Red Sox fans calm down about Ortiz...

Big Papi is done. I said it. So we can all calm down about how could he fall off like this? What's wrong? I can tell you. He went back to normal. The Twins didn't just give up on him for no reason.


Look, his best year in Minnesota he hit .272 with 20 home runs and an on-base percentage of .339 and 87 strikeouts. Decent numbers but nothing hall of fame worthy like I have been hearing people intimate. Added with the fact he is a defensive liability and it shows Ortiz is an average player through his first 6 seasons.

The next 5 in Boston he became well above average putting in some serious numbers and driving the Sox to multiple World Series titles. I can admit he was a beast but that was his prime and guess what, it's over. It's just over. He is nowhere near as good as Mo Vaughn or Frank Thomas were to start their careers and has fallen off back to his normal self over the past 2. Nothing surprising here to me, just the natural track of a player like him. He's a great guy so we want him to be successful, but he isn't great as a player. Let it go.

What Matters...to Reporters

I was watching Around the Horn and the panel was talking about steroids in baseball again and Manny Ramirez visitng the Dodgers. During the discussion, it was mentioned that fans don't care about steroids in baseball anymore. The panelists however, all maintained that they wanted to see Manny sit and answer questions about his steroid use (alleged) for a half an hour at the least in order to feel like they have contrition from Manny. I have two problems with that.

Number one, if the fans feel this is no longer an issue, why are you going to try and force us to really care about this? No one is really crying because some dude went and got some roids and we still want to see the games. The issue is done. Why do these journalists need to try and get every detail of steroid use. They can't figure out how it happens? It is pretty well documented.

Then there is this idea that he must feel contrite or sorry for what he did. He doesn't. He knew what he was doing and is dealing with the consequences. This idea that we have to apologize to your level of satisfaction has to stop. To be holding on to the "issue" until you feel someone has personally come and kissed your feet is a terribly selfish idea and as a journalist, you need to move beyond your own personal need for justification and report the story as is and not make the story yourself.

The Oriole Magic...

It was great to see the crowd yesterday at Camden yards be full of fans who actually were there to see the team. The excitement over Matt Wieters' arrival was great to see in a town that had become basically lethargic when it comes to it's baseball team.

It's is amazing how the people of a city can have such faith in one person to change the fate of the organization. It's even more amazing because he is such a young man and assuredly he will struggle at some point. For now however, it must be a great feeling to know that so many people want to see you succeed. Hopefully he won't put too much pressure on himself to carry the team by himself, especially during this upcoming season.

The three Point shot

Now I know that a lot of purists complain about the three point shot because they say it ruins the game and makes players too dependent on it. I have to agree with them after watching this year's playoffs in the NBA and even March's NCAA tournament.

I can appreciate players working on their jumpers somewhat. It did get tiring in the late 90's to see everyone trying to drive like Iverson on every play, however, they haven't been working enough. On too many fast breaks, guys are stopping to try and pop a trey when they need to be driving to the lane and going for points.

Just look at the Denver Nuggets as they played against the Lakers. Player after player jacking up threes when there was 6 feet between them and the next defender to step in a little closer and get a better shot. It's not like these threes were so desperately needed during the middle of the game.

In the game 5 Eastern Conference Final game against the Cavs, The Magic went 8 for 25 from behind the arc. Thats at least 10 more three pointers than they should have taken. These players need to realize the three point shot is a luxury to use when open or a last ditch effort. In the same game, the Caves went 9 for 18 with the shots being taken by three players, not whoever happened to catch the ball behind the line. Coaches need to step up and start coaching against this.

Me and my teams

After careful consideration I have decided to add a sports blog to my repetoire to complement my existing Hip-Hop Blog. The best way to start out is to lay the foundation by talking about the sports and teams I follow.

Let me say now some things will probably be weird to some people. I'm black, under 30, not from the South and I enjoy baseball, Football, and Nascar first and foremost. Then there is college basketball and lastly NBA Playoff basketball. I will occasionally watch some college football because some relatives now play at that level but not much. The number one team of all high schools is of course, The Knights of Baltimore City College High School.

In baseball I am a hometown fan of the Baltimore Orioles. and of course the biggest, baddest football team in America, The Baltimore Ravens.

I don't have many Nascar drivers that stand out more than any others because I like to see variety in competitiveness. I can say I am not a fan of the Hendrick Motorsports team and I tend to favor Ford drivers like David Ragan, but more on that later.

In the NBA, I am more a fan pf players than I am of teams, of course being from Baltimore I follow Carmelo Anthony closely, but for some reason not Rudy Gay. Kobe is the best player today although Lebron is very close and Dwayne Wade can carry his team just like either of those guys.

Thats the start of this blog so I hope you can stick around for more!