Dom's Dish - Dishin the Bracket Edition

Dom's Dish - Thursday, March 19, 2009 10am

Ok, here we go, 2 hours until the madness, mayhem, chaos and general disarray begins.  I've filled out 5 brackets on ESPN.com, 1 on Yahoo! and multitudes in my head, but I filled out the last one on paper that The Dish will be using to take it to the house!  Here we go, region by region...

First for the play-in game, I'm taking Morehead State.  I always take Morehead State, I love the name AND it's where my boyhood idol Phil Simms went to school.  Someone on ESPN called them "The Morehead State Phiting Phil Simms".  I mean, the notable alumni section from Wikipedia.com has listed Phil at the top among some bowlers, former D-level MLB players, some country music singers, Billy Ray Cyrus (Miley's dad), Baltimore Ravens coach Jim Harbaugh and Chuck Woolery.  I'll take Phil Simms for the love connection, Chuck.  Not bad for a school from Kentucky - speak of the devil, I wonder if Gillespie will get fired from the "main campus" after his first 2 seasons.  I hate when the analysts talk about Kentucky and Indiana (and now Arizona) like the basketball programs BELONG in the tournament year after year.  It's all about coaching and recruiting.  Once your star coach is gone, the program reverts - see Bruce Pearl leaving UW Milwaukee (who?).  

Anyway, on to the brackets:

Midwest:

Louisville will come out.  I have all the top seeds advancing throughout except for: Sienna over Ohio State (1st Rd 9 over 8), USC over BC (1st Rd 10/7).  Thus Louisville, Wake Forest, Kansas and Michigan State in the Sweet 16, and Louisville and Rick Pitino in his white suit beating Tom & Jerry Izzo in the Elite 8.  Kansas and Arizona could throw a wrinkle in the bracket, but I'm pretty confident in that they've lost too much.  Louisville Cardinals move on - from Kentucky.

West:

Memphis shows its worth to advance - 29 straight heading into the National Semifinal.  All top seeds advance except: Texas A&M over BYU (1st Rd 9/8), Mississippi State over Washington (1st Round 13/4), Maryland over California (1st Rd 10/7).  In the second round, UConn (1), Memphis (2), Missouri (3),  and my Cinderella to the Sweet 16 - Mississippi State (13 seed) move on.  UConn and Memphis in the final, Memphis flexes its muscles and John Calipari is in the National Semifinals again with a different Freshman point guard.

South:

UNC pulls through with an ailing Lawson.  I don't want it to happen, but this could be a story book year for Hansborogh in his last year.  All top seeds advance except: Temple over Arizona State (1st Rd 11/6), Clemson over Oklahoma and Blake Griffin (2nd Rd 7/2).  UNC (1), Gonzaga (4), Cuse (3) and Clemson (7) in the Sweet 16.  UNC and Syracuse advance to the Elite 8 on coaching and guard play, with UNC, Roy Williams and Crazy T going to the Final 4.

East:

This one is all messed up as Nova moves on to the Final 4 on team chemistry and the road through Philly.  Lots of crazy stuff here: Pitt advances against Tennessee (over Oklahoma State - 1st Rd 9/8).  Xavier holds seed as does Florida State, though Florida State over Xavier (5/4) in the 2nd Round.  Tennessee beats Pitt as foul trouble hinders their big man and Fields comes up short - 9 over 1 in 2nd Round up top.  Tennessee and Florida State in the Sweet 16 up top.  Down low, VCU pulls the upset over UCLA in the 1st Rd (11/6) and Nova (3), Texas (7) and Duke (2) hold on in the first round.  Nova (3) and Duke (2) pull to the Sweet 16 matchup.  Nova and Tennessee pull the upsets (3/2 and 9/5).  Villanova and the sharply dressed Jay Wright advance to the Final 4 - just so you know, Giorgio Armani wears Jay Wright suits.

Final 4:

Villanova (3), UNC (1), Memphis (2) and Louisville (1) make it to the big show.  Louisville pulls it out over Memphis ending their 29 game win streak - the bigger conference experience helps down the stretch.  Villanova pulls it out over UNC ending the reign of "the greatest men's hoops player of all time" - Tyler Hansbrough - however you spell it.  It's an all-Big-East finale - Louisville and Villanova, AGAIN, and unfortunately, again Louisville takes the Title - this one for all the enchiladas - 75 to 69.  Louisville Cardinals - the overall #1 seed from the best conference, wins.

Dom's Dish - Overtime's Overtime's Overtime Edition

So, as I'm about to shut down, I realize I missed the most amazing game ever.  I didn't see one second of it, but it's gone to 6 OVERTIMES SO FAR and it's still not over!  UConn and Syracuse playing in the Big East Quarterfinals on a day where Nova barely pulled it out, but pulled it out in classic March Madness fashion with a reverse lay-up at the buzzer to stun Marquette - who came back from 16 at the half!  Now, in the 6th overtime at 1:19am Syracuse seems to be pulling away from UConn pulling away by 10...wait, 11...wait 6.  OVER TO THE TV!  

Ok, I'm back, Cuse pulled it out.  In the 70 minutes of basketball (nearly 4 hours real time) 127-117.  Apparently only 3 other games have ever gone that long in college - 2 other went 6 OT, one went 7OT in 1983 I think.  Awesome game - biggest stat was Syracuse hit something like 23 of 28 free throws in the overtimes.  That's what every coach has you practice - free throws at the end of a long grinding practice, and it sure paid off for the Orange.  Awesome job, and kudos to one of their players after the game for giving props to their Strength and Conditioning coach!  Let's see how that fares in 19 hours when they take on West Virginia who upset #2 ranked Pitt by 14!  Should be an interesting game.  For those that didn't know, Big East Basketball in 2008-2009 is a lot of fun to watch.  March Madness is upon us indeed.

So, first and foremost, I hate Comcast.  I thought I would reiterate for anyone who didn't know, because I know there is no one out there that loves them, aside from maybe Mitch Williams, the Phillies "Wild Thing" who may actually be finding his way into Phillies fans' hearts after be the goat of all goats (Comcast pays him as an "analyst").  Anyway, I sucked it up last year and caved and paid $5.99/month so I could catch up on the NFL Network and prepare for the draft. I can't do it anymore, not in this economy and not with the DVR (one of the greatest inventions of the 21st century) being $15/month.  It's not the most thrilling TV, but it was awesome to watch for those few years and it brought all of you third-hand reports of the NFL Combine and free agency via me (Dom's Dish), the analysts there and my TV feed from Indianapolis.  Anyway, in a draft like this year's, with the team I follow most - the Eagles, having something like 11 or 13 draft picks, I'm a little upset.  I can't even watch the stuff on ESPN 360 if I could.  Not sure where I'm going with this other than Comcast sucks.  At least my service seems to have cleared up, but that'll only take a 90-degree day to fix that I'm sure.

Around the Balls:

Men's College Big Orange and Round - Oklahoma lost to OK State in the Big 12 championship.  Some say that might have blown their shot for a #1 seed.  You never know now with UConn and Pitt both losing their first games in the Big East tournament...

White stiched - Opening day is about 24 days away now.  The WBC is on, but with college hoops upon us, no one is watching really.  It's nice to see Chase Utley is getting ready to go in Clearwater and looks like he will be ready for opening day.  See A-Rod, you could have had the surgery in the offseason instead of now!

Tiny white - Tiger is back to "stroke play" - you'll hear that 45 more times this weekend "his first since that US Open win" - he didn't look too good today and he's 6 shots back after 1 round, though he was only missing his putts by inches - about 4 of them should have fallen.  Should be interesting this weekend, don't count him out yet!

Big Brown oblong - It's slow on the NFL Free Agency front.  How slow is it, you ask?  The ESPN Bottom line just flashed that the Arizona Cardinals signed an "LS" to a 3 year contract.  No, not a Lexus LS, a Long-Snapper!  A long snapper is the NFL news.   Wow. Seriously, I don't know how those guys take up a roster spot, but that's for another day.  Well, I guess no one wants to talk about how the $100 Million man in DC - Albert Haynesworth is being investigated in Tennessee for wreckless driving charges.  When are these guys going to get a driver?

Professional Big Orange and Round - I missed it live, but the best play of the night in the NBA was when Jason Richardson of the Suns went on a fast break down the floor and attempted a hot-dog 360 degree dunk and LeBron came out of no where and SWATTED the ball out of his hands!  Would have been a top play any other night.

Rubber Round non-balls - Martin Brodeur is back, an aside from the absolute debacle against the Islanders at Nassau Colesium over last weekend when he got pulled, he's won a bunch and is now 1 win away from tying Patrick Roy's record for all time wins!  He'll get a chance to do that on Sunday in his hometown of Montreal.  He's only a few (four I believe) shut-outs away from tying that record for a Goalie as well.

Rubber Round non-balls times four - So they suspended the NASCAR pit crew guy who ran after a tire at last weekend's race for 4 races!  A little harsh.  Yeah, he put his life in danger when he ran into the grass infield, but the tire was headed toward the track and for Pete's sake, he's on a pit crew!  Haven't you seen those guys get hit?  Didn't Danica hit one of her drivers a few years back?  Rubbin is racin fellas.  Rubbin is racin.

Dom's Dish - Target Parking Lot Edition

Dom's Dish - Thursday, March 4, 2009

Part of me wants to say "How convenient" and another "poor guy" but
news today that Alex Rodriguez will need hip surgery also brings to
mind a few other thought: "baseball related?", "why did you wait?" And
still again, "how convenient." According to A-Rod's brother via ESPN
Deportes, the worldwide leader in latin sports, number one three will
need hip surgery and is expected to miss up to 10 weeks! Think MLB
and the New York media will forget the whole steroid thing Alex?
Hardly. So my question, as the story says, if he had issues into last
season (would explain his performance down the stretch), why did he
wait? Was it even sports related or related to his rendezvous with
Madonna at Jerry Seinfeld's Long Island mansion last year? Ah well,
the Yanks still have another $200 million in players, someone will
step in.  Part of me thinks he just wants to be like Chase Utley though.

So, even all the bloggers on ESPN can't find T.O. a good home.
Baltimore maybe? KC? Someone will take a shot, I'm telling you, 1
year contract! Put a "no being a baby" clause in there. Ok, maybe
"baby" is too harsh. No being a toddler and fighting for the media and
your quarterback's attention clause. Oh Tony Romo, "that my
quarterback.". Who can forget the pill incident either. Someone like
that I worry about after football. What job is he prepared for? The
media, I think not. Hopefully he doesn't become a serial killer and
try hunting everyone who wronged him in a major way. Scumbags...

So, I admit, I'm guilty. In most states nowadays, it is illegal to
talk on your cell phone without a handsfree device while driving.
After getting the car washed on this lovely NJ day, I needed to take,
my favorite (honestly), a NJ jughandle u-turn. Beside me at the light
was a local police officer in a marked, yes marked, police car. At
the next light we came to, he was beside me at my 11 o'clock. Behind
pulled a tan Prius, the smug lady inside had a small child in the rear
carseat. No kidding, for the entire 60 seconds at the stop light he
talked to her phone, on speaker phone, but still holding it with one
hand. Presumably, she was speaking to her husband about what to make
for dinner and not doing the laundry, because it looked heated. Light
turns green, cop accelerates and cuts in front of the car in my lane
and slowed down. The woman stupidly accelerated past the officer,
STILL ON THE PHONE and within seconds, got lit up. I was shocked.
Usually I'll just honk at someone that oblivious to the world as I
drive by with no cops around. This time I honked as I drove past her
AND the cop behind her! I'll have to ask my brother the cop how much
that ticket is worth. Nice laugh on a busy day.

From rock star parking at Target...

Dom's Dish - No Mo T O Edition

Dom's Dish - No mo T O Edition

On a day of "keeping the love" and three key free agents re-signing with their 2008 teams (Manny, Kurt Warner and Ray Lewis), just past midnight the news breaks that the Cowboys have released Terrell Owens.  Yes.  Wow.  Speechless to some extent.  Who knew with all of Jerry Jones' cryptic speak about the matter the last few weeks, and with Jerry's new stadium outside Dallas, the pressure's on Romo to keep the seats full the next few seasons to pay for debt.  Aside from the person, he's been one of the greatest of all time, totally dominating for about 5 years there, but obviously the head games and injuries have begun to get to him as his production has diminished.  Never having been a disciplinary issue outside of the team, he has that going for him, and his work ethic...when he gets paid.  He should wind up somewhere for 2009, but the question is, WHERE? Sure, plenty of teams have the salary cap space, but the draft isn't here yet - who is going to want a mid-30 year old receiver who has been in a problem in now at least 3 locker rooms?  I'm sure there's some borderline contender out there willing to take a chance on him with an exorbitant 1-year contract.  Denver to continue their spending spree? New England to play alongside Randy Moss and under Belichick? Kansas City to fill the seats? Oakland - will Al Davis shoot the lock off and cream his white suit?  Giants - to fill the large void left by the soon to be striped Plaxico? One thing I'm almost certain of, TO will not be back in an Eagles uniform - we all know how that story ends up - pushups in a driveway in Moorestown with helicopters overhead.  So the last question is, where do the Cowboys go from here?  Will Roy Williams live up to the hype and draft picks?  I don't care, go Eagles.

Dom's Dish - Mobile Edition

Dom's Dish - Mobile Edition

So here I sit, broken hearted, tried to but only farted...but I digress.

I can't help the giddiness (and dizziness) that Tiger is back. I
didn't get to watch the full round yesterday but I saw bits and pieces
on the Golf Channel and ESPN. 33 he is? Maybe less, but he looks mid
20's on the course (only the close-up during interviews make him look
mid to late 30's). Who knows what the weekend will bring, but Tiger
in the finals of this match play would make the PGA's dream! It makes
me jealous though seeing him and others in t-shirts playing golf in
the sun! Then today at 5:11pm EST Tiger shot an amazing sand wedge on
the 14th to win the hole and move to only 2 down.

So on the topic of greats in their profession, Martin Brodeur was
activated on Wednesday and will return today back in goal for the NJ
Devils. Woo Hoo! I sure hope the investment in the rookie card (via
brother Nic) pays off! On the verge of breaking so many records, he,
like Tiger, will again bring people back to their sports: obviously
Brodeur on a much smaller scale.

Last but not least, 12:01am and the NFL Free Agency period begins!
Where will TJ Houshamazilly wind up? Ocho Cinco? Albert Haynesworth?
So much will likely be done in the first 7-8 days so stay tuned.

Dom's Dish - Quick Edition Cali style

Ok, no real formatting or anything here, just some random thoughts as I sit in a nice hotel in the middle of one of those boom-to-bust-type areas called Temecula, CA...

Just saw the news, Tiger Woods will be back next week at the Accenture Match Play!  Great news for the sponsor (Accenture), his sponsors (Nike, Gatorade/G, Buick, etc), and of course TV and the PGA.  I am getting goosebumps writing this - is Tiger the reason for all this recession?  We'll know soon enough if he was the reason.  People love Tiger - he's not the typical underdog that people love, he's America's hero, and I'm sure in the next few days, this news will start to take over from all the A-Rod steroid scandal, the Economy/stimulus woes and all the greedy investors out there.  Or maybe not.  Either way, get ready to watch some golf this spring.

So, I'm thinking that $4M/year is way too much for a punter.  The Oakland Raiders just signed Shane Lechler to a $16M, 4 year extension.   Granted, he's been on my one Fantasy team two years running, but $4M to punt the ball a few times a game - I know he's been an integral part of the Raiders game the last few years because their offense is so bad, but still.  What's next?  $15M for a Cornerback?  Oh wait, Al Davis just authorized that for Nnamdi Asomugha - 3 yrs $45.3M.  Though he's worth it as probably the only true "shutdown corner" in the league, I can see Drew Rosenhaus right now on ESPN in a few weeks asking for $10M for Lito Shephard - "Leeetoe".  What recession?  Al Davis, when is he retiring?

It's just about Tourney Time - get ready, we'll be ramping up in the next 3-4 weeks with conference championships.  The field is so wide open this year, it should be a good NCAA tournament time - who will win? Oklahoma, NC, Duke, Pitt, UConn, Memphis, Davidson?

Utley seems ready to roll down in Clearwater.  Says he thinks he'll be ready for Opening Day - don't forget we have the World Baseball classic that delays everything by about a week.  Just want to again point out that the Phillies are 2008 World Phucking Champions - boy how I wish Hines Ward would have said something like that at the Steelers celebration.  We'll see what 2009 brings, hard for them to repeat, but I'll take another Division Championship.  What a month for sports mid-March to mid-April will be with WBC, NCAA, Spring Training, NBA ramping up and of course The Masters.

Around the Balls - just wanted to throw that in, nothing else to add.

Dom's Dish - 6240 furlong Edition

Dom's Dish - Friday, May 30, 2008


Sure, some of you think I was away. Nope, I still wrote, I just was too lazy to log into the other email account and copy and format it, then post it. I have written two editions since the last Dish, they can be found at domsdish-dot-blogspot-dot-com as my mother has so eloquntley put. Right John Carlo?

Anyway, a lot has happened in sports these past few weeks. In no particular order: The owners opted out of the Collective Bargaining Agreement - basically the entire contract for the way the NFL is run in terms of money. They do have reason to feel slighted - everyone is making tons of money, but you know guys like Jerry Jones, want more - looking for that oil field. Basically the owners are not happy with the amount they need to pay to players in terms of a percentage of the entire EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization - cash flow - if you look at it as the players being part of the payout) (5 years in undergrad business school and all I remember is EBITDA and Supply and Demand...and Bozena Leven, lol). Anyway, it will be good for everyone, the owners, the players, the fans and even others in all of sports. Yeah, we might be without football for a year, but a) I don't think it will get that far and b) the benefits outweigh the depression for one year.


Where were we anyway? Baseball JUST started. Now it's May and the Phillies lineup is as on fire as the color of the bright red $5 Phillies cap I got in the parking lot/truck yard in Philly 3 years ago. Holy cow they're hitting the ball. Here's one for you, Rollins is going to save Ryan Howard's season and career as a Phillie. Unlike below, this one is definitely true - look it up. Howard was slumping. Hitting .160 (that sucks for you non-baseball fans) with as many RBIs as rookie RF-er, it really looked like the Phillies got the raw end of the "arbitration" deal that pays Howard $10 Million for this year alone. (What other sport has lawyers this involved in "contract negotiation" / payment?) Funny thing is, Jimmy Rollins was hurt early and gimping around for like 10 days before he went on the 15-day Disabled List. Around a month of this and Howard struggled. Shit, I boo-ed him when I was at the game wearing my blue Phillies Howard #6 t-shirt in 40-degree weather. Jimmy comes back in San Fran, his hometown (I'm telling you, hit up Fisherman's Wharf), starts the Phillies off on the road that they're on now - crushing the baseball. I think it was May 3rd, and basically this whole month, the entire lineup has dominated slowly but steadily. I say with confidence, the Phillies have the best Infield in Baseball right now. Who else? BoSox? No. Yankees? No. Mets? Hell No. Tigers? Nope. Marlins? Close, but no. Diamondbacks? Who do they have? The last two MVP's, gold glovers, silver sluggers, hitting streaks. Shit, even Pedro Feliz lead the Giants in RBI's the last two seasons!!! Howard, Utley, Rollins, Feliz. Up until 6 days ago, I would have betted that Howard would be let go at the end of his contract/arbitration period. Now, I say he'll remain a Phillie. In that lineup he can do some bad things. And apparently all he needs is Rollins there. From their interview though, I hope they don't wind up a McNabb/Owens duo. (It's funny, my wife saw David Wright on TV for a closeup interview after his game the other night. She asked who the 12 year old was. He had this huge pimple above his right eye on his forehead. Either it's steroids for the little man or puberty's last final breaths?)

We're into the part of the sports year that seems to drag ON and ON. Don't get me wrong, I love 7-game series. Shows a lot about a team, character, conditioning, diligence, etc. I just don't understand why they need to spread out the NHL and NBA playoffs? I mean, it's great seeing hot teams like the Flyers a few weeks back or the Detroit Red Wings just dismantle teams and/or handle teams, but you can only wait so long. Yeah, I know there's a ton of people like me out there that can wait a week for the next NFL matchup or a new episode of Schrute Beet Farm, er...The Office. But here's something. NFL is fast paced, but there's news throughout the week and NFL Network and Sirius. The Office, yeah, there's the website, but it's not as up-tempo and in your face as the NFL or hockey. 7-game series? 10 days, maybe 11. Only extra days between games for travel days. It's gonna be June already! Hockey? It's not even freezing in 90% of the NHL cities right now, if not 95/100%! And basketball? Great sport too, but the days are the same, I wish someone would rescue us from this. How about the NFL having a development league in non-NFL cities right about now? April to July. NFL. Kids that could play in the NFL in September to December? I want Roger Goodell out there at the games, Monday Night Football, Emmitt and Dan Marino broadcasting game coverage, Mike and Mike, analysis, the NFL logo, big networks - shit give the losers of the NFL Networks (NBC, ABC, WGN) the chance to broadcast.

Tiger Woods is out and on his way back. I can just about guarantee that of all 200 people that get this and the assorted others on the "net" AKA internet, only 2% of you have sat and watched more than 1 hour of golf COMBINED since Tiger's been gone. And those heard about Sergio or Phil on Sportscenter the night before. It's crazy, the media (SportsCenter, newspapers) barely touch on golf when Tiger's not winning. So to all of you I pose this - Tiger coming back will revive the US economy. Now you may say, Dominic, Tiger can't control gas prices. And to you, I say, YOU'RE WRONG, SIR! Fact, Tiger Woods has been out since April 9 or thereabout. I can guarantee you that 80% of you have changed your spending habbits or thoughts. Gas, eating out, presents for friends, etc. (Whatever Ed Harley) Fact, Tiger plays the Dubai tournament every winter (around February). You know what Dubai has? Lots of oil and oil money. Theypay him to come over, he brings it back to the US, we watch the tournament or SportsCenter highlights, Oil and gas were low back then. Therefore by virtue of my flawless logic, Tiger coming back will save the US and World Economy. Hell, he's no Chuck Norris, but he CAN change the world. Shiiiiit.

Speaking of washing your hands, I finally found a totally awesome hand washing sink! It was in the Chipotle in Laurel, Maryland, outside of University Park. Plenty of room to "do the action" without bumping into the sides of a nasty pissed on sink. See the pic on the web log, AKA "blog" (we're so lazy in America - 2 syllables is tooooo much).

One of the best movie's ever- "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective". Knowing my audience, you've just about all seen it. Probably once or twice and you forgot about it. Go find it. Rent it. Buy it, whatever. It's one for the collection. I say it's one of the biggest movies of our generation. Eventually leading to all other Jim Carey movies, SNL movies, silly Eddie Murphy movies (not included 2 great series - 48 hours and Beverly Hills Cop), Mike Myers movies, etc. I have to say, if I could own 5 "modern" movies out there, they would be: Ace Ventura, Die Hard, Pulp Fiction, Dogma, and Enemy of the State AND (I'm not counting Trains, Planes and Automobiles, or the ones I own, Wedding Crashers, Borat, The Matrix, or Saving Private Ryan). Anyway, back to Ace. First off, it's Jim Carey at his prime! Then you throw in a dolphin mascot, Courtney Cox (still single at that time), Iced someone rapper dude, "Finkle, Einhorn", 1980's police cruisers...WOW. Classic! Ok, the movies to follow were good and bad (Ace 2, Dumb & Dumber, Cable Guy, Batman & Robin) but this movie kind of broke the mold. Ace Ventura is there with the lesser "sports movies" than the usual ones critics blurt out - "Hoosiers", "Field of Dreams", ... - This is there with "Any Given Sunday" and "Jerry Mc-F***in Guire" - starring a young, somewhat attractive, non-crack-whorish Renee Zellweger.

ESPN posted a story the other night "Big Brown gallops nine furlongs". Does anyone off hand know what a furlong is? Apparently, 1/8 mile (9 furlongs is 1 1/8 miles) - so just under 200 meters. I think we should measure more things in furlongs. The Daytona 4000 furlong. I drove 6240 furlong to Chicago last weekend. Make a right then drive 2.1 furlong and make your first left before driving a furlong to my house. That'd almost be as annoying as driving in Canada with the kilometers. And to be honest, I don't think there is a plural to the word furlong, is there?


Around the Balls:

Big-brown-oblong - Hey, there's still tickets left for the Saints/Chargers game in 5 months. Problem is, you'll have to fly to London to see it. So that's like 9 and 12 hour flights for them to get to London. If we can't even expand to Canada because they have different rules and bigger fields, what makes us think London or Europe is a place to expand. Obviously this didn't work before - see NFL Europe. Europe has its soccer. US has its football. Canada has its football. Leave it at that.

Huge-orange - The Chicago Bulls got the first pick in next month's draft! Wow. The rich keep getting richer. Maybe they'll take another pot-smoking hippie kid who likes to drink in public. It's a shame. Seriously, I hope they take Derek Rose and he does become the next "Jason Kidd with a jump shot". I think Rose can have a career in the right system, whereas Beasley could just be a mini-LeBron and be only a 15/5 player. Just as long as either's father doesn't admit to smoking pot and give a hint of Joakim Noah type trouble in the future. I don't know about Doug Collins as a coach either. He's a great analyst on TNT, but a career 53% win percentage. Interesting move, don't get D'Antoni so go after a broadcaster? Should have taken Mark Jackson or even Charles Barkley, you know he could use the money.

Small-white-stitched - The Big Unit is still tossing and yesterday tied Roger Clemens on the strikeout list for second behind Nolan Ryan. Nolan has over a 1,000 K edge on Randy (5714 vs 4672) and I don't think he'll be breaking that soon. Even looking at the current "young guns" out there, I'm not sure these records will be topped for a while. Pedro is #15 with 3,030 but he's 36 and oft injured. Tough to strike guys out these days. Maybe someday Joba Chamberlain or Jon Papelbon will own this record, then again, maybe it's Nolan Ryan's forever.

Tiny-white - Only about 2 weeks to the US Open. Tiger should be back as mentioned about 300 words ago, and he gets to play his favorite course - Torrey Pines. I've been to San Diego, and shit, I'd be too relaxed to play that beautiful course. Maybe he doesn't see the beauty like everyone else and can win if he finishes the tournament healthy.

Round-rubber-non - The Red Wings trounced the Penguins the first two games in Detroit, but last night, Home Ice advantage again rung true. This year might be one for the books for NHL and NBA playoffs with all these home court/ice wins.


Program Alert:
Phillies vs. Marlins in a three game set at The Bank.
Phillies J-Roll Bobble Head night next Wednesday vs Reds.
Celtics vs. Pistons Game 6 tonight on ESPN at 7:30pm. Pistons on brink but home.


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For those new to "the dish", I once dreamed of being a sports-caster having my own column. Let me know if you don't like it, and/or want to be discontinued from the list. If you have another email address to send it to, send that to me also. For older issues of the dish, email me. domsdish@gmail.com or go to http://domsdish.blogspot.com/