People say stupid things for mass consumption.

A few years ago, Jessica Simpson voiced her confusion whether “Chicken of the Sea” was chicken or tuna. With the aid of a few drinks in 2006, Mel Gibson ranted to a host of police officers that Jewish people were responsible for all the wars in the world. Prior to the invasion of Iraq, the current administration told us the Iraqi people would welcome American forces as liberators -- and plenty of Americans believed it. More recently, VP candidate Sarah Palin said she has foreign policy experience by virtue of living in close proximity to Russia -- and she believed it.

Certainly baseball owners aren’t exempt from saying stupid things, and Oakland owner Lew Wolff stepped up to the plate Wednesday with his solution to the lengthy season and the threat of November baseball.

“I’d make it one-game-and-you’re-out for the first series,” Wolff said Wednesday. “It would be exciting. It would be great.”

What?! Is there a major league player or fan who thinks this is a great idea? After several weeks of spring training and a six-month grind through the ups and downs of the season, battling injuries and playing critical games down the stretch, is there a player alive who would want to see his title hopes vanquished in one postseason game?

The best team in baseball at season’s end could be bounced by one bad outing from its 20-game winner. Rather than have a five- or seven-game series decide which is the better team, a single error or one bad inning could determine who advances and who goes home. It’s equally unfair to the team that ekes into the playoffs with a clutch win or two in the final days, then has to play that one-game first round with one of its back-end starters taking the mound.

The best-of-five first round is bad enough. A contender will lose consecutive games numerous times throughout the season, but dropping two in a row early in the first round pretty much dooms a playoff team.

Wolff’s suggestion is typical of his peers, who often seem to have no sense of what’s best for the game. It wouldn’t take much creativity to expand the first round to a best-of-seven series. If owners were more interested in playing the World Series under more ideal weather conditions -- for the sake of both the players who invest months of work to get there and the fans who dole out big dollars to be there -- they could add a few doubleheaders to the season to end the regular season sooner, or even cut a few games from it. Owners could dump those extra days off between postseason games, which are a concession to television coverage and increase the chances of playing World Series contests in 40-degree temperatures.

Dollars dictate many of these decisions, not what’s best for the game. Although making money isn't the motivation behind Wolff’s solution, it's still a stupid idea.

Posted by Thom Henninger at 3:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After making the playoffs for the first time in nine years and extending last spring’s opening-round series with the eventual NBA champion Celtics to seven games, the Atlanta Hawks appeared poised to take the next step by starting 6-0 this season.

Along with the Los Angeles Lakers, the Hawks were one of only two undefeated teams when the Celtics stuck them with their first loss on Nov. 12. Beginning with that loss in Boston, thanks to a last-second jumper by Paul Pierce in a 103-102 nail-biter, the Hawks have dropped their last four contests to fall to 6-4.

Maybe it was too soon to declare the fast-starting Hawks a top contender in the Eastern Conference, but veteran guards Mike Bibby and Joe Johnson have provided leadership and a little more than 40 points per game between them. The Hawks will be a tough test for opponents all season long if youngsters Josh Smith, Marvin Williams and Al Horford continue to develop into productive regulars.

The difference between the first six wins and the last four losses, however, has been Atlanta’s defensive game. Even in losing four in a row, the Hawks have averaged more points per game and generated higher shooting percentages, steals, turnovers and blocks than they did in claiming six straight victories.

Atlanta Hawks, First 6 Games vs. Last 4 Games, 2008

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-0. . . . . . .0-4
Pts/G. . . . . . . . . . . 98.8. . . . . .103.3
Opp Pts/G. . . . . . . .89.5. . . . . .112.5
FG%. . . . . . . . . . . . .448. . . . . . .453
3P%. . . . . . . . . . . . .395. . . . . . .478
FT%. . . . . . . . . . . . .701. . . . . . .761
Reb/G. . . . . . . . . . 44.7. . . . . . 34.3
TO/G. . . . . . . . . . .12.8. . . . . . 13.5
Stl/G. . . . . . . . . . . .6.2. . . . . . . 7.0
BS/G. . . . . . . . . . . .5.5. . . . . . . 6.0

After holding opponents to less than 90 points per game during their winning streak, the Hawks have allowed 112.5 points a game in their four losses.

“We haven’t been playing together, playing with any energy, like we were in those first six games,” said Johnson, the team’s leader with 25.9 points per game. “I think we’ve gotten real complacent and we haven’t been playing team basketball.”

Johnson didn’t mention team defense, but the numbers suggest much of that complacency has been guarding the basket. The Hawks have a chance to bounce back Wednesday night, when they face the 1-7 Washington Wizards. Only five teams are averaging fewer points per game than the Wizards (93.3), who are off to their worst start since 1999-2000.

Posted by Thom Henninger at 5:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Brock Lesnar has a lot of people mad at him. He is just some fake athlete from the WWE right? He comes in here and gets a chance to square off against a living legend in Randy Couture. He makes lots of money. He has a hot wife. He just started in MMA and he gets a title shot after only 3 fights. Hell he is only 1-1 in the UFC.

Last saturday night, he added a nice shiny UFC Heavy Weight Championship Belt to the list of reasons to be mad at Brock. And he is now 2-1 in the UFC.

A lot of hard core MMA fans, myself included, thought Randy would spank the inexperienced former WWE superstar. Brock wasn’t given credit for his impressive college wrestling career. He was just given credit for being a physical specimen. A man who blocks the sun when he walks by. We all routed for Captain America to topple the giant. Randy has fought in a title fight in 14 of 18 fights. He has made a living being an underdog, and fighting Brock Lesnar wasn’t supposed to be any different. Well, credit to Lesnar, he stepped up and beat the champ. Sure Randy hadn’t fought in over a year. Sure he is 45. Sure the weight difference is the equivalent of Roger Huerta fighting Anderson Silva. Still all the people who KNOW MMA picked Randy to win. His experience and well rounded ability as a mixed martial artist should overcome the younger, stronger, heavier opponent. Randy was doing a pretty good job too, until one of those giant frozen turkey fists caught him behind the ear.

Both Randy and Brock were respectful after the fight. It was a good display of sportsmanship. All of us hardcore MMA fanatics should thank Brock, not be mad at him. He has put the time in to learn the sport. He is improving daily in all aspects of the game. He trained over a year before taking his first fight. He hypes a fight with some trash talk, but shows respect post fight and leaves it all in the ring. He very well maybe the future of the heavy weight division, size, speed, strength, and gas. He brought with him massive media attention to spread MMA. ESPN featured the bout in Sport Center. Hopefully through Brock, new legions of fans have made the jump to MMA. Sure they are fans that are on my case about how Randy Couture got beat down by a WWE champion, but at least they are watching!

He now waits for the winner of Mir vs. Nogueira, for the right to be called the undisputed heavy weight champion….of the UFC. He lost in his debut to Mir, via submission. Nogueira is easily a top 3 heavy weight and arguably the best submission expert in the heavyweight division. If Brock can defeat the winner of this bout, he will be the baddest man on the planet….if we don’t count Fedor.

Posted by Jacob Nuesser at 4:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Only four NHL clubs have recorded 40 of fewer goals this season, but one of them is the first-place team in the Northwest Division, the Minnesota Wild. At 10-4-1, they’re the only one of the four teams above the .500 mark, thanks to a stout defense that has been a Wild trademark since joining the league eight years ago.

The stingy Wild have allowed just 30 goals in 15 games this season. Only one other team in the league has allowed fewer than 40 goals, and that would be the surprising Boston Bruins (39). The 10-3-4 Bruins have given up just 2.06 goals a game in 2008-09; only the Wild have a lower average (2.00).

Unlike the low-scoring Wild, however, the Bruins have had more of a scoring touch, especially compared to last season. They’ve tallied 52 goals and average 3.00 a game, which puts them solidly in the middle of the NHL pack. That’s markedly better than the 2.51 per-game average that ranked 24th in the league a year ago.

In 2007-08, no Bruin scored as many as 30 goals, and only Marco Sturm (27) and Chuck Kobasew (22) reached the 20 plateau. This season, Boston has generated a balanced scoring attack that includes six players with five or more goals: fast-starting, 21-year-old Phil Kessel (7), Sturm (6), Marc Savard (6), rookie Blake Wheeler (6), 20-year-old Milan Lulic (5) and defenseman Dennis Wideman (5). The only team that can match the Bruins with six five-goal scorers is Philadelphia.

Boston is in the midst of an 8-1-1 surge, a stretch in which Sturm leads the way with five goals and Savard has 10 points. More importantly, the Bruins have allowed just 15 goals (1.50 a game) during this span. Most of the credit goes to No. 1 goaltender Tim Thomas, as the Bruins rank 23rd in the league for fewest shots allowed per game (31.4), but first as a team in goalies’ save percentage (.935).

At the start of the season, Thomas and Manny Fernandez shared goaltending duties, but Thomas has taken over lately by posting a league-leading .945 save percentage. He’s started 11 of 17 games, going 6-2-3, and ranks second to only San Jose’s Brian Boucher with a 1.76 goals-against average.

During Boston’s 8-1-1 run, Thomas has allowed just nine goals and posted a .961 save percentage in seven games. The 34-year-old veteran faced at least 30 shots in six of those seven games en route to a 5-1-1 record. Thomas posted back-to-back shutouts on consecutive nights in Edmonton and Vancouver early in the streak.

It’s a similar situation in Minnesota. The always defensive-minded Wild are 16th in the league for fewest shots allowed per game (30.1) -- currently the highest single-season average for shots allowed in franchise history -- yet they are second in save percentage behind the Bruins this season (.934).

Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom has allowed more than three goals only once this season -- in a 4-3 overtime loss to Buffalo on Oct. 23. Since then, the 30-year-old native of Finland has posted a 1.90 GAA and .940 save percentage in nine games. He’s just 6-3-0, however, as the Wild scored just three goals in his three losses.

Backstrom always seems to be on his game at home. In his last 12 regular-season appearances in St. Paul, dating to March 15, the Wild’s No. 1 goalie is 11-0-1 with a 1.40 GAA and .950 save percentage. He has shut out the Kings, Canucks and Coyotes in this span.

The Wild have allowed an NHL-low four power play goals this season, and the next-lowest total is seven by the Rangers. Backstrom certainly deserves his share of credit for the success of the penalty-killing unit. For the season, he is 10-3-1 with a 2.00 GAA and .934 save percentage. Backstrom ranks among the NHL’s top five in wins, GAA and save percentage.

Getting enough scoring will be a season-long concern for the Wild, but both the Wild and Bruins will need to tighten up their defensive game to win division titles. So far, the No. 1 goalie has been terrific for both first-place teams. Neither club will maintain its current winning percentage, though, if the goaltender has to face 30+ shots a game, post a sub-2.00 GAA and one of the league’s best save percentages all the season long.

Posted by Thom Henninger at 6:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Two NFL clubs that looked all but certain to make the playoffs this season, the San Diego Chargers and Pittsburgh Steelers, haven’t been getting much out of a star player lately -- and both teams are struggling. Each is looking for a turnaround when they square off in Pittsburgh Sunday, and the statistical intrigue makes this showdown the NFL Matchup of the Week.

Chargers RB LaDainian Tomlinson has just two 100-yard games in a frustrating season, during which the team has gravitated to the success of QB Philip Rivers and the passing game. Tomlinson has rushed for less than 75 yards in five of nine contests. He’s been held to less than 50 yards on the ground in three of San Diego’s five losses.

Since upending New England on Oct. 12, the 4-5 Chargers have lost two of three games and barely escaped with a 20-19 win over the 1-8 Chiefs last week. The challenge Sunday for Tomlinson and the Chargers, who trail the 5-4 Broncos in the AFC West, is getting the franchise’s first regular-season win in Pittsburgh.

The Chargers are 0-12 all-time playing on the Steelers’ home field in the regular season. Making the 13th matchup the lucky first win would mark a big step toward a serious playoff push for the Chargers, who need to turn their season around soon.

In losing two of their last three games -- a tough stretch in which Pittsburgh won at Washington and lost home contests to the Giants and Colts -- Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger has thrown for just one touchdown and been intercepted eight times. The quarterback is giving no indication how much he is he bothered by a sore shoulder, the result of an injury suffered early in November.

Roethlisberger gets a chance to kick-start the passing game Sunday. San Diego’s pass defense is among the worst in the league. The team holds down one of the three lowest spots among NFL clubs in opposition completion percentage (67.8%), opponent passing yards per game (264.9) and opponent passing touchdowns (17). Only the Arizona Cardinals have allowed more passing TDs (18). No team has given up more passing yards per game than San Diego.

The Chargers defense also has the NFL’s longest active streak by failing to intercept 128 consecutive passes. The pick-prone Roethlisberger, with eight in his last three games, may be catching a break.

The Chargers offense has been slow-starting for much of 2008, but has recovered to tally 139 second-half points, tied for the second most in the league. That presents a challenge for the Pittsburgh defense, which has given up just 64 second-half points, the third fewest among all teams. Chargers QB Rivers leads the NFL with 21 touchdown passes, including 11 after halftime. Will the 6-3 Steelers be able to shut down San Diego’s passing game to the very end?

The Steelers defense has been especially successful against the pass. It has allowed only 171.1 passing yards per game in 2008, the fewest in the league, and ranks first with 34 sacks. Pittsburgh is third in fewest points allowed per game (15.6).

If the Chargers could treat the game with the urgency of a playoff matchup, pulling out that first regular-season win in Pittsburgh is a more realistic possibility. After all, in the only two postseason games between the two teams in Pittsburgh, the Chargers won both times.

Posted by Thom Henninger at 11:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)