte and Miami. There was something missing, however, and my interest in the NBA began a steep decline when Magic retired, and has continued to decline to the point of nearly zero interest.

In 1992, the great shakeup continued. I was a junior in high school and had to make a decision about which college to attend. The logical assumption was that I would attend the University of Iowa and cheer on my beloved Hawkeyes. My mind was changed when the university representatives visited my high school. I was not impressed by the Iowa representative, and was quite impressed with the Iowa State representative. I decided that I would attend the finest public university the state had to offer – Iowa State University. In fact, I did not bother applying to any other college.

I thus became a Cyclone. Under my fanhood, the men’s basketball team enjoyed a resurgence that culminated in a 1999-2000 team that advanced to the Elite Eight, led by Marcus Fizer and Jamaal Tinsley. The women’s team was also winning games. In fact, Iowa State swept the regular season and conference tournaments in mens and womens basketball in 1999-2000. The football team inexplicably began going to bowl games. Wrestler Cael Sanderson became a household name as he went 159-0 in college and later nabbed a gold medal. The men’s cross country team joined the party, winning the national championship in 1994.

The tidal wave of change continued into baseball. The Cubs were unable to retain reigning Cy Young award winner Greg Maddux following the 1992 season and he signed with the Atlanta Braves. I was disgusted with the Cubs, and changed teams. I did not, however, follow Maddux to the Braves. Instead, I chose a new path and became a charter fan of a brand new team, the Colorado Rockies, who would begin play in 1993. The inaugural season of 1993 had rough patches, but there was hope for the future. 1994 brought heartbreak, however. On August 12, the players began a strike that would wipe out the rest of the season. It was a very low point in my fanhood.

In 1995, things were much brighter. My Rockies, in only their third year of existence, finished with a record of 77-67 (some 1995 games were also lost due to the strike) and made the playoffs as a wild card. They lost in the first round to the Braves, but optimism was very high.

ESPN recently had people vote on their state’s sports Mt. Rushmore. For my version of Iowa’s Mt. Rushmore, I took the ESPN requirements a bit further and required the people to actually be native Iowans. This eliminates guys like Cael Sanderson and Chuck Long.

Bob Feller – “Rapid Robert” won 266 games (162 losses). He missed nearly 4 complete seasons because of World Word II – at a time when he was consistently winning 20 games per season. It’s quite likely that this cost him 75 more wins. He broke into the major leagues at age 17 and was an All Star at age 19. Feller was the hardest thrower of his generation and very likely one of the handful of hardest throwers of all time. He was also featured in Abbot and Costello’s “Who’s on First” (“the feller with the Cleveland Indians”). Feller was a first ballot hall of famer.

Dan Gable – Gable was a dominant college and Olympic wrestler. He lost only one college bout (the NCAA title match his senior year, in the final seconds). Gable ran roughshod through the competition at the 1972 Olympics, winning the gold medal without allowing a point to be scored against him. He broke the hearts of Iowa State fans by becoming the head coach at Iowa and launching a college wrestling juggernaut. To top it off, he eats at Club Deli in Cedar Rapids (home of the best chili in town), which says a lot about his culinary tastes.

Kurt Warner – Warner is a two time NFL MVP. He led his teams to three Super Bowl appearances – teams that had very little success prior to his tenure. Warner has the third highest QB efficiency rating of all time and has the second high completion percentage of all time. He has three seasons of 4000+ yards (with a high of 4830 in 2001) and three seasons of 30+ touchdowns (with a high of 41 in 1999).

Cap Anson – Adrian Anson, know as “Captain” or “Cap” was the first major league hitter to be credited with 3000 career hits. Various sources now show him with anywhere between 2995 and 3418 hits. Much of the disparity is a debate about whether the National Association was a major league (it existed prior to the formation of the National League in 1876). Anson was one of the biggest stars of the 19th century and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame shortly after its creation.

Some notable snubs:
Nile Kinnick – the body of work is limited to his college years. I prefer athletes with longer careers. Clearly, I have respect for what he sacrificed for his country. However, I tried to set the bar based solely on sports accomplishments.

Zach Johnson – Not a long enough period of sustained excellence.

Shawn Johnson – Not a long enough period of sustained excellence.

Game 4: (Tuesday) Cuba / Australia (winner clinches a spot in next round)
Cuban pinch hitter pinch-hitter Yosbany Peraza hit a 2 run home run in the 8th inning that ended up being the difference-maker, 5-4. Cuba joins Japan and Korea as teams that have qualified for second round action in pool 2.

Game 5: (Wednesday) Australia vs. Mexico (winner clinches spot in next rounder, loser is eliminated)
After an embarrassing 17-7 loss to Australia in front of their home crowd earlier in the tournament, Mexico eliminates Australia from the tournament with a 16-1 win in 6 innings (mercy rule). Jerry Hairston Jr. was the only Mexico player not to get a hit or score a run, but even he contributed with an RBI. Eight different players drove in a run. Karim Garcia had 2 home runs and was 4-4 with 4 runs and 4 RBI.

Game 6: (Thursday) Mexico vs. Cuba (determines the pool winner)
Once again, Mexico was involved in a game in which the mercy rule was enforced. Cuba scored seven times in the seventh inning the break the game open, 16-4. Ariel Pestano and Frederich Cepeda hit 3 run homers in the inning.

Game 5: (Tuesday) Venezuela vs. Italy (winner clinches spot in next round, loser eliminated)
Venezuela hit four homers in the fifth inning and pounded out 14 hits en route a 10-1 win over Italy. Venezuela starting pitcher Enrique Gonzalez went 4 innings and allowed 2 hits (he also hit a man).

Game 6: (Wednesday) USA vs. Venezuela (determines pool winner)
Venezuela catcher Henry Blanco led off the scoring with a homer in the third inning. Venezuela really got things going against reliever Jeremy Guthrie, touching him up for 4 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks in 2 innings of work. Rockies catcher Chris Iannetta did homer in the losing cause. Venezuela wins the game 5-3 and advances as the winner of pool C. The USA advances as the runner-up.

Game 5: (Tuesday) Dominican Republic vs. Netherlands (winner clinches spot in next round, lost eliminated)
After edging the Dominican Republic in a big upset earlier in the tournament, the underdogs pull off the trick a second time, squeezing past the DR 2-1 in 11 innings. The winning run scored on an error by Willy Aybar. You have to give the Netherlands some respect – they did not have an easy path, but they advance to round two.

I’m going to focus on a bright spot for the Dominican Republic. Ubaldo Jimenez of the Rockies (my team) pitched 4 innings and allowed 0 runs on two hits and no walks, while striking out a WBC-record 10 batters. The strikeouts are great, but I’m even happier to see the zero walks.

Game 6: (Wednesday) Netherlands vs. Puerto Rico (to determine pool winner)
Puerto Rico was able to score 5 runs in spite of the fact that they had only one extra base hit in the game. It was death by small cuts for Netherlands, as they allowed 10 hits and 9 walks. Conversely, the Puerto Rico pitchers allow just 6 hits and 1 walk in shutting out the Netherlands. Puerto Rico advances as the winner of pool D; Netherlands advances as the runner-up.

The next WBC update will be on Wednesday, with recaps on the first 6 games of round 2.

Prior to the 1999-2000 basketball season, Baylor University hired Dave Bliss to coach the team and breathe life into a floundering program. Baylor had just completed a 6-24 season that included an 0-16 record in Big 12 conference play. Bliss had spent the previous eleven years at New Mexico. His Lobo teams had made seven trips to the NCAA tournament and notched an all-time best New Mexico record of 28-5 in 1995-1996. Baylor paid Bliss $600,000 per year to coach the team.

Baylor showed signs of improvement the next year, winning 14 games, including 4 in conference. The next year, 2000-2001, would be the high water mark for Bliss at Baylor, when his Bears went 19-12 (6-10 in conference) and went to the NIT tournament. The Bears were mediocre in 2001-2002 and 2002-2003.

In the summer of 2003, tragedy struck the Baylor basketball community. On June 14, 2003, junior forward Patrick Dennehy spoke with a friend. He was never heard from again. His body was found seven weeks later, and teammate Carlton Dotson was charged with Dennehy’s murder. Dotson was declared incompetent to stand trial, but later plead guilty to murder and was sentenced to 35 years in prison.

If was the end of the story, it would be a very sad story. Unfortunately, that is not the end of the story.

Eventually, questions were raised about Dennehy’s financial situation. Dennehy had transferred to Baylor from New Mexico and had been forced to sit out a year, as is standard procedure with NCAA athletes. During this time, he did not have an athletic scholarship. The amount financial aid he was receiving was not nearly enough to cover his expenses. Who was covered the other expenses?

The answer, of course, is that Dave Bliss had paid a portion of Dennehy’s tuition. He had done the same with another Baylor player. It was later discovered that Bliss had engaged in similar practices while he was the SMU coach in the early 1980s. This is a clear violation of NCAA rules.

Bliss, of course, did not want anyone to know this. In order to explain Dennehy’s source of cash, he told the team to spread the rumor that Patrick Denehy had been a drug dealer. There is little doubt as to the accuracy of these allegations – an assistant coach caught them on tape after Bliss threatened to fire him if he didn’t help with the scheme. Bliss, a supposed leader of young men, a man whom parents entrusted with their sons, had severely violated that trust.

Dave Bliss resigned in August, 2003 and has never held another college coaching job (although he did coach his son’s high school team and also coached a year in the CBA). The NCAA handed down severe sanctions – they were on probation until 2010, ineligible for post-season in 2003-2004, and had scholarships and recruiting visits reduced. Perhaps the most interesting penalty is the fact that Baylor would not be allowed to play any non-conference games in 2005-2006. They were not technically ineligible for post-season play that year, but with only 16 conference games plus the Big 12 conference tournament, it seemed impossible that Baylor could amass a win total that would get them into a post-season tournament.

Baylor offered to release players from their scholarships so that they could transfer to other schools. Four players, including Baylor’s top three scorers from the previous season, transferred to other schools. One of them, Lawrence Roberts, became a first-team All-American at Mississippi.

At this point, the Baylor program was in shambles. They hired Valparaiso coach Scott Drew, a man who apparently loves a challenge. Considering the shape the program was in, it was no surprise that Drew struggled during his first three years – 8-21 in 2003-2004, 9-19 in 2004-2005, and 4-13 in 2005-2006.

Baylor finished 15-16 in 2006-2007. For Drew, this was a considerable achievement. In 2007-2008, Baylor went 21-11 (9-7 in conference) and made the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1988. Baylor smartly signed Scott Drew to a 10 year contract extension.

What has Drew done for an encore? Baylor went 17-13 in the regular season (albeit 5-11 in conference). Baylor knocked off Nebraska in the first round of the conference tournament. Thursday, they beat #1 seed Kansas. Baylor will not likely earn an NCAA berth unless they win the conference tournament. With such turmoil in their recent history, how can your root against them? My favorite school is a rival Big 12 school (Iowa State, which has been eliminated from the conference tournament) but I’ll be cheering for Baylor this weekend.

A few years ago, I changed cell phone plans. I decided to save a few bucks and went with a plan that doesn’t have the internet. Not surprisingly, the inability to have sports scores at my fingertips hit me the hardest. Withdrawal set in hard.

Before long, a friend of mine made me aware of a site that sends text messages with sports scores – and tons of other alerts. This site is 4info.net. It’s a great one-stop shop for text alerts, allowing you to coordinate everything under a single ID and password. It’s also free. It is supported by advertising. There is a very short ad at the end of each message (it is a part of the main message, not a separate text message). For example, one recent messages ended with this “Romance Reading! Reply LUV”. If you are interested in the ad, you reply to the text message (your cell provider might charge you for incoming/outgoing text messages – 4info does not charge for the service). If you’re not interested in the ad, you simply ignore it. As far as advertisements go, these are pretty easy to live with.

I absolutely love the sports alerts. I get a text message at the end of every Colorado Rockies game to tell me the score. I could have opted for a message at the end of every inning, or any time the score or lead changes, but those seemed like a bit of overkill – especially considering how many runs the Rockies score (and allow). You can also configure alerts for particular players. For example, I am a big fan of Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, so I get a text message every time Tulo gets a hit. Similar options are available for other sports. This is a great tool for fantasy sports junkies. The NCAA basketball tournament is just around the corner, and 4info is great for keeping up on scores from all the game.

4info’s services go far beyond sports, though. I also get the weather forecast so that I can be ready for the mood swings that Mother Nature tends to have in the Midwest. The “on this day” alerts tells you about an important (or not-so-important) event that occurred on today’s date. The stock market alert allows you to track stocks (or indexes) and get alerts when the price goes above of below a certain price – or rises or drops more than a specific percent. The daily insult delivers a zinger that you’ll be tempted to use later in the day. Those of you who wish to acquire new superstitions can receive snippets about superstitions every day (“if you walk through a spider web without seeing it, you will soon receive money”). Want to be notified when a particular item is listed on Craiglist? It can do that. Last, but not least, fans of astrology can have their horrorscopes sent to their cell phones every day.

This is not a comprehensive list of the alerts that 4info has. I highly recommend this free service and suggest that you subscribe to it immediately. It truly does have something for everyone.

Note: this is a work of fiction. A longer disclaimer can be found at the end of the piece.

The Soap Boxers was stunned to learn that the governor of Minnesota has suggested a radical cost savings plan – having the US Senate shrink its membership to just fifty members – one from each state.

We smelled a great story and sent resident bloodhound Scoop Chevelle to the frozen tundra to check the story out. Scoop arrived at the governor’s mansion on a snowmobile-driven carriage and was granted an audience with His Lordship, the Governor of Minnesota, Tom Lawplenty.

SC: My Lord Governor. It is a pleasure to finally meet you.

Gov: Scooter, let’s get rid of the formality. You may simply call me lord.

SC: Yes, lord. Some representatives of other states have suggested that this plan to reduce the US Senate to 50 members from its present membership of 99 is simply a ploy to return Minnesota to full representation in the Senate to avoid having the courts settle the Franken/Coleman election.

Gov: What a load of hogwash, Scooby. Obviously, the Frankenstein / Coolman issue will be resolved within the next few days. My only agenda is to reduce the cost of government to the fine taxpayers of the United States. I believe each senator is paid five million dollars per year. Cutting fifty senate positions would thus save taxpayers three billion dollars each year!

SC: Actually, I’m pretty sure they make $174,000. Reducing fifty senators would save $8,700,000.

Gov: Skippy, don’t try to confuse the taxpayers with that deceptive “new math” you New York folks are slinging around. Consider also that each senator has a staff of three hundred, eight chefs, a barbershop quartet, and a dog groomer. We’re a talking about tens of thousands of positions that could be eliminated, at a savings of seven trillion dollars.

SC: I think those numbers may be based on some inaccurate information, my lord.

Gov: Also, Sarah, this plan would finally put an end to the senate hazing.

SC: Hazing?

Gov: Oh, yes, Sally. You would not believe the hazing that occurs. The senior senators from each state treat the junior senators very poorly. The cut ahead of them in line at the cafeteria, steal their lunch money, flush their heads down the toilet, shove them into lockers. It really isn’t pretty.

SC: Well, this is definitely an, um, enlightened viewpoint. Do you have anything else to add?

Gov: Oh, yes, Wendy. We should not stop there. We should also reduce the House of Representatives by half.

SC: How would this be feasible? Some states have an odd number of representatives.

Gov: Well, Amy, we could handle this like King Solomon and chop someone in half. Ha. ha, ha. I’m just kidding. If a state had seven representatives, they would have four representatives during one session of congress and three during the next session of congress.

SC: How would you handle Wyoming, with its single representative?

Gov: Oh, that’s very easy, Jasmine. Wyoming would have one representative half the time and zero representatives half the time.

SC: Lord, are you seriously proposing taxation without representation for the citizens of Wyoming?

Gov: Ha, ha, ha. Where would you ever gets such a crazy idea, Crystal? Of course not. I’m Mr. e pluribus unum himself. Carpe diem and salve regina!

SC [visibly confused]: Well, there you have it, America. This is Scoop Chevelle, reporting to you from the heartland of America.

Note: This is a work of fiction. It has minimal basis in fact. I believe the only facts are that Norm Franken and Norm Coleman are indeed still locked in a court battle surrounding their senate race, and that there are snowmobiles in Minnesota. I have altered the name of the Governor of Minnesota to reflect the fictional nature (and to avoid having him hunt me down and punch me in the face). The character of Lord Governor Lawplenty does not share core values with the real governor of the state, nor does he represent the fine citizens of Minnesota in any way.

People of Minnesota (and Wyoming): please, no hate mail . Give me enough time, and I will eventually take shots at all 50 states. I have already written an Oregon article (click the “Humor” link on the right side of the screen)

For those of you who are not sports fans, hang with me through the next couple of weeks. I’ll be hitting you with a heavy dose of WBC, but will return to a more regular mix of posts once the WBC is complete. I promise a non-sports post either Wednesday or Thursday (possibly both days, if I get more time to write).

This update covers the games from March 8 and March 9

Game 5 (loser eliminated): Korea vs. Cuba (Sunday)
Korea ends China’s WBC with a 14-0 win. Korea starter Suk Min Yoon went 6 innings, allowing two hits and no runs. Korea was already up 4-0 in the 5th inning when they busted the game open by scoring five runs on three hits, two walks, one hit batter, and two errors. That’s not a pretty way to score runs, but it is effective. The mercy rule (one team ahead by 10 or more runs after 7 innings) was invoked after the top of the 7th.

Game 6 (determines the pool winner): Japan vs. Korea (Monday)
Korea avenged a game 3 loss to Japan with a 1-0 nail biter. Korea got their run on a walk and two singles against Japan starter Hisashi Iwakuma. Korea had just four hits in the game, but Korea’s pitches did no allow a run on six hits and no walks.

I find it a bit odd that Korea is the pool winner. My opinion is that the game 3 winner should be declared the pool winner, and the team that has a loss after the first 5 games is the pool runner-up. Japan shouldn’t feel too bad, as they lost a 1-0 squeaker and won a 14-0 rout – so they should be confident in their chances if they run into Korea again.

Pool A is complete.

Game 1: Cuba vs. South Africa (Sunday)
This was a horrible mismatch on paper, and turned out to be a mismatch on the field as well. Cuba starting pitcher Norge Luis Vera allowed 2 hits in 6 innings, including no his through the first four innings. South Africa managed 4 hits in the game and finally dented the scoreboard in the 9th inning. Cuba hit 6 homers (5 solo shots) in the game, including 2 by Frederich Cepeda. Neither team committed an error.

Game 2: Mexico vs. Australia (Sunday)
In a stunner, Australia knocked off the home team Mexico 17-7. Australia hit four homers and set a WBC record for hits in a game with 22. Australia is kind of a low second tier club. They weren’t really expected to contend, but on the other hand, they are definitely a big jump up in talent from the likes of South Africa and Taipei. They’ll have their hands full with Cuba, and if they lose to Cuba, they would need to beat Mexico again in game 5 – something that the Mexico City crowd might not allow.

Game 3: (loser eliminated) Mexico vs. South Africa (Monday)
After being upset by Australia in their first game, Mexico bounced back with a 14-3 win over the toothless South Africa team. Adrian Gonzalez hit two homers and drove in six runs and Oscar Robles and Jorge Cantu also hit homers. This games was actually 3-2 after six innings, and the bats awoke for team Mexico. Elmer Dessens allowed two runs on three hits and no walks through six innings. Mexico will face the loser of Australia/Cuba in game 5. The winner of that game will advance to the next round.

Game 3 (winner advances): USA vs. Venezuela (Sunday)
Rockies catcher Chris Iannetta saved a run by preventing a wild pitch, and then broke open the game with a three run double (advancing to third on the throw home) to make the game 6-3. The game also included homers by Kevin Youkilis, Ryan Braun, and Adam Dunn. Oddly, one of the guys on TV (a guest, I believe) initially credited the Dunn homer to Derek Jeter, in spite of the fact that the 6’6”, 275 pound Dunn looks absolutely nothing like Jeter. Well, I guess they are both human beings.

Game 4 (loser eliminated): Italy vs. Canada (Monday)
Wow. Italy beats Canada 6-2. I had Canada advancing as the #2 team in pool C, but that was not to be. Chris Denorfia was 4-4 with three doubles and two RBI. Dan Serafini (1st round MLB draft pick in 1992) didn’t allow any runs until the 4th inning, when he allowed the only two runs of the game. Interestingly, neither Denorfia nor Serafini were actually born in Italy. There is not birth or residency requirement in the WBC, so you see a lot of people (Americans, especially) playing for the country of their ancestors. This is true of many teams, not just Italy – I’m not suggesting that there is anything wrong with this, just that it’s an interesting aspect to the WBC.

Next: Italy and Venezuela face off in game 5, with the winner getting a trip to the next round.

Game 3 (loser eliminated): Dominican Republic vs. Panama (Sunday)
The Dominican Republic bounced back from their upset loss to the Netherlands by shutting down Panama 9-0. Miguel Olivio hit two homers. Dominican starting pitcher Johnny Cueto went 4 2/3 innings. He allowed just two hits and a walk, but he did plunk two batters.

Game 4 (winner advances) Netherlands vs. Puerto Rico (Monday)
This game was closer than Puerto Rico would have liked, but they managed to punch their ticket to the next round with a 3-1 win over the Netherlands. The Netherlands scored in the top of the first and held a 1-0 lead until the 8th inning, when catcher Yadier Molina (of the famous catching Molinas) drove home two runs with a double.

Next: Game 5 will be a rematch of the Domincan Republic and Netherlands. The Netherlands has now strung together two good games – can they beat the Dominican Republic again and clinch a spot in the next round? I like the Dominican Republic to win the WBC, so I can’t turn against them now – I think the DR does bounce back and beat the Netherlands.

This is the first installment in a three part series. Catch the other installments on the next two Mondays.

I’m the youngest of eight children. None of my siblings have any interest in sports. I really didn’t become a sports fan until I was in third grade. My teacher was a sports fan. At some point during the third grade, I decided the sports were cool and became a fan.

At that age, most of the kids followed the same sports teams. Everyone followed the Iowa Hawkeyes, of course. The Cubs and Bears were also very popular. I quickly became a die hard fan of these teams. I also became a fan of the LA Lakers, although the reason for this isn’t particularly clear, since LA is a long way from Iowa.

My timing really could not have been better. I became a sports fan in late 1983 – early 1984. Ryne Sandberg was my favorite player. Ryno led the Cubs on a magical ride to their first playoff appearance since 1945. He was named the National League MVP. The Cubs, alas, fell to the Padres in the National League Championship Series and would not return to the playoffs until 1989 (where they would once again fall in the NLCS).

1985 was a great year for my football teams. My Chicago Bears went 15-1 during the regular season before advancing to the Super Bowl and running roughshod over the New England Patriots 46-10. The lone negative aspect of that year was the fact that Walter Payton did not score a touchdown in that Super Bowl game.

My Iowa Hawkeyes also had a dream season in 1985. In the greatest game in the history of the University of Iowa, the #1 ranked Hawkeyes knocked off #2 ranked Michigan 12-10 on a Rob Houghtlin field goal as time expired. The perfect season was later derailed by a loss to Ohio State, but the Hawks were the Big 10 champs and represented the conference in the Rose Bowl. Unfortunately, they were undone by Ronnie Harmon fumbles and lost the bowl game.

The Iowa basketball team also had some bright moments – notably a Sweet 16 appearance in 1988 – and featured stars such as BJ Armstrong, Roy Marble, and Acie Earl.

The brightest spot in my early sports fanhood were my LA Lakers. Unlike most fans my age, I never became a fan of Michael Jordan. My man was Magic Johnson, the 6’9” point guard for the Lakers. Magic led the Lakers to the NBA title in 1985, 1987, and 1988, as well as appearances in the NBA Finals in 1984, 1989, and 1991. His annual battles with Larry Bird was the stuff of legends.

At this point, I’ll go on a bit of a tangent to discuss the positive aspects of sports on children. At the time when I became a sports fan, I was a lackluster student. My newfound interest in sports compelled me to read any sports related item I came across. When I read the sports section, I even read about the sports that I didn’t follow. Sports also helped me build my math skills. Statistics are a key aspect of sports, and I became adept at calculating the statistics. In a couple of years, I became a very good student, emerging as a strong writer and math student.