Illegal Touching

Gettin’ Wiggy With It.

After today’s 3-3 showing with 6 RBIs, Ty Wigginton raised his average to .289 against the Mets.

The guy was always, and probably will always, be one of my favorite obscure Mets of all time. And yes, I know his trade paved the way for David Wright to become a starter. I just always held out hope is that he would have come back via free agency as a utility infielder and clubhouse presence. He had to be one of the only players sent out of Queens that literally cried about it.* I hope to one day have him sign my jirt. (That’s jersey + shirt for you keeping score at home.) 

*I cannot find anything to back up the crying claim on the Internet, but since his trade was in 2004 eight HAS to be in print, somewhere.

(Al Bello/Getty)

(Source: ESPN)

How Many Home Runs Do Mets OFs Have?

Lucas Duda-4

Jason Bay-3

Scott Hairston-3

Kirk Nieuwenhuis-2

Andres Torres-1

Total-13 home runs

The worn out, washed up, shell of Carlos Beltran Has hit 13 home runs in 40 (of a possible 42) games for the Cardinals. That just happens to be the most HRs in the National League, by the way. I was all for trading Beltran to get something in return last year. I also wanted him brought back this year because I had absolutely zero faith in Angel Pagan. So I hope those Chicken Little Mets fans that wear their white pillowcases at night are real happy with their English-speaking ballclub. All the OF combined with their .261 BA and 13 COMBINED home runs can’t hold Beltran’s washed up jock.

Buckeye BS Violations.

The self reporting of these secondary violations are nauseating:

Meyer is reported to have said “good luck” to football recruit Noah Spence at a Dec. 16 high school game, violating NCAA rules prohibiting direct contact with recruits during competition.

“It’s nothing that troubles me,” Smith told The Associated Press on Friday. “It’s normal operating business. It’s nothing that troubles me. I’ve seen all the cases; we know all the cases. You look at them, and they’re inadvertent mistakes.”

Ohio State learned of the contact from a newspaper photo that showed Meyer apparently talking to Spence. Meyer informed Ohio State of the contact two days after the game.

“I went to say ‘hello’ and ‘good luck’ to his coach and as I was walking off the field Noah said ‘hello,’ and I said, ‘good luck,’ before the game,” Meyer wrote in a text message to The Plain Dealer. “Nothing more. Nothing to hide. All good.”

Sure, the right thing to say is that they did the right thing here. But this is all just a “look at how clean our program is” move. This is a non-story put out there to show future recruits and their parents what a standup guy Urban Meyer is. Forget what happened in Florida, look at how clean this program is.

This move is equivalent to the goody two shoes in your class that went up to the teacher when they got a 98 on their test and pointed out that they should actually have a 94 because of the mistake the teacher may have made. Puke City.

(Source: ESPN)

Apparently, A Student Athlete Has It Worse Than A Student.

On the April 8 “Parting Shots” segment of The Sports Reporters, John Saunders decided to provide some insight as to why Kentucky’s star players might not want to return to win several championships. That reason? Insurance costs. He said, in part,

Here’s something you don’t know, It costs a star player $15,000 a year in insurance to stay safe playing college basketball. That means a senior would owe $60,000 before going pro. So if you think coaches who take one and done players are to blame, look at who makes the rules.

I don’t expect Saunders to fully understand college tuition as he attended Western Michigan University on a hockey scholarship. But to insinuate that the Wildcats who may be going pro (this was taped before they all officially announced their intentions) are doing so because of insurance costs is insulting. An out-of-state student attending the University of Kentucky would be paying $31,754 a year. That’s $127,016 for four years. And who knows how much that amount will balloon to with student loans. You know, because they’re not on scholarship. Back to the Wildcats, let’s assume that all five of these guys will be drafted in the first round. Even if one of these Wildcats are chosen with the last pick of the first round they are guaranteed to make at least $1.73 million dollars in their first two years in the league.

I have absolutely no issue with these guys who play for one year and go to the pros. Nor do I have issue with coaches that recruit these types of players. My only issue here is that Saunders is trying to make $60,000 look like a colossal pile of debt, IF they stay for all four years. And this is supposed to be a problem for individuals who will more than likely make that after six games of their rookie contract? I suppose it is if you subscribe to the “Mo Money Mo Problems” philosophy…

Slim’s iPod (Spring Fever Edition)

³ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ[ Tracklist ]ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³
     ³ :                                                                        : ³
     ³    01.Avesta - Arena                                            [07:25]    ³
     ³    02.Alex Clare - Too Close                                    [06:01]    ³
     ³    03.Inna - Sun is Up                                          [05:58]    ³
     ³    04.Bob Sinclar - Rock the Boat                               [06:49]    ³
     ³       (Feat. Pitbull, Dragonfly & Fatman Scoop)                            ³
     ³    05.Chris Brown - Turn Up the Music (Remix)(Feat. Rihanna)    [04:44]    ³
     ³    06.B.O.B - So Good                                           [04:21]    ³
     ³    07.Das Racist - Punjabi Song (Feat. Bikram Singh)            [03:33]    ³
     ³    08.Trae Tha Truth - I’m on 2.0                               [06:22]    ³
     ³       (Feat. Big K.R.I.T., Jadakiss, J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, B.           ³
     ³    09.Wale - Miami Nights                                       [03:36]    ³
     ³    10.Chiddy Bang - Ray Charles                                 [06:10]    ³
     ³    11.Gym Class Heroes - Holy Horseshit, Batman                 [06:00]    ³
     ³    12.Amy Winehouse - Hey Little Rich Girl (Feat. Zalon & Ade)  [03:35]    ³
     ³    13.Vampire Weekend - Fight for this Love                     [03:44]    ³
     ³       (Originally by Cheryl Cole)                                          ³
     ³    14.Battleme - Hey Hey, My My                                 [02:50]    ³
     ³    15.Ed Sheeran - The A-Team                                   [03:58]    ³
     ³    16.Katy Perry - The One that Got Away (Acoustic)             [06:04]    ³
     ³    17.Panic! at the Disco - C’mon (with Fun.)                   [05:21]    ³
     ³    18.Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe                          [03:13]    ³
     ³    19.Selena Gomez & the Scene - Love You Like A Love Song      [03:08]    ³
     ³    20.Bob Sinclar - Life (Feat. Ben Onono)                      [10:43]    ³
     ³    21.Rihanna - Birthday Cake (Remix)(Feat. Chris Brown)        [04:40]    ³
     ³    22.N.O.R.E. - Lehhhgooo                                      [04:10]    ³
     ³       (Feat. Busta Rhymes, Game & Waka Flocka Flame)                       ³
     ³    23.Nicki Minaj - Starships                                   [03:31]    ³
     ³    24.T.I. - Popped Off (Feat. Dr. Dre)                         [06:02]    ³
     ³    25.Busta Rhymes - Why Stop Now (Remix)                       [05:01]    ³
     ³       (Feat. Missy Elliott, Lil’ Wayne & Chris Brown)                      ³
     ³    26.Mark Ronson - Diduntdidunt (Feat. Saigon)                 [03:59]    ³
     ³    27.Roscoe Dash - Good Good Night                             [06:25]    ³
     ³    28.Naughty by Nature - Perfect Party (Feat. Joe)             [04:10]    ³
     ³    29.Das Racist - Rainbow in the Dark                          [03:51]    ³
     ³    30.Kid Cudi - Dose of Dopeness                               [08:15]    ³
     ³    31.Tyga - Rack City (Remix)                                  [08:59]    ³
     ³       (Feat. Wale, Fabolous, Young Jeezy, Meek Mill & T.I.)                ³
     ³    32.Common - Ghetto Dreams (Feat. Nas)                        [05:17]    ³
     ³    33.Jbar - Right Now (Feat. K-Major)                          [03:56]    ³
     ³    34.Drake - HYFR (Hell Ya Fucking Right)(Feat. Lil’ Wayne)    [05:14]    ³
     ³    35.Wale - Sabotage (Feat. Lloyd)                             [05:28]    ³
     ³    36.Jay-Z - Glory (Feat. B.I.C.)                              [05:56]    ³

Enough.

Just so we’re clear, I’ve never been a fan of Kobe Bryant. More to the point I can’t stand the comparisons to Michael Jordan. There’s been a pattern over the past two years in which the media feels the need to point out every single ailment might have going into that night’s game. But why? The answer is simple, really. Kobe is 33, heading into the twilight of his career. So if he should go off for 50+ points with a hang nail, it adds to his legacy. However, this whole situation has spiraled out of control and the media has turned this into The Boy Who Cried Wolf.

Let’s take a look at a quote taken from ESPN Los Angeles.

The concussion, nasal fracture and whip lash that Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant suffered in the NBA All-Star Game might not have caused him to miss a game, but it has kept him out of practice.

Okay. The broken nose was obvious. There was some speculation as to whether or not Kobe had received a concussion leading up to the game against Minnesota. But now they’re adding whiplash to his list of ailments? Here is the video of how he received all these injuries. Whiplash? Really? And after his monumental 31 point outburst against the Minnesota juggernaut, here’s what we were treated to:

In case you are unaware, Mr. Bryant seems to be the first player in NBA history to play with a broken nose and a mask. So, kudos.

(Source: ESPN)