Well boys and girls, your ol’ pal Uncle Willie isn’t going to be able to add a video piece on Opening day in the majors or tomorrow night’s college hoops finale. I tried setting the camera up in the garden but it’s so damn windy today – gusts over 30 mph – that to get a good shot of the garden, you can’t hear me speaking over the wind. And to hear me I have to be pretty much in a close up, Mr. De Mille, and I know y’all don’t want to see this old ugly mug in a close up for a few minutes.
So I did the next best thing and stood on the back deck as still as I could be for a while and finally captured some of the hummingbird action that has been picking up recently with the warmer temps. It’s so windy that these little fellows are even having trouble flying about and landing on the feeder that’s swinging with the breeze. I’m a bit more than arm’s reach, maybe standing five feet at most from the feeder in this shot. It holds about a pint, and eventually this summer we will have to refill it with water, sugar and food coloring three times a week.
I’ll try to get a shot of the garden maybe one night this week if weather permits. Pretty this time of year with the bluebonnets and bulbines in bloom. In the meantime, let’s talk sports.
This is truly a changing of seasons for me. My favorite sport, baseball, is just cranking up and my second favorite, college hoops, is a game away from ending. Six months from now, baseball will be holding its World Series and college basketball will be just getting underway. Makes for a perfect year-round odyssey for me, much to the chagrin of Queen Bee.
I’ve already got the grill ready and have some pork hot links and hot dogs ready to throw on the fire a little later today in anticipation of tonight’s season opener in the big leagues. Philadelphia gets to go to work quickly in defense of their 2008 championship when they host the Braves, and I’ve been looking at some numbers for a while plus reading the board to see what the SBR folks are saying, and quite frankly I’ev got no realy good feel for this one.
My first instinct is to take the Over 8½ for a few reasons. Let’s start with the fact the two teams combined for 106 runs in the nine games they played last year at Citizens Bank Park, averaging about 11.6 runs per contest. The Over cashed five of the nine times, closing in the 9-10 raneg in each game, so we get an extra half-run break with tonight’s number. The price has even been dropping and you might be able to get it for -103 or -150 depending where you shop.
Let’s also look at the pitchers, Brett Myers for the home Phils and Derek Lowe making his Atlanta Braves debut. Myers got cracked twice by the Braves last year, and while Lowe has a decent individual career mark against Philly, his Dodgers were 1-2 in his three starts against them last year. I’ve got a bad attitude about Myers, I admit, so it’s very tough for me to get behind him. But while Lowe has been a very consistent pitcher the past few years, I just don’t see him working more than 5-6 innings and I think by then the Phils will have at least three runs. In fact, I’m counting on Philadelphia to have three runs when Lowe leaves the game.
A valid argument against the Over would include both Myers and Lowe having very decent springs and both being backed by what look like solid pens coming out of exhibition play. Brad Lidge wasn’t perfect this spring, but the Philly relief corps is very good, and probably the most important part of the ’08 campaign. Mike Gonzalez had a rough spring for the Braves, well, rough might be a bit misleading. He wasn’t spot on, let’s put it that way, and Rafael Soriano was only starting to see some action as ST camps wrapped up. Still, both pens are more than capable of shutting things down in a game for 3-4 innings.
In the end, the Over 8½ is the top thing that stands out.
One problem with baseball starting just as college basketball is ending is it’s difficult sometimes on these old bones and gray matter to get all pumped up about baseball starting and still have much excitement for the hoops title tilt. Tomorrow night’s NCAA basketball contest between Michigan St. and North Carolina is a little different because I kept good notes from when the two schools met back in early December with the hype leading into that matchup being all about the possibility of it being a Final Four preview. It’s very rare for media hype about such a game living up to its promise these days, but this time it did.
When they met on Dec 3 in this very building, the game didn’t live up to its advance billing at all. North Carolina walked away with a 35-point lead, 98-63 as Tyler Hansbrough led five Tar Heels in double digits and the only time the Spartans were even close was just prior to the tip.
Once again, the total jumps at me more than either side. These are not the same two teams that met four months ago as State is simply rolling and smoking right now. Well, North Carolina is about the same team as there’s nothing slouch about their game presently. But Tom Izzo – who I really like – has his guys on a run that’s very impressive.
The overall college basketball season was dynamic and jerky within the rankings, maybe one of the bumpiest rides we’ve had as far as the Top 5 go. Michigan State was a bit rough out of the gate and that Dec 3 meeting was no doubt an embarrassment for Izzo & Co. But I’m also sure he would tell you that it was the loss at Perdue just after Valentine’s Day that bothered them more; without the defeat at the hands of the Boilermakers, we’re talking about a Spartans team that would have won the Big Ten regular season by five games though, and their run through Kansas, Louisville and UConn is to be respected.
On the total, we’re in the 152½-153 range and I was hoping it would go up a bit. I can feel Michigan State’s luck running out and think UNC is the pick to win. But at the same time, I’m not as sure the Heels cover 7½-point chalk and my gut says there’s a slow start to this one Monday night, maybe some 34-30 halftime score. I like Under 153-154 if you can get it.
So I did the next best thing and stood on the back deck as still as I could be for a while and finally captured some of the hummingbird action that has been picking up recently with the warmer temps. It’s so windy that these little fellows are even having trouble flying about and landing on the feeder that’s swinging with the breeze. I’m a bit more than arm’s reach, maybe standing five feet at most from the feeder in this shot. It holds about a pint, and eventually this summer we will have to refill it with water, sugar and food coloring three times a week.
I’ll try to get a shot of the garden maybe one night this week if weather permits. Pretty this time of year with the bluebonnets and bulbines in bloom. In the meantime, let’s talk sports.
This is truly a changing of seasons for me. My favorite sport, baseball, is just cranking up and my second favorite, college hoops, is a game away from ending. Six months from now, baseball will be holding its World Series and college basketball will be just getting underway. Makes for a perfect year-round odyssey for me, much to the chagrin of Queen Bee.
I’ve already got the grill ready and have some pork hot links and hot dogs ready to throw on the fire a little later today in anticipation of tonight’s season opener in the big leagues. Philadelphia gets to go to work quickly in defense of their 2008 championship when they host the Braves, and I’ve been looking at some numbers for a while plus reading the board to see what the SBR folks are saying, and quite frankly I’ev got no realy good feel for this one.
My first instinct is to take the Over 8½ for a few reasons. Let’s start with the fact the two teams combined for 106 runs in the nine games they played last year at Citizens Bank Park, averaging about 11.6 runs per contest. The Over cashed five of the nine times, closing in the 9-10 raneg in each game, so we get an extra half-run break with tonight’s number. The price has even been dropping and you might be able to get it for -103 or -150 depending where you shop.
Let’s also look at the pitchers, Brett Myers for the home Phils and Derek Lowe making his Atlanta Braves debut. Myers got cracked twice by the Braves last year, and while Lowe has a decent individual career mark against Philly, his Dodgers were 1-2 in his three starts against them last year. I’ve got a bad attitude about Myers, I admit, so it’s very tough for me to get behind him. But while Lowe has been a very consistent pitcher the past few years, I just don’t see him working more than 5-6 innings and I think by then the Phils will have at least three runs. In fact, I’m counting on Philadelphia to have three runs when Lowe leaves the game.
A valid argument against the Over would include both Myers and Lowe having very decent springs and both being backed by what look like solid pens coming out of exhibition play. Brad Lidge wasn’t perfect this spring, but the Philly relief corps is very good, and probably the most important part of the ’08 campaign. Mike Gonzalez had a rough spring for the Braves, well, rough might be a bit misleading. He wasn’t spot on, let’s put it that way, and Rafael Soriano was only starting to see some action as ST camps wrapped up. Still, both pens are more than capable of shutting things down in a game for 3-4 innings.
In the end, the Over 8½ is the top thing that stands out.
One problem with baseball starting just as college basketball is ending is it’s difficult sometimes on these old bones and gray matter to get all pumped up about baseball starting and still have much excitement for the hoops title tilt. Tomorrow night’s NCAA basketball contest between Michigan St. and North Carolina is a little different because I kept good notes from when the two schools met back in early December with the hype leading into that matchup being all about the possibility of it being a Final Four preview. It’s very rare for media hype about such a game living up to its promise these days, but this time it did.
When they met on Dec 3 in this very building, the game didn’t live up to its advance billing at all. North Carolina walked away with a 35-point lead, 98-63 as Tyler Hansbrough led five Tar Heels in double digits and the only time the Spartans were even close was just prior to the tip.
Once again, the total jumps at me more than either side. These are not the same two teams that met four months ago as State is simply rolling and smoking right now. Well, North Carolina is about the same team as there’s nothing slouch about their game presently. But Tom Izzo – who I really like – has his guys on a run that’s very impressive.
The overall college basketball season was dynamic and jerky within the rankings, maybe one of the bumpiest rides we’ve had as far as the Top 5 go. Michigan State was a bit rough out of the gate and that Dec 3 meeting was no doubt an embarrassment for Izzo & Co. But I’m also sure he would tell you that it was the loss at Perdue just after Valentine’s Day that bothered them more; without the defeat at the hands of the Boilermakers, we’re talking about a Spartans team that would have won the Big Ten regular season by five games though, and their run through Kansas, Louisville and UConn is to be respected.
On the total, we’re in the 152½-153 range and I was hoping it would go up a bit. I can feel Michigan State’s luck running out and think UNC is the pick to win. But at the same time, I’m not as sure the Heels cover 7½-point chalk and my gut says there’s a slow start to this one Monday night, maybe some 34-30 halftime score. I like Under 153-154 if you can get it.