Pretty Girl 02.16.11 - Ashley Harkleroad

Tennis, anyone? This isn't some model dressed up for a pictorial, girl's won 213 matches and over a million bucks on the WTA tour.

Goosebumps

Seriously.  Aaron Craft sprinted the length of the floor to chase down a ball that everyone else had given up on.  He grabbed it, beat two defenders for a reverse layup +1 on the foul.  Michigan State had thrown the ball away into the back court and the Spartans were conceding the over and back violation.  From the far baseline came Craft, like Value City Arena was the Salt Flats.  Talk about an intangible that makes all of the difference.

The Buckeyes bounced back and won the game that they had to.  If they hold serve, they'll get their AP #1 back.  On a night where Jared Sullinger was limited by a physical MSU interior, William Buford led the parade.  The team simply has too many weapons to overcome on the offensive end.  Their perimeter defense faltered against Wisconsin, but I doubt Michael Jordan and Gary Payton could have put the cuffs on Jordan Taylor in the last 12 minutes.  From a first half during which the official seemed dead set against calling any sort of foul on the opponent, OSU got back off of the mat to outscore Sparty 23-6 on the line.  The team has grit, the team has character and the team values every possession.  Nothing puts the cherry on the sundae like Dallas Lauderdale coolly knocking down 2 foul shots with a minute on the clock and raise his free throw accuracy from 29% to 35% .  Keep on keepin' on boys, March awaits.

Check out some cool footage courtesy of The Lantern (The Ohio State student newspaper) from the Iowa Game.  And, of course, Go Bucks.

Suicide Squeeze - Rickey Henderson ('92 Upper Deck)

Pretty Girl 02.15.11 - Amy Taylor

Australian for "Take top o...."  Wait.  She did take her top off.  Nice.

At Least We Were #1 For More Than 10 and 1/2 Hours

(And didn't lose by 16.)

'Nuff said.  Now we get split #1s.  Michigan State is a must win.

From the Bill James Handbook, courtesy of the PD, here are projections for the Indians most likely staring 9 -

• CF Grady Sizemore: .265, 38 doubles, 23 HR, 105 runs.
• SS Asdrubal Cabrera: .292, 33 doubles, 59 RBI, 78 runs.
• RF Shin-Soo Choo: .299, 33 doubles, 85 RBI, 88 runs.
• C Carlos Santana: .280, 32 doubles, 91 RBI, 83 runs.
• DH Travis Hafner: .268, 24 doubles, 16 HR, 52 runs.
• 2B Orlando Cabrera*: .268, 35 doubles, 61 RBI, 77 runs.
• 1B Matt LaPorta: .257, 29 doubles, 22 HR, 74 runs.
• 3B Jason Donald: .261 20 doubles, 29 RBI, 42 runs.
• LF Michael Brantley: .268, 22 doubles, 46 RBI, 81 runs. 
 

* -- Cabrera still has to pass a physical before he officially becomes an Indian. 

Projected games played for Indians starters: Sizemore 158, A. Cabrera 141, Choo 149, Santana 149, Hafner 114, O. Cabrera 150, LaPorta 143, Donald 88, Brantley 148. 

 I say that if these numbers come to pass, the Tribe wins 85 games.

Got $15?  You should spend it on this -

Cheers.

Suicide Squeeze - Satchel Paige ('92 Upper Deck)

Pretty Girl 02.14.11 - Jessica Biel

Why?  Because she's Jessica freakin' Biel.  My eloquence will land her as my valentine. Cheers.

Suicide Squeeze - John Rocker & Jeriome Robertson ('92 Upper Deck)

Puffs of Smoke

1)  So the word on the street (IPI, PD, etc) is that the Indians have signed Orlando Cabrera to play second base.  First off, be aware that the deal is not official yet, the two sides have only "agreed to terms."  That being said, the decision makes little sense.  The only rational for sliding a former Gold Glover out of his natural position is to protect the fragile psyche of the incumbent.  Now, I dig AsCab, but it's not like he's a Hall of Famer in the making.

As I've become more experienced with the nuances of professional sports, I have come to comprehend just how much success is based on mental endurance.  I'm not pointing to extreme cases like Zack Greinke or Kahlil Greene, rather to the fact that all of these dudes are really only guys like us.  They're not supermen.  They get happy and sad and angry and depressed and jealous and the whole bag.  I get it.  Even so, Asdrubal should have the wherewithal to recognize that Orlando is a rental and his play at short would be in the best interests of the team.  I mean, Az deferred to Jhonny freakin' Peralta for 2 years.  Don't be a baby.

2)  In addition to his career game yesterday, Cleveland State point guard Norris Cole has something else to smile about.  Cole is one of 10 finalists for the Bob Cousy award as the nation's top point guard.

The complete list --

Norris Cole - Cleveland State
Corey Fisher – Villanova
Jimmer Fredette – BYU
DJ Gay – San Diego State
Brandon Knight –  Kentucky
Demetri McCamey – Illinois
Mickey McConnell – St. Mary’s
Nolan Smith – Duke
Isaiah Thomas – Washington
Kemba Walker – Connecticut

The only guy that isn't a household name is McConnell.  I've seen him just once but that was the game that he hit a ridiculous leaner to give the Gaels their first win at Gonzaga in 15 years.  He's the real deal.  For Cole, just to be included on the list is an honor.  And for CSU, the fact they're about to send there second alumnus in 3 years to the Association speaks volumes to the renaissance that Gary Waters has initiated.

3)  New Browns head man Pat Shurmur will run without an offensive co-ordinator.  I would like to believe this is to make use of the man's background in play-calling.  Unfortunately, the work week of an NFL head coach is about 80 hours even when delegating to an OC.  This suggests that Mike Holmgren will truly be pulling strings from behind the curtain and ghost coaching the whole deal.  I'm reluctant to pass judgment.  I only hope that the organization can commit to this coach for more than 3 season.

Suicide Squeeze - Billy Chapel ('92 Upper Deck)