The Best of the Bearded Fellow

SpartanEdge has challenged me, if you will, to write a "best of" blog. A blog post that I would want visible for the entire summer. SInce I am a sports blogger, I thought it would be a tad tricky coming up with a post that would be worthy or timely for an entire summer. Many ideas came to me, in fact I was supposed to tell them what I was writing by Friday... oops. But I didn't know what I was going write until now, so here it is, the "Best of the Bearded Fellow." Enjoy.

Sports, they are involved in our lives more than we know. Sports have a power to unite people under one flag, one common cause. They can distract us from our hardships. They can take us away from the tragedies of the world, even if it is only for a couple hours. Sports are a way for people to escape reality, and just root that their teams bests their opponent.

I know sports aren't as important to other people as they are to me, but sports serve as my outlet. When I'm watching the Red Wings nothing else matters. It may sound cold to just forget everyone because the Red Wings are on, but in reality, it's something I need in order to see things clearly. Sometimes it's hard to find that distraction. Whether someone just died, you got dumped, or you're about to pour your heart out to someone, you need to find something to distract you, even if it's just for a moment. My thing is sports.

My grandma died when I was in 7th grade. I was distraught and didn't know how to handle it. What my cousins and family did was on the day of her funeral, took my brother and I out to play roller hockey. We must have played for 5 to 7 hours of hockey. We never stopped until the sun went down. For food we had one person sit out to go on a Taco Bell run. But that's the power of family and sports coming together. They took my mind off of things with a stick, a ball, and two skates.

Some of my happiest days in life are involved in sports. My dad surprised Joe and I with tickets to game two of the Stanley Cup finals in 2008 against the Penguins, we won 3-0 by the way. I recently went to another playoff game, in which the Wings won 3-0. it's a toss up between those two as the best day of my life. And if you're wondering, it's probably the more recent game I consider the best night ever. How about when Magglio sent us to the world series? I was hanging out with my best friend and after he hit that, we ran up and down the streets with brooms yelling "SWEEP, TIGERS WORLD SERIES!" Sports bring people together, and they've been apart of the happiest days of my life.

Also some of my earliest memories are around sports. I remember watching Red Wing hockey ever since I was a little kid. I barely remember 1996 when Draper got crushed by Claude Lemiuex. I remember where I was in 1997 when Darren McCarty scored that beautiful goal against the Flyers. I remember that we were over a friends house for a party when Michigan won the Rose Bowl in 1997. Sports have been in my life for literally as long as I can remember. I remember my first Tiger game, my first Michigan football game, my first Lion game, so many memories of mine are involved the world of sports. From a very young age, I was a sports fan, and it's the reason why I want to be in sports radio.

Bottom line, sports are a huge influence in my life, and in the lives of many others. Sports have this power to unify people under one cause. For two to three hours, nothing else matters. That's the amazing thing about sports. Entire cities, states, and countries forget their disputes and unite under the flag of their team. Nothing else matters while that team is playing. Sports are the world's greatest outlet, and they are my outlet.

In closing, I have to say thank you to SpartanEdge for imploring me to write this, and as always, GO RED WINGS!

Lion First Round:

Well Round one of the draft is over, and the Lions made a splash. As expected they took Suh with the number two overall pick, but then later traded back into the first round at pick thirty to get Javhid Best, running back from Cal.

I like the players they picked, however my problem is with the Best pick. If he fell to our second round pick, I like it, but we traded up for him. We gave away picks to move up for spots for Best. We have too many holes to be trading away picks. I haven't seen the details, but I know that our pick #34 is now in the Vikings hands. I agree with the pick of Best, just not trading picks.

The Lions needs to address the secondary. If they were going to trade up, they should have traded up sooner for one of the 5 defensive backs taken in round one. Maybe trade up to get Kyle Wilson or Devin McCourty. Detroit has the worst secondary in the NFl, and it needs help at all positions. Delmas is the only guy worth a damn in that secondary. The Linebackers also could use some help, with the losses of Foote and Sims. The other big hole for the Lions is offensive guard. They have the worst guards in the NFL. They need to address this issue later in the draft.

I expect the Lions to take defense with their next pick, then maybe go O-line. Hopefully they don't take a wideout...

Wings win Game 4

couple vids from my trip to the Joe, enjoy.

Lions Trade Sims.

The Lions traded linebacker Ernie Sims in a three team deal that landed them former Western Michigan Tight End Tony Scheffler. The trade makes 0 sense. Even if it means that Pettigrew's surgery isn't going as smoothly, why would we trade a starting, young linebacker for a back-up tight end. I don't have an answer for this trade. The Lions already had a hole at linebacker to fill by failing to resign (or at least making no attempt to) Larry Foote, they create another hole in the leagues worst defense. It makes 0 sense. If they had picked up a good linebacker in free agency then maybe this deal would make sense, but they didn't.

I'm not saying Sims was the best linebacker in the NFL, I don't even think he was the best one on the team (that goes to Julian Peterson) but he was a solid starting linebacker. Players like Zach Follet and Deandre Levy are going to have to step up. It also wouldn't hurt if the Lions got a linebacker in the draft or in free agency. I believe Larry Foote still doesn't have a team. But the bottom line is the Lions traded a guy they needed for one they didn't Typical Lion move, one that makes the fans saying, "What the F***???"

I had hipes for the direction the team was moving, but they just took a step in the wrong direction. I'm not going to abandon hope because of one dumb move, but if it turns into dumb move after dumb move, then it's the Millen era all over again. the draft is coming, and hopefully they have another good draft like last year.

Coyotes Dominate, WIn 4-2

The playoff opener at the Joe was foiled by those damned Phoenix Coyotes. I'm going to keep this brief, but the Coyotes just dominated the play. First period was a good period for Detroit, but anything after that was all Phoenix. Shane Doan got hurt and couldn't return, but Phoenix played better without him. The Coyotes dominated physical play again, and they won the battles of the game. Battles for lose pucks, scrums in the corner, scrums in front of the net, they were all going in favor of Phoenix.

The Coyotes came out wanting the victory more than Detroit. Phoenix's game was refined, Detroit's was sloppy. The Coyotes executed their game plan, Detroit did not. Lidstrom looked like a 40 year old defenseman and Jimmy Howard looked like a rookie. Simple as that, Phoenix wants it more than Detroit right now. The question is, can Babcock light a fire under his team? I think so, this team is better than Phoenix, it's why they play 7. You have off games and lucky wins, but in a 7 game series, the best team usually comes out on top.

Game 4 wil decide the winner of Game 5 in my opinion. If the Coyotes leave Detroit taking two then it's game over Wings fans. Detroit needs to come into game 4 ready to go. They can't afford to play sloppy. Jimmy needs to play like the goaltender that was in net during the second half of the season, not the one before the Olympic break. Pavel and Hank need guys like Bertuzzi, Cleary, Franzen, and Holmstrom to get going. Those guys are the key to Detroit's victory.

Detroit-5
Coyotes-3

Red Wings rebound; Even Series

The Red Wings went into game two down and beaten. Phoenix had dominated the physical play and took every chance they had to hit a Red Wing. Many questions would have to be answered. Can the Wings keep up with the physical play? Can the penalty kill right the ship? Can Detroit turn the momentum and win on the road? Those questions can only be answered on the ice, and Detroit responded like any battle-tested team; they came out with a victory.

The first change made was scratching Jason Williams and dressing Justin Abdelkader. Abdelkader's job was to provide physical play. He's not a big hitter, but he's a young guy who's not afraid to throw his weight around. And that's exactly what he did. He had three hits in his first two shifts. He even managed to score a goal. His job was to counter some of the physical play and he did that and then some. Abdelkader was a key reason why game two went in favor of Detroit.

Phoenix still wanted to out play Detroit physically, the end goal being wearing them down like game one. But Detroit handled the physical play better than they did in game one. The grinders were more physical in game two than in game one. Abdelkader and Eaves were at the forefront of the Wings physical play. Their jobs were to hit Coyotes, and that's what they did.

The first period was exactly how the Coyotes wanted it to go. They continued the physical play established in game one, and ended the period with a 1-0 lead. Detroit faired better this period than they had last game against the Coyotes' physical play. Detroit was down, but in good position to win this crucial game two.

The scoring broke through in the second period. Zetterberg would net the tying goal, quickly followed by Phoenix taking the lead back. Shortly after, Datsyuk would tie it up, followed again by a quick Phoenix goal. Only a minute later, Valtteri Filpula would tie the game back up at 3-3. That was the score going into the third period.

Third period I didn't get to see; I was on my way back from curling. I did catch it on the radio but that's still not the same. Detroit scored first to take a 4-3 lead when Justin Abdelkader found the back of the net after a Coyote turnover. Shane Doan then tied it when we were searching for a clear signal. Detroit then netted the next three goals. Zetterberg's second gave Detroit the lead, the Filpula on a later power play gave the Wings a 6-4 cushion. Zetterberg got the empty netter for the hat-trick and the Wings took game two 7-4.

Important game for Detroit, as they even the series going back home. Now they have to take care of business at the Joe to keep home ice for the series. Game 3 prediction: Wings 4 Coyotes 2.

3-2 Coyotes take 1-0 series lead

Well, it's upsetting and disappointing, but the Wings dropped game one 3-2 last night. It was a hard fought game, but Phoenix was definitely the better team. They outplayed Detroit for the majority of that game, and the Wings could not sustain a consistent attack. Phoenix's game plan was to hit the Wings and wear them down physically, and it worked like a charm. Detroit had a 2-1 lead at the end of one, but were clearly worn down when the third period came along.

Detroit got on the board first when Tomas Holmstrom sent a floater towards the net that beat Bryzgalov and caught him by surprise. It caught everyone by surprise. It was a simple play and he missed it. But Phoenix got the equalizer on the power play when a point shot by Yandle found the net off of Brad Stuart's knee. Wings later on the power play would take the lead back when Lidstrom's point shot found the back of the net through heavy traffic. Wings lead 2-1 after one.

The Coyotes would tie it up in the second on the power play on a Wolski one timer. The second period was clearly in favor of the Coyotes. Detroit dominated the first, but the second was more even. The physical play of the Coyotes was clearly taking its toll on the Wings.

Early in the third, the Coyotes break the tie on another power play from a blue line shot by Derek Morris. The third period was dominated by Phoenix. The physical play took it's toll on Detroit and they could not sustain an attack and could not get good scoring chances. Late in the period, the reffs missed a potential game changing call when Lidstrom took a stick to the face that cut him. It could have been a 4 minute double minor, a 4 on 3 for 20 seconds, then a 5-3 for about a 1:20. Instead, there was no double minor, no 5 on 3 and the Wings failed to score on the shortened power play, and failed to score the rest of the game.

What Detroit has to do to win game 2 is get physical and stay out of the box. They let the Coyotes control the physicality of the game, and it wore down on them. Plus the Phoenix power play was 3 for 4, the only one they didn't score on was cut short due to a penalty they took during it. The Wings have to stay out of the box to win game two.

Prediction: Wings-3 Coyotes 1.

Playoffs Set; Wings get Phoenix

With the 3-2 overtime win today the Detroit Red Wings lock up the 5th seed. Not too bad for a team that many of you thought were doomed to miss the playoffs. Don't lie to yourselves, I know many of you were panicking up a storm. I said it all year, and I am right, Wings are in the postseason for the 19th straight season.

Detroit gets the Phoenix Coyotes in round one, probably the best possible matchup for the Wings. You could make an arguement for the Canucks, but either of those teams will do for Detroit. The key will be goaltending. Two goaltenders that have never started a playoff series will be put to the test. Vezna trophy candidate Ilya Bryzgalov will be the deciding factor. Phoenix will live and die with the performance of their goaltender. This is where Phoenix may be trouble for Detroit. We all know what happens when the Wings meet a hot goaltender in the playoffs, and that's what Bryzgalov is, a hot goaltender. He could cause teh Wings trouble.

Prediction: Wings win in 5.
Detroit is the hottest team in the NHL right now. Healthy and dangerous, the Red Wing line up and experience will prove too much for the young Coyotes, and Detroit will be moving on to round 2.

NL Preview:

As promised, here's a look at the Bearded One's predictions for the National League

NL East: Philadelphia Phillies:
The Phillies are the obvious choice here. Easily the best team in the NL, they are stacked. Roy Halladay andCole Hamels make a solid one-two punch in the starting rotation. The line up is deadly, with hitters like Howard and Utley, they are going to be a tough team to beat. I don't see any team in the NL that can compete with the Phillies, expect them to make a run for the World Series.

NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals:
It's hard to pick against the team that has the best hitter in baseball. Albert Puljos is a dominant player, by far and away the best hitter in the majors. The Cardinals will live and die with the production of the players not named Puljos. If his surrounding cast struggles, then the team will struggle. But I expect them to be just fine. Expect Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright to be a deadly tandem in the rotation and lead St. Louis to the postseason.

NL West: Los Angelas Dodgers
Should be a tight race in the West this year, but I expect the Dodgers to come out on top of that division. They have a solid squad, with hitters like Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, and that Manny Ramirez guy. The Dodger bats are solid, but the pitching is the question mark. The hitting will make up for a few bad pitching days, but if the rotation is off, then so are the Dodgers.

NL Wild Card: New York Mets
Call me a sucker, call me whatever, but I'm buying into the Mets. They have a good squad, they just choke every year. The line up 1-8 is pretty damn solid, and can perform at a top level. New addition Jason Bay is going to be a key in the Mets season. If he can hit in the new Mets Stadium, then they should have a good all around year. Remember when everyone agreed that Johan Santana was the best pitcher in baseball? Well, he's still pretty damn good. He'll lead the Met starters to the promise land, getting them into the postseason. No choke job this year for the Mets, they'll be playing in October.

Smoothies to Kickoffs

Kicker Todd Carter just signed a one year deal to be the kick-off specialist of the Carolina Panthers. No big deal, right? Well there's a little more to it than that. Todd Carter was serving smoothies for minimum wage at this time last year. How can you go from smoothies to NFL kicker?

Carter was a soccer keeper in high school, and did some place kicking senior year. Then he was the Kicker at Grand Valley University. So Carter has a kicking background, but still, how did he get this contract? Was a scout for Carolina jonesin for a smoothie, then noticed that the guy making his delicious fruity frozen drink had the calves of an Adoneus? That would be the cool story, but frankly it's just not true.

The real story is this. Carter had been working with former Cowboys punter, Filip Filipovic. When Rhys Lloyd left to sign with the Vikings, it opened up a spot on the Carolina roster for a guy like Todd Carter, and with Filipovic's help, he got that spot.

I have to thank Yahoo! for putting this story up on their site, brought to my attention, so now I bring it to yours. Hard work and determination can pay off, so never give up kids. This local kid out of Grand Valley goes from making Bahama Mammas to making 300k doing kickoffs. He also could have a chance doing long field goals, because John Kasey, all be it reliable, has a noodle for a leg.

A nice heart-warming story to start off the day, I'll be pulling for Todd Carter this year.

OPENING DAY IS HERE!!!!!

Baseball has arrived, and not a moment too soon. I love baseball season, it means summer is here, or about to be. Plus I love watching baseball. And with baseball season, comes my predictions, so here they are:

Detroit Tigers: 79-83
I think the Tigers are an average team. They aren't that special. Players like Brandon Inge, Adam Everett, and Gerald Laird will hurt the team with their lack of hitting. Then people like Magglio and Damon will hurt us defensively. The pitching, like always, is a question. After starters 1 and 2 (Verlander and Porcello) who's going to get the Tigers wins? The other guys in the rotation are question marks.

Al Central Winner: Chicago White Sox
They have the right combination of hitting and pitching. Expect Jake Peavy to have a comeback year. Paul Konerko is a sleeper as well. They improved an already good squad with guys like Rios and Teahen, They'll take the central with an 84-78 record

AL East Winner: New York Yankees
The Yankees are defending World Series champions, and they are stacked once again. Acquiring Curtis Granderson is an improvement in Center Field, but they still have questions. Can Nick Johnson replace Matsui at DH? Can Javier Vasquez pitch in the AL? (his last stint in the AL was very bad.) Despite these questions, I feel that the Yankees are still the best team in the East. 100-62 they win the East.

AL West Winner: Texas Rangers
Bold yes, but I am feeling the Rangers this year. New Ranger Vladimir Guerrero should bring a nice veteran bat to the line up. The question with them, as is this year, is their pitching. I believe Padillia is a good enough number one for the Rangers. They have a potent offense, and that's why they'll win the West with a 92-70 record.

AL Wild Card Winner: Boston Red Sox
The Soooox duuuude. The Baston Red Sawx. They are a good team, but once again playing second fiddle to the Yankees. They are a good enough team to make the postseason, but that's about it. They lose Jason Bay and replace him with Mike Cameron... that's a HUGE downgrade. Adrian Beltre and Victor Martinez are improvements over Lowell and Varitek, but the Sox just aren't as good as the Yankees... Sorry Riles. They'll take the Wild Card with a 93-69 record.

Well those are my AL predictions, stay tuned readers for my NL predictions, they should be up tomorrow. I know this and my Duke entry are late, but I'm sick and busy, so deal with it. So long ladies and gentlemen

National Champion Crowned

Well it was a thriller of a game, but the Duke Blue Devils are the 2010 National Champions of college basketball. In this year of upset after upset after upset, a one seed (the weakest one seed) came out on top and won the national title. Coach K ads another championship to his impressive resume. But why and how did Duke win that game?

Duke didn't win that game the conventional way. Butler controlled the offensive glass and Duke shot poor from beyond the arch. They won that one on grit, and points in the paint. Zoubeck played an important roll in this victory for the Blue Devils. The Seven footer was notorious for being in foul trouble, went the entire first half without a foul. Duke won this game because they were the better team.

Butler's defense held Duke to their lowest point total ann tournament. That's what Butler's did the entire tournament. But their offense was poor. Matt Howard struggled, like he did against State. He got into early foul trouble and was a virtual non factor the entire game. Hayward, however, played another terrific game like he's done all year.

Duke was the better team, and when two teams play in a battle of grit and strength, the better team usually wins. Scheyer, Singler, and Smith ended up being too much to for the Butler Bulldogs. When a team has three consistent studs, they're hard to beat

Congratulations to the Duke Blue Devils, you are the 2010 National Champions.

Oh and thanks for winning me my bracket

Too Bad, So Sad

Made a few videos for you guys in Indi, enjoy, enjoy


Chirpin pregame:




Punch the Bulldog:



The Walk into Lucas Oil:



Post Game Vlog