College Sports Madness!

For the past few months, Pinata posts have been slow. This is because the college sports landscape has been in full swing. Not only has college football been on the front burner but basketball too has begun, meaning team previews and season outlooks were on the agenda.

To see everything I've been working on, from weekly football recaps and title game projections to basketball team previews and supplemental articles, check out my writer profile page at College Sports Madness.




As an aside, and since it has been a while since I've written about baseball, what was with those postseason awards?? Verlander can't grab a Cy Young just because he has a few less wins? Mike Trout can't win the MVP because his team missed the playoffs? Come on! How many more years until voters realize individual awards should not be won or lost by a player's teammates?

The Dark Knight Rises unpopular opinion alert

If it wasn’t evident enough from the title, the subsequent piece of writing discusses certain key plot developments in Christopher Nolan’s most recent Batman movie. Do writers still need to constantly offer spoiler alerts? This article is about The Dark Knight Rises. If you haven’t seen the film yet, you probably wouldn’t click on the piece, right?

I hope that is the case because, in my humble opinion and without further ado, Batman should have died.

After letting the movie, and specifically the ending, sink in, it seems pretty obvious that little knuckle-curve Christopher Nolan dropped in didn’t make a ton of sense. Batman should have died.

Some people are still of the opinion that he DID die. The final scene in an Italian café was just esoteric enough to have it seem plausible that it simply took place in Alfred’s mind or a dream or…something. However, most agree Nolan decided to have Wayne escape the bomb at the last second and live happily ever after having saved his city. The first reason Batman should have died is strictly logistical. He, umm, HAD to have died! It showed our neighborhood crime fighter still in his plane with five seconds ticking on the nuclear bomb. Even if he fixed the autopilot and even if he managed to eject from the plane without us seeing, how would he have escaped the blast radius in time? In a movie where Hines Ward could return a kickoff for a touchdown, I realize there are many unbelievable plot pieces but, strictly from a common sense standpoint, come on; Batman had to have died there.

The second reason a death was needed had nothing to do with whether Bruce Wayne could have made it out alive. Simply speaking, Nolan’s Batman trilogy made more sense with the death of its protagonist. From talking of dying a hero to Batman himself telling Selena Kyle that he had not yet given everything to Gotham, the dark knight ending his life to save his city at the end of Dark Knight Rises would have been some powerful symbolism. To tell you the truth, when The Bat was flying out to sea and Robin was looking on, it got a little misty in my theater. I liked where I thought Nolan was taking us; I really liked the movie in general, until Alfred showed up in that restaurant again.

With supposedly no more Batman movies in the works for Nolan and his gang, why make the ending so surprisingly cheery for such a shadowy trilogy? As far as “tacked on endings” go, it wasn’t quite at Return of the King levels but it’s up there.

(Image courtesy of dccomics.com)

A college football playoff? Say it ain't so!

If you have not yet read my College Sports Madness colleague Dan Levine’s piece on this topic, check it out here. He describes the feelings held by most…well, most people with a heartbeat.

Unfortunately for him and for all of you who agree, he is wrong. It happens to the best of us. There is no shame in being wrong. It happened to me once, back in the 90’s. I think it was a Tuesday. Anyways, the College football powers that be making a playoff imminent seems like a fool’s errand. They are destroying the one advantage they have over every other major American sport going.

All you average sports fans, real quick, a quiz for you: who won the Big 12 basketball regular season title this past season? It happened literally within the past few months. You are thinking to yourself it was probably Kansas but it might have been Missouri…or did Baylor pull it out? You want to know the answer? The answer is: it doesn’t matter. It never matters. Nothing in the regular season of college basketball ever matters. The same goes for Major League Baseball, the NBA and don’t even get me started on hockey. Could the regular season possibly mean LESS than it does in the NHL? It’s almost a secretly, well concocted joke at this point.

It is debatable whether the NFL regular season is important. It matters because you have to make the playoffs but ask the New York Giants if they felt like they were the best team during this past year’s regular season. College football has a monopoly on the Regular Season and that should mean something.

As amateur football currently stands in division one, every game means the world from week one through December. If you want to get serious for a minute and think about it, with the exception of the teams in the literal National Championship game in January, every other team’s LEAST important game is actually their bowl game. It means squat.

So instead of banking on this week after week excitement, college football wants to turn to a playoff system, relegating the regular season to something between what the NFL currently offers us and what the NHL drags out claiming to be professional hockey. No longer will that awesome November weekend game between top teams matter as much. A team eliminating itself from title contention with a single loss will be a thing of the past. The pressure and subsequently the will of the best players to perform at their peak execution game after game will dissipate. College football will become…normal. And I for one would hate to see that happen.

2012 NFL Draft Grades

1) Indianapolis Colts

Grade: A-

            Andrew Luck as their first pick was a no-brainer. This does not diminish their selection though. He is indeed the best quarterback prospect since John Elway. Adding two tight end weapons later on, both with first round talent, is a bonus. Their best value pick came in round five in the form of Josh Chapman, a player once thought of as a first day possibility.

2) Washington Redskins

Grade: B-

            Robert Griffin III is the guy Washington wanted. However, they gave up an awful lot to get him and he is not nearly the sure thing Andrew Luck is deemed to be. Pretty much their entire draft rests on RGIII’s success: a worrisome outcome for a team that has been without a quarterback for so long.

3) Cleveland Browns

Grade: C-

            Two first round selections hardly buoyed their draft grade when they make the picks they did. Giving up three additional late round picks for the right to draft Trent Richardson third seems silly when he would most assuredly have been available at their original slot if Minnesota kept their pick. Brandon Weeden later in round one was even more questionable as he seems hardly better than Colt McCoy is, and years older than McCoy, who already has years of NFL experience.

4) Minnesota Vikings

Grade: B

            Trading back in round three, picking up three additional picks and still getting their man Matt Kalil is a move to be admired. Their second pick of day one was a little more questionable as safety Harrison Smith seems to have a low ceiling in the minds of scouts.

5) Jacksonville Jaguars

Grade: B-

Trading up to select Justin Blackmon makes sense but the many holes elsewhere on the Jags’ roster were not necessarily filled. With only six total picks made and one being a punter in round three, Jacksonville left some talent on the board. Andre Branch in round two was a nice selection though.

6) Dallas Cowboys

Grade: B

            Giving up their second round pick to trade up and get Morris Claiborne is the kind of big draft day move fans usually like from their teams. It certainly addresses a major team need and he was the best cornerback in the draft but his Wonderlic test and the fact that Dallas never interviewed him send up some red flags. Their best pick was Danny Coale, a wide receiver taken in round five. He is tremendously reliable and should fit in well as a possession receiver.

7) Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Grade: B

Tampa Bay took the best safety in the draft and the second best running back with their two first round picks. It filled two major team needs. They also selected Lavonte David in round two, a player many people felt might go in round one.

8) Miami Dolphins

Grade: C+

Two great picks cannot fully be offset by Miami’s first selection. Taking Jonathan Martin in round two and Lamar Miller in round four are both tremendous. However, Ryan Tannehill is who this draft will be made or broken with and not only is he a huge question mark; it remains to be seen whether he can actually play better than Miami’s current quarterback option: Matt Moore.

9) Carolina Panthers

Grade: B

Luke Kuechly is a solid first round selection. Joe Adams could be a difference maker as a return man in round four. However, Carolina missed on a number of team needs including defensive tackle and outside linebacker.

10) Buffalo Bills

Grade: B+

Although they added no quarterback depth and will rely fully on Ryan Fitzpatrick for the foreseeable future, Stephon Gilmore and Cordy Glenn make up one of the best two round combinations of players any team made.

11) Kansas City Chiefs

Grade: C+

Dontari Poe is a very risky pick, especially in round one. Adding offensive line help and skill position players later could not offset the uncertainty created by Poe as their draft anchor.

12) Philadelphia Eagles

Grade: B-

Giving up two mid-round picks for Fletcher Cox seems fair. Nick Foles is also a nice backup quarterback possibility with what Philadelphia was forced to trot out on the field last year when Michael Vick went down.

13) Arizona Cardinals

Grade: B

Michael Floyd is a nice weapon to place opposite Larry Fitzgerald in the Arizona offense. He should open up the middle of the field for Fitzgerald on crossing routes as well as for backs and tight ends running shorter routes. Their best value pick was Bobby Massie in round four.

14) St. Louis Rams

Grade: B+

Trading down and taking Michael Brockers is a nice move for a team needing help all over their defense. By taking Janoris Jenkins in round two, St. Louis makes the statement that they are willing to take risks in the hopes of adding talent to a depleted roster.

15) Seattle Seahawks

Grade: D

Adding two additional mid-round picks by trading down in round one does little to offset making the biggest reach of the draft. Taking Bruce Irvin, a part-time player with limited upside as their first selection would have been questionable even for a team with the luxury of taking a player with one specific skill. Seattle does not even have that luxury. Russell Wilson has the potential to carve out a spot for himself in this league but having already paid big money for Matt Flynn this offseason, Seattle again seems to be the wrong fit for this move.

16) New York Jets

Grade: B-

Stephen Hill is a great round two pick. The Jets also added depth at OLB and RB: two areas of need. Yet taking Quinton Coples in round one is too risky to warrant a higher grade. There were better, safer players still available who play the exact same position as Coples when the Jets made this selection.

17) Cincinnati Bengals

Grade: A

The overall quality and quantity of Cincinnati’s picks led to this grade. Dre Kirkpatrick fills a giant need as the team’s first selection. Kevin Zeitler might have been a bit of a reach as their next selection yet Wisconsin offensive linemen are as solid as they come. Devon Still in round two is a smart pick and the Bengals also managed to add weapons at receiver, tight end and running back, including Dan Herron, a possible contributor from the sixth round.

18) San Diego Chargers

Grade: A-

San Diego’s draft is oversimplified yet overshadowed by the first player they took. Melvin Ingram was thought of as a top ten possibility so not only was he great value at the Charger’s selection, he also addressed one of their biggest team needs.

19) Chicago Bears

Grade: C

Always worrisome is the player that flew up draft boards real late in the process, well after games were finished being played. Shea McClellin might turn into a good player but he shows evidence of being another combine-mover. Alshon Jeffery was also questionable coming off a bad year and coming into the draft process overweight. To make matters worse, Chicago didn’t address their need at defensive end or their biggest need on the offensive line.

20) Tennessee Titans

Grade: B-

Tennessee delivered a nice, solid draft. Kendall Wright is a weapon to pair with a returning Kenny Britt. Zach Brown is a nice selection as well. By addressing some team needs, the Titans neither disappointed nor blew anyone away with their weekend moves.

21) New England Patiots

Grade: B+

Normally fond of trading back, New England went in another direction by trading up twice on day one. Chandler Jones and Dont’a Hightower are both talented defensive players who can greatly help the Patriots pretty quickly. Their best pick might have been Alfonzo Dennard in round seven.

22) Detroit Lions

Grade: A-

Detroit’s franchise outlook seems to be shifting. Riley Reiff was great value late in round one. And going Oklahoma-heavy in the rest of the draft is an easy way to collect talent. Ryan Broyles’ production was historic in college. Coming off an injury was the only reason he dropped on draft day. Ronnell Lewis in round four and Travis Lewis in round seven were both good risks to take as well.

23) Pittsburgh Steelers

Grade: A-

Pittsburgh needed help along their offensive line in a major way. Taking David DeCastro, the best guard in the draft, and Mike Adams, a first round talent at OT in round two, is a great way to fill that void. Chris Rainey’s speed and versatility in round five was a bonus.

24) Houston Texans

Grade: B+

Grabbing the national leader in sacks and forced fumbles late in round one is solid reasoning. Whitney Mercilus will try to fill the void left by Mario Williams. DeVier Posey was a nice pick in round three but Houston’s best pick was Jared Crick in round four.

25) Green Bay Packers

Grade: B

A team like Green Bay has few roster holes. Rushing the passer was one of them. Their first two selections both addressed this. Nick Perry, the USC rush end and Jerel Worthy, the big tackle in round two, both should help a depleted defensive line.

26) Baltimore Ravens

Grade: B+

Trading away their first round pick and still being able to nab Courtney Upshaw in round two is great draft work. With their other second round pick, Baltimore took offensive guard Kelechi Osemele to help with depth.

27) San Francisco 49ers

Grade: C

Taking a downfield, speed wide receiver was a good option to complement Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree. The problem was San Francisco didn’t take the best one available. In addition, LaMichael James seemed superfluous to a team already with Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter in the backfield.

28) Denver Broncos

Grade: B-

Denver made a lot of moves which seemed to not get them very far. They addressed some team needs, swapped mid-round selections, added some additional picks and added a quarterback for the future. But for a team that just added Peyton Manning and might have been trying to make a splash for the current roster, Denver missed the boat.

29) New York Giants

Grade: B+

The Giants lost Brandon Jacobs and needed a replacement running back: check. They lost Mario Manningham and needed a replacement slot receiver: check. They added depth to their defensive backfield: one of the most banged up spots on their roster for the past few seasons. In addition to tight end depth and offensive line help, the Giants would have hit a home run if they were able to add any type of linebacker help but they were not.

30) Oakland Raiders

Grade: C

It is hard to make a huge improvement to a weak roster without high draft picks. Only the future will determine the real value of Oakland’s 2012 draft but after that horrendous Carson Palmer trade where they gave up all those high picks, it was going to be tough to make any kind of headway this draft.

31) Atlanta Falcons

Grade: B-

No first round pick set Atlanta up to add some defensive help late and a solid center, Peter Konz, in round two. Their big draft splash was Julio Jones last year and they took him knowing it would effect this year’s options.

32) New Orleans Saints

Grade: C+

New Orleans did the best they could with the situation they put themselves in. Without a first round pick from a prior deal with New England and having lost their second round pick because of the penalties from Gregg Williams’ bounties, the Saints were forced to fill holes with late rounders. Nick Toon was an impressive receiver in college and getting him in the fourth round is a nice pick.

The Boys of Summer, an MLB Snippet

Every year at this time, Major League Baseball starts up anew with each team having a chance at the pennant.

Originally a narrative by Roger Kahn about the Brooklyn Dodgers, the Boys of Summer now simply represent America's pastime. From McCovey's Cove to Pesky's Pole, Major League Baseball has started another season this month with "Opening Day", as writer Tim Kurkjian once put it, being the best two words in the English language to a baseball fan.

Unlike the other professional sports in America, baseball has a historic connotation to it. The sport of baseball is historic. Starting in the 1800's, MLB has a leg up on the competition in that regard. It also has history on its side in terms of numbers. Every number in baseball is special.

Home runs totals, stolen bases, consecutive games played, and everything else in between all mean something. They all mean something because, although the stadiums and players have changed, the rules have not. It is still 90 feet to first base. It still takes three strikes to get a batter out and four balls to walk him. An overthrow by the shortstop has always been an E-6. Throwing a perfect game will always mean immortality.

These rules of baseball have never changed. Thus, it opens the door to comparing eras, comparing the greats of the past with the greats of today. Each era has its own quirk or identity, yet all can be compared and argued on the basis of the final tallies.

When the Seattle Mariners won 116 regular season games in 2001, tying the mark set by the 1906 Chicago Cubs, it was neither more or less impressive than the season 95 years prior. Those two clubs will be in the record books side by side because baseball is ageless.

Ender's Game Series is Science Fiction Gold

Orson Scott Card's fabled Ender's Game Science Fiction novel series uses rarely seen writing technique of "companion novels" to perfection.

Readers were first introduced to Andrew Wiggin in 1985. Many science fiction readers know him better by his nickname Ender. Orson Scott Card released the novel Ender's Game in 1985. It went on to win the Nebula Award as well as the Hugo Award for the best Science Fiction novel of the year.

The chronological sequel, Speaker for the Dead, written just a year later, went on to win both awards as well. This story takes place after the events of Ender's Game. It is a sequel by definition.

The more interesting "sequel" to me however is the one written to take place during the exact same time frame as Card's original. The book Ender's Shadow was written in 1999 as a companion novel to Ender Wiggin's first adventure.

Companion Novels

The challenge and skill in writing a companion novel cannot be exaggerated. To write essentially the same story again, yet make it all the more interesting is a testament to Card's brilliance as well as to this world he created.

Writing a companion novel is usually the last technique used by writers, or movie directors for that matter, to continue the story of a beloved character/world. First comes a sequel. This is obvious. Continuing where we, the reader, left off previously and telling us what happens next is the common thing to do. If readers loved a character or enjoyed hearing about a tale set in a distant land, they will want to hear how things progressed.

If a sequel is not an option for some reason, say the main character dies, then the next best choice is writing a prequel. Again, obvious. Tell us how this character came to be who we saw them as. Tell us the back story and past events that shaped our main character's life.

Of course sequels and prequels are child's play. The writing of a companion novel is rarely seen because it is hard to make it interesting. Imagine reading a story you liked. Now imagine the author trying to write another novel that takes place during the exact same time frame, with the exact same characters and covers the exact same events. Would this be at all interesting to read? Simply writing from a new point of view is nice but it does not totally solve the problem. Just look at the movie Vantage Point for an idea of how that can fail.

So when Orson Scott Card wrote Ender's Shadow covering the exact story that took place in his award-winning Ender's Game, I am sure people were skeptical. It would be told from the point of view of a different character, namely Ender's Battle School associate Bean, but still. Would it work?

Ender's Shadow

Well, we got our answer. Now this book did not receive the critical acclaim that Card's first few stories did. I am not a science fiction awards expert so I don't know if it wasn't as well received or there was stiffer competition. Nevertheless, I actually was more entertained by the companion than by the original.

In the introduction to Shadow, Card tells us this story can be read before or after reading Ender's Game. Since they cover the same time frame, there is no need to read one before the other. I actually disagree with his sentiments. I felt like reading the original helped to buoy my enjoyment of the companion. Sure, I knew the ultimate outcome already and where the plot was going, but to see events take place through another character's eyes, getting a completely new view of an event I already made judgments on was fascinating.

The best example I can give is when Ender Wiggin and Bean first meet. Bean is a newbie to Ender's new army. In the first book, the relationship is shallow, if there at all. Ender sees Bean as a little version of himself a bit, the smallest yet smartest launchie in a new army. So he is hard on him, thinking it will help him in the future, just as the teachers were to Ender when he first arrived at Battle School.

However, in Ender's Shadow, we find out oh so much more. The relationship is deeper and more confusing than I ever could have imagined. Without giving too much away, it turns out Bean was not put in Ender's new army by accident or even by chance. And even though Ender may not have known who Bean was, Bean certainly knew an awful lot about his new commander. The relationship from Bean's point of view is just one thing that completely turned my perceptions around from one story to the other.

I wish more authors tried the companion novel strategy. Although it does seem hard to pull off successfully, if done correctly, the outcome can be grand. Ender's Shadow may not be historically remembered but what it did for the award-winning books that came before it cannot be overstated. In fact, it made me want to reread the original tale again, just to see those very same events after knowing how other characters reacted to them.

My Spring Training Voyage Finale

If you missed any of the previous installments of my Spring Training Voyage, scroll down through March's blog posts or click here for Part One, Part Two and Part Three. And now, the exciting conclusion to Murderous Pirates of the Raging Seas!...no, wait, this is not my dialogue to a 90's movie adapted for viewing on TNT.

March 19

Detroit Tigers at Philadelphia Phillies

Bright House Field, Clearwater, Florida

The Phillies’ Florida home was the best stadium of the bunch we saw this trip. It was smaller than the Yankees’ park but had a much more fun and entertaining vibe than the backyard that the Blue Jays played in. Fans circled the field entirely, as there was standing room and picnic blanket seating all around the outfield. The concourse was also charming, giving a pristine backdrop to home plate.

But once the game started, the ambiance and locale was surreptitiously overshadowed by one man: Tigers’ new third baseman Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera last played third base in the Majors a number of years and a few dozen pounds ago. He will most assuredly be one of the poorer fielding men at the hot corner all year long. This game would serve as the foreshadowing scene in books or movies where a future guilty criminal is seen displaying some sort of evil smirk. March 19 was Miggy’s evil smirk.

He started off at bat however. In the top of the first, Cabrera drew a walk (classic) and had a delayed steal of second base. Describing it as a delayed steal is in no way a crack at Miguel’s lack of foot speed, but rather the description of the play which worked so well because of Miguel’s lack of foot speed. He would finish the game 0-0 with a walk, steal and run scored because in the bottom of the first, he took a wicked hop to the eye, shattering his sunglasses and his face and ending his afternoon early.

I wanted to be upset about this because I felt bad for the man and hoped he would be okay. I actually ended up being upset for much more selfish reasons. If he was seriously injured, it would be a huge problem for my fantasy team of which he is the batting anchor (…I know). And even more pressing, he was the main attraction of the game I was currently attending with players like Prince Fielder already getting the day off. Cabrera being forced to leave early was a real downer on the game. Thus, we were forced to find other players and other storylines to follow.

Interestingly enough, around the next inning or so, two gentlemen came up to my dad and me holding a pair of duplicate tickets as the ones we held. It turned out one of us had been hustled. Whoever sold the tickets online had sold one set as paper receipts and resold the same seats using the actual stub tickets. I am actually surprised this does not happen more often. For whatever it is worth and fortunately for us, my dad and my tickets were the “authentic” set and the other men had the phonies. In a normal game it is possible they would have been forced to leave and have had to scrap with the seller to get their money back. In a Spring Training game, they were allowed to stay but ended up having to jump around seats five or six times as different guests kept arriving late and holding the rights to the seats they were trying to use. It put a little scare in me for buying tickets online in the future; that’s for sure.

As far as the game went, on the field, the Phillies took home the victory with a four run fifth inning. We witnessed a check swing double, two Hooters waitresses as ball girls, and dueling hat tricks by Tigers outfielders. Austin Jackson, DHing this game, finished 0-4 with three strikeouts, a walk, a stolen base and a run scored: the epitome of Austin Jackson. Meanwhile, teammate Clete Thomas one-upped him, going 0-4 with four k’s: the infamous golden sombrero. I also liked what I saw from Brennan Boesch, both in his parent’s complete disregard for the English language and for his fantasy baseball sleeper potential.

It would be our last Spring Training game of this year’s four game, three city tour and Bright House Field was certainly a pleasant host. And yes, I did buy a Philly cheese steak.

Postscript

The Tampa Bay, Dunedin, Clearwater triumvirate is a great location for any Spring Training trip. We were able to see a handful of different teams without having to travel very far at all between stadiums.

John Mayberry Junior is a monster of a man.

You know how some players have easy gas, where they have such a fluid arm motion, it seems like they are barely throwing yet the radar gun says 96? Octavio Dotel has very hard gas…

The Tampa aquarium is a lot of fun even if you pass on the dolphin excursion.

The games don’t matter in the least outside of players getting in shape and trying to make a roster yet fans seem to not realize this. This is especially true of Phillies fans.

I cannot wait for the regular season to get in full swing (pardon the pun) and to attend a couple games that count in the standings, although it is sad knowing I cannot get seats as good as the ones obtained for Spring Training baseball. It is a special event who's vibe and closeness cannot be duplicated once the corporate structure of big business sports takes over come Opening Day.