Who Is The Best? Tiger Woods vs. Roger Federer

Who is better?  I’ve basically narrowed the two most dominant athletes in the world down to Tiger Woods and Roger Federer respectively.  No other sport has anyone that so obviously stands out, perhaps because most other sports involve teams.  Ladanian Tomlinson comes the closest.  I apologize to football fans in advance, but I didn’t think that he deserved to be included.  If you disagree, say so in the comments.

As for Woods v Federer, most Americans would probably tell you Tiger Woods is better.  Why?  Because they are simply bigger fans of golf, and play and watch more of the sport.  They play the sport, and understand how difficult it is to master.  Non-Americans and tennis players would say Roger Federer.  The way he dominates a game and makes his opponent try and play desperate and afraid is simply astounding.  He combines finesse, strength, and knowledge to decimate his competition.

I really don’t even remember the last time Federer lost.  Thing is, Tiger has also won his past 7 tournaments.  They’re both godsends to their sports.  These guys dominate and still make it fun to watch for the viewers.  Some might say it’s MORE fun to watch because of this fact.

Then there is the age factor.  Federer is 25 and started playing professionally when he was 18.  Woods is 31 and started on the pro circuit whe he was 21.  Woods shot out of the gate with a HUGE victory at the Masters, and would go on to win 12 more majors and 55 more tournaments in the next ten years.  Federer has had a similar record, winning 10 grand slam events and 46 tournaments.  He’s also been runner up in 13 events.  Their numbers are eerily similar for sports that both have deep and talented fields.

So what say you?  I say that Federer is better, simply because he hasn’t even lost a set in god knows how long.  He’s utterly dominant in a sport where upsets can be ripe depending on and infinite number of things.  And yes, this is almost a coin flip situation.  One could say that the sport of golf itself makes it tough for Woods to continually win because of how varied the courses are, and any number of other factors.  But tennis has multiple surfaces, and the only surface Federer has had any ‘trouble’ on is clay.  And ‘trouble’ means he finishes second instead of first.

I have to give the edge to Federer because of how many titles he’s won in a shorter amount of time.  Yes he will retire before Woods will, but that is simply how the sport of tennis works.   Athletes can’t stay in winning condition at 40 years old like they can in golf.  You can’t take away from Federer because the sport has different demands.

Boy Meets World Mondays

Remember the time Shawn had to get Super Bowl tickets to pass a class? And Topanga couldn’t help?!?! HAHAHAHAA LOLZ I DO!

In The Air Tonight: Miami Vice

Normally I’d post this on Youtube For Everything, but this video clip from a very early episode of Miami Vice simply changed the way television was written/produced/filmed. It was film-like, used music as a mood setter, and set up odd angles for cameras. It was/is legendary.

Check it out, and if you agree or disagree, leave comment:

The ‘Chinks Cheesesteaks’ Radio Ad

“When you step in there, you’ll feel like you stepped back in time.”

Yes, I certainly do.

They say it was a nickname of the original owner. Well, why did he get the nickname? His eyes were ‘chinky’. Nope, no racism in that name.

Keep the name if you want, I really don’t care. But don’t have some white girl say Chinks over and over again on the radio. Sheesh, have a LITTLE class.

Roger Federer Is The Best Athlete In The World

Is there any doubt?  He’s dominating his sport in ways that no one else except Tiger Woods can lay claim, and he’s doing it while playing a heavy schedule (whereas Woods picks and chooses his tourneys).  Federer just DOMINATED his semifinal Australian Open match against a pretty darn good Andy Roddick, going 6-4, 6-0, 6-2…and it wasn’t even that close.  Some say it’s boring to watch a blowout.  Well, that’s true in a normal case, but not when you see greatness personified.

He left Roddick stunned and disappointed, but Roddick shouldn’t be the former.  Federer is simply the best in the world at his sport.  It’s simple domination, and the finals are simply a formality at this point.  Tommy Haas and Fernardo Gonzalez have a bitter pill to swallow once one of them ‘gets’ to face Federer.  Good luck, you’ll need it.

President Bush Wants To Sex Mutombo

I previously highlighted Mutombo for his hospital-building fetish, and President Bush also  got into the act during last night’s State of the Union address:

“Dikembe Mutombo grew up in Africa, amid great poverty and disease. He came to Georgetown University on a scholarship to study medicine, but coach John Thompson took a look at Dikembe and had a different idea. Dikembe became a star in the NBA and a citizen of the United States. But he never forgot the land of his birth — or the duty to share his blessings with others. He built a brand-new hospital in his old hometown.

“A friend has said of this good-hearted man: ‘Mutombo believes that God has given him this opportunity to do great things.’ And we’re proud to call this son of the Congo a citizen of the United States of America.”

Said Mutombo in a phone interview afterward: “My heart was full of joy. I didn’t know the president was going to say such great remarks. He raised me so high. I’m so happy. I’m so proud to be a citzen of the United States of America and to be recognized for my work. God is good to have put this work in my heart.”

Seems random to give him the ol’ pat on the back during the State of the Union Address, but what do I know?

Valencia, CA Upset At Being Blown Up By Nuke

At least the guy who wrote this article is:

When I contacted the show and asked them why they nuked my town, “24″ executive producer and season six show runner Howard Gordon said they “liked the sound of Valencia.”

Liked the sound? I hope real terrorists don’t like the sound.

Whether he’s serious or not in his indignation, I love his response.  It’s just classic.

Jimmy Rollins Was Sleeping The Past Six Years

“I wasn’t that bitter watching the playoffs and World Series last year,” Rollins said. “The year before, I was more bitter. You know, for the first time since I’ve been here, I can actually say that I expect us to go to the playoffs. I think we have the pitching to get us there. Our offensive production the last couple of years has been great.”

Apparently finishing 2nd, about 1 or 2 games out of either the division or Wild Card meant they weren’t even close. Especially in 2005, we just didn’t have the talent when we were within a home run given up by Wagner of making the playoffs over the Astros. Nope, not enough talent there.

OK, how can I really get that mad at Jimmy? I can’t. The guy’s just trying to pump himself up before the season and before spring training comes rolling around. But isn’t this a bit of a slap at the guys who played in the previous seasons and almost made it to the playoffs?

And doesn’t his head look extra bald in the above picture?

A Message For The 76ers

Having lots of fun here in Denver.  Thanks guys!

Love, AI

Therapists Meet World Mondays

Remember the time two guys made a sitcom intro with the BMW music???

Chase Utley Just Signed For 7 Years, 85 million

My first impression: good deal, let’s hope it’s not too back-loaded:

Utley and the Phillies agreed to a seven-year, $85 million extension Sunday, avoiding salary arbitration. The extension covers the final three arbitration seasons for Utley and his first four seasons of free agency. The deal is contingent on Utley passing a physical.

“We view Chase as not only a great second baseman but also one of the top 10-15 players in the game,” Phillies assistant general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. “He’s a hard-nosed, full-throttle player who exemplifies the spirit of Philadelphia. He is tailor-made for this city and we couldn’t be happier to lock him up for years to come.”

The best second baseman in the league just got a lot richer. And the Phils are able to claim that 2B as theirs for several years into the future. This is all good, except for that quote by Amaro. So he’s one of the top 10-15 players in the game, ok. But why is he that? Because of his great hitting for contact and power at a position largelly devoid of both? No, it’s because he’s Mr. Grit! He exemplifies the spirit of Philadelphia! OH BOY! Give me a break with that crap. He’s a great player because he hits well, not because he gets some dirt on his uniform or looks like he’s running hard when he’s running hard.

But you know what? I’m going to be positive today. The Phillies just locked up the top guy at his position, and for a pretty good ‘bargain’. He’s now 28 years old and will end up around 35 years old at the end of this deal, which is pretty good timing for getting the most out of him. After that, it’s likely downhill, but he’ll still probably be a viable option for the Phils at second. And although the Phils wasted about a year of his development in AAA, they’re still getting plenty of him at his peak. Look at what the Mets did with David Wright and Jose Reyes, signing them early and young. Reyes will be a free agent when he’s 27 and right around his peak, and will have made 9 million in 2010. Wright will be about 29 when he’s played the last year of his contract. Both will be due for BIG pay days, provided they don’t start sucking or get hurt.

Which would you rather do? Lock a guy up when he’s young, back-load his contract, and then let them go when they’re 28 or so, or would you rather let a guy get to his arbitration year and then sign him to his first big deal when he’s around 27 or 28?

Sammy Sosa Is Playing Baseball in 2007?

Maybe, just maybe.  According to multiple sources, Sosa might sign with the Texas Rangers, despite not playing in baseball for quite a while and despite being turned away in Japan:

“He’s strong. He’s healthy,” Rangers rookie manager Ron Washington said Wednesday. “I saw good bat speed. The ball made a lot of sound off his bat. I saw a great attitude. I saw a guy that is very confident in his ability.”

Alright!  Sosa coming back, feeling good, looking good, and ready to fire:

“I know his swing,” Jaramillo said. “You could see his hands actually got faster. … I’m going to be there to push him and give him all the tough love he needs. I know him better than anyone. I know what makes him go.”

Whew!  Good thing we will all be able to see the chest thump and hand signals of Sammy Sosa once more.  His 671 OPS in 2005 meant nothing!

Rowand’s Back Again, Turn Up The Music Let’s Begin

Let’s begin. Aaron Rowand and the Phillies have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a 1 year 4.35 million dollar deal. This deal essentially ensures that Rowand will be manning the outfield for the Phillies in 2007. The Phils are picking off their arbitration-eligible players one by one:

Rowand is the second of the Phillies’ five arbitration-eligible players to agree to a contract, joining Ryan Madson. Geoff Geary, Brett Myers and Chase Utley remain unsigned, and the Phillies could be far apart on the latter two.

Bada bing baby! Avoiding arbitration with all of these guys is great! Too bad Ryan Madson sucks and may or may not get any better, and Rowand just ain’t that great period. But hey, the savings we are getting out of these signings! OH BOY

To be serious, this signing indicates that Rowand will not be dealt. This means we are left with an outfield consisting of LF Pat Burrell, CF Aaron Rowand, CF/RF Shane Victorino, CF Michael Bourn, CF/RF Chris Roberson, OF Jayson Werth, and possibly Karim Garcia. Outside of Burrell, and a hopefully patient Shane Victorino, I don’t see many winners in that bunch. And by winners I mean producers. Oh sure, they all have the ‘potential’ to do well…don’t most major leaguers? That’s why they’re major leaguers. But signing Rowand essentially guarantees that we are using two centerfielders to fill up two outfield spots. And moving a centerfielder to the corner tends to decrease the value of said player (i.e. either Victorino or Rowand). Any way we fill out the outfield will be a sharp decline from last season’s mix of Burrell, Abreu, Dellucci, Victorino, and Rowand simply because we are moving everyone up two pegs on the food chain.

But what about Mr. Rowand? The Phillies obviously thought he was worth at least SOMETHING, whether it be by signing him or by using him as trade bait. They chose the former. So what’s he going to do next season? To figure that out, we have to first go back to last season and see what he did:

• 109 games (405 AB), 106 hits, 24 doubles, 3 triples, 12 homers
• 47 RBI, 59 runs, 10 – 14 SB
• .262 avg/321 OBP/425 SLG = 745 OPS
• 18 BB, 76 K, 87 OPS+, 8.8 VORP, .256 EQA

His isolated power is decent for a centerfielder at .163, but that would be pretty bad if we have another centerfielder out there at the same time, especially if he’s moved over to right. And take out Rowand’s great May (and I don’t belive in this, just making a point), and Rowand would have a lot less power and a lot less value. Frankly, he doesn’t get on base near enough at all. Plus, he hacks. 18 walks to 76K, even with double-digit hit by pitches, is putrid. There’s no reason to think that this ratio will get any better at all, judging by his career.

One could say that Rowand ran into the wall in centerfield and derailed his season. He WAS hitting well at that time, although that IS a bit revisionist, what with his OPS being 794-799 around May 1st. He got his OPS up to 871 by May 11th, and then he broke his nose. Some say that he then wasn’t seeing well…this has never been substantiated and is likely trying to explain away a horrible rest of the season.

One COULD say that Rowand will bounce back this season, but that ignores history. Rather, that ignores his career history, one of ups (2004) and downs (2005). His career line is a bland 279 avg/334 OBP/446 SLG. Whatever Rowand will ‘bounce back’ to depends greatly on what Rowand’s ceiling is. If one truly believes that Rowand will bounce back all the way to 2004, then this could be a worthwhile signing. If, however, one believes that Rowand’s ceiling is around his career average, then this supposed bounce won’t be bouncing too high. And he won’t be very valuable. And then we’ve loaded our outfield with a bunch of mediocre players.

Believe what you want, but I’ll go with what I know. And what I know is that Rowand doesn’t get on base very well, hacks at the plate a bit too much, and has average power. That isn’t the forumla for a productive hitter.

The Kinda Bland Comic In The World

OK, so obviously I’m starting to run out of horribly written, drawn and unfunny comics. So now let’s move onto the ‘eh I’ll read it because it’s there but I can’t see why that’s overally funny but I do see what they’re kinda going for, even though the joke’s written on the same level as the comic strips I made when I was 11′ comics. First one up to the plate: Pearls Before Swine, with its main characters Pig, Rat, Zebra and Goat. It’s a comic that can go into dark places with its humor, but chooses not to venture there. Instead, it goes for puns and other similar joke setups.

Still, it can get better. One of the best ways to do that is to build on previous jokes, and make the comic insular. To a point. A writer can’t go completely inside and expect to grow their strip, but some of the funniest strips (Calvin and Hobbes as an example) referenced old material in such a way that one had to know the material to get the joke. Don’t go for the easy joke simply because it’s there. Pearls Before Swine, more often than not, simply just goes for gotcha (see above).

Baseball Is A Funny Sport; Alex Gonzalez Signs With The Royals

Baseball is a funny sport. Although several teams do sign players based on what they have recently accomplished and what they expect them to produce at the plate, on the mound, and in the field, other teams like to sign players simply to fill up rosters and to add ‘veteran presence’ and ’shore up positions’. The Royals are certainly the latter, as they have just signed Alex S. Gonzalez, he of the 2006 Phillies, to a minor league deal to ’shore up’ their SS position. Apparently a young guy couldn’t produce the stats that the 33 year old Gonzalez could, most specificially his -30 OPS+ (100 is average) his 269 OPS, and 4 hits in 36 AB. One could not expect an inexperienced baseball player to put up those kinds of numbers; those are achieved only be a special kind of ballplayer.

Wouldn’t you hate to root for a team that signed a bunch of old players because of what they did 6 years ago, and they were never that good to begin with anyway?

Oh hell, and I forgot the best part…he had retired midseason last year.  I’m sure it was just to free himself up for the Royals this season.