It worked!

In an eerie coincidence, less than 2 weeks after the debut of our sister blog - firebutchdavis.blogspot.com - Carolina announced that they were indeed firing coach Butch Davis.  

The headline at www.tarheelblue.com was a little understated - Carolina Football Makes Coaching Change - but the bottom line is Carolina finally fired Butch Davis.  In doing so, Carolina came to it's senses and fired the coach who tarnished the standard set by Dean Smith and heaped more embarrassment on the University than any other coach in the last 50 years.

Chancellor Holden Thorp got it right when he said today "What started as a purely athletic issue has begun to chip away at this University's reputation ... I have lost confidence in our ability to come through this without harming the way people think of this institution. Our academic integrity is paramount and we must work diligently to protect it. The only way to move forward and put this behind us is to make a change."

I've said this before, but will restate that I don't think Butch Davis ever understood what Carolina means.  He did not work for the athletic department, he worked for THE university.  


Finally, his 'clueless defense' may have been the last straw for Thorp and Athletic Director Dick Baddour.  

You could probably get away with that defense if it was one player or one instance.  But there were multiple and repeated problems associated with Davis' football program:

• FOURTEEN players were suspended for academic fraud - or six more players than wins - fraud that was uncovered while the University investigated illegal contacts between players and agents;
• One summer after at least 3 players take an illegal, agent-funded trip to attend a party thrown by an ex-player, the same thing happens again for the second summer in a row;
• In the wake of an academic scandal that resulted in players getting suspended, you follow that up with one of your players getting caught by NC State fans plagiarizing a term paper;
• In the wake of the academic and player-agent scandals, you follow THAT up with players racking up tens of thousands of parking ticket.  On top of that, a tutor is charged with paying some of the parking tickets.
  

You simply can not overlook a list that long.  It was more than cluelessness, it was incompetence.  Davis was in charge and therefore responsible.  Maybe he thought he was back at Miami, or at Ohio State or USC or Auburn or South Carolina or wherever. 

But you can not be that sloppy and irresponsible at Dean Smith's school.  Carolina has higher and better standards than that.  Davis never understood that responsibility, and he was finally fired today.  

The football program was an embarrassment for the last 14 months (but not the players like T.J. Yates who persevered) but today is a great day to be a Tar Heel.  We got it right today.

Top 12 songs of all time

On our recent car vacation to New England I had my iPod on random play through my entire (digital) music collection so heard a variety of songs.  Since returning to DC I've stayed on random play and have now come up with my latest top 12 list of the best songs of all time (Athan Manuel edition).

In no order, here goes:

• My Girl, The Temptations
• Roll Over Beethoven, Chuck Berry (also my vote for the U.S.'s national anthem)
• Debaser, The Pixies
• Tears of a Clown, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
• What's So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding, Elvis Costello
• I Will Dare, The Replacements
• Superbad, James Brown
• Road Runner, The Modern Lovers
• Once in a Lifetime, Talking Heads
• Fisherman's Blues, The Waterboys
• Take Me to the River, Al Green 
• Heatwave, Martha and the Vandellas

Honorable mention: See Saw, Aretha Franklin; Cry Cry Cry, Johnny Cash; Mystery Achievement, The Pretenders; Brothers Gonna Work It Out, Public Enemy; The Message, Grandmaster Flash the Furious Five; Daft Punk is Playing at my House, Losing My Edge, both by LCD Soundsystem; Los Angeles, X; Magnificent 7, The Clash; Summer Wind, Frank Sinatra; Holiday in Cambodia, The Dead Kennedys; Where the Streets Have No Name, Mysterious Ways, U2; Girl Like You, The Smithereens; Losing My Religion, REM; Don't Stop til You Get Enough, Michael Jackson; Walkin' After Midnight, Patsy Cline; etc. etc.

Another bad day in Washington

We've had lots of bad days in Washington since the Tea Party came to town in November, but today was a particularly tough one for our  sports teams (as the nation's capital we claim the national teams as ours).  Eerie to note the parallels between the U.S. women's national team and the Washington Nationals.

• Both teams played finals today - a World Cup final, and the final game of a 3-game series versus the Braves; granted the women's final was much, much bigger, but they were both finals.
• Each squad lost the lead twice in their games (the Nats led 6-2 and 8-7; the national team was up 1-0 and 2-1).
•  Both teams lost their lead late and in the eights; the 8th inning for the Nats, and the 81st minute for the women's national team.

There are other parallels I'm sure that perhaps involve Ichiro, but those 3 are enough. 

A tough couple of games.  But for the World's Cup the only comfort is that we lost to a team that relentlessly made plays.  The U.S. did pay for a sloppy clearance by Ali Kreiger late, but we lost mainly because of what Japan did - especially their goalie - rather than mistakes or errors by our team.

It was a great tournament to watch, and fantastic to watch Abby Wambach play, too.  Hope she can wait four more years for the 2015 World Cup (the year Ariadne graduates from high school, by the way!) and get another shot at a championship.  Wambach deserves it.

Big Weekend Redux

Excellent bounce back win by the Nationals last night against the Braves.  Timely hitting by Wilson Ramos and of all people John Lannan, plus nice defense in particular by Ian Desmond and a nice game from Lannan and the pen.

So we are half way there in terms of winning the series from Atlanta and thusly getting the second half off to a great start.  Today's game will be tough as we have 5 starter Tom Gorzelanny matched up against All-start and NL leader in Js Jair Jurrjens. 

GO Nats!

But the big story today will the women's World Cup final.  Great piece in the NY Times today on Abby Wambach and her proclivity with headers.

Not sure what this means, but interesting to note that the on-line version of that article is "Abby Wambach Stands Tall for U.S." while the print edition article's title is "Playing Head Games."

Finally, check out my latest blog: Fire Butch Davis (http://firebutchdavis.blogspot.com/).  I'm used to having a dozen readers for CHB, but am curious if FBD and the associated Facebook page will pick up momentum.

Excellent Sports Weekend on Tap

I don't think it's hyperbole to call this weekend's series between the Nats and Braves make or break.   Our hometown Nationals are only 8 games back of the Braves in the wild card race. 

An Atlanta sweep would practically put us out of contention.  Being 11 games out could THEN lead to GM Mike Rizzo turning the page to the 2012 season and trading veterans like Jason Marquis or Jason Coffey or Tom Gorzelanny. 

Come to think of it, no matter WHAT the Nationals do against the Braves, I'd trade those 3 in a heartbeat if given the chance.  With Jason Peacock (just called up to Triple A Syracuse), Ross Detwiler and even Chein-Ming Wang available or on the horizon those guys aren't worth keeping if the Nationals get a decent offer.

But back to the Braves.  It will be mano a mano, with our top 3 starters - Livo, Zimmermann, and Lannan - versus theirs - Hudson, Hanson and Jurrjens.

However, if the Nats take 2 of 3 from Atlanta it would be HUGE.  One, they'd pick up a game on a rival. Two, Washington would bolster their confidence by doing so on the road. And three, winning the series could provide some positive second-half ju-ju for first half flops like Jayson Werth. 

GO NATS!

Of course, the second half of this potentially excellent sports weekend is Sunday's Women's World Cup final between the U.S. and Japan.  The U.S.'s wins over Brazil and France were riveting, as should the final.

We're supposed to be there but Japan has been a surprise.   However, they are not to be taken lightly, having clearly earned their berth in the final by taking down hosts and favorites Germany in the quarter finals before rolling over Sweden - a team that beat us in group play.

I like our chances mainly because I love Abby Wambach.  What a great competitor and teammate.  I love the casual way she describes her accomplishments - which have been significant and game-changing - in contrast to her more animated and excited descriptions of her teammates and team.   She's a leader AND a play maker.  Her skill - and height as she has scored two impressive headers in our last two games - have been key, and will be again against Japan.

Go National(s) team!

Nationals Progress

Counting Tyler Clippard's win in last night's All-Star game, the Nationals head into the second half of the season at 46-45, only 8 games back of Atlanta for the wild card spot.

Competing for the wild card this season is probably a little too optimistic.  But for a team with our recent history of 100+ loss seasons actually competing and finishing the first half at 45 and 45 is significant.

Clippard is a great place to start since the Nationals' pitching has been the main reason the team is keeping it's head above water.  Their five man rotation has been in tact for most of the season.  

Number one starter Livan Hernandez was expected to be an inning eater, not a real number one.  In addition to eating up tons of innings Livo's pitched well and been consistent all year.   And he's my age (perhaps)!

The Nats are counting on Steven Strasburg to be their number one starter of the future.  The great news is Jordan Zimmermann is pitching like a number one THIS year.  In June he was as effective - and at times as dominant - as Justin Verlander or C.C. Sabathia.  In his last 10 starts (since May 22nd) in 67 innings, his ERA is 1.61. He's persevered despite not getting much run support, staying focused and positive and dominant.  By far the best first half story for the Nats is Zimmermann.

Former number one starter John Lannan has settled nicely into his number 3 starter slot, and he too has excelled.  In HIS last 10 starts, his ERA is 2.95 in 61 innings.  After a rocky 2010 he's bounced back, throwing lots of ground balls and pitching with confidence.

Number four starter Jason Marquis has been solid.  After a great April he's had some tougher luck of late.  However, though he has missed a few starts, number 5 starter Tom Gorzelanny has been better than expected.   Like Zimmermann, he's lacked run support so is only 2-6 but he sports a sub-4.00 ERA and has done his share of inning eating.

Then there's All-star game winner Clippard, who is a league leader in holds and has a sub-2.00 ERA.  But a great ERA is not rare in Washington's bull pen. Ryan Matheus, Henry Rodriguez, and Drew Storen all have ERAs under 2.60.  And of course Storen has converted 23 out of 26 save chances, too.

The only under-performing pitcher in the bullpen has been Sean Burnett, who has been inconsistent and lacking in confidence at times.   He turned it around last year to finish strong, so hopefully that can happen this year, too.

Of course, when it comes to under-performing but hopefully bouncing back one can only think of Jayson Werth.  It's amazing that we are at .500 while Werth, our stud off season pick up, is at .217!   Unfortunately, Werth's terrible production has not been the only challenge this offense has faced.

Ian Desmond, who has improved his defense, was a wash out as a lead off hitter.  Our best hitter, Ryan Zimmerman, missed two months, and our clean up hitter, Adam LaRoche too was werthless and is now out for the season.  

So the Nationals got almost no production from their Opening Day 1 through 4 hitters in the first half. 

Their pitching - and an improved defense - is the main reason, but credit also goes to the bottom half of that opening day line up, especially Danny Espinosa, Wilson Ramos, and especially Micheal Morse. 
 

Espinosa is a candidate for rookie of the year with 16 homers, 52 ribbies, and an 800 OBS - plus a flare for the dramatic hit and great defense.  Ramos too has had some big hits and is already a fantastic defensive catcher with great footwork and a great arm.

But after Zimmermann, Morse is the second-best story for Washington.  After a torrid spring, Morse flopped in April and May.  He was eventually benched in left field in favor of Laynce Nix, another revelation this year who has gone from the bench to the clean up spot in two months.  The same goes for Roger Bernadina, who started the season in Syracuse but now starts in center.  Though still not comfortable in the lead off spot the Dutch Master has been stellar on defense and had his moments on offense.

But Morse is THE story with the bat. After LaRoche got hurt Morse was back in the line up at first, getting so hot you would have thunk that he replaced Wally Pip.  He finished the first half at .304, 14 homers and 48 RBIs with an .886 OBS.

This team has competed so well so far this season that it's easy to forget that on June 23rd, after winning their 11th game out of 12, their manager Jim Riggleman petulantly quit.  There is no "I" in team but there is one in Riggleman.  

The Nats seemed to quickly turn the page, and GM Jim Rizzo facilitated a successful transition by hiring Davey Johnson, who had worked the last two years as an adviser, to take over.   

Hiring Johnson was a great move then, but looks even better now.  Hiring such a proven coach and winner must have helped quell any uncertainty or unease in the club house in the wake of Riggleman's abandonment of the team.

Every major league team has talent, but often the intangibles are necessary to make good teams into better - or in some cases great - teams.  

This team's intangible is resiliency.  Whether it's their record in one-run games, the way the Nats have outscored their opponents by more than 15 runs in extra innings, or in overcoming Werth's horrible first half AND their manager quitting in the midst of an incredible winning streak, this team has had to deal with lots of challenges and problems.  Thanks to their resiliency - and starting pitching - the Nationals had a successful first half and are poised to have an even better second.

And we still have Strasburg and Bryce Harper on the horizon, for 2012, too.

GO NATS!

Wicked Awesome

Tonight's lackluster Home Run Derby (though Robinson Cano is heating up) gives me a chance to blog on another baseball topic.

The presence of both Big Popi and A-Gone in the Derby is a reminder of our trip to Fenway last week. Prior to our trip I was kind of tired of Red Sox Nation and their loaded, Yankees-like line up.  

But our trip to Fenway won me back.  

I've been to Fenway probably 25 times, mostly in the 80s when I was working for PIRG.  Some things have changed since my last visit: the Ratskeller is no longer around the corner and there's a Qdoba and McDonalds and other chains on Kenmore Square.  And of course, you used to be able to walk up on game day and pick up a bleacher seat.  

Despite those changes the Red Sox experience is still pretty awesome.  Despite an increase in corporate signage the park itself looks gorgeous.  The renovations and additions by the current ownership look great.  Fenway looks classic and modern.

There's great beer selection, and you can pick up an excellent Fenway Frank inside the park or some great sausage outside.  And the fans are really INTO the game, rather than simply AT a game.

They also play great music between innings.  No Journey or classic rock or Top 40 drivel.  At Fenway, at least the night we were there, you get lots of punk rock and new wave.  We heard The Clash, U2 (of course, it's Boston), Rancid, Social Distortion, Joe Jackson, and The Pixies.  Hard to improve on listening to 'Debaser' at a ball game. 

The Bosox also have two great signature songs: 'Shipping off to Boston' by the Dropkick Murphys when Papelbon comes in; and they cap off a win with The Standels' 'Dirty Water.'  The crowd really gets in to both songs, standing, clapping, hooting, etc.  And 'Dirty Water' is a great sing-along song, too.

Finally, Boston looks like a college town in that everywhere you go everyone is wearing Red Sox gear.  You see some Patriots stuff and a decent amount of Celtics stuff - mainly Rondo, FYI - but  everyone all over town is wearing Red Sox.

Not just awesome, wicked awesome!

Best and worst

Today's win by the US women's soccer team was an incredible event.  How incredible?  Of all the bloggable topics - our vacation visits to Fenway, the baseball AND basketball halls of fame, Boston and Vermont; the Nats being 500 at the all-star break despite Jayson Werth(less)'s terrible return on their investment; Greece's on going crisis and the parallel one here in Washington on the debt ceiling - I have to blog on that stirring win on penalty kicks.

The game was the best and worst of soccer.  Watching soccer is always kind of tough; there is so little scoring that you don't want to turn away in case you miss an actual goal.  All that tension is magnified in an elimination game against a rival like Brazil in the World Cup.  

And the tension was even higher and crazier this afternoon when the referees blew call after call, and as a result the U.S. was down 1-2 to mighty Brazil AND were down to 10 players.  

One of those goals and the player deficit were both the result of a questionable call against Rachel Buehler that resulted in a red card AND a penalty kick goal. Of course, things got even worse when Brazil was awarded a second penalty kick by the referee after Hope Solo blocked the Samba Queens' first attempt.  Predictably, Marta nailed the do over and the U.S. was tied 1-1 and a player down with 40 minutes of soccer left.

The U.S. defense finally cracked in overtime when Marta scored again after the referees missed a possible off sides call on Brazil.

The calls on German soil were so bad, especially the penalty kick do over, that they reminded me of the 1972 Munich Olympics basketball game against the Soviet Union. In that game an Olympic official, not the referee, ordered a do over for the Soviet basketball team, a chance they converted with a basket to defeat the U.S. for the gold medal.

Despite trailing by a goal with only a few minutes left and only 10 players on the field, the U.S. was determined to go down swinging and displayed that epic American trait - for better (men's and women's world cup) or for worse (Vietnam, Iraq, or Afghanistan) - of never giving up, and assuming that one way or another we will figure out a way to win.

And they did.  First Abby Wambach scored a dramatic-is-an-understatement goal with 2 minutes left in overtime to send the game to penalty kicks.  Then goalie Solo and the U.S. squad won it 5-4 on penalty kicks.

It was an exhausting and dramatic couple of hours, and put on display the best of the American spirit and the best of high-stakes soccer. 

But it also displayed the worst of soccer: the terrible referring which seems to crop up with shocking regularity, the diving and flopping athletes  - most sports value and reward toughness; soccer rewards acting, flopping and theatrics - trying to kill time late or fool the referees, and of course the stupid and inconsistent off sides calls.  

I would love to ref a soccer game. 

One, I would only say two words to any player who is not bleeding or does NOT have a bone sticking out of their skin, yet falls to the pitch: "get up." Or "get up you flopping ass hole; I'm not calling that a foul unless you are bleeding or have a bone sticking out of your skin.  Soccer is a physical game sometimes, so buck up!"

Brazil whined and complained and  flopped and stalled so much that the crowd booed Marta most of the game and was clearly on the U.S.'s side as the contest progressed.

Two, I would never call off sides.  Why is that even a penalty? Isn't there a goalie back there?  If an offensive player is behind the goalie it's off sides.  If they're not, then it's not.

Three, one rule change world football should adopt is prohibiting backwards passes once the ball has crossed the midfield line.  Once you cross midfield you have to stay on offense, period. When George Mikan and other big men entered the NBA in the 50s scoring plummeted as teams were afraid to go inside, so they passed the ball around the perimeter for minutes at a time (learned that at the Hoops Hall of Fame this weekend!).  That prompted the use of a 24-second clock.  A shot-clock in world football is impractical, but forcing teams to stay on offense would help increase the action and scoring.

Then again, the current rules produced a tense and taut game, so maybe we don't need THAT many rules changes.  But better refs would help keep the focus on the players, who were pretty fantastic to watch today.  

GO USA!