Worst. Yellowcard. Ever.

I'm not even sure how or why you can receive a yellow card for taking out a streaker, but apparently it can be done in Russia. The player thinks he is doing a service by stopping an interruption, and the ref gives him a yellowcard for his efforts. Nice...



My favorite part is the player's reaction after getting the yellow. He just looks dumbfounded.

(H/T to Awful Announcing)

Dodgers 6, Dbacks 5: A Microcosm Of The Season

Well, that was disappointing.

In a game in which the Dbacks put on full display to the Valley of exactly their season woe's, the Dbacks lose a heart breaker and series-clinching game to their number 1 current rival, the LA Dodgers.

Last year's motto for this team was 'Anybody, Anytime'.

The apparent motto for your 2008 Diamondbacks is 'If it ain't one thing, it's another'.

With the exception of the first week of the season, when the Dbacks in all likelihood peaked for the season, this Dbacks team has had any number of issues. Ranging from the inevitable (injuries), to the mundane (batting woes), to the completely inexcusable (poor fundamentals), this team has gone through long stretches of each this year. When one part starts to come back a little bit, another bit goes. It's as though this team is incapable of putting together a 'complete' game.

The last two nights, in spectacular fashion no less, it was the closer Brandon Lyon. With the exception of the first week of the year, Lyon has been a rock at the back end of our bullpen, the one person who the Dbacks could count on. In the last two games, he's been given a combined 6-run cushion, and has promptly given up 7 runs. I'm amazed we managed to win one of those games...

In a series in which it appeared the Diamondbacks bats were starting to come around, especially the top 4 to 5 hitters, the bullpen completely fell apart. And though it was Lyon in the last two games, it did not escape our set-up men either, with Leo Rosales and Doug Slaten giving up the tying and winning runs, respectively.

In all three games against the Dodgers, the Dbacks jumped out to early leads, compiling 11 runs in the first two innings, while managing to score just 4 runs in the other 23 innings (game 1 went 11 innings). Regardless, that should have been good enough in all three games to win them.

The scary stat of the week, courtesy of Daron Sutton and Mark Grace, is this: Last year, the Dbacks lost 6 games in which they had the lead after the 6th inning the entire year. This year already they've blown 16. Take even half that amount and the Dbacks are 56-42 with an 8 game lead in the division.

Which brings us back to the bullpen. Granted Qualls and Pena have had their struggles lately, but nothing like the total meltdown Brandon Lyon has had the last two days. That Valverde trade is looking worse and worse, given that we got back an unreliable set-up man in Qualls and a completely worthless Chris Burke (.186 BA, 0 home runs, 7 RBI's, why is he still on the team?).

I still think Lyon can be a good closer, on this team even, but his struggles are just an indication of a bigger problem with the Dbacks: Their bullpen as a whole. Juan Cruz is injured. Conner Robertson is mediocre at best, Doug Slaten ditto, especially as a left handed 'specialist', Edgar Gonzalez is out for the season, Qualls is slightly injured, Pena has struggled as of late, and Lyon just blew two saves (I'm still calling game 2 a blown save even though it technically wasn't). Yusmeiro Petit has actually looked good as of late, but he's a long reliever/starter, so doesn't get much time in relief. Though maybe he should.

So, rumors are swirling. Jon Rauch from the Nationals is the hot name, presumably to come in as a closer and push Lyon back to the 8th inning. Problem is, the Nationals will want something in return, and Dbacks are hesitant to give up a top-flight prospect or any of their big league guys. I've also heard a rumor about moving Micah Owings to the bullpen (where he pitched from in Philly right before the all-star break, which i thought was curious at the time), and moving either Petit or Max Scherzer into a starter's role. I think this could be an interesting role, though i'm not ready just yet to give up on Micah as a starter.

Personally i think you could also look at moving Scherzer or Cruz into a permanent set-up role, but that's just me. All i know is that right now, the bullpen as presently configured isn't getting it done and is costing the team games. It's getting too late into the season for that to be happening...

Interview With Altidore

This is an interview done over at ESPN with my boy Jozy, recent transfer to Spain's La Liga with the Yellow Submarine, Villareal. I am stoked to see what he can do over there, and also what kind of an impact he has at the Olympics next month (by the way, see the Olympic squad that was announced today here).

Two things about the video. One, are we sure he's only 18? He shows a maturity beyond his years, which bodes well for him. Two, is Shaka Hislop stoned for this interview? Could he look any more disinterested or like he's about to pass out? Jesus...

World Cup 2010

Ok, so we've had a few more developments in the on-going saga regarding the 2010 World Cup. According to at least one report, the preferred back-up host to South Africa in 2010 is none other than the 2014 host, Brazil. Which i guest, in part, makes some sense given the fact that Brazil already has a planning and organizing committee in place.

What's this mean for future World Cups? Well, here's where it gets interesting. According to SBI, Spain (who i threw out as a possibility for 2010 relocation) may add itself to the Portugal bid for 2018, making them most likely the favorite to land that World Cup.

And if Brazil hosts 2010, what becomes of 2014? Glad you asked. It becomes a Battle Royale between the US and England. Hard to say who the front runner would be, but it has been a LONG time since England hosted (1966 to be exact). If England were to land 2014, then it would likely push the US all the way back to 2022, though that's so far away speculating is pointless.

Speaking of pointless, this whole debate may in fact be just that, pointless. South Africa officials are still telling anyone who will listen that their country will be ready for 2010, and Sepp Blatter himself re-iterated his statement that it would only be moved in the event of a natural disaster, conveniently not making mention of stadium or security concerns...

You Have Failed At Life

Wow, i decide to put up my first 'winner' of this award this morning before taking a look around the intrawebs, and when i do i find another 'worthy' candidate for this award. So, without further adu, introducing our second winner: Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson. Yeah, that guy from the UFC who lost to Forrest Griffin at UFC 86 just 11 days ago.

So the story goes: Rampage was apparently involved in an accident that blew his tire, but fled the scene. He then drove erratically, at points on sidewalks causing pedestrians to 'dive out of the way', was chased by the police, and was eventually pulled over and arrested at gunpoint.

Now, all of this seems fairly routine, and wouldn't normally be enough to qualify one for this prestigious award. However, there are two mitigating factors here that pushed him over the edge.

One, alcohol and drugs were not, i repeat NOT, a contributing factor to any of this. Who does this sober?

Two, and my favorite part, it's kind of hard to get away with a hit and run and a police chase when you are driving a truck with your picture ON THE SIDE OF THE TRUCK:

Rampage Jackson: You have failed at life.

(H/T to Deadspin)

You Have Failed At Life

So i introduced this new feature a few weeks back, but as of yet haven't highlighted any 'winners' of this yet. That ends today. This weeks title bearer is:


For the uninformed, that is is Florida Marlin's second baseman Dan Uggla. While putting together a solid season (.286 BA, 23 home runs, 59 RBI's), and being selected to his second all-star game this season, it may be hard to point to Dan Uggla as a failure.

Then again, you only need to look at last night's all-star game to figure out why i am making him my inaugural selection. Let's take a look at his line last night:

0-4 with 3 strike outs, 1 Ground into double play, and 6 men left on base.

Yikes.

Oh, and let's not forget about his 3 errors in the field.

Let's delve a little deeper. Uggla, with his 6 men left on base, led both teams in that category. He is one of only two people (Carlos Quentin the other) who had more than 3 plate appearances with no hit. In the 10th inning, with men on first and third base and 1 out, he grounded into an inning-ending double play.

He proceeded to make errors on two consecutive batters in the bottom of the 10th, which somehow the AL didn't capitalize on. He made another error in the bottom of the 13th, which the AL again didn't capitalize on.

So, despite all he has done this season, and despite that he was at one time a Diamondback, for this one game i have to do this:

Dan Uggla, you have failed at life.

Where You Came From

It's time once again for my weekly* feature 'Where You Came From' in which i chronicle where visitors to this site come from and what search terms brought them here. Off we go!

Countries that have visited this site lately: The UK, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, South Africa, and India.

Search terms that brought people here, unedited and presented as typed, with number of times it appeared and my commentary in parentheses:

1) dennis green post game press conference (3) (Apparently the name of the site is good for a few hits)
2) fuck brett favre (12) (Wow... A lot of Brett Favre hatred. I love it!=). My favorite variations of this search term is the one with exclamation points behind it and the one in all caps...)
3) NFL 2008 CBA
4) vikings coach dennis quote
5) brett favre sucks t shirt (Does anyone know if these actually exist?)
6) Dennis Green press conference after the bears game
7) England 2010 Hosts- Stadiums
8) minor league coach meltdown July 10 (Thank you weekly* feature...)
9) 2010 world cup 3 possibilities
10) "Sepp Blatter" "England" "World Cup 2010" (This World Cup thing is apparently a hot issue)
11) lsu ohio state beat down (Still? It was 6 months ago!)
12) world cup 2010
13) MARWAN WILLIAMS (This guy is searched for every week*. Why?)
14) college football open tryouts kickers 2008
15) nfl nflpa cba minimum salary

So there you go. As always, thanks for stopping by. Feel free to tell some friends or leave some comments.


*Weekly is used loosely in this case...