Marty Brennaman Speaks His Mind On The Cardinals!

Marty Brennaman (Cincinnati.com)

I can't get enough of this stuff. I do my best to listen to Red's Hall of Fame radio play-by-play man Marty Brennaman, but missed this beauty from last night (Monday, 5/16/11). Marty is known to speak his mind, and that's why we in Cincinnati love him.

Here's a link to the transcript and the audio from last night courtesy of the Unsportsmanlike Conduct Blog on the Cincinnati Enquirer's website, Cincinnati.com:

http://cincinnati.com/blogs/sports/2011/05/17/marty-brennaman-goes-off-on-cardinals/

Classic stuff!

A New Number 1, FC Dallas! Major League Soccer Power Rankings, Week 9, 5/16/11

After a 4 Week Run By Real Salt Lake, FC Dallas Takes Over The Top Spot!

My Week 9 Major League Soccer Power Rankings (wins-losses-draws) UP or DOWN from last week:

1)   FC Dallas, Western Conference (5-3-2) 17 points UP
The hottest team in the MLS. Two wins this week earns FC Dallas a jump to number 1!

2)   Real Salt Lake, Western Conference (5-1-1) 16 points DOWN
Still playing well, but FC Dallas is currently on better form.

3)   Chivas USA, Western Conference (3-3-3) 12 points UP
Chivas earns the biggest jump in the this week's rankings along with the New England Revolution. The first MLS team this year to earn a victory (beating the Red Bulls 3-2) after traveling 3 time zones.

4)   LA Galaxy, Western Conference (5-2-5) 20 points
A draw against the Philadelphia Union away and a dominant win at home keep the Galaxy at number 4.

5)   New York Red Bulls, Eastern Conference (4-2-3) 15 points DOWN
A home loss against a West Coast team? Unforgivable.

6)   Portland Timbers, Western Conference (4-3-2) 14 points DOWN
Their 1-1 draw with Seattle Saturday night was a treat to watch!

7)   Seattle Sounders FC, Western Conference (3-3-5) 14 points
Their fans were awesome Saturday night. How about that Tifo!

Seattle Sounders Tifo vs Portland Timbers 5/14/11

This week's rankings demonstrate the MLS Western Conference dominance. The only Eastern Conference representative in the top 7 is the New York Red Bulls, and they were beat at home by Chivas this week!

8)   Columbus Crew, Eastern Conference (3-2-4) 13 points DOWN

Crushed by the San Jose Earthquakes 3-0.

9)  New England Revolution, Eastern Conference (3-3-4) 13 points UP

The second team to jump 5 spots in this week's rankings. Starting to show decent form.

10) Colorado Rapids, Western Conference (4-3-3) 15 points UP

11) Philadelphia Union, Eastern Conference (4-3-2) 14 points DOWN
A draw and a loss this week continues the Union's drop in the rankings.

12) Toronto FC, Eastern Conference (2-4-5) 11 points UP

13) Houston Dynamo, Eastern Conference (3-3-4) 13 points DOWN

14) D.C. United, Eastern Conference (3-4-3) 12 points DOWN

15) San Jose Earthquakes, Western Conference (2-4-3) 9 points UP
Can San Jose build on the draw at Vancouver and a home win versus Columbus this past week?

16) Chicago Fire, Eastern Conference (1-3-5) 8 points DOWN

17) Vancouver Whitecaps, Western Conference (1-5-5) 8 points DOWN

18) Sporting Kansas City, Eastern Conference (1-5-1) 4 points
Sporting's third straight week at the bottom of the rankings. Not good.

Reds Sweep Cardinals-And The Cardinals Are Whining Again!

The Reds took all three games this weekend from the Cardinals and are now in first place in the National League Central by 1.5 games.

It was definitely a fun series, and a great series for Reds fans. I saw game two on Saturday, a 7-3 drubbing by the Reds.

Winning Duh #Reds http://yfrog.com/h7walmeajFOX19Eileen May 15, 2011 at 16:36

But the real fireworks, which continues to reinforce the fierceness of this rivalry, came in Sunday's game. In the top of the ninth, with the Reds leading 9-7 and one out, Reds pitcher Francisco Cordero hit Albert Pujols with a pitch.

Pujols took first base. The Cardinals had runners on first and second at that point. The next Cardinals' batter, Matt Holliday hit a sure double-play grounder to Reds' shortstop Paul Janish, who flipped to second baseman Brandon Phillips for the first out. But Albert Pujols slid hard into second, forcing a bad throw to first.

The Cardinals were left with runners at first and third, and two outs. Right fielder Lance Berkman came to bat. Cordero struck him out, giving the Reds the series sweep.

That's when the real fun started. Following the Berkman strikeout, someone yelled at Cordero from the Cardinals' dugout. Cordero reacted, yelling something pretty close to f**k you in Spanish back to the Cardinals. OK, I might be embellishing that part, but Cordero definitely had some choice words for the Cardinals.

Ultimately things calmed down. But in typical fashion, the Cardinals whined again after losing to the Reds. Reports are that someone (Cordero fingered Gerald Laird, but TV replays showed Cardinal pitching coach Dave Duncan) took umbrage to the fact that Cordero had hit Pujols with the pitch.

Why would Cordero purposely do that? Holliday and Berkman followed Pujols in the batting order. Hitting Pujols put the winning run at the plate with one out. Even Albert Pujols himself told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he didn't think it was intentional.

But the Cardinals are whiners, and they continue to show it. John Fay, the Reds' beat writer for the Cincinnati Enquirer (check out his twitter account johnfayman) covered the situation along with reactions very well in his blog. Check out these posts:
Reds win 9-7, teams trade barbs afterward

Game talk: Reds-Cardinals reactions

What others are saying about Reds’ sweep of Cards

Fallout from yesterday

Mother's Day 2011!

Mallory, Brian, Tammy, Michael and Me at Pho Lang Thang

I know Mother's Day was last Sunday, but thought I would post this picture from that day. My three kids (Mallory, Brian and Michael) and I took Tammy, my wife (and yes, their Mother), to lunch at Pho Lang Thang, a wonderful Vietnamese restaurant located at Findlay Market in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Happy Mother's Day Bunny!

Reds Win!

I still hate the Cardinals, and just watched the Reds beat them 7-3 to move into first place in the National League Central Division! The Reds will go for the sweep tomorrow!

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

I Hate The Cardinals

I can't stand the Cardinals. After the Reds 6-5, bottom of the 10th inning walk-off (thanks Joey Votto) victory over them last night, my hatred has become crystal clear in my mind.

Living in Cincinnati, we are groomed to hate the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns. But it's hard to hate the Cincinnati Bengals' main rivals, as the Bengals are never competitive, and the Browns are never a factor. My Dad is from Western Pennsylvania  and I lived in the Pittsburgh area for two years (not to mention my two brothers live there, and my daughter Mallory will be going to grad school at Pitt in the Fall), so I actually kind of like the Steelers. Plus the Steelers are the model NFL franchise and always seem to be in the playoffs.

On the other hand it's easy to find reasons to hate the Reds' rivals. In the 70's, the Reds competed in the National League West, and the Dodgers were their main competition. I hated those guys. Steve Garvey was pompous, Ron Cey ran like a penguin (duh) and Davey Lopes was a pain in the ass on the baselines. Their fans had no commitment to their team, arriving for the games late and leaving early.

Spin forward to now. I remember not liking the Dodgers back in the 70's, but I can honestly say I hate the Cardinals today. I get pissed when they beat the Reds. Last summer, when the Cardinal came to Cincinnati and swept three games in early August (including winning the infamous brawl game) I was sick to my stomach. But my beloved Reds used that sweep as a catalyst for the rest of the season and played well enough to win the Central Division by 5 games.

Why are the Cardinals the target of my wrath?

- They are successful, one of the model franchises in the National League, with fans who are loyal, passionate and with outstanding baseball intelligence. I hate hearing that (although it's probably true).

- Since the National League Central Division was formed in 1994, the Cardinals have won it seven times, more than any other team.

-Albert Pujols. I started out liking him. But my wife Tammy hates him. She thinks he cheats. I have to go with her, as life in my house would be miserable if I don't agree.

-The Brawl. OK, Brandon Phillips stoked the fire prior to the infamous brawl last summer when he fired off this ditty prior to the series:

"I'd play against these guys with one leg," Phillips told Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News. "I hate the Cardinals. All they do is bitch and moan about everything, all of them, they're little bitches, all of 'em."

And of course the over sensitive Cardinals decided to take it personally. So when Phillips led off in the second game of the series and customarily touched Yadier Molina's shinguard with his bat (as he has done for years) the fight was on. Oh, by the way-the Reds kicked the Cardinals asses in that fight! (coverage: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100810&content_id=13276098&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb)

- They are managed by the "Great" Tony LaRussa. I have already commented on his gamesmanship in a previous post. Is there any manager more overrated than LaRussa? He has been managing for over thirty years, yet only has two World Series victories. He only has two National League Pennants in 15 plus years with the Cardinals. Hell, if I managed that long I could have walked into two pennants with the talent the Cardinals have had over the years. His biggest accomplishment is that he has built up wins over a long period of time. Congratulations on your longevity, Tony.

Tony LaRussa has conveniently turned his back to the PED (performance enhancing drugs) abuse that took place on his teams over the years, and presided over two of the most infamous teams (The Oakland A's and the Cardinals) in the PED era.

Dusty Baker and Tony LaRussa don't like each other (it goes back to the 2002 National League Championship series between the Baker Managed Giants and the LaRussa Managed Cardinals). This article from September 2010 provides a good history of their rivalry: http://network.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/inside_the_tony_la_russa_dusty_baker_rivalry/3161081

But it's LaRussa's arrogance that really grates on me. Red's Hall of Fame broadcaster Marty Brennaman summarizes my feelings the best. On Feb 7th, 2011 he made this comment at an event at Marshall University in West Virgina:

“I'm not a big St. Louis fan, because I'm not a big Tony LaRussa fan. I refer to him as ‘Mr. Baseball' on the radio, because he acts like he invented the game.”

If it's good enough for Marty and Dusty not to like LaRussa, it's good enough for me.

This afternoon I'm going to the Cardinals, Reds game at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati. I would like nothing more than another Reds victory over the hated Cardinals. Too bad Tony LaRussa won't be there (taking some days off due to shingles) to enjoy the drubbing.

Movie Review-Bridesmaids (2011)

Kristen Wiig is a Star!

My wife Tammy and I just came home from seeing Bridesmaids. I was expecting a girl's version of The Hangover, and what I got was a very funny movie with a little bit of a love story thrown in.

Kristen Wiig plays Annie, who is the Maid of Honor for her best friend Lillian's (played by Maya Rudolph) upcoming wedding. Annie is broke and "down in the dumps" and is dealing with her own foibles (jealousy, lack of a substantive relationship, a bankrupt business...) throughout the movie. Throw in an odd and very funny group of women who make up the bridal party and you have a very entertaining flick.

Kristen Wiig has been great for years on Saturday Night Live. Her characters have been very fresh and creative. Her skills as a comedic actress translate in a wonderful way to the big screen in this movie. I feel like Ms. Wiig will use this movie as a springboard to a very good career in movies, in the same manner in which fellow Saturday Night Live alumnus Will Ferrell following his first starring roles in movies like Old School, Elf and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.

I have to give a special mention to Melissa McCarthy as Megan. She is over the top funny in this movie!

If you're looking to start the summer with a great comedy, Bridesmaids is the one to see!

Quote of the Week

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." - Dr. Seuss

Real Salt Lake Still on Top! Major League Soccer Power Rankings, Week 8, 5/9/11

For the 4th Straight Week, Real Salt Lake is #1!

My Week 8 Major League Soccer Power Rankings (wins-losses-draws) UP or DOWN from last week:

1)   Real Salt Lake, Western Conference (5-1-0) 15 points

Real Salt Lake stays on track with a win against Chivas USA. Will they be able to maintain this pace following the injury to Javier Morales?

2)   Portland Timbers, Western Conference (4-3-1) 13 points UP

4 wins in their last 5 matches, the only team as hot as Portland is Real Salt Lake. Amazing that an expansion team is having this much success. Portland makes the biggest leap in this week's rankings, a deserving #2.

3)   New York Red Bulls, Eastern Conference (4-1-3) 15 points

A well played draw in Los Angeles against the Galaxy keeps New York at #3.

4)   LA Galaxy, Western Conference (4-2-4) 16 points UP

The draw with the New York Red Bulls showed that the Galaxy is a top 5 team. If only Landon Donovan could have hit the ball a fraction harder on that open net...

5)   FC Dallas, Western Conference (3-3-2) 11 points UP

An away draw this week, and Dallas continues to rise up the rankings.

6)   Columbus Crew, Eastern Conference (3-1-4) 13 points DOWN

This week's 1-1 draw with Seattle was the Crew's 7th straight match without a loss.

7)   Seattle Sounders FC, Western Conference (3-3-4) 13 points DOWN

A loss and a draw on the road this week drops Seattle out of the top 5.

8)   Chivas USA, Western Conference (2-3-3) 9 points UP

9)   Philadelphia Union, Eastern Conference (4-2-1) 13 points DOWN
Hot early in the year, this week they ran into a buzzsaw, or should I say chainsaw, in Portland.

10) D.C. United, Eastern Conference (3-4-2) 11 points UP
A win and a draw makes for a very good week!

11) Houston Dynamo, Eastern Conference (3-3-3) 12 points DOWN

A home loss against the Rapids, and an away loss versus a weak Toronto FC earns the Dynamo the biggest drop in this week's rankings. 

12) Colorado Rapids, Western Conference (4-3-2) 14 points DOWN

The Rapids could be on the verge of breaking out of the bottom half of the rankings.

13) Toronto FC, Eastern Conference (2-3-4) 10 points UP

14) New England Revolution, Eastern Conference (2-3-4) 10 points DOWN

The Chicago Fire and Vancouver Whitecaps played to a 0-0 draw this week, and with San Jose and Sporting KC being idle, the bottom 4 in the rankings stay the same as last week.

15) Chicago Fire, Eastern Conference (1-3-4) 7 points

16) Vancouver Whitecaps, Western Conference (1-4-4) 7 points

17) San Jose Earthquakes, Western Conference (1-4-2) 5 points

18) Sporting Kansas City, Eastern Conference (1-4-1) 4 points

My 80 Year Old Dad is on Twitter!

If you follow my blog, you already know that my Dad has contributed some interesting thoughts over the last couple of months. His contributions (click on Dad in the label cloud to the right) were sent to me via email, which I then copied into my blog, whether I had permission from him or not!

Now my Dad has joined the Twitter Universe! His Twitter handle is sandosthe. Follow him: http://twitter.com/#!/sandosthe

Of course, when he published his first tweet, he emailed us to go look at it...

Here's a sample:

sandosthe Tom Sell 

Rats spelled backward is star; ecim spelled backwards is mice.

4 hours ago 

sandosthe Tom Sell 

If you want to ruin what could be a great day, put your underwear on backwards.

8 May 

sandosthe Tom Sell 

@tcsell smart asses with Ph.D.s will be eliminated in the new world order!

Dad (sandosthe)