Beer Nuts

Once every few weeks here at the Local Bar we like to share some of our favorite stories and opinions of course on recent news ---

Not 1, Not 2, Not 3, But 4 No-Hitters in a Row and Counting

                  

                          

Now usually I am not very easily impressed with feats accomplished by high school athletes (let alone by those who are committed to Florida) simply because you never know the competition level they are playing against, but I miss say I am truly amazed at this achievement.  I don't care if you are playing against little leaguers, the odds of not giving up a single hit in 4 games in warm weather baseball are astronomical.  We are not talking about April baseball in New England where batters are scared to hit the ball cause of the low temperatures but rather legitimate Florida baseball.  With a 92 mph fastball and a solid slider this kid really has the goods, all I hope now is he won't ever pitch an inning at Florida and goes straight to minors. Oh yea by the way the national record for consecutive no hitters is 6.  Can he do it? To be continued.  P.S.  Who's the first team that just bunts every time up to get a hit? 

Boston Fans a Class Act?

                          

Now by no means am I supporter of Boston Bruin fans (and all Boston fans as well) in no way but I must say that they truly reacted much better than I would have thought they would have just days after the Montreal Canadiens fans booed our country's national anthem.  This reaction to the Canadian National Anthem was beautifully executed by all Bruin fans and truly let all Canadiens that Americans were not willing to stoop to their low level of behavior.  What has America ever done to Canada? C'mon now is it really necessary to "boo" another country's national anthem? Have some respect Hab fans and get on the same level of class of Boston fans.

Greg Paulus to Michigan, or maybe Syracuse

                                                      

Ok Greg I am completely excited to see you play football and actually was very disappointed when you decided to play basketball at Duke. Just do me a huge favor and make a decision already.  The longer you take to decide the less time you will have to get acquainted with your new school, teammates, and playbook.  Michigan or Syracuse it doesn't matter you will be competing for the starting job right away.  Get on your horse and make a decision already.  Best of luck to you Greg but please don't try to be like Brett Favre and turn this into a media circus. (Don't think I didn't notice your appearance on PTI as well) 

and you know I had to at least mention this last one....

The U is the #1 Party School in America

                                        

                      "Other colleges come to its city for spring break. Nuff Said."

 

Yankee Talk

So I know we are only just seven games into the 2009 season, but let's talk about how the new acquisitions are fairing thus far for our beloved bombers -

C.C. Sabathia (1-1, 4.50 ERA, 6 K's)

  

                                               

C.C.'s opening start was awful to say the least against what will be a mediocre Orioles team this year recording 0.00 strikeouts.  At least the big man was able to bounce back with a solid start against the Royals and record 6 strikeouts while giving up 0 earned runs in 7 and 2/3 innings pitched. My big question is how in just five days a man can go from throwing low 90 mph fastballs with little movement to releasing 95-96 mph fastballs that were dancing beautifully in colder weather? I don't know the answer but I not going to complain because I had been worried of a possible injury.  Opening Week Grade --- C+

A.J Burnett (2-0, 2.70 ERA, 15 K's)

                                                  

Yankee fans should be grateful for A.J Burnett this year.  The man has been worth every dollar thus far through his first two starts looking dominant.  Burnett has looked like the pitcher that he was in Toronto that was notorious for giving the Yankees trouble and is the one pitcher in the rotation that I have complete confidence in.  He can go long into the game and rarely gets in trouble, with a solid bullpen behind him I see Burnett winning many games in pinstripes this year.  Opening Week Grade --- A

Mark Teixiera (.211, 1 HR, 2 RBI)

                                                                      

Is he feeling the pressure of not having A-Rod in the lineup? If he is he is surely playing poorly under the pressure of being the only big bat in the lineup.  I am no what happy with how Teixiera is batting thus far into the season, but I am not giving up hope that he will be the monster that we all expect him to be. He has been very solid in the field (anyone is better in comparison to Giambi) but his bat really needs to start coming around before he truly feels the wrath of the NY media/fans. Opening Week Grade --- D

Nick Swisher (.453, 4 HR, 11 RBI)

                                                          

Yes Sir! Honestly who would of thought the big bat in our new lineup would be from the man we signed before Mr. Teixiera.  Nick Swisher has been one of the only bright spots on the team thus far through the opening week.  From his pinch hit double off the bench against the Orioles on opening day to his 5 RBI outpour to save us from a sweep, Swisher has been on fire.  The best part is the fun he is having and the confidence he is playing with. Opening Week Grade --- A+

Calipari is Out, but he's Not the Only Major Loss for Memphis

        John Wall                      --             Xavier Henry          --             DeMarcus Cousins 

                      

How more upset can you be if your a Memphis Tiger fan?  In one day you not only lose the coach that brought your basketball program back to national prominence but along with his departure the Tigers also lost arguably the top 3 high school recruits in the country.  For those of you who follow college basketball recruiting, these three names have been very familiar to you over the past season.  Cousins, Wall, and Henry have been ranked by all major publications in the top 5 for class of 2009 recruits with Wall headlining the rivals.com rankings and Henry being the top guy on ESPNU top 100.  

In one press conference, the University of Memphis (previously known as Memphis State for those who have been living in a closet since Penny Hardaway donned the Tiger jersey) went from being a sure fire pick to be a final four team to an organization without CEO and a team that might lose a conference game this year. Do I feel bad for what is going on at Memphis right now? No.  I believe that their rise to national prominence was "very shady" to say the least and I believe they were fairly warned after seeing Calipari leave other places in similar style. To be honest I don't think that Calipari had anything to prove by going to Kentucky, I think his legacy as a coach would have been the same had he just stayed at Memphis, but I do understand the monetary raise but I think there would of been a couple of boosters willing to help him out if he really wanted to stay.

What I am upset about though as a college basketball fan is that I will not get the chance to see all three of these blue chippers get to play on the same court together.  (Thank you John Wall for turning down the McDonald's All-American game to play in the new trendy Jordan Brand Classic so that I wouldn't even get to see what it would be like even in an exhibition game.) Now I am not going to go as far as saying that these three would have been the freshmen sensation that was the Michigan Fab Five, but I would definitely take these three ballers over the recent Ohio State trio of Conley, Cook, and Oden who led their squad to the national championship game.

Yes, I know that John Wall had not committed to play for Memphis before Calipari left, but I am pretty confident he would of ended up being a tiger.  The reason -- Tyreke Evans.  Coach Calipari was able to land this top ranked recruit months after signing day last year showing his ability to sign highly touted recruits late and furthermore with the strong likelihood of Evans leaving for this years draft a nice hole in the backcourt would be perfect for Wall to fill.  

Since Wall, Cousins, and Henry have still yet to decide on a school, there is still a possibility that I will get to see them play together.  Do I think it will happen? Nothing is impossible, and I know that there is one man who could be able to pull it off ---